Legal Framework for Protected Areas: Canada

Abstract

This case study focuses on terrestrial national parks in Canada, where the protected areas system has evolved for over a century since the creation of a national park at Banff in 1885. The role of 'ecological integrity' as a statutory standard following recent legislative renewal of the Canada National Parks Act is a distinctive feature of the Canadian system. While the national parks system has experienced significant recent expansion in conjunction with the resolution of northern aboriginal land claims, there are only limited indications in Canada of either co-management or community-conserved areas. The Canadian framework incorporates a wide range or reporting and accountability mechanisms which contribute importantly to public and non-government participation in the development of parks policy and administration. The national terrestrial parks system, while a keystone of Canada's protected areas framework, does not appear to be fully integrated with other federal protected areas initiatives or with corresponding protected areas regimes operating at the provincial level, although a jointly agreed biodiversity strategy has been developed through federal-provincial-territorial consultation.