The chief of Lennox Island First Nation is thrilled that this week’s federal budget confirms money will be coming to turn a string of islands off Prince Edward Island’s North Shore into Canada’s next national park reserve.
“We’re moving forward in protecting something that’s so sacred to us and so dear to us and that will have massive, massive, wonderful benefits as we move forward with it,” Darlene Bernard told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin on Wednesday.
“We’re going to be creating employment opportunities, opportunities for people to learn about our rich culture and our history…. We’re going to be welcoming the world here and we’re proud to do it.”
Tuesday’s budget included $71.9 million, to be spent over the next 12 years, to establish Canada’s 11th national park reserve at Pituamkek, pronounced bee-doo-um-gek.
The chain of islands making up Pituamkek runs from the mouth of Malpeque Bay up to Alberton, and includes Hog Island and Bird Island. The islands are a unique sandhill ecosystem, and of great cultural significance to the Mi’kmaq.
“I think you’ll see, like, transformative work being done with regard to tourism in western P.E.I.,” Bernard said. “So it’s not just … great for us, it’s great for all Islanders.”
The federal government first announced an interest in turning the area into a national park reserve in 2019.
“Home to multiple archaeological sites, rare geological formations, and ceremonial lands, protecting Pituamkek means ensuring that the connection of the Mi’kmaq to these ancestral lands is protected and preserved,” the budget documents said.
The difference between a national park and a national park reserve is that there are unresolved claims of Indigenous rights in the area of the latter. Negotiations around what’s referred to as the Hog Island Specific Claim date back to 1996, over lands purchased in 1942.
The funding, which will start flowing this fiscal year, includes $30.7 million in remaining amortization because the chain had to be bought from its former owners, and $7.5 million per year to create the national park reserve and then operate it.
And it’s not the only good news in the budget for First Nations like Bernard’s.
Funding for Indigenous peoples in Canada is a major focus of the budget, Atlantic Economic Council senior economist Lana Asaff told CBC News on Wednesday.
The budget includes $9 billion over five years for reconciliation, education, health care, and self-governance.
The biggest slice of that is $5 billion to cover loan guarantees for economic development projects in Indigenous communities. Based on regional population statistics, the council estimates Atlantic Canada could see $375 million of that.
“This funding could be huge in terms of unlocking more opportunities to invest in clean energy projects in this region. We’ve seen some companies that have already started those partnerships with Indigenous communities and groups,” said Asaff. “We hope to see this continue and this funding [will] help out with that.”
