Parks Canada to visit Osoyoos Tuesday

Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Catherine McKenna, will join British Columbia’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman, Chief Clarence Louie, Osoyoos Indian Band, and Chief Keith Crow, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, to make an announcement on the proposed national park reserve in the South Okanagan-Similkameen.

Date: Tuesday July 2, 2019

Time: Event starts at 10:15 a.m.

Location: Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre 1000 Rancher Creek Road Osoyoos

Following a Tripartite (joint government) announcement in October 2017 regarding a renewed commitment to a collaborative approach, the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and the Syilx/Okanagan Nation are developing recommendations, including models for cooperative management, regarding the establishment of a national park reserve in the South Okanagan – Similkameen. Recent focus has been on the development of a national park reserve concept, including a boundary, on which Parks Canada sought feedback during a short public consultations in 2019.

The South Okanagan offers a stunning landscape ranging from near-desert to rich forests of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir that support an incredible range of rare animals and plants. This area has sustained Syilx/Okanagan communities for thousands of years.

A new national park reserve will not only renew a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous peoples, but it will contribute to a network of protected and conserved areas. These protected areas help safeguard Canada’s biodiversity and provide unprecedented opportunities for Canadians to experience the outdoors and learn about our environment, and contribute to sustainable economic development.

Source: Parks Canada