PAS Sponsoring Agency Legislation
What laws can create a protected area?
The PAS process uses existing federal and territorial laws to protect the land. Laws provide long-term protection and make it difficult to change or remove protection. The federal and territorial laws available to create protected areas through the PAS are summarized in a legislative comparison chart (pdf). More detail is given in the report "Legislation, Sponsoring Agencies and the Protected Areas Strategy" (pdf).
Current PAS sites include:
- One National Historic Site, protected under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act and Territorial Lands Act.
- Proposed National Wildlife Areas to be protected under the National Wildlife Act.
- One Proposed Critical Wildlife Area to be protected under the Northwest Territories' Wildlife Act.
Parks Canada and their partners are developing some National Parks outside the PAS process.
Communities and government may also decide that the PAS is not the best way to protect a special area. The PAS complements other processes that may be used to achieve conservation goals such as land use planning, heritage sites, or heritage river designation.
Federal
Territorial
- Government of the Northwest Territories - Tourism and Parks, ITI
- Government of the Northwest Territories - Environment and Natural Resources, ENR
Other Salient Legislation
- Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (1998)
- Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act Consolidation (2004)
- Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (1992)
