Parks Canada will not build the winter road connecting Fort Chipewyan to Fort Smith, NWT., because leaders in both communities are concerned about the spread of COVID-19. Since the start of the pandemic, access into the Northwest Territories has been restricted. Some exemptions have been made, including residents of Fort Fitzgerald and on-reserve members of the Mikisew Cree First Nation. Fort Smith can be just as important as Fort McMurray for residents of the area, since people will also travel into NWT for work, health care, groceries and other services. In a Tuesday statement, Parks Canada reported the NWT government would end this exemption if the winter road was built. After meeting with community members, it was decided the road would be cancelled.
We re just frustrated : Missed UNESCO deadline a setback for Wood Buffalo National Park, advocates sayÂ
Advocates in northern Alberta and the N.W.T. say a missed deadline in the protection of Canadaâs largest national park means the federal government is not taking its conservation seriously.Â
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Parks Canada had until Dec. 1 to update UNESCO on conservation efforts in park that straddles Alberta, N.W.T.
Posted: Dec 15, 2020 6:00 AM CT | Last Updated: December 15, 2020
Wood Buffalo National Park in 2018.(Lennard Plantz/CBC)