Environmentalists’ claims that the provincial government bulldozed a road into a hike-in area of Whiteshell Provincial Park without public consultation have sparked criticism of Manitoba Conservation’s environmental policies and lack of transparency.

“It’s a fiasco and it’s outrageous,” said Eric Reder, campaign director with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. “There is a real problem here.”

The Manitoba government and the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation announced their joint proposal to build a camp for underprivileged youth on Meditation Lake in early April. They hosted two open houses a month later, at which several citizens voiced their concerns.

While the government has not announced an official decision on the development, they began cutting a road toward Meditation Lake prior to their announcement, Reder said.

Conservation employees at the open house could not provide information on the province’s decision to begin a road before public consultation. But John Irwin, regional director for the eastern region at Manitoba Conservation, stressed that development is currently halted.

“We’re not going any further, we’re not developing the road,” he said.

But Reder isn’t convinced.

“The secretive process and the fact that the government won’t release any information is really troubling,” he said.

In addition, Reder has concerns over the toxicity of Meditation Lake due to severe algae blooms and a massive clam die-off last summer. He also feels that Manitoba Conservation lacks a competent management plan to ensure sustainable care for the Meditation Lake area. The current management plan for the Whiteshell was created in 1983.

But an updated management plan isn’t in the cards right now due to lack of resources.

“If you do that there’s something else going to suffer or else we need a lot more staff,” Irwin said.

Despite the controversy, Bryan Ezako, executive director of the Manitoba Camping Association, supports the initiative.

“The truth of the matter is we’re definitely not opposed to anyone starting a camp,” he said. “Tim Horton [Children’s Foundation] having a camp in Manitoba, it can definitely enhance the image of camping and the benefits that camping can have for youth.”

While he supports wilderness experience for disadvantaged youth, Reder feels the foundation should support existing camps instead of forever altering an untouched area.

“It’s about our parks. It’s about the fact that our environment needs intact ecosystems,” Reder said.

But Ezako says that would defeat the purpose of the camp’s unique mandate to provide leadership training to teens. All Manitoba’s camps have diverse target markets, he said.

Dave Newnham, vice president and executive director of the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, said they had expected Meditation Lake to be an uncontroversial location. If public outcry is strong enough, it will be considered in the decision making process.

“This is not a done deal,” he said.

The final decision on whether to allow construction will be made following further public open houses, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

Published in Volume 63, Number 27 of The Uniter (May 20, 2009)