EVANSVILLE—While supportive of conservation, the reeve of Burpee-Mills council says that some of the money being provided in a National Conservation Plan (NCP) announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week should be provided to small municipalities who lose tax revenues when lands are purchased by conservation groups in the municipality.
“Everybody is in favour of conservation, but since this funding is for all of Canada, instead of costs being downloaded onto individual municipalities through the loss of tax revenues (when conservation groups purchase lands in a municipality), it is too bad some of this money couldn’t have gone into the loss of tax revenue to municipalities,” stated Burpee-Mills Reeve Ken Noland. “The government should put some of this money into a fund to pay taxes on the properties, and give some money to those municipalities losing some of their tax base.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the NCP last week, with the hopes of providing a more coordinated approach to conservation efforts across the country with an emphasis on enabling Canadians to conserve and restore lands and waters in and around their communities, and making it easier for citizens living in cities to connect with nature. The prime minister was joined by Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council and Keith Ashfield, Member of Parliament for Fredericton.
“Our government is committed to working closely with Canadians so that together we can provide effective stewardship of Canada’s rich natural heritage for present and future generations,” said Mr. Harper. “The (NCP) will help ensure the sustainability of our nation’s greatest resources, contribute to our country’s long-term prosperity and further position Canada as a world leader in conservation. It will also help ensure that Canadian families and visitors can enjoy the beauty of our country from coast to coast for years to come.”
The NCP, which was a commitment made in the 2013 Speech from the Throne, will include significant additional investments over five years to secure ecologically sensitive lands, support voluntary conservation and restoration actions, and strengthen marine and coastal conservation. In addition, it includes new initiatives designed to restore wetlands and to encourage Canadians to connect with nature close to home through protected areas and green spaces located in or near urban areas.
The Plan will expand opportunities for partners, including municipalities, environmental interest groups, hunters and anglers, landowners and community groups, to take practical actions to safeguard the land and water around them in the three following priority areas: conserving Canada’s lands and waters, restoring Canada’s ecosystems and connecting Canadians to nature.
Building on the conservation measures announced in budget 2014, the NCP includes funding of $252 million, primarily over a five-year period (2014-2019) for a variety of conservation initiatives: including $100 million over five years to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to secure ecologically sensitive lands; $37 million over five years to strengthen marine and coastal conservation; $3.2 million to support the development of a complete national inventory of conserved lands in Canada; $50 million over five years to restore wetlands; $50 million over five years to support voluntary actions to restore and conserve species and their habitats; $9.2 million over five years to connect urban Canadians to nature; and $3 million over three years to Earth Rangers to expand family-oriented conservation programming.
“What the prime minister needs to do with this program is go one step further,” said Mr. Noland. “As I said, I don’t think anyone is against conservation, but don’t put the costs of townships losing tax revenues on the backs of individual taxpayers. Take part of the $252 million and set up a fund for local municipalities who lose taxes due to the loss of property being purchased for conservation in their municipality.”
