In this section, we will present different land protection statuses: at the community, provincial, federal and international levels. The distinction between these levels is important in the Canadian legislative context, as each has its respective statuses and its own heritage rationales. By heritage rationale, we mean the criteria by which a land or place can be recognized as significant enough to merit protection status. Some of the project holders valued in this site do not follow the Canadian legal framework but rather value a land protection perspective based on the philosophies of their communities. They therefore have a completely different vision of heritage.
In the Canadian legal framework and non-governmental framework, for example at UNESCO, heritage is generally divided into two categories: natural and cultural heritage. Of course, these two categories are also divided into sub-categories depending on what one wishes to protect: a plant, an animal, an ecosystem, a story, a monument, an object, etc. Some statuses, which respond to a rationale for protecting natural heritage, can also be used to protect cultural heritage elements when they are linked. A good example (see below) is the provincial status in Quebec of "Land reserve for protected area purposes".
These different heritage rationales are presented here in an attempt to facilitate the identification of laws or statuses that may be appropriate for the protection of significant places or lands for Indigenous peoples.
Considering the process of protection statuses at different levels, we will focus on examples of protection by explaining the statute, the procedure for obtaining it, the laws that created it and useful links to obtain more information that can lead to obtaining an official protection seal.
We also invite you to look into what status is possible in your region, depending on the legal context.
This status implies a vision for the protection of both natural and cultural heritage. Its main objective is to create spaces for protection, contact, appreciation and sustainable development of a given land. Biosphere reserves are created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within the framework of its Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme. Each Biosphere reserve is divided into three sections: a core area which is a strict space for protection and conservation; buffer zones which are mainly used for activities considered compatible with the preservation of the environment (education, training, etc.); and finally a transition zone which is more associated with economic and socio-cultural development.
Nomination: According to the MAB website, this is how to apply
- To apply for Biosphere Reserve status, complete the Biosphere Reserve Proposal Form or the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve Proposal Form
- Biosphere Reserve Periodic Review Form (FR)
- The International Advisory Committee for Biosphere Reserves (IACBR) will review biosphere reserve proposals for recommendation to the International Coordinating Council (ICC).
- The ICC will make its decision and the Director-General of UNESCO will inform the State in question.
Duration: temporary, to be renewed every 10 years.
Useful links:
World Biosphere Reserve Network
This status recognizes places or areas as world heritage sites, which may be natural, cultural or mixed. The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Heritage defines a cultural site as: "works of man or the combined works of man and nature, as well as areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view". The convention defines a natural site as: "of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation of natural beauty."
Nomination: Places eligible for this status must already be recognized by the country for its outstanding heritage character. In Canada, the place must already be recognized at the provincial and then federal level to apply. One of the first steps is to be selected in the tentative list of potential heritage sites as is the case for the Stein Valley in British Columbia. For details on the nomination process, follow this link.
Duration: Permanent
Useful links:
Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage
World Heritage List Nominations
Timeline for the acquisition of the status by Pimachiowin Aki
National Park and National Park Reserve
National park status protects the natural heritage of a specific place or area for the benefit of the public and future generations. However, when an Indigenous people assert ancestral rights to all or part of a proposed park area and the federal government has agreed to enter into negotiations, the area is referred to as a National Park Reserve. The major difference is that a park reserve allows for the continuation of activities that are considered traditional, such as hunting or gathering of certain plants, which are not permitted in a national park.
Nomination: To become a national park or park reserve, a place or area must first be recognized locally as a representative natural area before it can be considered a national park. For the process, follow this link.
For the reserve, it must meet the criteria for a national park and be the subject of a claim by an Indigenous people recognized as valid by the federal government through land claim negotiations.
Duration: Permanent
Useful links:
This status is the only status at the federal level that provides permanent protection for a place (not an area) because of its cultural or historical heritage. According to the law, such a place is defined as follows: A site, building, or other place of national historic interest or significance, including buildings or structures that are of national interest because of their age or architecture. An example is T'äw Tà'är which has been recognized as a historic place as a central point in the genealogical continuity of the Athapaskan people of the Yukon.
Nomination: Depending on the site, the application must be made to the Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Duration: Permanent
Useful links:
This status attempts to protect natural heritage and was created under the Natural Heritage Conservation Act and is granted by the Quebec government on lands considered public on varying grounds. For example, in 2020, the government used this status to protect the Mushuau-nipi site and the caribou population of the region by justifying the cultural importance to the Innu people (see the following link).
Nomination: The request must be made directly to the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change according to the governmental guidelines in effect at the time of the request. Memoranda from this same ministry approve the new reserves.
Duration: Permanent or until protected area status is obtained.
Provincial Parks
This protection status is generally used to protect the natural heritage of an area or site for its biological diversity, while making it accessible for educational and recreational purposes.
Nomination: Depending on the province, the process involves having the provincial government recognize the outstanding nature of the natural heritage, fauna and flora. Depending on the province, it usually involves applying to the ministry responsible for parks.
Duration: permanent
Useful links:
This status designates the land protection areas whose development and management are ensured by the Indigenous communities. Thus, these statuses are implemented and applied by the communities themselves according to the needs and specificities of the targeted places or lands. The federal government is increasingly recognizing these protected areas for formal inclusion in the Canadian Protected Areas Register and is providing funding to facilitate their establishment, although many of these areas are not yet formally recognized by governments.
Nomination: Local Management Initiative
Useful links:
List of APCAs recognized by the government
Federal Programs for Aboriginal Leadership and Initiatives
Indigenous Guardians of the Land Program
Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk
Aboriginal Circle of Experts Guide to Biodiversity Protection
This is not, per se, a protection status, but a legal recognition status. It implies that elements considered natural, such as a river, can be given the status of a moral individual in the sense of the law. This implies that the river will have local guardians who ensure that the river's rights are recognized. This status is not officially recognized by the Canadian legislative framework, but allows local communities to have a clear framework for what can be recognized, as is the case of the Magpie River with the Innu community of Ekuanitshit.
Nomination: local management initiative
Duration: permanent
Useful links:
There are also legal statuses that are not related to territorial protection, but which may have the same effect.
An example under the Quebec legal framework is a mining title commonly referred to as a claim. A claim is a mineral exploration title under the Quebec Mining Act which gives "the exclusive right to prospect for minerals" (s.53.1b). If a claim is affixed to an area for prospecting, however, the holder has no obligation to prospect. The Upashkuss custodian group obtained a guarantee from a claim holder that it would not use the claim.
In this sense, because the right to a claim is exclusive, the claim area is protected. There are, of course, limitations to this kind of protection, including that it is temporary and relies on the word of the claim holder.
By this category, we want to show that there are several legal statutes that can potentially be mobilized for the purpose of land protection.
Laws on the protection of cultural heritage
Quebec
https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/P-9.002
British Columbia
https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96187_01
Alberta
https://www.alberta.ca/heritage-conservation-protection.aspx
Manitoba
https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/h039-1e.php
New Brunswick
https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/thc/heritage/content/heritage_conservationact.html
Nova Scotia
https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/heritage.htm
Ontario
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o18
Newfoundland and Labrador
https://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/h04.htm
Prince Edward Island
https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/legislation/h-03-1-heritage_places_protection_act.pdf
