By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer In a move that could revolutionize how national parks are managed, Parks Canada is partnering with Indigenous people to share authority over decisions in dozens of locations. Under its 2025\u201126 Departmental Plan, the agency aims to have at least 27 natural heritage places and 15 cultural heritage sites managed in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis communities by March 2026. The department says it is well on its way to meeting its goal, building on the 23 national parks and nine historic sites where Indigenous peoples were already part of formal co\u2011management at the end of the last fiscal year. \u201c[It\u2019s] built upon decades of working with Indigenous partners \u2026 thinking about values like trust and respect and reciprocity… <\/p>\n
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer In a move that could revolutionize how national parks are managed, Parks Canada is partnering with Indigenous people to share authority over decisions in dozens of locations. Under its 2025\u201126 Departmental Plan, the agency aims to have at least 27 natural heritage places and 15 cultural heritage sites managed in partnership with First Nations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis communities by March 2026. The department says it is well on its way to meeting its goal, building on the 23 national parks and nine historic sites where Indigenous peoples were already part of formal co\u2011management at the end of the last fiscal year. \u201c[It\u2019s] built upon decades of working with Indigenous partners \u2026 thinking about values like trust and respect and reciprocity... <\/p>\n