Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve - EA Process And Questions Of A Double Standard

Front page news is often made when private interests fail to meet environmental assessment requirements and related regulatory or Indigenous consultation requirements. While often subject to the same rules, government projects and undertakings do not seem to attract the same level of public scrutiny - at least in the main stream media. A controversial case in point relates to a national park reserve and protected area in the Northwest Territories.

Earlier this year, the federal government appears to have not undergone a proper environmental assessment process before it established a 33,360 km² protected area located at the eastern end of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. The area, Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve, Territorial Protected Area and Wildlife Conservation Area ("Thaidene Nëné"), was formally proclaimed as protected on August 21, 2019.