The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq
Minister of Environment, Government of Canada June 4 2015

Dear Minister Aglukkaq,

We the undersigned, former senior Parks Canada Managers, are writing to you to lodge
our opposition to the proposed building of the Never Forgotten National Memorial in
Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

As you know, the National Parks Act requires you as the Minister responsible for Parks
Canada to assure that all decisions affecting a national park consider the Park?s
ecological integrity as the ?rst priority. Furthermore, any proposed developments in a
national park must be for the purpose of enhancing ecological integrity of the Park and
not for the sake of development. It is clear that the proposed ?Mother Canada? statue for
Cape Breton Highlands National Park will not enhance ecological integrity and the
proposed associated facilities that include parking lots and an interpretive facility will
only further impact the Park. We are very much opposed to the proposed location of
this large memorial statue with associated parking, restaurant and interpretive centre. It
is not only inappropriate in a national park it is in violation of the site?s Wilderness Zone
designation as detailed in the Management Plan for the Park. To be sure, if developers
can obtain stakeholder and public support to put up this memorial in other locations they
can do so without our objection. In Nova Scotia, there is no shortage of sites that can
accommodate such a project. Green Cove is not one of them.

We are also concerned about the shortcomings of the process being used to assess
this project. Parks Canada is renowned worldwide for its open consultation processes.
Remarkably, in this instance there does not appear to have been any significant public
consultation prior to the announcement. This one project seems to be on a fast?track
despite the lack of broad based public support. It certainly gives the appearance that
decisions are being imposed on Parks Canada in opposition to its governing legislation
and policies.

Specifically, the National Parks Act provides you direction on consultation. Accordingly,
the Minister shall, where applicable, provide opportunities for public participation at the
national, regional and local levels, including participation by aboriginal organizations,
bodies established under land claims agreements and representatives of park
communities, in the development of parks policy and regulations, the establishment of
parks, the formulation of management plans, land use planning and development in
relation to park communities and any other matters that the Minister considers relevant.

Given that this proposed memorial is for fallen soldiers from all across Canada and that
National Parks are dedicated to all Canadians, we recommend strongly that
consultation be undertaken at multiple scales, including local, provincial, and federal.

The current Detailed Impact Analysis process fails to achieve this and is too limited in
scope.

The following have signed on to this note of opposition:

Torn Lee (former CEO Parks Canada), Nikita Lopoukhine (former Director General,
National Parks and Chair Emeritus World Commission on Protected Areas), Bruce
Amos (former Director General, National Parks), Michael Porter (former Director
General, National Parks), Mike Fay (former FAO, Parks Canada), Carol Whitfield
(former Field Unit Superintendent Cape Breton), Tim Reynolds (former CBH Park
Superintendent), Ken East (former Field Unit Superintendent, Central Ontario), Tom
Kovacs (former Director, Natural Resources Conservation Branch), Tim Sookochetf
(former Director, Park Establishment Branch), Steve Langdon (former Field Unit
Superintendent Vancouver Island), Pierre Lessard (former Superintendent LaMauricie
NP), Dave Warner (former Superintendent, St. Lawrence Islands National Park), Norm
Ruttan (former Superintendent Thousand Islands National Park), Clement Bedard
(Ancien directeur de la Reserve de parc national de I'Archipel de Mingan et de la
Reserve du parc national d'Ayuittuq), Raymond Alegre (Ancien Directeur, Gestion du
Portefeuille des lnvestissements), George Ingram (former Director, Policy, National
Historic Sites), Neil Munro (former Science Advisor, Atlantic Region), Gary Sealey 
former Director Visitor Activities), Claude Mondor (former Chief Area Identification,
Parks System Planning Branch), David Welch (former Head, Environmental Quality),
Arthur Hoole (former Head, National Park Planning, Prairie Region), Ron Hamilton
(former Chief Park Warden), George Mercer (former Assistant Chief Park Warden for
Ross Dobson (former Interpreter), Gary Lindfield (Former Chief,
Cooperative Activities), Doug Hodgins (former Project Manager, Policy and Legislation
Branch), Bert Crossman (former, Natural Resources Officer and former President of
PIPS)

cc: CPAWS Nova Scotia, Alan Latourelle, Mark Keyling, Rodger Cuzner, Chronicle
Herald