The Caldwell First Nation and Parks Canada are exploring a shared governance and collaborative management model for the creation of the proposed Ojibway National Urban Park.
A memorandum of understanding was signed at Point Pelee National Park Monday where both parties took part in a ceremony to celebrate the partnership and honour the Caldwell First Nation ancestors.
"We spent two years with Parks Canada talking about what this could look like and Parks Canada was always willing to come to the table and Caldwell was always willing to sit down and work on advancing our relationship so that it's very strong," said Caldwell First Nation Chief Mary Duckworth.
The MOU affirms a shared interest in First Nation-led conservation, connection people to First Nations history and to nature and building commitments to ensure shared park management and operations, visitor experiences and wildlife management.
Duckworth said the most important feature is conserving the environment in the region.
"We don't have a lot left and I think it's really important to listen to the First Nations because we have to preserve what we have, we have to protect what we have and we have to management it together in an understanding that mutually benefits both parties," said Duckworth.
Parks Canada representatives indicated they are still in the early planning stages of establishing the national urban park.
"We have to worth through a lot of details. Co-governance is a major portion of that but also fundamentals like the clearly defined boundary of the park, the agreement with the municipality, with the province about how the existing lands will be managed as well," said Caroline Macintosh, Executive Director for Protected Areas Establishment at Parks Canada.
MP Brian Masse's private member's bill, Bill C-248, to establish the Ojibway National Urban Park has not passed through the Senate yet. He said he's hopeful the bill will be passed during this session of parliament.