The federal government is announcing that it will be more than double its original contribution by adding an additional 21 square kilometers of Red National Urban Park.
PICKERING – Michael Chong, Member of Parliament for Wellington-Halton Hills, has joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper and several Greater Toronto MPs to announce a lands expansion for Canada’s first national park. The Government of Canada will add to its original contribution by adding an additional 21 square kilometers of Red National Urban Park, featuring a mix of natural, cultural and agricultural lands.
« I am delighted to see the expansion of Rouge National Urban Park, » Chong said. « This important park will offer Canadians the opportunity to discover some of Canada’s rarest ecosystems just outside their gateway. «
This expansion will increase the boundaries of Canada by 36 percent, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America, covering 79.5 square kilometers when fully implemented.
« Under the Red National Urban Park Act , Red Park will receive the highest level of environmental protection for a natural area that is so close to human development, » said Chong. « The creation and expansion of this park is an important step in protecting the environmental integrity of Canada’s ecosystems in urban areas. «
The expansion of Rouge National Urban Park has been made public by extensive consultation with municipal, regional, provincial, Aboriginal and community stakeholders. The urban park will bring real and significant benefits to the Canadian environment, including the protection of drinking water, farmland, rare ecosystems, and Carolingian forest and wetlands in the region. of Greater Toronto, and more than 1,700 species of plants and animals.
For more information on the Rouge National Urban Park, please visit: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/on/rouge
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