A successful Minister's Round Table!

Sent on March 27, 2023

Hello,

I would like to take a moment to thank all those who contributed, directly or indirectly, to the functioning and promotion of the 2023 Minister’s Round Table.

In January and February, the Minister's Round Table received nearly 2,200 written submissions from consultations for the general public and various key stakeholders who have expressed an interest in Parks Canada.

Parks Canada's members were able to create talking circles that were warm and representative of the Agency so that members of the various departments, stakeholders from the tourism community and representatives of Indigenous peoples from across Canada could experience the essence of Parks Canada. Among other things, I am thinking of the on-ice consultation in Winnipeg and the visit to Russell Island in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve to contextualize the restoration work being done in collaboration with Indigenous peoples.

In total, the Parks Canada teams organized:

• 6 visual discussion workshops with more than 90 participants, representing over 70 organizations;
• 4 in-person sessions in four different cities with 60 people per session, representing 15 Indigenous Nations and over 30 organizations;
• 15 days of online consultations for people to share ideas and respond to those of their peers.

The 2023 edition of the Minister's Round Table featured innovations and firsts based on inclusion and accessibility:

• A combination of virtual and in-person events to reach regional and national stakeholders;
• Increased efforts to hold inclusive, accessible events with culturally appropriate principles and practices;
• For all sessions, opening and closing ceremonies facilitated by an Indigenous Elder;
• Virtual sharing circles to discuss Indigenous stewardship with a group consisting primarily of Indigenous participants;
• Translation of key documents into Inuktitut;
• Simultaneous interpretation during virtual events;
• Fully accessible documents and events.
• Sessions in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, as well as the Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister responsible for Parks Canada.

These enriching discussions with the people of Canada will help me to prepare a response and propose actions that address the issues that affect Canadians. This report will be presented in the coming months.

Beyond these statistics and accomplishments, I would like to acknowledge the dedication and cooperation of all the teams that contributed to the resounding success of this initiative. To achieve this, a number of teams and field units worked as a team, while ensuring the continuity of day-to-day operations.

Please join me in applauding the outstanding work of our friends and colleagues.

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

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