Manitoba to examine potential marine conservation area in Hudson Bay

The Manitoba government is putting up a quarter-million dollars to look at setting up a protected area in the waters of western Hudson Bay.

The money is to examine the possibility of setting up a national marine conservation area, designated by the federal government, that would join five existing ones across the country including in Lake Superior.

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Oceans North, a non-profit environmental group, says western Hudson Bay is home to about one-quarter of the world’s beluga whale population.

The region may also be home to a pipeline and terminal near the town of Churchill, which Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has raised as a possibility to boost international trade and the economy.

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Kinew says the environment can be protected at the same time as the economy can be grown.

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The federal government has promised to establish 10 new marine and four new freshwater conservation areas by 2030.

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