Key takeaways:
- The new park would be named Pituamkek.
- Hog Island, a special place among Indigenous individuals, is located along the North Shore of Prince Edward Island.
An agreement to develop a park on Hog Island:
On Wednesday, the federal government signed a memo of agreement with the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils to set a new national park reserve on the Hog Island Sandhills off the North Shore of Prince Edward Island.
The new park would be provided the Mi’kmaq term Pituamkek (enunciated Bee-doo-um-gek).
Steven Guilbeault, the minister liable for Parks Canada, signed the contract with Chief Darlene Bernard of Lennox Island and Chief Junior Gould of Abegweit First Nation.
Hog Island is a special place among Indigenous individuals, Bernard stated.
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“There are many causes why it’s necessary to cover this area, and I think we’ve touched on that in several different times, other people speaking, but one of them is the truth that this is, in our opinion, a Mi’kmaw archeological site … where we have a burial ground,” Bernard stated. Source – cbc.ca
“It’s a sacred site. It’s a special place where endangered birds and bats ought to be protected. So we want to protect that.” Source – cbc.ca
The MOU recaps the following steps and delivers a framework for cooperation as negotiations start for an establishment contract to create the new national park reserve.
The Pituamkek National Park Reserve will be the first national park reserve to donate to the government’s commitment to making ten new national parks by 2025.
