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.

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.

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