| Trappist Monastery Provincial Park: A Precedent for future Urban Provincial Parks in Winnipeg On September 26, 2002 the Manitoba government announced a newly created two hectare heritage park at the St. Norbert Ruins. �The designation preserves the historic site near the junction of the LaSalle and Red Rivers and protects it from future development said Doer.� (WFP, Sept. 27, 2002.) The Winnipeg Real Estate News also noted the event. �The Watchable Wildlife initiative is designed to expand wildlife protection and eco-tourism opportunities in provincial parks. Premier Gary Doer made the announcement last week at the new Trappist Monastery Provincial Park. Set adjacent to the wooded banks of the Lasalle River, the park offers canoeing, walking and skiing, and the opportunity to experience an important element of Manitoba�s history exemplified by the restored ruins of the former Trappist Monastery of Notre Dames des Prairies. The historical significance of this beautiful monastery is owed to its founders who lived modest lives centred on prayer, study and manual labour,� said Doer�.Since the fall of 1999, the province, in partnership with Manitobans. has created three new provincial parks, Pembina Valley, Trappist Monastery and Caribou River, and 10 park preserves, and fully protected all or part of 21 Wildlife Management area.� (WREN, September, 2002) Using copy and paste, imagine the following news article written in December of 2003. The Watchable Wildlife initiative is designed to expand wildlife protection and eco-tourism opportunities in provincial parks. Premier Gary Doer made the announcement last week at the new Bois-des-esprits Provincial Park. Set adjacent to the wooded banks of the Seine River, the park offers canoeing, walking and skiing, and the opportunity to experience an important element of Manitoba�s history exemplified by the restored ruins of the Riel Mill Site. The historical significance of this M�tis ancestral homeland is owed to its founders who lived modest lives centred on family, church, community and innovative entrepreneurship,� said Doer The question that I ask is, if a park in St. Norbert is deserving of provincially recognized status, why can�t St. Boniface and St. Vital have urban provincial parks as well? |