Linking Culture and the Environment

R.J. Payne et al. 77
Background
The region
In areas such as northern Ontario, where people’s lives and regional economies
are built upon the exploitation of natural resources, tourism has been viewed
by many as an important addition to a limited range of economic opportunities
(Smithers and Geissenger, 1991; Johnston, 1995; Koster and Lemelin, in press).
Tourism, it is hoped, will help to diversify a community’s economic base,
thereby providing some insulation from the peaks and troughs that are typical
of resource-based economies. Tourism is also embraced for its promises of
somewhat more stable employment opportunities, an important consideration
when traditional hinterland industries such as forestry and mining are
becoming capital-intensive, rather than labour-intensive. Tourism has been
heralded since the early 1980s as the last hope for community stability or the
best hope for continuing prosperity in northern Ontario. However, as shown
in the Temagami area of north-eastern Ontario, enthusiasm for tourism, and
especially for its non-consumptive varieties, is not universally shared across
the north (Hodgins and Benidickson, 1989).
Tourism in northern Ontario remains problematic. Fishing and hunting
continue to attract both tourists and residents; however, remote tourism
operations are often resented by local people who feel that tourists get special
access. Snowmobiling has increased with the establishment of longdistance
trails. Ecotourism activities (e.g. canoeing, kayaking) are increasing
as northern Ontario becomes more recognized as an ecotourism region
(Twynam and Robinson, 1997; Johnston and Payne, 2005). Wilderness areas,
especially those in parks, continue to attract tourists who have interests in
non-consumptive activities. The coastal hiking trail in Pukaskwa National
Park, for example, provides wilderness tourism opportunities not available
in more developed parts of northern Ontario.
Lake Superior itself is the key defining feature of this region. It is recognized
as the world’s largest lake. Management of the lake, shared between the
USA and Canada, has been facilitated by the creation in 1991 of the Lake
Superior Bi-National Program. Under the Bi-National Program, Lake
Superior’s unique position in the Great Lakes watershed and its water quality
are considered in combination under the intention to demonstrate good management
practices on the lake. The Bi-National Program’s brochure explains:
Lake Superior is unique, a vast resource of fresh water that has not experienced the
same levels of development, urbanization and pollution as the other Great Lakes.
Because of this uniqueness, the International Joint Commissionrecommended
that Lake Superior be designated as a demonstration area where discharges and
emissions of toxic substances that are long-lived in the environment and build up
in the bodies of humans and wildlife, would not be permitted.
(Lake Superior Bi-National Program, 1998)
Since the Program’s beginnings, considerable progress has been recorded in
documenting pollution sources and in developing controls. Implementation