4 days ago
Northern Manitoba walking tours of ancient Inuit hunting camp not authorized, province says
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The Manitoba government says it has determined walking tours of an ancient Inuit hunting camp are not authorized, following concerns raised last year — after a tourism operator advertised visits to the site — that tourists' presence there could damage an important cultural and historical site, and the animal habitats around it.
Lazy Bear Expeditions in Churchill, Man., previously promoted its Hudson Bay Wilderness Outpost Adventure as "five days based in a remote, sub-Arctic outpost" searching for polar bears and other wildlife, along with visiting nearby coves, estuaries and other coastal points of interest by boat.
However, the trip — which was advertised on Lazy Bear's website at $16,800 per person — caught the attention of more than just tourists, prompting conservation and hunting groups to voice concerns to the province about the potential the overnights visit could disrupt the areas involved.
The company described the trip on its website as a "life-changing" adventure, with access to Arctic animals in an "awe-inspiring northern wilderness largely untouched by human existence" and visits to what it called "the Hudson Bay version of Stonehenge — ancient Inuit building remains and hunting grounds thousands of years old."
The tour appeared to offer to bring people to stay in a houseboat-like vessel, or "outpost," which Lazy Bear's website said was moored at Hubbart Point.
That site — roughly 70 kilometres north of Churchill — is home to artifacts including meat caches, tent rings and graves, said Christopher Debicki, vice-president of policy development for the conservation group Oceans North, which wrote to the province last year raising concerns about the tours.
Carbon dating has determined the camp (also known as Qikiqtaarjuit and Hubbard Point) has been in use going back at least 1,000 years, Debicki previously said, adding he was also concerned about the potential for tourists staying in the area to disrupt the nearby Seal River estuary in the Seal River watershed.
Last year, then natural resources minister Jamie Moses said the province was investigating "resource tourism activities potentially occurring in non-permitted areas" in the region north of Churchill.
In a recent statement, the province said its review "determined that walking tours at Hubbart Point are not authorized, and we acted immediately by informing all operators that land-based ecotourism activities were not authorized at Hubbart Point."
"When concerns regarding operators offering walking tours at Hubbart Point first came to our attention, our government took the issue very seriously," said the statement, which was attributed to a spokesperson for current Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie.
The statement said limitations on operators were noted on their 2025-26 renewals, and operators were "informed that any future proposals involving sensitive areas would require enhanced review and consultation with Heritage Resources Branch."
Tours not currently offered in area: operator
The statement said the province is also exploring options for increased monitoring at the location, "and we remain committed to supporting sustainable tourism practices, protecting culturally and ecologically sensitive areas, and collaborating with Indigenous communities and stakeholders to ensure respectful and responsible tourism development."
An emailed statement from Lazy Bear Expeditions this week said the mainland area around Hubbart Point does contain sacred sites, "and we have always been very careful to respect those areas."
"That being said, we are not currently offering tours in that area," the statement said.
Tour touting Hudson Bay 'Stonehenge' site disregards cultural importance, critics say
1 year ago
A northern Manitoba tour advertising a trip to an ancient Inuit hunting camp is raising concerns that tourists' presence there could damage an irreplaceable cultural and historical site.
The company is owned by Wally Daudrich, who earlier this year lost a leadership race for Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party to Fort Whyte MLA Obby Khan.
Lazy Bear's statement said the operator has "many Indigenous partners working with us, and we operate in a major Indigenous area, so we have always been sensitive to respect Indigenous culture and beliefs."
It said it also offers offshore tours on a nearby island "in partnership with an Inuit organization, and we have never had any concerns raised to us regarding sacred sites on the island."
Oceans North's Debicki said this week he's thankful for the update about Hubbart Point and applauds the government's steps toward protecting the site.
"It was never our wish that visitors be permanently denied access to this spectacular site," he said. "But our concern … was that the access was completely unregulated and potentially damaging."
Debicki added he hopes to see a management plan involving Manitoba communities and Inuit to figure out a way people can experience the site "in a way that's culturally respectful" and that protects its heritage.
