Last year, to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, a record breaking 27 million Canadians took advantage of our free national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas, sharing experiences they will never forget with family and friends.

From the crashing waves of the Pacific to the icy shores of the Arctic to the craggy bluffs of the Atlantic—I’ve seen, again and again, how history and nature intertwine to form the rich tapestry that is Canada. And I’ve also seen how Canadians and people from around the world are yearning to connect with our land and culture.

Over the past two years, I’ve also had the privilege to visit many of these places myself—and I want all Canadians to have similar experiences. I’ve taken the Parks Bus from downtown Toronto to Canada’s first national urban park, Rouge, which is only an hour’s commute from 7 million Canadians, and is nestled among rivers, lakes and farmland. I’ve scuba dived at Fathom Five National Marine Park, in view of stunning stone pillars and windswept cedar trees; and I’ve boarded the HMCS Haida, a legendary Canadian naval ship now moored in Hamilton.

We want to improve and strengthen our parks places today, and for future generations. That’s why in 2017 we held the largest Minister’s Round Table ever conducted in our history. Thousands of Canadians voiced their opinions on the future of Parks Canada—through outreach events, online discussions, and workshops—and we heard them loud and clear: Canadians are proud of, and want to continue to protect, Parks Canada places.

From the feedback we heard during this historic engagement, I am putting forward three priorities for Parks Canada:

1. To Protect and Restore our national parks and historic sites through focussed investments, working with Indigenous peoples, working with provinces and territories, and ensuring ecological integrity is the first priority in decision making.

2. Enable people to further Discover and Connect with our parks and heritage through innovative ideas that help share these special places with Canadians.

3. Sustain for generations to come the incredible value—both ecological and economic—that our parks and historic sites provide for communities. The value they bring to fighting climate change, protecting species at risk, and shaping our Canadian identity and jobs and economic opportunity for local communities.

When we discover and connect with our natural and historic places, we better understand the value and importance of protecting them. Of course, it is our children and grandchildren who will take over the protection and maintenance of our lakes, rivers, and forests; and that’s why we recently announced that, going forward, our parks will be free for kids 17 and under. As they are the stewards of the future, we want them to have a strong appreciation of our natural world.

Canada’s 47 national parks and 171 national historic sites have enormous ecological value, but they are also critical to our tourism industry. They help generate billions of dollars for the economy annually and support roughly 40,000 full-time equivalent jobs across the country. They also contribute some $3.3 billion each year to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP). Parks tourism is important for many local communities, and illustrates how the economy and the environment go together.

This is no more apparent than in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, which I visited with my children—and who, like me, were mesmerized. Nature is abundant there, and it provides for the local Haida people and those living on the islands. One of our guides told me: “When the tide is out, the table is set,” meaning, the surrounding ocean helps to sustain the people—you can forage for crabs, dig for clams, and harvest all kinds of delicious food from the sea. Tourism also provides a major economic boost to the area, where jobs can be found as park guides, Indigenous Guardians, and further upisland, as sport fishing guides.

It’s this type of engagement and inspiration that people travel from all around the world to experience. From our Arctic parks at Torngat Mountains and Sirmilik, to sites like Riel House and Green Gables Heritage Place, to the Rideau Canal in Ottawa—there is a rich legacy of history and nature for people to discover.