Second choice for kids' camp

The Tim Horton Children's Foundation is getting a second crack at building a camp for underprivileged children in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

The proposed camp would be open by 2012 on land on the opposite side of the Winnipeg River from Pinawa if it passes the necessary environmental hurdles and public consultations.

The foundation's first shot at building a camp at Meditation Lake was abandoned last year after water tests validated concerns from environmental groups that the small lake could not support the camp's development.

Pinawa Mayor Blair Skinner said the $10-million camp -- Pinawa officials learned of it Tuesday night -- has the town's blessing.

"It would be fantastic to have in this area," Skinner said. "It would be a significant addition to the area, and a positive one, too."

Skinner said town officials support the project, to be located on the Sylvia Lake portion of the river, because it would give more children a summer camp experience and it would be an economic boon to the area.

The annual operating cost for the camp would be about $2 million with some of that going towards local goods and services, Skinner said.

But environmentalists say the camp's proposed site highlights what's wrong with how the province plans developments in its parks.

Ron Thiessen of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Eric Reder of the Wilderness Committee insist they don't oppose the camp -- what they are against is the "random" process of how the site was picked by Manitoba Conservation. They argue the province does not have a proper management plan for Whiteshell Provincial Park.

"How are Manitobans supposed to know how our parks are being managed?" Reder asked. "Parks are there to preserve something."

Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said the site fits into what the park is supposed to be -- something for everyone. "The initial feelings about this are good," Blaikie said.

Tim Horton Children's Foundation spokesman Dave Newnham said what the public thinks of the proposed site will be addressed at two open houses: Feb. 16 at Pinewood Lodge in Dorothy Lake from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Feb. 17 in Winnipeg at Canad Inns Polo Park from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"This camp has a lot of pluses," Newnham said. "It's on the fringe of a phenomenal wilderness setting."

The year-round camp would include facilities to host up to 260 children and would be "environmentally friendly," according to the Tim Horton Children's Foundation.