Group files court action to overturn Parks Canada ban on motorized watercraft for Clear Lake

An advocacy group for Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park has filed an application for a judicial review of Parks Canada's decision to once again ban motorized watercraft in the battle against zebra mussels.

"This is not a move we take lightly. Our goal is not conflict — it is collaboration," Fairness for Clear Lake, a coalition of cottage owners and businesses around the park in western Manitoba, wrote in a news release on Wednesday.

The group, which filed the application June 16, wants a judge to declare the decision "invalid or unlawful" and order the attorney general of Canada to allow motorized watercraft back onto the lake.

Parks Canada announced in May that it made the "difficult decision" to impose the boating restrictions for a second consecutive summer "to protect the health of Clear Lake."

Under the ban, non-motorized watercraft — including kayaks, canoes and inflatables — can still operate under certain conditions, which include an annual permit, limitations on which bodies of water are used, an inspection and a cleaning protocol.

That decision was made without meaningful consultation, clear evidence or regard for the economic, cultural and community impacts it would have, a news release from Fairness for Clear Lake says.

"While legal action is not our preferred path, there has been no meaningful progress from Parks Canada in engaging stakeholders, providing evidence or working toward a collaborative solution," it says.

"After months of outreach and silence, this became our only viable option to protect the interests of our community."

CBC News has requested comment from Parks Canada but has not yet received a response.

In 2023, after zebra mussel environmental DNA was found in Clear Lake water, Parks Canada instituted a "one boat, one lake" policy for Clear Lake that required a boat to only be used there and on no other body of water. Environmental DNA is genetic material shed by organisms into their environment. Sources include feces, shed skin or carcasses.

Any time a boat was removed from the lake, it had to be tagged and sealed to the trailer. If the tag was tampered with, the boat was not allowed back on the lake.

Fears about the invasive species were realized in November that year, when the first zebra mussels were discovered at Boat Cove, in the south edge of the lake.

The following summer, Parks Canada set up a two-kilometre underwater curtain at Boat Cove in an attempt to contain them.

The effort failed when the curtain dislodged days after installation.

Watercraft were banned for 2024 to protect the lake and prevent any further spread of zebra mussels. Still, hundreds of live juvenile zebra mussels were found in September, attached to docks and other structures near the east end of the lake.

In January 2025, Parks Canada said the full extent of the zebra mussel infestation is yet unknown but acknowledged that eradicating them was no longer feasible — it would require identifying the entire population, then isolating and containing them apart from the rest of the lake.

The federal agency said it would continue to monitor water quality in Clear Lake and determine how to manage things now that zebra mussels are established.

It also said it would implement the "one boat, one lake" policy for 2025.

But in May, it reinstated the full ban "suddenly, and without consultation from the community," the court filing from Fairness for Clear Lake says.

It goes on to say Parks Canada has lost its way, shifting from what used to be a global icon of conservation, community and Canadian identity to an autocratic institution making unilateral decisions.

"This is bigger than Clear Lake. This is about restoring belief in the idea that government can serve the people with integrity. It's about safeguarding not just natural spaces, but the democratic values that shape our country," the release says.

"This application is a stand for local voices, fairness and the future of Clear Lake."