Former Manitoba PC leadership candidate loses appeal of polar bear ecotourism permit cut

A Churchill ecotourism business has lost its appeal to keep its polar bear viewing vehicle permits this year.

In February, the provincial Wildlife Branch informed Wally Daudrich that it was rescinding licences for his company, Lazy Bear Expeditions, to operate two tundra vehicles on the coastal plains of the Churchill Wildlife Management Area, where polar bears gather in large numbers each fall before the ice freezes up on Hudson Bay.

The Wildlife Branch told Daudrich — a former candidate for leader of Manitoba's Progressive Conservative Party — that the continuing decline in the number of polar bears on the western side of Hudson Bay, based on a 2021 aerial survey, was the reason for the decision.

The branch said the province was reducing the number of vehicles allowed to traverse the tundra in the management area from 20 to 18. That was the number of vehicles permitted to carry tourists to see polar bears prior to 2020, when the provincial government granted two vehicle allocations to Lazy Bear.

Last March, Daudrich asked the Manitoba Court of King's Bench to review the Wildlife Branch's decision, declare it invalid and restore his permits for two vehicles. Daudrich also asked the court to declare the decision was unreasonable and made in bad faith.

A judge dismissed Daudrich's motion for an injunction in April. In a decision dated June 9, the three justices of the Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed Daudrich's appeal of the April decision.

"What Lazy Bear is actually seeking is not an injunction prohibiting the minister from acting," the decision says. "Rather, it is an injunction requiring the minister to act — to issue a new permit when an earlier permit expired — something the minister is not obligated to do."

The Wildlife Branch inaccurately told Daudrich that it was "rescinding" Lazy Bear's vehicle licences, but its intention was to let Daudrich know that his business would not receive a permit in the 2025-26 season, the appeal court's decision says.

Established precedent has proven there's no automatic right to licence or permit renewals, the appeal court decision says.

The judge who heard Daudrich's injunction motion also said Daudrich did not prove that he'd suffered irreparable harm without the vehicle licences that couldn't be recovered as damages from the province if his lawsuit were successful, according to the appeal court decision.

"We are, of course, disappointed with the decision," Daudrich said Tuesday. "At the end of the day, it is a decision that not only hurts my company but the community of Churchill. Both Lazy Bear and Churchill have faced difficult times before, and we will all do our best to carry on."

A provincial spokesperson said they could not comment on a matter before the courts.