Tourism company launches new legal challenge over tundra-vehicle permits, alleges ‘bias’ by province

Wally Daudrich's tourism company, Lazy Bear Lodge Ltd., previously operated two tundra vehicles off-road in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area. A male polar bear is pictured walking along the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Man., on Aug. 23, 2010. (THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Sean Kilpatrick)

A company owned by former Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Wally Daudrich has launched new legal action against the Manitoba government, alleging the province didn’t follow a judge’s decision to fairly reconsider its polar bear tundra-vehicle tour permits.

A notice of application filed Tuesday in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench seeks to allow the company to put its tundra vehicles back on and off the roads in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area in northern Manitoba.

The application asks the court to declare that Daudrich and his company Lazy Bear Lodge Ltd. have the right to four off-road tundra-vehicle wildlife-viewing permits, as well as four permits for operation on built-up roads in the management area.

The filing also seeks a declaration that the province “failed to comply with the decision and direction” issued by a Court of King’s Bench judge in January.

The government of Manitoba, the minister of natural resources and Indigenous futures, and the director of the wildlife branch are named as respondents.

According to a Court of King’s Bench decision issued earlier this year, the number of off-road vehicle permits in the Churchill Wildlife Management Area was capped at 18 in 1984.

After several years of applications, Lazy Bear was issued a permit in 2020 to operate two tundra vehicles in the off-road areas of Zone 2 — where most polar bear sightings occur — bringing the total number of permits to 20.

The company says it has since spent millions of dollars on tundra vehicles, related infrastructure and marketing in reliance on that allocation, according to the notice of application.

However, the province informed Lazy Bear on Feb. 27, 2025, that it was rescinding the permit. The decision noted the move was intended to align with Manitoba’s conservation priorities for polar bears and the protection of the sensitive tundra ecosystem.

The 18 remaining permits stayed with rival tour operator Great White Bear Tours Inc. and Frontiers North Adventures Inc.

Daudrich challenged that decision in court, and on Jan. 9, Justice Shawn Greenberg ruled the province’s decision was “based on an improper purpose and not on the objectives of the legislation.”

“The record does not support ‘a rational chain of analysis’ for concluding that polar bear conservation required reducing the number of permitted tundra vehicles from 20 to 18,” Greenberg’s decision reads.

“Nor is there any chain of analysis to explain why the reduction should be affected by rescinding the permit issued to Lazy Bear,” it continues, noting that an advisory justified the move on the basis that Lazy Bear was the most recent addition to the permit allocation — “that is to say, ‘last in, first out.’”

The matter was remitted to the province for reconsideration, a decision the province appealed in March 2026.

Daudrich told CTV News he viewed the court decision as a victory, claiming “the government is just being stubborn.”

In the notice of application, Daudrich alleges the province delayed its reconsideration for roughly five months, disregarding requests to expedite the process, and maintained the number of permits at 18 in a decision issued June 3.

The application seeks to have that June decision declared “unlawful, null and void, invalid and/or of no force or effect.”

It also alleges Daudrich was never given the chance to make written submissions before the province’s reconsideration decision, which he says fell short of the “fair and transparent” allocation process Greenberg called for in her January ruling.

“The decisions and province’s egregious delays were based on ulterior or improper purposes, bias, and bad faith and constitute a misuse or abuse of authority,” a portion of the notice of application reads.

In her January decision, Greenberg said she did not find the extrinsic evidence supported the allegation of bad faith, adding it “does not show a deliberate intent to harm Lazy Bear.”

The notice of application adds that Lazy Bear filed its application in February for permit renewals, requesting four off-road permits and four built-up-road permits. The province has yet to issue a decision on those permits, it notes.

“Accordingly, Lazy Bear is without authorization to operate tundra vehicles anywhere in the (Churchill Wildlife Management Area),” it reads.

A notice of motion was also filed the same day, asking the court to prevent the province from enforcing a condition barring Lazy Bear from providing tundra-vehicle tours on the Churchill Wildlife Management Area’s roads.

Daudrich, a longtime Progressive Conservative Party member, ran for the PC leadership in 2025, narrowly losing with 49.6 per cent of the points despite winning the popular vote. He has since joined the Keystone Party.

A provincial spokesperson declined to comment on the legal action, citing it is before the courts.

None of the claims in Daudrich’s latest filing have been tested in court.