OTTAWA, ON -- Parks Canada is considering a proposal from Brewster Travel Canada to redevelop a roadside viewpoint into a commercially operated interpretive trail and viewing platform along the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park.
The Brewster Travel Canada proposal for the Glacier Discovery Walk meets a vision for the Icefields Parkway to provide visitors with quality experiences and learning opportunities that allow them to connect with their surroundings and gain insights into the area’s ecological and cultural heritage. This vision, developed by Parks Canada and a broad range of stakeholders, including environmental, tourism and First Nation representatives, was subject to public consultation and approved in the 2010 management plans for both Banff and Jasper National Parks.
Parks Canada agreed to consider the proposal subject to public consultation and the completion of an environmental assessment. The draft environmental assessment prepared by Brewster is available at Glacier Discovery Walk website at: www.glacierdiscoverywalk.ca/downloads.html
Parks Canada expects to take a decision regarding the environmental assessment and proposal by late January, 2012. A notice of decision will be posted on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry at www.ceaa.gc.ca. Parks Canada will report back on public feedback and how it was taken into account in the decision making process.
Parks Canada strongly values public input in our decision making. We want to ensure Canadians are working with facts -- not inaccurate information.
Fiction: “Privatizing Jasper National Park will set a dangerous precedent to construct other thrill-based World Heritage Sites across Canada”
Fact: All lands in Jasper National Park remain under the ownership of the people of Canada, through Parks Canada, as enshrined in law through the Canadian National Parks Act. For more than a century, Parks Canada has been working with a range of partners to offer memorable visitor experiences while respecting the ecological and cultural integrity of the national parks and World Heritage Site in which it exists.
Fiction: “The plan would not only spur development but would give an American company the right to charge each of us for entry into Jasper park.”
Fact: Brewster Travel Canada, as with any other business organization, does not control entry into Jasper National Park – that is the sole and exclusive responsibility of Parks Canada. Visitors to national parks have the option to access services from business providers, and have been doing so for 126 years.
Fiction: “Private international companies should not be profiteering off our national treasures.”
Fact: Like most national parks worldwide, protected areas provide economic benefits to local communities and businesses while ensuring that these special places are protected for future generations. Brewster Travel Canada started operating in Banff National Park in 1892, welcomes more than 1.5 million tourists annually, and employs 300 annually. The head office is located in Banff, with satellite offices in Lake Louise, Jasper and Calgary.
The bottom line:
Our national parks represent the very best that Canada has to offer. They are the destinations of choice for millions of Canadians and visitors from around the world, and represent a protected area roughly the size of Germany.
In 2011, Parks Canada received the World Wildlife Fund International’s Gift to the Earth award, its highest accolade for conservation work of outstanding global merit. More recently, the Royal Canadian Geographic Society presented a Gold Medal to Parks Canada, the Dehcho First Nations and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society for the expansion of Nahanni National Park Reserve.
National parks are protected for – not from – Canadians. They are places all Canadians should be proud to visit. And they will continue to be a legacy truly worth celebrating.
Information:
For more information about Jasper National Park, and for copies of the Jasper National Park Management Plan, check out www.pc.gc.ca
