Harper Government announces new investments in Parks Canada sites in Yukon

News Release

Whitehorse, YK - July 27, 2015 – Office of the Minister of the Environment, Parks Canada

Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon, on behalf of the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, today announced infrastructure investments totalling over $13 million in several Parks Canada sites across Yukon.

This major investment will support the upgrading of a number of our national treasures including: rehabilitation work at St. Andrews Church in Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site; stabilizing of the bow at the Dredge 4 National Historic Site; and, improvements on the building headquarters of Kluane National Park and Reserve.

These projects are the result of an unprecedented investment by the Harper Government to support infrastructure work in our national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas. This investment represents the largest federal infrastructure plan in the 104-year history of Parks Canada, ensuring these cherished places are protected and secured for the future while also creating and protecting jobs and opportunities.

Quick Facts

The Chilkoot Trail was designated a national historic site because of the role it played in the mass movement of people to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. It protects the historic gateway to the Yukon once trod by Tlingit First Nation traders and Klondike Gold Rush stampeders.
Dredge No. 4 was built during the summer and winter of 1912 for the Canadian Klondike Mining Company on Claim 112 Below Discovery on Bonanza Creek. It commenced operations in May of 1913, and dug its way upstream in the Klondike Valley into what was known as the "Boyle Concession," sinking there in 1924. In 1927, it was refloated and continued to operate from the Klondike Valley to Hunker Creek. The ground at the mouth of Hunker Creek was so rich the dredge produced as much as 800 ounces of gold in a single day on Claim 67 Below.
Kluane National Park and Reserve protects and presents a nationally significant example of Canada's North Coast Mountains and their associated regional cultural heritage. Parks Canada's goal is fostering public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of Kluane National Park and Reserve, while ensuring ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations.
Yukon’s national parks and national historic sites welcome more than 75,000 visitors every year. Last year, more than 21 million visits were made to Canada’s national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas.
Parks Canada is present in hundreds of communities across Canada and contributes approximately $3 billion dollars to the Canadian economy every year. Parks Canada’s overall contribution to the Canadian economy is responsible for more than 40,000 jobs from coast to coast to coast.
Parks Canada has extended its operating season at the Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site by three weeks following the Labour Day weekend and the 2015 operating season in Kluane National Park and Reserve until September 20.

Quote

“Our government is creating jobs and economic growth through essential infrastructure investments at our iconic national historic sites. These investments in Yukon’s treasured protected spaces are a way of preserving our heritage while promoting the economy with investments that focus on local job creation.”
-Ryan Leef, Member of Parliament for Yukon

Additional links

National Conservation Plan
Parks Canada: www.parkscanada.gc.ca

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Media contacts

Jonathan Lefebvre
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819-997-1441

Lily Gontard
A/External Relations Manager
867-667-3967
Lily.Gontard@pc.gc.ca

Media Relations
Parks Canada
1-855-862-1812
www.twitter.com/parkscanada

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Harper Government announces new investments in Parks Canada sites in Yukon

News Release

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