Banff-Airdrie federal opposition candidates say they would limit commercial development in treasured national parks, or put stricter environmental regulations in place in the wake of a new report from a national conservation group that says national parks are in crisis.
The report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) says ongoing commercial development in national parks, including Banff and Jasper, is putting ecological integrity at risk and threatens wildlife like grizzly bears.
“We’ve been seeing a growing trend of private commercial development over the past several years,” said Anne-Marie Syslak, executive director of CPAWS’ southern Alberta chapter.
“There’s a crisis in our national parks and we’re calling on all federal politicians to stop commercial development in national parks.”
In the last few years, Parks Canada has approved several controversial developments, including Brewster’s Glacier Skywalk, which took a public viewpoint on the Icefields Parkway and turned it into a private pay-for-use attraction.
There is also a plan for commercial tent cabin accommodation at Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park.
In Banff, Parks Canada opened up summer use at Mount Norquay ski area, including a via ferrata operation, and more recently, gave the green light to guidelines for future expansion at the Lake Louise ski resort.
The ski area guidelines would allow the ski resort to almost double its capacity and infrastructure, build more ski runs, lifts, parking, a new lodge and water reservoirs, and expand into regulated wilderness areas. It is handing back land in a wildlife corridor.
Parks Canada also has a mandate to increase visitation by two per cent a year, but last year saw a 10 per cent jump to 3.3 million visitors. By all accounts, this past summer saw record numbers of people.
Blake Richards, the sitting conservative MP for Banff-Airdrie, did not say if he supported or opposed commercial development. The recent commercial development projects have all been approved by Parks Canada while the Conservatives have been in power.
“I believe it is important to ensure that our parks continue to be protected for the enjoyment of current and future generations,” said Richards.
The opposition candidates say deep funding cuts to Parks Canada’s science programs, which started in 2012, are hampering the federal agency’s ability to track the health of park ecosystems and provide the scientific information needed for sound management decisions.
Marlo Raynolds, the Liberal Party candidate for Banff-Airdrie, said tourism is vital for the Bow Valley, but decisions must be guided by ecological integrity.
“We are committed to restricting development inside the national parks, guided by preserving ecological integrity and ensuring that all Canadians have that opportunity for a national park experience,” he said.
Raynolds said he is hearing differing opinions on the expansion of the Lake Louise ski resort, but notes there has been erosion of trust with the federal government because of a short public comment period and approval of the guidelines the day before the election call.
“Our view is we need to have a credible analysis of the ecological benefits and harm of the proposed plan,” he said.
“We would not be issuing the permits until that analysis is completed. It comes back to that route of ensuring national parks are protected and ecological integrity is first and foremost.”
Mike MacDonald, the Green Party’s candidate for this riding, said he is opposed to private commercial development in national parks.
He said the Green Party proposes to restore funding to Parks Canada to ensure science can be conducted in national parks and enforce previous policies that precluded private sector and privatized, for-profit activities in national parks.
“National parks were established to protect areas from this type of development,” said MacDonald. “If we’re going to allow for-profit, private development why would we have parks at all?” he said.
The NDP candidate for Banff-Airdrie, Joanne Boissonneault, said the Stephen Harper government has stripped away environmental regulations, noting the NDP would make sure development is considered on a case-by-case basis.
“We believe that the Harper government has made environmental regulations an after-thought and always acted in favor of development. The NDP wants a balanced approach to ensure our natural areas are protected,” she said.
“What we would do differently is ensure that projects go through a rigorous review and not rubber stamp them.”
The debate over commercial development in national parks is not new. In the 1960s and 70s, and again in the 1990s, conservationists fought hard to stop massive commercial development projects in Banff.
In the late 1990s, the federal government placed limits on commercial development in Banff after a major two-year $2 million study concluded growth in visitor numbers and development was threatening the environment.
“It seems that once every generation private commercial interests gain a foothold in our parks,” said Syslak.
“We, as Canadians, need to stand up for the public good to stop protected places from being degraded.”
The Association for Mountain Parks Protection and Enjoyment (AMPPE) says increasing visitation and development does not mean there are threats to ecological integrity, particularly because of environmental regulations.
“The important thing we need to remember right now is visitor experience in our national parks is better than it’s ever been before, because there are many diverse and rich experiences to offer,” said Casey Peirce, the group’s executive director.
“We have increased visitation beyond anything we’ve ever seen before, so essentially people are voting with their feet. They want to be able to experience these beautiful places with their own viewpoints and want to be able to experience them on their own terms.”
Peirce said Parks Canada already has policies and regulations in place to ensure developments go through strict environmental assessments before they are approved.
“That’s very important to ensure ecological integrity of our wild spaces,” she said.
Peirce said national parks need to maintain facilities and attractions to support the visitor demand.
“I think people worldwide are looking for newer experiences,” she said.
“Tourism is a major industry and we have to be conscious that in order to attract more visitors we have to provide experiences and attractions that are in demand, as long as they are in line with national park values.”
Parks Canada did not provide a spokesperson to comment on the CPAWS report, but an email from media relations spokeswoman Christina Tricomi said Parks Canada strict development limits ensure the protection of ecological integrity in the mountain parks.
“Parks Canada has a rigorous development review and environmental assessment process that ensures all development proposals comply with these limits and that the parks’ ecological integrity is maintained,” she said.
CPAWS remains deeply concerned about mounting development pressures, including the effects on wildlife now and into the future.
There are an estimated 60 grizzly bears in Banff National Park. These grizzly bears have the lowest reproductive rate of any population in North America, making them particularly vulnerable. They are considered a threatened species in Alberta.
Syslak said with bears dying each year on the railway and highway that run through Banff National, ensuring that the rest of the bears’ habitat remains secure is of the utmost importance.
“We’re seeing incremental threats to wildlife. People come here because they know grizzly bears are here, and they don’t exist in a lot of places where used to,” said Syslak.
“A lot of science isn’t there to justify these developments are not going to be harmful to these important wildlife and not affect them down the road.”
CPAWS and the Jasper Environmental Association, represented by Ecojustice, are taking Parks Canada to court in October to fight a development proposal for commercial tent cabin accommodation for Maligne Lake in Jasper.
Syslak could not comment on whether similar legal action is being considered over approval of the Lake Louise ski area guidelines.
“We’re always looking at different tactics,” she said. “But I’m not able to comment on anything like that at this current time.”
