The Planning and Development Advisory Committee (PDAC) for Parks Canada heard speakers from the community opposed to a Tim Hortons in Jasper at their meeting on April 21.

The committee, made up of Herb Robinson, chair, John Ogilvy, Scott Wilson, Sandra Coombe and Angela Lemire, also gave proponents Grant Mihalcheon, project manager, planning for the TDL Group Corp. and Lyle Hryniuk, owner/operator of Tim Hortons in Hinton, a chance to address the public’s concerns. They are applying to run their establishment at the former McDonald’s location.

The PDAC is a public advisory committee that is appointed by Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper to advise the park superintendent on planning and development issues in Jasper National Park, where regulations and policies permit the superintendent to exercise discretionary decision making authority.

“The will of this committee is to provide advice to Parks Canada on development and planning related matters and development permit applications,” said Robinson. 

The committee hears presentations from each proponent in a public meeting and then creates recommendations in camera  (in private) after the meeting is adjourned. A final list of recommendations is to be handed in within seven days of the meeting.

Mihalcheon began by outlining the desires of the company, which intends to reduce the seating in the existing building and keep the exterior in its original state. He also addressed concerns about the environmental, social and cultural aspects in the community.

“We are going into an existing building, so we’re reducing our environmental footprint,” said Mihalcheon. “We are in a central location where people can walk to the site, and we will not have a drive-through at this location.”

From an internal point of view, to reduce the environmental footprint and minimize the garbage generated, Mihalcheon said the restaurant would provide dining customers with the use of china as well as silverware.

“We also offer a 10 cent discount on any person using a travel mug so they don’t have to use our cup,” he said.

Mihalcheon said the company would also utilize the recycling program that the town has in place, including composting coffee grounds, napkins and teabags. 

“We are also going to continue working toward getting our cups accepted into the recycling program,” he said.

Mihalcheon said Tim Hortons participates in litter awareness programs throughout the country, through advertising, internally within the restaurants with LCD monitors, and even the cups have a note on them trying to encourage guests to be environmentally conscious and responsible.

Mihalcheon went on to describe the many programs Tim Hortons participates in and how they can contribute to the cultural aspects of a community.

“There are a lot of ways that the company does give back and our local owners give back into the community,” he said.

From an economic benefit perspective, as of January, Mihalcheon said there would be 25 to 30 job positions in the community. 

“The restaurant will be run not by the corporation, but a local owner,” he added.

Hryniuk addressed local issues, stating that he and his wife live and work in Hinton, but have been coming to Jasper and enjoying the community for close to 21 years. Over the five or six years they have been in Hinton, the couple have developed a passion for the brand they represent.

Hryniuk highlighted the amount of Jasper customers he has in Hinton and how many have asked when a Tim Hortons would be available here.

Hryniuk referred to the many programs the Hinton store supports in that community, including all of the schools, minor sports and other youth sports, the Brule Rodeo, the Hinton Toy Run, Habitat for Humanity, youth outreach programs and the Stars Ambulance service – to name just a few. In fact, the Hinton and Edson stores support over 50 community programs between the two, and numerous other local businesses and organizations receive donated product and merchandise for their special events.

“We also have a community clean-up in Hinton regularly and throughout the years we have found this to be something that our staff and our customers look forward to and make it an annual event,” he said.

Regarding the prospect of Tim Hortons cups littering the streets, Hryniuk said, “I can tell you that nobody is more frustrated by a Tim Hortons cup on the side of the road than my wife and I. It really does drive us crazy.”

Following the presentation, PDAC members heard from nine people who opposed the proponent’s request, including four letters and five local speakers. Robinson proceeded to read the four letters opposed to the application to which the proponent had the opportunity to respond. Then, it was time to hear from the local speakers. There were five speakers, Kim Stark, Kim Wallace, Art Jackson, Ginette Marcoux-Frigon and Su Young-Leslie, who are all opposed to the application. 

Robinson reminded the public that presentations to the committee are limited to planning and development related matters. He referred to the mandate of PDAC, wherein the personal character of the applicant, or commercial competition, are not valid arguments. The committee evaluates each application on its own merit. 

Stark, owner of the Bear’s Paw and Other Paw bakeries, spoke first, mainly addressing the issue of Jasper’s uniqueness and the importance of protecting the cultural heritage of the community as mandated by Parks Canada.

“The goal of Parks Canada agencies is to assist the Government of Canada to protect, as the first priority, the national and cultural heritage of our special places,” said Stark. 

She went on to discuss Jasper as a special place, highlighting the many parts of the park’s natural landscape.

“We are different than other mountain towns, but how? We are not overrun by franchises,” said Stark. “This is something that makes us original and makes us unique.”

Stark suggested that it is Jasper’s residents’ desire to remain unique and ‘wonderful by nature’ that makes up the culture, and that therefore, Parks Canada has a duty to protect that. She added that just because big businesses have been allowed into the community in the past, does not mean they should be now.

“We’re human, we make mistakes, but we should learn from the past,” said Stark.

Mihalcheon said that there seemed to be a concern that the cultural heritage would not be respected by such a large company.

“But Lyle [Hryniuk] is a local resident, and would have the same concerns that the rest of Jasper would have,” he said.

Wallace questioned whether a company such as Tim Hortons could name the three pillars of the Parks Canada Mandate; protecting ecological integrity, facilitating memorable visitor experiences and providing public education. She asked how Tim Hortons would fit in to the three pillars. Wallace said it was integral that Tim Hortons honour the national park context while conducting their business, and asked how Tim Hortons would support authentic, high quality visitor experiences.

“I also want to know what environmental certifications Tim Hortons has and what environmental certifications would you be prepared, in a national park in a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to offer to your staff,” said Wallace. She also asked how Tim Hortons would foster an appreciation and understanding of the nature, history and culture of Jasper National Park.

“I heard you earlier say that you have a passion for business,” said Wallace to Hryniuk. “That’s fantastic, but I hope that anybody that has a business in a national park has a passion for the national park.”

Hryniuk  replied that he was passionate not only about the brand he represented, but for the local area.

“That is where my passion lies,” he said. “In the brand and in being part of the community, and part of that local feel.”

Mihalcheon, in answer to some of Wallace’s questions, touched again on the environmental issues he had talked about earlier in the meeting. Regarding actual certifications, he said he would have to do some fact checking and get back to Wallace as he did not have specific information on certifications. He did say that there were certain guidelines the company followed regarding the Tim Hortons cups, for an example.

Addressing training with regards to the heritage site,  Mihalcheon said employees would be required to take the Discover Jasper orientation session offered for employees in Jasper.

He again reiterated ways that the company would adhere to the three pillars, indicating that the restaurant would definitely promote the park in their day-to-day business, take measures to protect ecological integrity and provide public education while providing the customer a great experience.

Marcoux-Frigon, executive director for the Adult Learning Council, said that there were already enough businesses in the community that provide basically the same services that a Tim Hortons would bring. 

“While you may argue that Tim Hortons will create employment opportunities in our community, really you just have to look at Tim Hortons’ hiring record, and we should probably address that you probably hire 70 per cent foreign workers. So, it’s not like you are going to be bringing employment to our community, you’d be bringing more people that would be more competition,” said Marcoux-Frigon.

Referring to the former McDonald’s at the same location, Marcoux-Frigon said that the whole downtown smelled like french fries and she fears that Tim Hortons will do the same, but with the smell of doughnuts. 

Marcoux-Frigon then addressed Hryniuk and the use of the word “local”.

“In Jasper, using the local word is very dangerous because you actually have to be really local to use it. And even people in the community that have been here for five or six years, they are residents and not really locals. So that should be important – that you are not really a local, because you are from Hinton.”

Mihalcheon addressed the comment by saying that when referring to the word local, the word was being used in the local versus corporate context.

“This is not a corporately run business. This is a locally run business. That was the intent, describing that the business is run by the owner of the restaurant, not owned by Tim Hortons.”

He went on to say that Tim Hortons bakes their product, so he did not foresee a problem with the smell in the community.

Su Young-Leslie said that Jasper is already able to meet the demand for light meals and take-away coffee and does not have a void that requires filling.

“I feel adding this franchise with it’s hugely recognized shingle hanging over its doors would do two things: one – it would take business away from and threaten the livelihood of our unique small town lunch spots. These businesses need more than their loyal local following to stay in business. Two – with the ‘same as every other location’ menu, this franchise will have us wallowing in stagnant, lunchtime redundancy. I do not see how a need for this business’ services can be demonstrated in order to receive a license.”

She finished by stating that if a large chain is allowed to compete directly with the places that Jasper visitors seek and that locals love, it will imperil the community’s market niche “and therefore imperil the sustainability of our town.”

A debate began and after indulging for a few minutes, Robinson reminded everyone of the process and the mandate of the committee. He adjourned the public meeting and the committee was left to make their recommendations in camera. The final decision will be made by Parks Canada.