Ask those who know, and they’ll tell you that it’s a problem. Jasper needs more housing, and more specifically, it needs housing that can be rented at rates affordable to staff that work on the front lines of the tourist industry. The status quo, to hear property managers, HR staffers and town officials tell it, is not sustainable.

If only the solution was as clear cut as the problem seemingly is. Jasperites have come to expect and live with the regulatory restrictions that come along with living in a national park. In many respects, it’s a good thing that development of all kinds is controlled through a strict series of applications, assessments and similar processes.

What’s maddening, however, is when well-meaning local officials can’t do the work that they need to on behalf of this community. The affordable housing proposal set forth by the municipality is a good example of what happens when good intentions meet bad bureaucracy.

In late November, the municipality sent a plan for afforable housing to the national offices of Parks Canada. While this was just the first step on what was assumed to be a lengthy journey towards an agreement, it was good to see our locally elected officials moving forward. Given that any release fee for land involved in the proposal would have to be approved by the Treasury Board, it would have been foolish to assume that a decision would have been possible before the general election was called. Still, perhaps the proposal could have been among the many orders of business to be dealt with once the dust had settled and the new government had been sworn in. Sadly, that’s not to be.

Instead, the proposal has found its way back to Jasper, where it will be discussed and potentially amended through a process involving the municipality and local Parks Canada officials. Once this has happened, the document will return to Parks Canada HQ in Gatineau and finally, one hopes, be brought before the federal 

Treasury Board. When the initial proposal was submitted, this newspaper made a joking reference to “the murky waters of federal bureaucracy”. Looking back, it seems that characterization was rather apt. 

What logic is there in suggesting to the Municipality of Jasper that their proposal should be sent to the CEO of Parks Canada, only to return several months later? At a local level, at least, there seems to be a good understanding from Parks that affordable housing is an area of concern and focus should be devoted to potential solutions. Does the indentification of this as a priority travel up the chain of command to the agency bosses in Central Canada? If it hasn’t, then why not?

Municipal councillors are accountable to their constituents, and they have been doing their best to pursue solutions to the housing crunch. Out of respect for their efforts, and out of understanding to the increasingly difficult housing situation in Jasper, the unelected bureaucrats at Parks Canada should ensure that the process for afforable housing is not further plagued with unnecessary delays and doubling back.