Sustainability plan turns to tourism sector 

The Jasper Community Sustainability Plan (JCSP) is still rolling along, with it’s latest consultation - this time with experts, including the Deputy Minister for Tourism Bill Werry, from their fields from throughout the province - taking place during the last two weeks. 

Werry was joined by several tourism sector stakeholders during a consultation meeting at the Jasper Inn on Friday, May 15. Mayor Richard Ireland and several councillors met with Parks Canada representatives Andrew Campbell, Greg Fenton and Pam Clark, as well as Paul Hardy of Sun Dog Tours, Andrew Whittick of Brewster Transportation, David Bayne of Travel Alberta, John Day and Doug Goss of Marmot Basin Ski Hill and Richard Leavens of AMPEE. The meeting was closed to the public.

“It’s a different process that will feed into the plan,” said Ron Hooper, chair of the JCSP working group.

“They’re being asked to be there as a person who has expertise,” he added.

The latest consultation was just one more way the plan has tried to use a range of technics to draw on information and expertise for the plan.

The consultation was held behind closed doors.

“It’s not changing anything that the community has already said, it’s going through it and saying: ‘Is there something from your technical and professional experience missing here that we ought to consider?’” said Hooper.

Verne Balding, director of corporate and legislative services, reported on the progress of the plan during the May 19 Council meeting and said these “peer reviews” were about finding what was missing from the plan.

Hooper and Balding both pointed out that these reviews and consultations could not take away from the information the public had provided but instead they would add to the comments that already had put forward.

Balding said he hopes to consolidate the information and have a sense of what was suggested by the end of the month.

The JCSP is still heading on track to be ready, in draft format, for community assessment in September.

For community members looking to see what information has been collected so far, the information has been released on the website as well for the community engagement Phases 1 and 2.