PET project succeeds

A campaign by the Village of Valemount to have a nearby peak named after Pierre Elliot Trudeau has succeeded.

“Twin Peaks” is the local nickname of the peak in the Premier Range soon to carry the former Prime Minister’s name. Visible from the Robson Valley, the mountains in the range soar to heights greater than 3,000 metres. 

During celebrations of Canada’s 60th Anniversary in 1927, the Premier Range was designated as a location where former politicians could put their names on the map, literally.

Mountains in the range are named for figures such as Wilfred Laurier, Mackenzie King and Lester Pearson, and also for lesser-known Prime Ministers like Arthur Meighen and Mackenzie Bowell.

Valemount officials have been lobbying to have Mount Pierre Elliot Trudeau in their backyard since 2002, when an attempt to rename Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak, in his honour fell flat in the face of public opposition.

Not everyone in the small community was in favour of the change. Local opponents took out ads in Valemount newspapers arguing against the attempt to honour the controversial former Liberal leader. 

Now, however, the name change has received the approval of the Trudeau family and the BC government. A dedication ceremony is anticipated sometime in the spring of 2006.

Trudeau, who died in 2000, was Prime Minister from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. He was instrumental in the creation of Canada’s official policy of multiculturalism and worked to create the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Trudeau is less fondly remembered for the introduction of wage and price controls and the creation of the National Energy Policy.

The mountain will not be the only piece of Canada to bear Trudeau’s name.

In 2003, the federal government renamed Montreal’s Dorval Airport the Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport.

JPL employees laid off

The Jasper Park Lodge was not one of the Fairmont properties most affected by a recent round of layoffs across the region, but the resort was not completly spared either.

About five permanent employees were let go by the hotel late last month, according to Lori Grant, public relations manager for Fairmont’s three Rocky Mountain properties.

Senior staff members were also let go at the Banff Springs Hotel and the Chateau Lake Louise in a move that Grant said was decided on at the corporate level.

A downturn in tourist traffic from the United States, due in part to the soaring value of the Canadian dollar, was cited as the reason by Fairmont’s regional vice-president for Alberta.

“Not only are (Americans) travelling domestically more than they’ve ever travelled before, but they’re not travelling to Canada at the rate that we would like to them to,” said David Roberts. 

“It was a major absence of our business in our Canadian hotels this summer, especially our resort hotels in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.”

According to a Stats Canada report issued in October, during the course of this summer the number of Americans travelling into Canada by car and plane dropped to its lowest level since 1979. Analysts blame the decline a number of aggravating factors, including the exchange rate, the high price of gas and American concerns over passport requirements. 

At the Springs, the Director of Golf and a long-time public relations manager were among those let go. Although Grant would not reveal the former positions of the employees recently laid off by the JPL for privacy reasons, she did say that the positions that were eliminated were not as high-profile.

“Layoffs are never a pleasant thing,” said Grant. “It was a last resort.”

Grant’s own job description has changed as a result of the layoffs as she has acquired regional responsibilities in the public relations department.

“We’re always looking to see how we can do business more efficiently,” she said. The JPL continues to have its own sales team and there are no plans for further layoffs in the future, Grant said.

“We (the JPL) are a very efficiently run property.”

files from the Rocky Mountain Outlook

$1.5 million for Miette reno

A winter-long renovation at Miette Hot Springs will see the installation of two small cool pools and an enlargement of the facility’s reception area. The project is expected to cost $1.5 million, according to Ken Fisher of the Canadian Rockies Hot Springs enterprise unit.

As an independent business unit within Parks Canada, the hot springs do not receive government appropriations and all funding for reinvestment and renovation comes from user fees.

The two pools being installed will replace a larger, temporary cold pool that had been in place for the past number of years. The previous pool was operated as a relieving cold plunge from the hot water of the springs, which is 54 degrees at the source and about 39 degrees in the main pools.

“People enjoyed the opportunity for something different,” Fisher said. Visitors will still have the ability to cool down in the new setup, but while one of the two new pools will be maintained for those who prefer a frigid plunge, the other will have more temperate water.

“It will provide some variety,” said Fisher, who added that the two pools are designed to use the same water volume as the large basin they are replacing.

The lobby expansion likewise makes no changes to the facility’s existing footprint, but will provide more space for the visiting public, according to Fisher. This added space will be helpful as the admission process will be altered next year. Visitors will be asked to remove their shoes prior to entering the changing areas.

“We’re looking to make it a lot more comfortable for everybody,” he said.

Extensive work is also being done on the springs’ mechanical systems, which are reaching the end of their life span, Fisher added. The current facility at Miette was built in 1985, replacing the pool complex that had originally been built as a public works project in the late 1930’s. It is the newest of the three hot springs managed by the enterprise unit and there are no further renovations planned for the future, Fisher said, aside from some minor improvements to the on-site cafe.

Construction work will continue into June or perhaps July, and although Miette typically opens its doors for the season in May, Fisher expects no service disruptions.

“We’re really excited about what the end product will look like and we’re sure our regular guests will too,” he said.

It’s a deal!

A three-year contract between the Grande Yellowhead Regional Division and teachers is now in place after the GYRD board signed a memorandum of agreement last week.

During a special meeting Wednesday (November 23) morning, the board voted to accept the terms of the deal, despite concerns over the increase in teacher salaries, which will rise by 8.5 per cent over the course of the contract.

This increase pushes the GYRD’s overall costs over and above the grant funding provided to the division by the Alberta government, so money will be taken from other areas of instruction in order to provide for the higher salaries.

A press release from the division said that this situation could lead to a decrease in the number of teaching positions, although the chair of the board’s negotiating committee indicated that avoiding this was a priority for the GYRD.

“To this point we have managed to maintain staffing levels across the division,” said trustee Lynda Akers. “Reducing class sizes has been a priority of GYRD and we have therefore managed to maintain the number of teachers, despite reductions in student enrolment.”

Akers mentioned that all contract settlements between teachers’ unions and school boards in Alberta extending through the 2006-2007 year have teacher salaries that exceed provincial grants.

GYRD Board Chair Shirley Mahon emphasized the positive in her comments on the deal.

“Whenever you can sign an agreement and avoid disruption in the schools there is something to celebrate,” she said. Mahon added that a good relationship between the GYRD and its teachers was essential in the future.

“The relationship between the Board and teachers cannot be based on dollars,” she said in the release. “We respect and value the work of our teachers and support staff, and must work together to provide opportunities and meet the needs of all students.”

The new contract will expire in September, 2007. 

The world is not enough

The Rocky Mountaineer, an opulent passenger train service that passes through Jasper on some of its routes, as been recognized as the “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” at the World Travel Awards held in London last month.

The Mountaineer beat out competitors from all corners of the globe, including the famed Orient Express rail tour through Europe. This marks the first time a Canadian company has won the prestigious honour in the rail 

category.

“This is a tremendous honour for our organization,” said Peter Armstrong,  CEO of Rocky Mountaineer Vacations in a release. “For the Rocky Mountaineer to be recognized with such a prestigious global award, and nominated together with such an outstanding collection of world renowned tourist trains, speaks volumes.”

In 2006, the company will add the “Fraser Discovery Route” to its repetoire. The tour will travel between  Whistler and Jasper.