Dear Editor,
Dear Editor,
A letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
I enjoyed spending this Victoria Day weekend in Jasper National Park. The scenery and close up experience with wildlife is a national treasure. It’s something I hope my soon-to-be born grandchild will be able to enjoy. I came home concerned that might not happen.
We saw the news coverage about the opening of the Glacier Skywalk and decided to check it out. There is a quick thrill stepping out on the glass hundreds of meters above the canyon. I compare it to the rebellious teenage thrill of participating in a forbidden act. Unfortunately the thrill disappears and the ugliness of the structure comes to the forefront. It’s built with plate steel and concrete, bare and unadorned. The edges of the steel are sharp and waiting to cut a child. Someone said it looks like it is sticking out its tongue at nature. I agree. It should never have been allowed inside a national park.
The next day we went to Maligne Lake, one of the most photographed landscapes in the world. The lake is still frozen so we couldn’t explore it but I was stunned to learn that a “high-end” 66-room hotel is being considered for the lake. Maligne Lake is a Canadian icon known around the world, if for no other reason than its consistent appearance on kitchen wall calendars. Visiting it is a once in a lifetime experience for tens of thousands. That experience must not be altered in any way by a luxury getaway for a few.
Parks Canada’s website states, “National parks are among Canada’s—and the world’s—natural jewels. They represent the power of Canada’s natural environment—a compelling force—which has shaped not only the geography of this country, but also the course of its history and the experiences of the people who live and travel here.”
I have experienced our national parks from Terra Nova to Auyuittuq to Banff and Jasper and believe that to whatever extent human activity within our parks departs from the above ideal is an abandonment of the trust we have inherited from the visionaries who protected these places for future generations; for us. Please make sure that this hotel never advances beyond being a ridiculous concept.
Harold Davis
Fort McMurray, Alta.
