In an effort to improve its bottom line, Parks Canada is contracting out campground and cleaning services in Wapiti and Whistlers campgrounds.
The decision is part of the Government of Canada’s Deficit Reduction Action Plan, said Jasper National Park Supt. Greg Fenton.
Contracting out services is “intended to improve some efficiencies of operations, reduce the cost to taxpayers, and come up with some savings that we need to capture as part of the deficit reduction decisions.”
The combined savings of salaries and goods and services for Jasper is $95,000.
Eighteen positions in Whistlers and Wapiti will be affected, but “we’ve already given [those employees] certainty that there are jobs and have moved them,” he said. Cleaning services for all other campgrounds and outlying day-use areas in the park will continue to be provided by Parks.
Fenton isn’t concerned with losing quality of service after these positions are contracted out “because of the very high standards that have been laid out within the request for proposals.”
Under Parks, cleaning and campground services wages range from $18.15 to $19.12. Once contracted out, those wages are likely to change because wages aren’t defined in the request for proposals. The contractor will decide its employees’ wages.
Contracting out campground and cleaning services isn’t limited to JNP, Parks Canada is also looking to do it to campground and grounds maintenance positions in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.
Though Parks is privatizing hot springs operations and some campground and cleaning positions, there isn’t a plan to contract out jobs in other areas, reassured Fenton, who noted that both decisions stemmed from the Deficit Reduction Action Plan.
“We still retain—and will retain into the future—responsibility of providing camping experiences, and we’ll have Parks Canada staff at the gates, doing the interpretation and all that.”
The deadline for contractor bids is Sept. 30, and bidders must complete a mandatory site visit on Aug. 30, otherwise their proposal will be dismissed.
The mandatory site visit will provide bidders with a “better sense of what the operations look like and get some questions answered if they have questions regarding the request for tender process and the requirements,” said Fenton.
If the request for tender process is successful, “we’re hopeful of being in a position to negotiate a final contract so that we can start implementing next spring.”
Sarah Makowsky
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