Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
While housing remains a tight concern in Jasper, Parks has limited plans to improve the situation.
Parks Canada has built two new five-plexes for its staff which will free up some space in town, but at the moment they have no plans to build for other workers.
Moira McKinnon, realty and municipal services manager for Jasper, said it is not in Parks’ mandate to build homes.
“We don’t have that kind of funding provided to us,” she said. “It is just not the business we are in.”
Superintendent Alan Fehr said Jasper National Park has a lot of infrastructure already that “we can barely look after. Even building houses for us is a challenge.
"It’s a common theme across most jurisdictions in Canada,” he said. “We are having to be very strategic and careful about that we do build and when we build it.”
At the annual meeting April 4, a member of the public said businesses in town don’t have the money to build accommodations for their staff and asked if Parks or the federal government could build a facility for seasonal workers for a lower rate.
McKinnon said the Jasper Community Housing Corporation is trying to do just that.
“It will take a number of businesses to get together to build affordable housing for staff,” she said. “It will depend on government grants - they are trying to get some grant money for exactly what you are talking about.”
Fehr said housing needs are a major concern for Parks Canada and the wider community.
“We have been working with the Jasper Community Housing Corporation and supporting efforts for more affordable housing,” he said. “We have two new five-plexes which makes more room in town.”
Fehr said Parks were at the recent housing forum in Jasper which had “an excellent turnout” of more than 200 people over two evening sessions.
“We want to make increased housing supply a reality.”
Plan review underway
How Jasper National Park is run is directed by its own bible: the Management Plan.
The plan was last updated nearly ten years ago, meaning it is time for a new review.
And Parks wants your input.
The plan then guides Parks’ work in the national park to protect resources, facilitate visitor experiences and learning opportunities, and collaborate with other organizations and Indigenous partners.
Parks Canada last updated Jasper’s park management plan in 2010 and much of the direction in that plan is still relevant.
But fresh approaches are needed to address new environmental pressures, demographic and technological changes, and government priorities.
There are three main stages to the update: a park assessment, started in 2018, scoping and writing the draft plan, which is happening this year, and the final management plan will be tabled in Parliament in 2020.
During this scoping phase we are in now, Parks is asking for feedback on the management plan review and what areas should be focused on.
Parks is inviting feedback until April 30. Information and survey forms are available at https://www.letstalkmountainparks.ca/jasper.
