As the opportunity for individual citizens to experience nature diminishes, Canada's park system becomes a priceless treasure for all future generations. 
– David Suzuki
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FUNDING FOR PARKS: what price Canada's heritage?
Updated April 1, 2007
“Good monitoring, restoration, and public education programs are essential for Parks Canada to meet its mandate of maintaining or restoring ecological integrity and fostering public awareness and enjoyment of national parks.” Auditor-General of Canada
First established in 1885 by the far-sighted government of Sir John A. Macdonald, the national parks system of Canada now covers “some of the most beautiful landscapes on earth.” But they are being nickel and dimed to death by successive federal governments that see more beauty in the stock market than in the eye of a woodland caribou or the flowers of an alpine meadow.
Canada spends just $8.84 per hectare on its national parks – the US spends $62.44 per hectare.
In the late 1990s Canada's federal government, under strong pressure from conservation groups and aware that wilderness was fast disappearing, created six new national parks – mostly in the far north – but without any special funds to run them: the money for them was taken from the older parks. Jasper’s budget was cut from $15 million to $10.2 million and money for essentials like research, maintenance, new vehicles etc. was cut by more than 75%.
The budget has now been somewhat restored to $13.1 million but in the interim infrastructure deteriorated, the park lacked money for effective monitoring of wildlife populations and roads like the popular one to Mount Edith Cavell became hazardous with axle-breaking potholes. The park is now trying to catch up but the task is formidable.
Wardens' trucks
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Out of 30 wardens’ vehicles in Jasper National Park, one third of them are 15 years old, some of them with mileages of 350,000–410,000 kms. Apart from being unreliable for everyday work, they have no safety features such as airbags and their fuel consumption and maintenance costs are enormous. To bring the fleet up to standard again would cost about $700,000 and would require 25 new vehicles.
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Snowmobiles, riverboats and ATVs needed for rescue work are in the same poor shape.
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Interpretive Services
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One of the most unfortunate of these drastic cuts was Parks Canada’s interpretive service. Jasper’s branch of this critical national park education service was completely eliminated in the 1990s. Apart from nightly talks at Whistlers Campground, visitors are now dependent on commercial guiding companies if they want an interpretive walk and these are too expensive for many families.
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Park entry fees
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To pay for upgrades and repairs to deteriorating campgrounds and picnic facilities, Parks Canada is forced to raise entry and service fees every few years. This puts the cost of visiting the parks beyond the reach of an increasing number of Canadians; consequently the public’s interest in preserving the parks is falling.
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School groups are charged $3.95 per student. The JEA firmly believes that no school groups should have to pay to come to the national parks and interpretive services should be provided to them free of charge. If necessary, fees to commercial tourism groups should be raised in order to subsidize this ideal learning opportunity for Canadian children.
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Forest-thinning
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A critical forest-thinning program to protect park and visitor facilities after a century of misguided fire suppression is having to be paid for by selling the logs commercially – a dangerous precedent in a national park that is chronically short of funds.
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Wildlife Monitoring
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Underfunding has led to a lack of monitoring of park wildlife populations. Data critical to decision-making is not being collected on either mountain goats or grizzly bears. (Woodland caribou are monitored with special funding from the Species at Risk Act)
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A new method of monitoring grizzlies by DNA “hair-snagging” rather than the more invasive radio-collaring cannot yet be done in the park due to its higher cost.
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Helicopters for monitoring cost $1000 an hour so the only population monitoring done is on elk cows and calves, easily visible from the park roadways.
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Dependence on royalties and entry fees
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Lack of funding has led Parks Canada to become overly dependent on entry fees and royalties from tourism. Big tourism interests in the park are now very welcome. The Icefields Centre, Marmot Basin Ski Area and Maligne Tours all adversely affect the ecological integrity of the park but Parks now justifies any increased development by citing “education” and “memorable visitor experiences”.
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