Jan. 12, 2011 - Issue #795 : Great Indoors

No refuge

New Parks Act opens protected land to development

Legislation that the Sierra Club and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society called "the worst conservation legislation to come forward anywhere in Canada in a decade" is headed back to the Alberta legislature this spring.

The Alberta Parks Act (APA) was suspended on November 25 after criticism from politicians, environmental groups and Alberta residents concerned that the act will open up provincial parks and other protected areas to unprecedented development. The government claimed to be reviewing the legislation and seeking input for amendments. According to an email update from Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister Cindy Ady's office, the government is preparing to bring back the legislation, and critics are preparing to continue the fight.

According to Sam Gunsch, an organizer with the Sierra Club in Alberta, there has been little to no consultation with Albertans, either in the original drafting of the APA, or since its suspension. Additionally, the Alberta Wilderness Association told Minister Ady in a letter sent in early December that the APA is "so fundamentally flawed that it will need a great deal more than 'amendments' to make it in any way acceptable."

The APA proposes to "streamline and consolidate" three existing pieces of parks legislation: the Provincial Parks Act, the Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act, and the Black Creek Heritage Rangeland Trails Act. According to the provincial government this is needed to "balance conservation and recreation objectives," but critics view it as scaling down protection and opening up protected areas for development.

"Alberta is leading the way backwards under Minister Ady's leadership, downgrading protection of nature and wildlife in Alberta's parks and wilderness areas," Gunsch said.

This consolidation would scale down the seven existing categories for protected areas in Alberta into two, something the government claims will simplify land management and protection. Critics argue that this new classification system significantly scales back protections, pointing out that those areas currently with the strongest protections—such as wilderness areas and ecological reserves—are to be eliminated and replaced. As Gunsch explains "nature and wildlife in 'protected areas' will not be the first priority in guiding management decisions ... [the APA] is regressive, going backward decades."  

In addition to the downgrading of protections, another major point of contention is the power granted to the Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation for land management by the APA. Provisions in the act grant the minister expanded discretionary powers to make decisions on how parks are zoned, used and regulated. Critics argue that this grants too much power to the minister and cabinet to make decisions on Alberta’s parks out of sight of Albertans, and without an adequate public consultation process.

One of the most controversial points of the APA has also been a debate around what it could mean for parks with global significance, such as Dinosaur Provincial Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the APA website states that UNESCO sites are not impacted by the proposed changes it comes with a caveat, that this only applies to those sites outside of provincial parks. Len Mitzel, MLA for Cypress/Medicine Hat explained in an interview that "Right now, most provincial parks do not allow any private development ... For Dinosaur Park, for instance, it would allow for condos, service stations, and would add to the economic development of the region."

In the eyes of many conservation groups, these moves are not, as the government explains, attempts to simplify the parks system for Albertans, but a shift from prioritizing protection to prioritizing financial gains. "With the legislation now making tourism and recreation as important purposes as protection of nature in Alberta's protected areas, the minister can cite that as rationale for deciding that tourism resorts, for example are justifiable under the law's mandate," Gunsch explains.

Conservation groups are calling not only for the APA to be pulled off the table, but also for the government to take steps to strengthen and expand wilderness protection to be representative of the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity's target of 17 percent land protection in representative ecological regions. Currently, land protection is below two percent in Alberta's grassland, parkland and foothills regions.

Earlier this week, Minister Ady also announced plans to allow private campgrounds in provincial parks in Alberta. "If somebody can bring to us a solid plan, there are private campground opportunities," she explained, hinting that a bill would be presented to the legislature in the fall.

According to an email sent from Minister Ady's office on January 4, "She will continue to work with Albertans on Bill 29, the Alberta Parks Act, before further debate in the legislative assembly," but critics are skeptical, and point to an already strong call from Albertans to scrap the act.

"[The] AB government sees industrial or tourism development as priorities for all lands in Alberta," Gunsch stated. "No lands or wildlife habitat is safe. Not even in protected areas now under Bill 29." V

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