Canadians by the millions visited their local national park last year to get out of the house during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Blacklock’s Reporter.
But staff in the prime Minister’s Officer feared COVID-19 chaos and ordered staff not to mention access to some of the parks was free, say internal emails.
The pandemic, along with the foreign travel ban, kept Canadians close to home in the summer of 2020.
Canadians made 6,570,000 visits to national parks, says Parks Canada.
“Parks Canada is delighted,” said Laurence Crete, spokesman for the agency.
Crete said though overall visits were down from pre-pandemic years, traffic was up four percent at national parks within a hundred kilometres of major cities.
“This underscores the increasing interest of Canadians to enjoy the wellness benefits that come from being outdoors and in nature,” said Crete.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau partially reopened national parks as “good news for the weeks ahead,” he told reporters last May 14. Campsites remained closed.
“Getting fresh air is important but we all have to be responsible about it,” said Trudeau.
“We have to be prepared to make adjustments as needed.”
Trudeau’s staff in internal emails feared “chaos” and carefully instructed managers not to spread word fee collections were suspended in a few parks as a COVID-19 safety measure.
“In some locations where protection is not yet installed fees will not be collected in person,” read a May 12 note to staff.
“We will not be publicizing this to avoid a perception of parks being free, which runs a risk of too many people going to the parks.”
Parks Canada, in pre-pandemic years, made as much as $69.7 million in entrance fees.
Supervisors facing shortages of personal protective equipment for visitors were told to use expired goods from federal warehouses, or non-medical masks donated by corporations.
“Parks Canada has enough personal protective equipment on hand for the initial opening and is working with the Department of Public Works to ensure they secure more for later,” wrote Sabrina Kim, then-advisor to the Prime Minister.
Conservative MP Blake Richards (Banff-Airdrie, Alta.), whose riding includes Banff National Park, told the Commons finance committee last April 8 pandemic restrictions devastated the local economy.
“Before this crisis, there was zero unemployment – now the unemployment is estimated at about 85 percent. That’s the kind of hit this industry has taken,” he said.
Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard
Dave Naylor is News Editor & Calgary Bureau Chief of the Western Standard based in the Calgary Headquarters. He served as City Editor of the Calgary Sun & covered Alberta news for nearly 40 years.
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