Banff – Councillor Peter Poole made a last ditch attempt for greater openness and transparency in the inter-governmental committee between Parks Canada and the Town of Banff – with no luck.
The first-term councillor has tried over the last three years to get support for creation of a terms of reference and to open up the membership of the committee, which currently includes only Banff’s mayor and Banff National Park’s superintendent.
“I would like to see us create some greater transparency to this relationship between Parks Canada and the Town,” said Coun. Poole, noting there is no formal reporting mechanism on discussions at the committee.
“I don’t think it’s an urgent matter, but I do think it’s a worthwhile matter of tying up some loose ends.”
Outlined in Banff’s incorporation agreement, the inter-governmental liaison committee (IGL) is made up of representatives from Parks Canada and the Town of Banff. The province of Alberta is also entitled representation at all meetings.
The 1990 agreement – which determined which powers would be transferred to the Town and which would stay with the federal government – states the committee meets on a regular basis for the exchange of views and discussion of matters of mutual interest.
Coun. Poole said the write-up in the incorporation agreement doesn’t preclude another person from also representing the Town on the committee.
He said he wanted to nominate retired lawyer and longtime Banff resident Gordon Rathbone to join the IGL as a council-appointed public member and help create a terms of reference to guide the committee.
“[This would provide] a way for items of concern by residents in Banff to be voiced and formal responses be provided back by Parks Canada, with a regularity to those discussions,” he said.
“This isn’t to say that quiet conversations that happen currently under the IGL would be prevented from happening; one could have closed discussions in all sorts of ways in ordinary constituted committees.”
Mayor Karen Sorensen said she has heard very little complaint about how the committee runs.
“Coun. Poole, with my utmost respect, I’ve only ever heard from two people that there’s concerns with the way the IGL has operated since incorporation,” she said. “One is yourself, and one is the gentleman you mentioned earlier.”
Mayor Sorensen said language in the incorporation agreement establishing the committee is very clear.
“Can I have a conversation with McDonough [superintendent Dave McDonough) around this in a very casual way? I might, but I am not going to support anything that publicly requests etc, etc.,” she said.
“I think the IGL has been set up the way it’s been intended. I get perhaps needing more details in terms of terms of reference, all those kinds of things, but I am not interested in pursuing this at this point.”
Councillor Grant Canning said he couldn’t support Poole’s motions.
“I think we’re trying to fix a problem that I don’t really see existing currently,” he said.
“Based upon feedback form the mayor, and certainly indirectly Parks Canada, the way it’s currently functioned seems to be working just fine.”
