Canmore is a unique community where parts of surrounding provincial parks overlap its town boundaries, but that fact has caused a bit of concern for the mayor and council.
Bow hunting is allowed in the parks from September through November, but it is a practice prohibited in Canmore’s hunting and trapping bylaw.
Manager or protective services Greg Burt said a legal opinion has indicated the Alberta Parks regulations supersedes the municipal legislation, meaning bow hunting is allowed.
“It essentially trumps our legislation,” he told council.
Mayor John Borrowman and council directed administration to draft a letter to send to Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister Kyle Fawcett to address the situation.
“It is basically asking the province to rework their guidelines so they reflect the intent of our bylaw,” said the mayor.
In particular, Borrowman said the public safety concern is about Larch Islands, which also has a popular trail running through it.
“There are other places in Canmore where there is an overlap,” he said. “The Silvertip area for instance – it is not just Larch Islands where hunting permitted, but that is the main one (of concern).”
If the minister does not agree to a change, Borrowman said he would like to see the municipal bylaw changed to reflect the reality of the situation.
Councillor Sean Krausert also suggested hunters don’t walk around with bows through residential neighbourhoods, which could cause panic.
“I encourage people not to walk around with a bow,” he said.
