Editor:
Let’s welcome the ‘New Face of Parks Canada’.
The management of Parks Canada is moving forward to deliver on their mandate to Canadians.
Parks Canada’s mandate: “On behalf of the people of Canada, we protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity of these places for present and future generations.”
Over the last three years Parks Canada has done an impressive job of involving Canadians to determine the changes that are needed to connect Canadians with the “nature and culture” offered by national parks.
One consultation workshop brought together Canadians from interest groups representing the environment, tourism, government and business to discuss new activities for the national parks. This group made recommendations and stressed that all new activities need to have a focus involving learning.
The Minister’s Roundtable, held in November of 2009, brought an even larger group of Canadians together representing a broader range of input to ensure that the Parks Canada management team was moving in the right direction. This work provided a foundation for the management plans, signed off by the minister, and released last year.
The plans had several months of ‘public chat’ input and their strategic flow make them easier to understand than previous plans and clearly lay out the actions that need to be taken.
The Parks Canada management team needs to be supported and indeed applauded for a job well done that is fully responsible and is moving forward working with partners to offer Canadians experiences in the national parks that are contemporary, enjoyable, and are within the context of the mandate.
Parks Canada has been able to move beyond a bureaucratic stance into the responsible and efficient practice of strategic planning to ensure the relevancy of national parks for all Canadians.
Richard Leavens, Canmore
