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You are here: Home › News and Issues › Media Advisory - Announcement Regarding Proposed Alberta Parks Act

Media Advisory - Announcement Regarding Proposed Alberta Parks Act

Bill 29 & priority concerns. See individual groups webstites for Action Alerts (Sierra Club Canada, Prairie Chpt; CPAWS-S AB)

Same-day press conferences will be held in three major centres on Friday, November 12th as follows:

  • Red Deer 9:00 am
    Kerry Wood Nature Centre,
    6300-45 Avenue
  • Calgary 10:00 am
    Alberta Wilderness Assoc.,
    455-12 St., N.W. (parking at rear of building)
  • Edmonton 10:30 am
    Front steps of the Alberta Legislature

An announcement will be made by representatives of the Provincial Parks Stewards Association, Alberta Wilderness Association, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Association, Federation of Alberta Naturalists and Sierra Club Canada regarding the Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister's proposed new Alberta Parks Act, which the government introduced in the Legislature late last week as Bill 29. Pending public opposition, it may be passed as soon as next week. If passed, it will end the existing Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves, Natural Areas and Heritage Rangelands Act and the Provincial Parks Act. The Bill will do away with all of those parks in Alberta and replace them with multi-purpose parks, with the exception of Willmore Wilderness Park located northwest of Hinton, and Heritage Rangelands which are located on grazing leases in the grasslands of southern Alberta.

A media release will be available at the press conferences.

For more information:

  • Dianne Pachal, 403-234-7368, Sierra Club Canada (Red Deer)
  • Sarah Elmeligi, 403-232-6686 ex 6, Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society (Calgary)
  • Dorothy Dickson, 403-347-6012, Provincial Parks Stewards Association (Red Deer)
  • Nigel Douglas, 403-283-2025, Alberta Wilderness Association (Calgary)
  • Bryn McDonald, 780-439-1160, Sierra Club Canada (Edmonton)
  • Philip Penner, 780-427-8124, Federation of Alberta Naturalists (Edmonton)

Download Bill 29 in PDF Priority Concerns

Some of the priority concerns:

Bill 29 does not make environmental protection a priority in Alberta’s protected areas.  There is no obligation on the Minister to make the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity the priority in managing Alberta’s protected areas.   A protected area can mean just about anything from a commercialized resort to a remote wilderness.   This is not in accordance with the views of Albertans polled in recent years when asked what they want out of Alberta’s parks system.