Staff working for Parks Canada this summer will be put in temporary housing located outside of the Jasper townsite, raising environmental concerns.
According to Parks Canada, temporary units for 36 staff will be placed in the wood lot across from Old Fort Point Road.
鈥淔or many employers, including Parks Canada, staff housing is an on-going challenge at the Jasper townsite,鈥� wrote Joseph Zebrowski, a public relations and communications officer for Jasper National Park.
鈥淭his location was chosen for its proximity to town, the relative ease of servicing it, and because it is a previously disturbed site. Parks Canada will rehabilitate the site once vacated.鈥�
Jill Seaton, chair of the Jasper Environmental Association (JES), said the area is a wildlife corridor and questioned whether Parks Canada would live up to its word.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as temporary housing, particularly in Parks Canada which is growing every year,鈥� said Seaton.
In the mid-1990鈥檚 she said Hostelling International wanted to build a new hostel in the same location, but backed down after JES informed the company about its concerns.
鈥淭hese were in the days when everyone respected the park for what they stood for. Today there鈥檚 a different attitude,鈥� said Seaton.
Zebrowski reiterated several times in his email that the housing would be temporary and the area was selected because it was previously disturbed site.
鈥淎s mentioned, these staff accommodations will be temporary in nature and are non-commercial. They will only be used to house Parks Canada employees throughout the 2017 operational season.鈥�
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
