‘Barking up the wrong tree’
Dear Editor,
While I do value Monika Schaefer’s opinion, I felt vilified by the one she gave on the commercial licenses that operate within the Maligne Canyon.
I’m the licensee that alerted Parks Canada to the potential hazard and while it was their decision to adjust it with explosives, I was also of the mind that it needed to be dealt with and not for the safety of guided guests. Although there is always an assumption of risk, the commercial licenses take great care with our guests. It was not for their safety that Parks acted, contrary to Ms. Schaefer’s diatribe.
On a guided trip, a guest would’ve stood near the massive log jam and heard the tale of last year’s water event that ensnared it there. It’s part of the canyon’s story. But they’d be kept clear of the potential danger by their guide, thus preventing any injury or incident. On the other hand, the unguided guest would be free to do as they saw fit. While 99.9 per cent of Parks visitors are intelligent enough to recognize danger, there’s always one that isn’t, not to mention those who simply like to play with fire.
If you ask any of the guides working the canyon, they can all tell stories of the crazy things they’ve seen unguided people do. It’s naive to believe that no one would mess around with this potential danger. And if someone were to be killed by a few tons of falling timber, would it be chalked up to natural selection? What if the victim was a child, unaware of his own mortality? Would this be an acceptable loss?
We do invite the world to come and marvel at our treasures and while I believe, like you, that we need to be vigilant with regards to “Disney-fication”, your insinuation that we (the licensees) are Mickey Mouse is insulting. This was a safety issue geared towards the unguided general public and nothing more. No one has built a glass floor here. It’s as it ever was, minus a few potential deadly hangers.
Your intentions are good Ms. Schaefer, but I don’t accept your criticism as valid.
The canyon license is a viable way to help visitors reconnect. Help them not “lose sight of what first drew us to this magical place.”
I’ll close with a point of clarity, the cliffs that our guests have easy access to are already fenced off, the toe of the Athabasca Glacier already has a no go sign and guided guests to the canyon floor have their protectors as well. Some are the guides, the ones who’ve helped create the “well-worn path” that you yourself have taken into the canyon on various occasions. Some are the Parks safety specialists. Perhaps, Ms. Schaefer, you can think more on this the next time you’re trying to unbury yourself from an avalanche along the Icefields Parkway, because of course in no uncertain terms do we go about “altering other potential risky areas of the park just because there are natural hazards.”
Our disconnect with nature is indeed profound Ms. Schaefer, but it’s my opinion that you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Joe Urie
Jasper Tour Company
Miette is a tourist attraction
Dear Editor,
For once I agree with Parks Canada regarding the privatization of the operations of Miette Hot Springs. Miette Hot Springs is not a public pool like we have in Jasper, which is mainly for the benefit of local residents and to exist has to be subsidized from the town budget. Miette is a tourist attraction much like the tramway, ski hill or boat rides at Maligne Lake, which are very profitable and have existed for a long time serving the public and are not subsidized in any way.
For many years, Miette, and the other Rockies hot springs I am sure, have been quite a drain on the public purse, which is why Parks wants to take a different approach. Not being a “for profit” attraction there is no incentive for any original thinking to promote the attraction or improve services or initiate programs and events to attract customers to the pools. Knowing that any loss will be paid for from taxes promotes a feeling of apathy, complacency and indifference and an acceptance of the status quo from the staff and management currently running the pools. They show up for work and really could care less if 100 people show up or 1,000, it makes not a difference to them as long as they get paid. Some staff have been employed at Miette for over 20 years and in the last 15 years only two major events have happened of any significance: they installed two permanent cold pools and raised the prices of the lockers from 25 cents to a loonie (now that was exciting). There is no reason that the hot pools should not and could not be run as profitable enterprises as are the other attractions to the park. This may mean an increase in prices, but so what? Private enterprise only charges prices that are commensurate with what people can afford, are willing to pay and will make the organization profitable and if this means the tourist have to pay a few dollars more to use the pools then so be it. It may be argued that the pools will then be staffed by cheaper, under-qualified and incompetent life guards who will put the public at risk, but that is nonsense. What all the hot pools in our national parks need is a management team to run them who has some entrepreneurial acumen, creative and imaginative thinking, a willingness to be original and aggressive, and bring new life into the pool . Having worked alongside the Miette pool for 15 years, I know that it is a wonderful experience to soak in the pools, rain or shine, enjoy the fresh air, absorb the outstanding scenery, meet and chat with new people from all over the world and gain the benefits of the therapeutic minerals in the water. Aggressive promotion of these attributes and benefits could easily increase attendance dramatically and change Miette from being a burden on the taxpayer to the premier Jasper attraction it should be.
Jack Templeton
Jasper
