Parks Canada painstakingly prepared for deluge of Canada 150 visitors
CALGARY — From avoiding burned out workers to ensuring washrooms have enough toilet paper, documents show how Parks Canada painstakingly prepared for a record number of visitors this year.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Ottawa has made admission to Canada’s national parks and historic sites free in 2017.
Presentations and memos obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act cite traffic snarls, run-ins with wildlife and visitor safety as some of the challenges officials flagged in the months leading up to a projected deluge.
“While many Parks Canada places have the capacity to comfortably host more visitors, some of the most popular places are already heavily patronized at peak times,” Parks Canada CEO Daniel Watson wrote in a November 2016 memo to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.