policyenthusiast
Senior Member
Pulled stats from the GoC open data portal and modeled, but the change in how they track stats made it somewhat useless:
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Federal Politics
- Thread starter TAS
- Start date
David A
Senior Member
What really irks me is all the travel writers, blogger ... who go to Banff, almost never comment on how busy it is and go on about it as if it is some pristine wilderness. They make it worse and they are delulu.
Ned
New Member
Free entry to national parks by way of the Canada Strong Pass should be limited to residents of Canada, since the point of the Canada Strong Pass is to benefit Canadians. Make it something that needs to be applied for or you show ID. Also, for national parks that deal with overcrowding, charge more to foreign tourists or put in foreign tourists caps. Many other countries do this. Yes we want the tourism but when it comes to a point when it is obviously overcrowded and Canadians are staying away, this is a problem. Part of the mandate of national parks is to be for the people of Canada.
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Avenuer
Senior Member
johnnyboy
Active Member
Hopefully, Mark Carney is still lurking on here and sees this. It's a great idea.
TAS
Senior Member
Folks should send a brief email to our government MP.
eleanor.olszewski@parl.gc.ca
"Love the Canada Strong Pass but international visitors should not be included and US visitors should pay double."
Ned
New Member
Upon seeing that people on the forum feel the same way, I completed research with the help of AI on how to address overcrowding at Canada's national parks fulfilling the mandate of being for Canadians while not negatively impacting the tourism industry and protecting Canada's image of a welcoming destination. Let me know what you think. Yes, send messages to MPs but I would also like to start a federal petition which would require finding some supporters, finding a MP to sponsor the petition and then receiving at least 500 online signatures (I believe more effective than a change.org petition.).
A smarter way to manage crowds in Canada's national parks
This solution uses a tiered reservation system to address overcrowding in high-demand parks during peak season. It avoids blanket fee increases for all foreign tourists, thereby protecting Canada's welcoming image while providing fair access for Canadians and generating revenue to protect the parks.
Here’s how the system would work:
For Canadians
- Affordable, all-access pass: Canadians would continue to have access to all national parks with a single, affordable pass.
- Daily Admission: High demand parks in peak season would not charge more for daily admission for Canadians compared to low season.
- Priority reservations for hotspots: For the most popular attractions in overcrowded parks during peak season (e.g., Lake Louise in summer), Canadians would be given priority access to the reservation system at no extra charge (e.g., 50% of spots would be available to Canadians one month in advance. Any unreserved spots would pool over.).
- Simplified online verification: To access Canadian admission rates or priority reservations, Canadians would verify their residency during the online booking process using a secure, trusted method like the GCKey or Interac Sign-In Service.
- In-person ID check (if paying in-person): If a Canadian were to pay for park entry fees or an attraction reservation fee in person rather than online while peak season, high demand pricing is in effect, they would need to present valid ID to confirm their residency and receive the standard Canadian rate. This would also apply for a Canadian purchasing an annual pass in-person at any time of the year.
For international visitors
- Same price as Canadians for most visits: International visitors would pay the same admission fees as Canadians for access to low-demand national parks and for visiting any park during the off-peak season (spring, fall, and winter). This maintains Canada's welcoming image.
- Higher fees for peak-season high-demand parks and attractions: For peak season in high-demand parks, international visitors could purchase a more expensive annual premium pass that covers all higher admission fees. The daily admission park fees and reservation fees for specific popular attractions would also be higher during these times.
- Online booking: The reservation system would apply the higher fees to all bookings for peak season in high-demand areas. International visitors would simply book and pay the displayed premium rate.
- If paying in person: If an international visitor were to pay for entry to a peak-season, high-demand park or attraction in person, they would be charged the premium rate.
How reservations work
- Online reservation and automatic fee application: All visitors would use the same online reservation platform. The system would automatically apply the appropriate fee.
- Canadian verification for priority access: Canadians would verify their residency through a secure online method. Once verified, they would be able to access the priority booking window and secure their spot at the standard, lower rate.
- Simplified entry: Since the system manages fee payment during booking, there is no need for an in-person ID check for nationality at the park entrance.
Rationale and benefits
- Targets the problem directly: The solution focuses the higher fees and crowd-management tools on the specific areas and times where overcrowding is an issue.
- Protects Canada's image: By keeping fees consistent for international visitors in low-demand parks and during off-peak seasons, Canada can continue to be seen as a welcoming and fair-minded destination.
- Provides fair access for Canadians: Canadians are given priority access to popular attractions, addressing the concern that they are being crowded out of their own parks.
- Generates revenue for park improvements: The extra money collected from peak-season visitors can be invested directly back into the most pressured parks to improve infrastructure and support conservation.
- Encourages broader exploration: By limiting higher fees to the most crowded times and places, this system encourages international visitors to explore lesser-known national parks or to visit during the less busy spring and fall seasons. This helps to redistribute visitors across the park system and throughout the year. Parks Canada would provide communication as to the full offerings of the national park system.
policyenthusiast
Senior Member
Minister Olszewski doesn't oversee Parks Canada, that's Stephen Guilbeault. And Edmonton has 9 MPs to my recollection, so check your constituency before sending emails.
policyenthusiast
Senior Member
Shocked this didn't get more coverage, Carney announced a start to bail reform:
In a rapidly changing and more dangerous world, Canada is focused on what we can control. We are building our economy with major projects and millions more homes, we are empowering Canadians with lower costs and new opportunities to help you get ahead, and we are protecting our communities and our country. We cannot control what other nations do, but we can control what we choose to build – and we are building Canada strong.
Safe, resilient communities are the backbone of a strong Canada. They attract people, families, businesses, and investment, and enable greater certainty and prosperity. To that end, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced new measures today that will protect Canadians and keep our communities safe. Canada’s new government will:
In a rapidly changing and more dangerous world, Canada is focused on what we can control. We are building our economy with major projects and millions more homes, we are empowering Canadians with lower costs and new opportunities to help you get ahead, and we are protecting our communities and our country. We cannot control what other nations do, but we can control what we choose to build – and we are building Canada strong.
Safe, resilient communities are the backbone of a strong Canada. They attract people, families, businesses, and investment, and enable greater certainty and prosperity. To that end, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, announced new measures today that will protect Canadians and keep our communities safe. Canada’s new government will:
- Strengthen Canada’s Criminal Code to keep violent and repeat offenders out of our communities. Next week, the government will table legislation to amend the Criminal Codefor crimes committed by violent and repeat offenders – those accused of serious crimes like violent auto theft, breaking and entering, human trafficking, violent assault, and sexual assault. The legislation will include the following amendments:
- Introducing reverse-onus bail for major crimes.
- Allowing consecutive sentencing so multiple crimes mean longer time behind bars.
- Imposing harsher penalties for organised retail theft.
- Restricting conditional sentences for a number of sexual offences.
- Hire 1,000 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) personnel. In Budget 2025, the government will invest $1.8 billion over four years to increase federal policing capacity across Canada to combat crime – including online fraud, money laundering, online child sexual exploitation, and organised criminal networks that threaten Canada’s economic and national security. This funding will also go toward raising the RCMP cadet recruitment allowance to $1,000 per week and dedicating 150 new RCMP personnel to tackle financial crimes – targeting money laundering networks, organised crime, online fraud, and the recovery of illicit assets.
northlands
Senior Member
A welcome announcement but surprising there is no mention of a concurrent expansion of correctional institution beds. Has CorCan even built a new prison this millennia? At some point we have to stop coasting on the infrastructure the generation previous built and develop some of our own, especially if we're going to grow the population like we've been doing.
policyenthusiast
Senior Member
For the love of all that is holy, put new prisons anywhere but Edmonton.
northlands
Senior Member
Amen! Build 'em out in the Maritimes where they need the employment generators.
SarcasticMarmot
Active Member
Not sure how that is going to work with the RCMP's ongoing recruitment challenges. They have been struggling to fill existing vacancies for a long time now, and I have not heard about it getting better.
Edit: nope, not getting better. https://www.canada.ca/en/management...gs/letter-to-comissioner-duheme-may-2025.html
yeggator
Active Member
This is a very welcome surprise from this government. Although it will be interesting to see if they go so far as to use the notwithstanding clause for this measure. After all, the Supreme Court struck down consecutive sentencing for Charter reasons. And Poilievre caught a lot of flak for threatening to use it for that.
Whattagame
Active Member
Treating the symptoms rather than the cause. This a direct countermeasure to rising populism, but it's more of an if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em tactic that will only continue the slide.