Environment Committee on May 5th, 2026

[Andrew Campbell]

We have a great relationship with Sépaq.

Perhaps my colleague would like to comment further on that.

[David Millar]

We share ideas and we work together. Our relationship is positive.

[Tim Watchorn, Liberal, Les Pays-d'en-Haut, QC]

Thank you very much.

I will now turn the floor to my colleague.

[Will Greaves, Liberal, Victoria, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, colleagues.

Good afternoon to our witnesses. Thank you so much for being here.

I'll direct my question to Mr. Campbell.

Potentially, this is also for Mr. Millar. Given your role, you'd be well suited to answer.

We heard from one of our colleagues about the fires in Jasper. I'm a representative of a British Columbia riding, and as we approach a wildfire season after a year with a low snowpack and other concerns about water availability, wildland firefighting is very much on the mind at this time.

The plan discussed under the nature strategy takes seriously the need to invest in wildland firefighting, especially in western Canada, which is acutely vulnerable for reasons I've already touched on. We recognize that climate change is a major driver of our worsening fire season. Fires are burning hotter and longer and are stretching farther than ever before, endangering many communities.

Can you speak to the kinds of investments being made in services through Parks Canada to help address wildfire risk through a mitigation perspective or to help with response through a firefighting perspective?

[Andrew Campbell]

I am happy to turn that over to Mr. Millar directly.

[David Millar]

Thank you.

I think we make investments in a number of different areas. We try to coordinate these very much with the provinces and territories through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, so that we can align capacity where it's most needed across the country. We have approximately 300 wildfire-related staff, who are either frontline crews or incident management specialists. They work across the country to prepare for and respond to wildfires.

We have resource-sharing agreements with provinces and territories, so that we can move personnel back and forth as needed. For example, if they need a little extra capacity on the ground in B.C., we can share our staff with them and vice versa.

We are also working actively with communities to reduce the risk of wildfire. Obviously, with climate change, we are seeing more intense wildfire seasons, and we're paying close attention to that risk. We are working on using prescribed fire, forest thinning, vegetation management and community fire guards to reduce the risk to valued assets and communities.

In the past year, we conducted 44 vegetation management initiatives at 20 parks to create guards and buffers around communities in wildfire-prone areas. Last year, we treated about 2,000 hectares with prescribed fire to reduce risk, and that was on top of about 1,000 hectares the year before.

All that is to say that there's a lot of work going on, from prevention and risk reduction to being ready to respond and the actual response.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you.

[Andrew Campbell]

If I can add one quick piece, Madam Chair, I know this has been a concern of this committee in the past. We use not only prescribed burn, as Mr. Millar mentioned, but also mechanical reduction. Mechanical reduction is being used extensively above the bench in both Banff and Jasper. We had a question on that, and I wanted to make sure we provided that response.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much to you both.

Mr. Bonin, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to come back to the Canada Strong pass.

Would it be possible this summer to ask people where they're from when they enter the parks?

If they don't have proof of their Canadian citizenship, they'd have to pay a fee. It wouldn't be free for them.

Would that be feasible?

[Andrew Campbell]

It depends on the location. It's not possible at all Parks Canada sites. In some places, such as Jasper and Banff, many employees are normally at the park's boundaries, but inside the park. No one can say where the visitors come from. In a number of major parks, such as those two, that's not possible.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Would you have data on visitors to certain parks who received a pass last year?

You told me you don't have data for all parks, but would you for some parks?

[Andrew Campbell]

We have data for all periods of the year, except for the Canada Strong pass period. We could extrapolate, but it would be difficult, because it was during the summer period, not in the fall or the spring.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Is Parks Canada under increased pressure when it comes to infrastructure projects, such as major projects?

Is there some pressure on you in that regard?

Could this be an issue for the park preservation?

[Andrew Campbell]

Like all government organizations, we use a system for prioritizing our investments. Obviously, we should choose the best places to invest.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Are any of the so-called projects of national interest, such as the Major Projects Office created by the Prime Minister, a threat to current or future parks?

[Andrew Campbell]

There is no issue with national parks and major projects.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Not yet. Okay.

Have you suffered any cuts in the past year as part of the new budget?

Could you tell us?

In the years to come, will there be cuts at Parks Canada?

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

A short answer please, Mr. Campbell.

[Andrew Campbell]

In last year's budget, Parks Canada suffered a $75 million cut.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Campbell.

Mr. Stevenson, you have the floor for five minutes.

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

I have a few other questions in regard to following up on what my colleague here has talked about—the Canada strong pass.

Some residents of Banff, not necessarily the business owners, have coined the term “over-tourism” because of the Canada strong pass and the requirements to handle a bunch of things, mostly in transportation. They have now turned to cutting off certain areas and roads, like Johnston Canyon and Moraine Lake, where you can only take a bus. It's the only possible way of doing that.

Can you elaborate on what kinds of plans they have to fix the situation? For most of them in Banff, their solution is not to have the Canada strong pass. That doesn't help the businesses. The other problem is that Parks Canada allows only certain operators, after being pre-approved, to work on that. Can you just explain how they are going to address this problem? Banff has a different situation from parks in many other places across the country.

[Andrew Campbell]

I'll use a couple of the examples you put forward.

One of the ways we have done this is by continuing investment in public transport. We are a major contributor to Roam Transit, so that people can use public transport as they go around. Of course, the Roam network has expanded.

As you mentioned, we also have a process for business licensure in order to take people into some of these areas. That business licensure ensures that people are being taken there safely by tour operators. Like any place in the country, we're looking for good business operators. They are permitted, as good business operators. That is, again, one way we are moving. From that perspective, we continue to have growth in all those areas. The number of Canadians who have been able to go and appreciate.... I know you are well aware. It means they are doing things other than taking their cars to those places.

We are also working on a full plan to ensure that people are looking at all the opportunities that exist around Banff, Jasper, the Lake Louise area, Kootenay and Yoho. There are many great places. People tend to congregate around a few. As we know, people—

[William Stevenson, Conservative, Yellowhead, AB]

They only go to the best. That's what you're saying.

[Andrew Campbell]

They often go to the spot where an online influencer took a selfie.

We are trying to quickly figure out how to enable them to do it, because some spots have a more impacted visit.