Mr. Speaker, Bill C-27 proposes a number of important measures related to seven communities located within national parks. In order to understand these provisions we should examine the history of the communities and the prospects for their future.
All seven communities have their origins in the last part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. In the Rocky Mountain parks of Banff, Jasper and Yoho, the development of communities is tightly linked to the development of our national railway and road transportation corridors. The town of Banff was a railway construction and service centre some years before the national park was established.
Both the towns of Banff and Jasper even today continue to serve railway needs along with the national park needs. A small community which is an operational centre for the Canadian Pacific Railway as well as the administrative centre for the park, Field is essentially a residential community for railway and park employees. Lake Louise and Banff National Park were developed as a tourist centre by the CPR prior to being incorporated into the park.
Further south, the community of Waterton Park in Waterton Lakes National Park was developed with the primary purpose of serving park visitors. It operates seasonally and has a year round population of fewer than 100 residents. The same is true of Waskesiu in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, and Wasagaming in Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba.
I note these facts to underscore the context within which the communities were established. It was at a time in Canada's history when we looked upon our nation as having unlimited wilderness. Extraction of natural resources was not perceived as being in conflict with that belief. Consequently forestry and mining were allowed within some national parks and communities which were established to serve those interests. For example, Anthracite and Bankhead were coal mining towns established in Banff National Park. Oil City, in Waterton Lakes National Park, served the first of our oil drilling operations. Although these extracting activities in the communities of Anthracite, Bankhead and Oil City have long vanished, they remind us of an era when such activities were deemed appropriate within national parks.
Today, however, we know that our wilderness is limited and we understand the need to preserve representative areas within our national park system. We no longer allow the commercial exploitation of natural resources within national parks.
Moreover, we understand that any development within a national park should be carefully limited so as to avoid impairment to its ecological integrity. We understand, too, that high quality environmental conditions are the foundations for the tourist industry and the very reason millions of people visit our parks annually. Therefore, no new communities will be located within national park boundaries. The existing communities will be managed in ways that support park values.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage has put great effort and thought into the drafting the community provisions in the bill before. She has been diligent in analyzing the key studies which identified problems and solutions within the national park system, which we discussed at committee.
The Banff-Bow Valley study of 1996, and the work of the ecological integrity panel, which reported to her this March, contained wide ranging recommendations which served as the basis for her ecological integrity action plan.
The previous version of this bill, Bill C-70, died on the order paper last year. One of its provisions related to the introduction of municipal taxation within park communities. These provisions would not have applied to Banff since it already has a municipal taxation regime as a municipality incorporated under Alberta legislation.
The proposal to introduce municipal taxation in the other communities led to concerns which could best be summarized in the phrase “taxation without representation”. The taxation provisions have been removed and Parks Canada will continue to subsidize the administration of these communities.
At the same time, I want to reassure members of the House that the park community residents will be actively involved in the management of their communities. Each community is unique and the management model that evolves in a particular community will be tailored to that community.
Given that the communities are special, federal responsibilities situated on federal crown lands within a national park, it is important that parliament retain an overview of their role and development. To that effect, Bill C-27 proposes that community plans be tabled in each House as soon as possible after proclamation of the new Canada National Parks Act. The plans with respect to the provisions in this act will be consistent with the park management plan; an accord with guidelines for appropriate activities; and, provide a strategy for growth management.
Growth management will be achieved by describing the boundaries of the community and its commercial zones, along with a measure of maximum floor area permitted within the zones. The shaping of these plans will also be guided by principles stated in the bill, namely, no net environmental impact, responsible environmental stewardship and heritage conservation.
Concerns were raised by the park community representatives during the hearings on Bill C-27 and the standing committee responded. Regarding concerns with respect to the termination of the leases, the bill has been amended to state that the Expropriation Act applies. Community plan has been identified to mean a land use plan for the park community. This new definition serves two purposes. First, it ensures that there will be no confusion between the use of the term “community plan” and this legislation and how the term is used in the Alberta legislation.
Second, it signals to park community residents that there is no impediment to them undertaking their own planning for social, educational, health and related needs of their community.
The section on public consultation now makes explicit reference to the representatives of park communities and requires that the minister consult with them on land use planning and development in park communities.
Implementing the provisions of Bill C-27 will ensure a proper evolution of the communities from the past century into the new millennium. They have gone from logging and mining to the prime purpose of maintaining the ecological integrity of national parks for the benefit, education and enjoyment of present and future generations.
The communities have an important role in this and in serving visitors. They will remain. They will be supported. We look forward to them becoming models for environmental stewardship.