Mr. Speaker, on January 31, HRDC directed Parks Canada to take immediate measures to protect park wardens from danger while they are engaged in law enforcement activity. The Minister of Canadian Heritage has had three reports since 1993 stating that park wardens are at risk.
Since that time Parks Canada has been engaged in an ad campaign featuring a park warden with the suggestion that all is well in the national parks. Despite the multimillion dollar smokescreen, all is not well in Canada's wilderness. Wildlife is being slaughtered while the minister funds false images.
The minister should know that 60 grievances have been filed over job conditions in the last six months alone and that the January 31 labour board ruling means wardens are out of uniform and off the job.
The ad campaign is a gross misuse of public funds. It is sad that the minister responsible has millions of dollars to spend on ads to mislead the public but no money to ensure the safety of our park wardens as they protect wildlife in our national parks.
Actions speak louder than words. It is time to equip our wardens to do the job they were trained to do.