ALBERTA REMAINS COMMITTED TO ITS MANY NATURAL SPACES
Millions spent on conserving most important land, says Jason Nixon.
Re. “Province attacks nature when we need it most,” Opinion, April 14
I write today to clear up some of the misinformation contained in a recent opinion piece.
Yes, the Alberta government is working on partnerships with organizations, including municipalities, First Nations, and non-profit organizations, as well as contractors to partner to run under-utilized infrastructure in our system in more productive ways while maintaining the commitment to fiscal prudence.
Albertans will always have access to Crown land, regardless of which partnerships are sought or how a location is designated. We reject the idea that only government is able to provide quality services at parks, day-use and camping areas.
We know we don’t have to designate an area a park to ensure good stewardship. We trust that most Albertans are responsible and have a deep love for our wild places. We are looking at these changes because we want our parks system to work for the largest number of Albertans possible, but we are also responsible to taxpayers.
On the recent auction of a quarter-section of pasture land, grazing leases and other Crown land designated for agricultural use have been routinely sold through a public auction process and the approval of this sale of land occurred under the previous government. There were nine public auctions of land in 2017, again, under the previous government.
As part of the decision-making process on this issue, government reached out to local municipalities, First Nations and other land and resource-management agencies.
Since taking office in 2019, our government has committed more than $10 million to conserve more than 22,000 hectares of environmentally significant land through land trust stewardship grants. Part of the funding comes from the sale of land designated for agricultural purposes, like this land near Taber.
Land trusts or land-conservation societies conserve ecologically sensitive land in partnership with government and other agencies. So the sale of this land will actually help to protect areas most in need of stewardship.
There is no native grass contained in this parcel as it primarily contains crested wheatgrass and Kentucky bluegrass (non-native species widely found throughout North America).
Harvey Locke, the op-ed’s writer, mentions that he is worried about the recent paperwork deferral for some environmental monitoring activities in the province. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are unprecedented. We are giving operators more time to get routine information to us, as some of their staff are self-isolating or otherwise working from home.
This is about deadlines for filing paperwork — not about environmental standards, which remain among the best in Canada. Alberta has a strong tradition of leadership in terms of ensuring industry and other operators adhere to stringent standards as regards the protection of our air, land, water and wildlife. Monitoring activities continue.
Albertans can rest assured that none of this applies to drinking water or to wastewater monitoring; filing of this paperwork will happen as normal. Operators are still required to fully comply with all other environmental regulations during this period and report any unauthorized releases to the Environmental and Dangerous Goods Emergencies (EDGE) line.
Mr. Locke also takes issue with our recent decisions to close provincial parks and public recreation facilities to limit the spread of COVID -19. Alberta’s chief medical officer of health has advised that parks facilities, like washrooms, could only remain open if staff have access to personal protective gear for cleaning. Government recognizes that these scarce resources are needed in Alberta’s healthcare and social-services front lines, which is why facilities will remain closed to help reduce the spread of the virus.
We have also seen some incredibly irresponsible behaviour in our parks and public recreation facilities since we closed some facilities. Some folks were leaving garbage and human waste behind, which is clearly unsafe in light of increased COVID -19 transmission. It’s also very dangerous because these activities can attract wildlife — bears are waking from hibernation, for example.
Further, we need to be mindful of our frontline workers’ capacity to manage the pandemic while attending to Albertans who might find themselves potentially lost or injured in the backcountry. The best thing Albertans can do to ensure our frontline health-care workers are keeping their focus where it needs to be is to stay close to home and stay safe and healthy.
As an avid outdoorsman, I understand the desire to get outside, especially during a challenging time when stress levels are high. But policymakers have a responsibility to look at the bigger picture and protect our most vulnerable residents in every way possible. That’s our bottom line, and always will be.