The Jasper Local May 1, 2021

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ALTERNATIVE +

LOCAL + INDEPENDENT

SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 // ISSUE 187

THE TALLEST OF THEM ALLEST // Tristan Nissen descends the east face of Mount Columbia. Columbia’s 3,747 metre summit is the highest point in Alberta. // PATRICK MAHLER

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 187 // SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021

EDITORIAL //

Local Vocal There was much ado following our online coverage of the Grande Yellowhead Public School Board’s recent meeting. Was it much ado about nothing? That depends on who you talk to. On April 21, school trustees discussed the proposed Draft K-6 Curriculum and passed a motion to have the district’s curriculum working group review the draft as “one form of piloting.” I watched the meeting and, later that day, filed a story. Our headline said “School board validates draft curriculum.” It didn’t take long for people to get upset. Parents were furious the board didn’t reject the draft curriculum outright. The comments came in white-hot. Shortly thereafter, the damage control began. GYPSD took pains to point out that the draft curriculum was not destined for local classrooms, but rather the desks and monitors of their curriculum working group. Yet their motion included a condition stating “if a teacher wishes to pilot an aspect of the curriculum, the Board respects their right to do so.” This double speak was disorienting. Were they piloting or not? They agreed to review it as “one form of piloting”… but not in classrooms … unless a teacher wants to? They certainly didn’t reject the curriculum … or did they? I’ll admit, I was secondguessing my reporting. Upon reflection, I stand by my story. I get that the board was trying to be strategic with their motion. I understand they want to “be at the table” with the Minister of Education. But what stuck out for this reporter, and other members of the public who listened in, was the fact that the board did not reject the draft. While grabby headlines, short attention spans and viral social media posts all played a part in this story catching fire, I believe it was more a consequence of a public institution not being straightforward in their direction. By fence-sitting, by coming up with wishy-washy resolutions and by trying to play politics, public officials neglect to send a clear message. In this case, parents were explicit in how they wanted their voices represented, and by not taking a stance against the draft curriculum, the board not only sent the message that there is merit to the draft, they sent the message that they aren’t listening to their communities. Appeasing everyone isn’t a school trustee’s job. Their job is to ensure the success of the students in their district. It’s clear—to teachers, to education experts and to parents—this curriculum isn’t set up to do that. BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

CORRECTION: Although he was critical of the government’s April 6 restrictions, MLA Martin Long’s statements on COVID measures were separate from a letter signed by 16 other Alberta MLAs. Inaccurate information appeared in our April 15 editorial. We regret the error.

Shout-out to Marmot staffers Dear Editor A huge shout-out to the incredibly cheerful and hard-working lift operations crew and pass/ ticket checkers this season at Marmot Basin. I’ve appreciated your friendly greetings, well-wishes for a great day on the slopes

and your bright smiles that shone through your masks. Chatting with each of you brightened up every day that I was able to ski. Thank-you for being the best frontline crew! -Su Young-Leslie, aka, that gal in the ‘Skull Skates’ helmet

The Jasper Local //

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// LOCAL SCHOOLS

SATUDAY, MAY 1, 2021 // ISSUE 187 // The Jasper Local // PAGE A3

School board won’t pilot draft curriculum but will respect teachers who want to Grande Yellowhead Public School Division trustees want to remain at the table for Alberta Education’s discussion of the Draft K-6 Curriculum. On April 21 GYPSD trustees unanimously passed a motion to review and offer feedback of the proposed curriculum via their curriculum review committee. Additionally, the board resolved to support any teacher who wants to pilot the curriculum if that teacher has the endorsement of their school and community. “This proposal will keep us at the table with the government,” said Superintendent Carolyn Lewis. “It’s important to be at the table whether or not we agree [with the curriculum].” Jasper school trustee Dale Karpluk spoke at length about the feedback she’s heard from parents and said she’s not in favour of GYPSD piloting the draft curriculum, which has been widely criticized by education experts. However, the board’s approach of keeping the door open to dialogue appealed to Karpluk. She voted in support of the motion. “Jasper parents are not in favour of us piloting this. This is one of those times we have to stand up and reflect what people are saying to us,” Karpluk said. “However, I am in favour of our curriculum working group giving feedback to Alberta Education.” Local parent and educator

Sebastian Oeggerli and Naim Tremblay made a cool discovery while exploring Athabasca Island in early April. // Nicole Klopfenstein

Cristin Murphy was disappointed with the board’s decision. She and other Jasperites were calling for GYPSD to soundly reject the curriculum. “What they aren’t doing is standing up to say ‘it’s not good enough for our children,’” Murphy said. “That seemed loud and clear to me.” Lewis said the additional motion to allow those teachers who wish to pilot the curriculum was an effort to support diverse voices. “Some teachers are in support of the curriculum,” Lewis said. “While there may be a majority not supporting the curriculum we want to leave room for diverse opinions.” The Alberta Teachers Association has said 91 per cent of its members are unhappy with the new curriculum.

Board chair Brenda Rosadiuk said the board met with MLA Shane Getson (Lac Ste. AnneParkland) before crafting the motion. “I believe the motion has given us a response time to say what is and what is not working.” Education Minister Adriana LaGrange has announced that $6 million in funding is set aside to pilot the curriculum rollout this year, but how much of that funding school boards will get, and what it’s to be used for, has not been made clear. On April 12, the Conseil Scolaire Centre-Nord— the school board which governs Jasper’s École Desrochers—announced it will not be piloting new curriculum. B COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com


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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 187 // SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021

LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

Impending Household Hazardous Waste costs emblematic of broken recycling system Alberta municipalities are being forced to absorb yet another cost of waste disposal as changes to the province’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) program flow downstream.

Jasper’s Director of Operations, John Greathead, said the announcement that the program was discontinuing at the end of May came on short notice. “This is another added cost municipalities are going to have to incur,” he said. The province signed a new, reduced operating contract at the Swan Hills Treatment Centre in January. As a result, HHW will no longer be processed there, which means starting June 1, municipalities will assume the cost of treating and destroying household ammonia, bleach, oven cleaners and aerosol cans, among other HHW products. The problem is, no other treatment facility exists. “The half life of some of these chemicals is brutal,” Greathead said. “It’s super harmful stuff.” The news comes as Jasper, and municipalities across the country, grapple with how to process their remaining waste streams. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on operations departments now moving more waste as the use of single use plastics skyrockets. Here in Jasper, Greathead said the town is installing more garbage containers in the Central Business District in anticipation of the summer because the current infrastructure is already at capacity. The municipality’s beverage container recycling program has been on hiatus since March, meaning any recyclable container that gets chucked in the trash is effectively landfilled. “We’re having to change bags daily, sometimes a couple of times per shift,” Greathead said. The state of plastic, paper and tin recycling, meanwhile, doesn’t exactly offset the increase in garbage. The markets for such materials have all but dried up, Greathead said. Glass gets landfilled in the hopes that some future technology will be able to be able to make use of it, and bails of plastic with any amount of plastic film gets refused. When these rejections occur the trucking costs add up.

“The only people who say recycling is worth it are the truckers,” Greathead said. Cardboard used to fetch a pretty penny, but no longer. For the first time ever, the municipality is having to fill out credit applications when they ship our cardboard bails to the closest processor—which happens to be in Tacoma, Washington. “We don’t know if it’ll be paid for,” Greathead said. One bright light in this dark debris field is composting. After Greathead came to council last year expressing his skepticism that the service was untenable in the winter, because the bins freeze up and pose a safety hazard to staff and cause undue wear and tear on town equipment, compost is getting somewhat of an overhaul. Greathead said the town will be purchasing a screener which, along with sorting other aggregate such as sand and rock, creates better quality compost that breaks down easier. Moreover, the bin liner experiment put into place this past winter “worked great.” Overall, however, the Household Hazardous Waste program is yet another signifier that recycling—no matter what the plastics manufacturers say—is a losing battle, according to Greathead. “It’s well intentioned, but we put all this effort into collecting it…it’s hard to reconcile that.” Alberta Environment and Parks says it is conducting public consultations on designing a made-in-Alberta solution for HHW (in addition to packaging and paper products, and plastics), and that by moving towards an Extended Producer Responsibility framework, the responsibility for program costs will shift from municipalities to producers. Greathead says he’ll believe it when he sees it. “Unfortunately there’s no standardization,” he said. “There’s no structure for us to rely on.” In the meantime, he’ll ship what HHW Jasper has by May 15 and try to build storage capacity into his operational budget.” “We’re told is that recycling works, but it’s broken.” BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

FIRST DIBS ON FIRST CALL // Jasper Firefighter Kelly Dawson poses with a pack of First Call, a beer created in collaboration with the Jasper Brewing Co. and its sister breweries in Banff, Calgary and Edmonton. The blood orange IPA was brewed with first responders like Dawson in mind, as $2.50 of every four pack will be donated to Legacy Place Society, a charitable organization providing support in the first responder and military community. Another $1 per draught pour at the Jasper Brew Pub will go to the Jasper Victims Services Unit, the board of which Dawson has recently joined. Dawson encourages her fellow Jasperites to go grab a pint for a great cause. // BOB COVEY


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SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 // ISSUE 187 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B2

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Athabasca Valley Aurora // SIMONE HEINRICH

Council approves pared down operational budget After whittling down yet another amended budget put forward by municipal administrators; after cutting and/or reallocating money for social and emergency services; and after once again postponing action on perilously underfunded municipal reserves, Jasper Municipal Council has passed a 2021 operational budget. Months after staff proposed to council a “best practices” budget and a “fixed costs” budget—the former which would work to future-proof infrastructure and the latter which would maintain 2019 service levels—the majority of councillors were still unhappy with what was in front of them and voted to make further cuts to the operational budget’s already fat-free bone. Some, like councillor Paul Butler, who came to the April 20 meeting armed with an omnibus motion of reductions and reallocations, were troubled by a sticker shock of the near-$1 million increase over 2019 levels. “I think with this budget we’re spending too much,” Butler said.

As such, on the strength of an alliance which included councillors Butler, Damota, Helen Kelleher-Empey and Bert Journault, council passed a series of austerity motions on April 20. Councillors Scott Wilson, Jenna McGrath and Mayor Richard Ireland’s opposing votes had little effect. Before recording the decisions, Ireland used his power as the meeting’s chair to break up the motions brought forward by councillor Butler. Butler had brought his motions to the budget discussion with no prior notice to his fellow councillors, the result being that some felt ill-prepared to gauge how the proposed reallocations would affect municipal departments. “I can’t vote on these when I don’t know the impact they’ll have,” Councillor McGrath said. McGrath said after last year’s budget process, in which she was persuaded to vote for sweeping reductions so that local ratepayers would get a break during a difficult, pandemic-affected recession, she heard from residents who objected to the cuts. “My learning experience was that residents of Jasper wished for their services to remain untouched,” she said.

Others, like councillor Rico Damotoa, who wanted the exact percentage increase of the amended budget before he could vote on it, claimed not to have enough information to make a decision, even after more than five months of discussion on the matter.

Mayor Ireland spoke in opposition to the package of motions that would chop $70,000 from emergency services, $60,000 from the culture and recreation department, $25,000 from emergency social services and reallocate COVID recovery funding to make up for daycare shortages. He said a budget is a guide, and resisted considering items line by line.

“We’re talking about the palatable increase to the overall budget,” Damota said.

“A budget is in part an economic document but it’s also a political statement,” he said. “I’d like to move forward to

show we can manage our own affairs.” Butler, however, moved forward with what he saw as a need to control spending, saying his concerns stemmed from a significant increase in the net operating deficit since council’s November conversations. He said his experience in talking to ratepayers was markedly different from that of councillor McGrath’s. “I have been experiencing a great deal of push back about the size of the operating budget,” he said. CAO Bill Given also pushed back, albeit in diplomatic fashion. He responded to councillor Damota’s claims that the total increase to the tax requisition was not presented in a clear fashion. “That number has not been hidden, going back to the unamended document in March,” Given said. As part of an effort to include financial relief for residential and non-residential tax payers, administration built into the budget a one-time property tax credit of $1 million and a COVID Recovery Reserve of $775,000. The tax credit will be automatically applied to all properties. As for the recovery reserve, which was created to assist Jasperites affected by the pandemic in a more targeted way, the specifics on how that assistance will be rolled out have yet to be decided. In the end, council approved an operating budget with a net tax envelope of $8,891,323, which represents an increase of 11 per cent increase over 2019 levels. BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com


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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 187 // SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021

STORY BY BOB COVEY

ONCE IN A Starlit cycle DOUG OLTHOF PHOTO

“Hey guy! Clear night, full moon, 9/10 aurora forecast. Night ride to Coronet?” The text from my friend Doug came in at about noon on Sunday, the day after my family’s first camping trip of the season. To our five-year-old, a night at Snaring Campground is the best thing going, and we love watching her discover the natural world before the inevitable marshmallow crash around the campfire.

long after sunrise so to get off the lake by the afternoon and avoid the midday mush. With our hope to catch a northern lights show, we got on the lake at 9 p.m.—too early, apparently, for the snow to have had a chance to firm up again. As we pushed our bikes through Home Bay, I wondered aloud if this

But “sleeping” under the stars hits different when there’s a one-year-old involved, and so it was with a certain degree of trepidation, not to mention the s’mores-sized bags under my eyes, that I considered Doug’s moonlight mission to Maligne Lake. “Is that so?” I texted back, noncommittal. “It’s never been so-er,” he responded. As such, after tucking the kids in for the night and taking one last, wistful look at my own bed, I loaded up my fat-tired mountain bike into the back of another friend’s truck and mustered up as much enthusiasm as my 40-year-old ass could cobble together. “How often do you get to do something like this?” asked Larry, whose even-older ass was stuck under the hood of his son’s car all day.

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Not very, I had to admit. To facilitate bike travel on Maligne Lake, conditions have to line up. It’s not until late spring that the winter snowfall has compacted enough and the daily melt-freeze cycles have created a hard enough surface to resist penetration by bike tire. Skate skiers have an easier go at it, as evidenced by the long, frictionless tracks we saw gliding out of Home Bay, but for mountain bikers, there isn’t a large window in which riding the 14 kms to Spirit Island—or the 22 km to Coronet Creek, for that matter—is doable. Were we in that window? Our first pedal strokes seemed to indicate that we were not. Earlier that day, scores of Jasperites had taken advantage of the lake’s cementhard surface, many of them starting not

SPIRITUAL SOJOURN // Most bikers and skiers who took advantage of the travel conditions on Maligne Lake did so during the day. // SIMONE HEINRICH PHOTOGRAPHY

Tracks and trails tell stories of speed and slog // BOB COVEY

was going to work. “Let’s just get to the point and we can reassess,” Doug, ever the march-forward type, suggested. We were glad we did. As soon as we got to Mary Schäffer point the snow thinned out and we could ride on the exposed ice. For a good three kilometres we had excellent travel, precarious as it was on the windbuffed lake. The moonlight was strong and our moods were bright. We were doing it! And then we weren’t. Larry’s tires dug in, abruptly halting his progress. Then mine did the same. Even Doug, whose cadence was markedly more efficient than my own, got


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A FULL MOON: e to Spirit Island stuck fast. We were a long way from Coronet Creek. Heck, we were still a long way from Hidden Cove! “Let’s see if we can find some better travel in the middle of the lake,” someone suggested. Twenty minutes of pushing later, we were far from shore, but still far from good ice.

patches of ice contrasted against the white landscape. He was right. From Hidden Cove to almost the Narrows, apart from the odd lattice of crusty snow, the surface of the lake was bullet-proof. Our pedal strokes quickened. A slight tailwind pushed our pace even faster. The loud crunching of snow beneath our tires we’d become accustomed to dulled to a steady hum. The distant mountains— Paul, Warren, Monkhead—were looming larger on the horizon. We were flying. And then, the inevitable. A fall. Each of us had instances of slipping and nearly losing our balance, but when I heard a crash behind me, the sound of handlebars slamming on ice followed by an audible grunt, I cringed. However, if Larry’s big frame was hurting, he didn’t show it, and although he resolved to take it slower on the sheer ice, he was only a few minutes behind Doug and I when we came around the last corner in the Narrows and pulled into the bay where, every summer, thousands of tourists snap photos of the fabled Spirit Island. We listened to the owls hooting in the moonlight. We hooted back. We yodelled.

We retreated, and considered an alternative plan. A campfire at Hidden Cove sounded nice. Bed? Did someone say bed? As we crossed back to the west shore, we took solace in knowing we weren’t the only riders who resorted to walking. Plodding footprints alongside tire tracks indicated the breakable crust had been a problem even for the early risers. As we got to the enormous rectangle boulder that marked the entrance to Hidden Cove I hoped there would be wood to burn, but no sooner had I begun to dream of putting my feet up than Doug ferreted out another stretch of ice we could ride. Forget the wood, we’d be incinerating calories. “This looks like it goes for a while,” Doug said, peering into the distance where dark

It was only another eight kilometres to the end No headlamp necessary // BOB COVEY of the lake, but the siren song of our beds was pulling us homeward, and we were dreading the soft patches of snow on the return. After a midnight snack we turned our backs to Coronet Creek, hoping for an aurora to light our way home. It never transpired, but the dip in temperature meant the snow had hardened up just enough to support our weight. We didn’t have to walk. “How often do you get to do something like this?” Larry asked again, as we buzzed along the ice. Not very. ________________________________ BOB COVEY

// thejasperlocal@gmail.com


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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 187 // SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021

LOCAL BUSINESS

Online reservation system bugs frustrate backcountry users The owners of a local guiding company are feeling fortunate to have booked a small number of backcountry sites in Jasper National Park this summer but are hopeful Parks Canada will address ongoing problems with its reservation system. Christian Roy and Sarah Peterson operate Canadian Skyline Adventures, a small business offering introductory backpacking and hiking trips into the Jasper wilderness. Every year they book between eight and 10 trips on Jasper’s Skyline Trail, as well as a handful of other overnight stays in the Tonquin Valley, Jacques Lake campground and the Fryatt Valley. This past April 16, when online backcountry reservations for Jasper, Banff and Yoho National Parks opened, Roy and Peterson were among the tens of thousands of Canadians in queue to make their bookings. Subsequently, they were also among those who experienced technical issues with the website. “It’s been getting harder and harder to book over the years,” Roy said. “I’m trying to keep it positive but the fact they opened all three parks at the same time for bookings is an error I hope they don’t repeat.” “It’s been getting harder and harder to book over the years. I’m trying to keep it positive but the fact they opened all three parks at the same time for bookings is an error I hope they don’t repeat.” Not everyone experiencing difficulties with the system was keeping it positive. All across social media, Canadians were sounding off on the frustrations they had with the website. Annalise Klingbeil is a Calgary communicator who writes about the outdoors via her online newsletter, GoOutside. substack.com. Her latest blog, Dear Parks Canada, there’s got to be a better way, detailed her infuriating experience trying to navigate the online system. “Thirteen hours after reservations opened, I finally

secured a June booking for the Rockwall Trail,” Klingbeil wrote. “In the same amount of time it took me to secure these sites, I could have driven to the trail head, hiked the 12 kilometres into my first site, set up camp, cooked dinner, explored and settled in for the evening.” Parks Canada apologized over social media platforms and told this newspaper it sincerely regrets the slow services and technical difficulties experienced by users of the reservation service.

THEY HAVE...RESERVATIONS // Christian Roy and Sarah Peterson of Canadian Skyline Adventures say relying on Parks Canada’s online reservation system to do business is a gamble for their business. Unlike many frustrated Canadians, however, they were able to secure backcountry spots. // BOB COVEY

“Traffic and reservation volumes were very high on April 16 which impacted the performance of the service,” spokesperson Steve Young said. Klingbeil said she anticipated the high demand, but had hoped after years of system crashes, that this year would be different. That wasn’t to be. “The issue was that, once you finally made it through the queue, picked your dates and campsites, the Parks Canada website played trick after trick on you,” Klingbeil wrote. “It continually reset pages, kicked users out of the system and sent them to an error page.” This was Roy’s experience, too. As he noticed the system failing, and heard from friends that their online progress was also glacial, he finally got through to Parks Canada’s reservations system in a different way: telephone. Although it took him hundreds of tries to dial in, when he eventually got through, he was able to book five sites. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “We got lucky.” Some Canadians have complained that businesses scoop up reservations meant for the general public, and there

has been suspicion that companies use “bots” to secure sites faster than a human could. However, Parks Canada says that’s not the case. As reported last year by the CBC, the agency conducted an internal investigation and found no evidence of automated computer scripts. When tour companies do endeavour to reserve campsites, they do so just as regular users do, albeit with the help of multiple employees. Roy and Peterson are aware that there may be some hostility towards guiding companies for booking campsites, but the business partners are adamant that their bookings are but a tiny fraction of what’s ultimately available in the parks system. Moreover, Canadian Skyline Adventures helps people access the backcountry who wouldn’t otherwise be able to, they argue. “Everybody has the right to experience the backcountry,” Peterson said. Unfortunately, once again, not every user had the time, energy or luck needed to reserve a site to facilitate such an experience. BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com


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SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021 // ISSUE 187 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B6

LOCAL WILDLIFE

KNOW THE RISKS. MAKE A PLAN. GET A KIT.

Are you and your family ready? KNOW THE RISKS Wildfire season officially starts March 1 and runs until October 31. In recent years, mountain pine beetles have killed thousands of trees around Jasper, increasing the wildfire risk to our community.

MAKE A PLAN Get a copy of the Jasper Evacuation Guide and complete the emergency plan template with your family. Make sure everyone understands what would happen and what to do in the event of a major emergency.

GET A KIT Put together an emergency kit and keep it somewhere easy to get if you have to evacuate. You should also keep a full tank of gas and a second emergency kit in your vehicle at all times. Visit getprepared.ca, alberta.ca and www.jasperalberta.com for more information and resources.

Available in English, French, Spanish and Tagalog!

EMERGENCY ALERT TEST TREE HUGGERS // Mama bear retrieving her rascally cub. This Jasper bear family is unique in the sense that along with the newborn, mama also has a two-yearold in tow. Photographer Simone Heinrich said she’d never seen that family dynamic before. “The older sibling must have been hiding quite well from the male bear last year when mom got pregnant,” she said. // INSTAGRAM: SIMONEHEINRICHPHOTOGRAPHY

Thursday, May 6 around 2:00 PM Watch for a test notification by text or email (or both) if you have subscribed for Emergency Alerts from the Municipality of Jasper. Subscribe, unsubscribe or manage your subscriptions at

www.jasper-alberta.com/notifyme


You’re invited!

On vous invite!

The Parks Canada Management Plan is the road map that will guide our work for the next 10 years.

Le plan directeur de Parcs Canada est la feuille de route qui orientera notre travail au cours des dix prochaines années.

Join the discussion at letstalkmountainparks.ca/Jasper

Participez à la discussion en vous rendant sur le site parlonsparcsdesmontagnes.ca/jasper

Here you will be able to: • View the draft management plan • Take a survey • Give your feedback • Register for an information session The website is open for public feedback until July 7, 2021.

Jasper National Park

Virtual Information Sessions

Vous pourrez : • consulter l’ébauche du plan directeur • répondre au questionnaire • transmettre vos commentaires • vous inscrire à une séance d’information Les commentaires du public seront acceptés sur le site Web jusqu’au 7 juillet 2021.

Séances d’information virtuelles du parc national Jasper

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2021

LE MERCREDI 5 MAI 2021

THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2021

LE JEUDI 6 MAI 2021

6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

de 18 h à 19 h 30

Register for a session at letstalkmountainparks.ca/Jasper or email pc.opinion-jasper.pc@canada.ca.

Inscrivez-vous à l’une de ces séances sur le site parlonsparcsdesmontagnes.ca/Jasper ou par courriel à pc.opinion-jasper.pc@canada.ca

Sessions are identical.

Les séances sont identiques.

1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

de 13 h 30 à 15 h


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