The Jasper Local September 1, 2021

ALTERNATIVE +

LOCAL + INDEPENDENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 // ISSUE 195

NO BOUNDS // Model, mountaineer and international man of mystery Michael Jurik Czech-ing off another perspectivebending adventure on the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks. // LADA D PHOTOGRAPHY

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 195 // WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

EDITORIAL //

Local Vocal It’s ironic that in the middle of a federal election campaign and with a municipal election on the near horizon, the only ballot most Albertans want to fill out is at the provincial level.

Once again Alberta is leading the country when it comes to COVID infection rates. We’re number one!

I’d laugh, but there’s nothing funny about overcapacity hospitals, burnt-out healthcare workers or essential worker shortages.

Disrespecting the very people who’ve been busting their butts saving lives hasn’t seemed to stop people once again attending “freedom” rallies in large numbers across the province, however. Lately these folks have been brazen enough to protest against COVID vaccinations right in front of the healthcare centres where vulnerable children and other patients—not to mention doctors, nurses, paramedics and support staff—can plainly see how little they care about their fellow Albertans. My message to frontline workers remains the same: First of all, thank you. Secondly, these ivermectininjesting idiots are the screeching, screaming minority. They’re the jerks from high school that because they couldn’t keep up with the rest of the class, instead resorted to disrupting the teacher.

Funny how the people calling those who choose to vaccinate sheep are the ones eating livestock feed.

Thankfully, the province has stepped up and… *checks notes*… NOPE. That’s incorrect. As the fourth wave crests, Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro have been MIA. Instead of leaning on these anti-vaxers with the (racist) Critical Infrastructure Defence Act that was passed last year to protect essential infrastructure (which you’d think a hospital would qualify as) from damage or interference caused by protests, Kenney has once again left Albertans out to dry, like so much beef jerky on the floor mat of his blue pickup.

It’s absurd that we’re at this point, where municipalities have to ask local health professionals for guidance on matters that clearly fall into the sphere of the province. But then again, when you consider the Holocaust comparisons, sold-out horse dewormer and demonization of our public health officials—moral and intellectual cliffs so many Albertans have shown they’re willing to jump off of—perhaps it’s not absurd at all.

One thing that has been revealed (besides the fact that, again, the so called freedom fighters are loud but overwhelmingly outnumbered) is the people at the local level, whose care we will all depend on should we fall ill to COVID or any other malady, are indispensable. Even if the government doesn’t recognize that fact as it enters into contract negotiations with nurses and healthcare professionals, I hope these folks know their community certainly does.

Election 2023 can’t come soon enough.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

Who should run for council? YOU

After the team took a vacay and this edition arrived on newsstands a few days late, far be it from me to suggest to anyone that their procrastinating is a problem.

But after taking a peek at the scant slate of nominees who’ve put their names forward to run in the October 18 municipal election, I think it’s time for a PSA. While two more Jasperites have said they’ll run, only four names have been officially filed with our local elections officer. That ain’t great.

Truth be told, it’s not an appealing gig. The reading list

The Jasper Local //

is never-ending and usually less-than-exciting. The hours are inconvenient for anyone with a day job, a family or a life and the work doesn’t stop when you leave the meetings.

In our social media-saturated society, politicians are sitting ducks for keyboard warriors and since almost every decision officials make is some kind of compromise, there’s always someone being ticked off.

Still, the community needs a team of leaders to rise to the challenges of municipal governance. And while it’s easy to find reasons to not get involved, it’s easier still to see that we need good people at the helm.

Putting your name in the ring takes courage. It takes thick skin. It takes commitment. But most officials will agree that giving back to your community is a privilege and an honour.

Representing your neighbours, helping your fellow residents and speaking up for what you believe in all come with its own rewards. If you think you’ve got the ideas, the dedication and the desire, put your name forward.

Final day for nominations is September 20. Unlike this edition of the Local, that’s a deadline you can’t miss!

- Bob Covey, editor

Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e

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// LOCAL GOVERNMENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 // ISSUE 195 // The Jasper Local // PAGE A3

Jasper councillor to seek mayor’s chair Jasper councillor Paul Butler will run for mayor in the October 18 municipal election.

Reached over email while on vacation, Butler said he plans to formalize his candidacy when he returns to Jasper on September 11.

“Jasper deserves to have a choice and deserves a change,” Butler said. “It’s time to experience what a different vision of leadership can look and feel like.”

Butler said the next four years will be pivotal as Jasper recovers from the COVID crisis.

“Doing things the way we’ve always done them isn’t going to be good enough,” he said.

On July 29, Mayor Richard Ireland filed his nomination papers for a 2021 run, which would be his seventh term, at the mayor’s desk.

Three other Jasperites have put their anames forward for councillor positions: first-time nominee Wendy Hall and incumbents Rico Damota and Helen Kelleher-Empey. Incumbent councillor Jenna McGrath has also declared her intentions to run again.

Other potential candidates

COUNCILLOR PAUL BUTLER

for the municipal election must file nomination papers

by September 20, 2021.

Election day is October 18. Jasper voters elect six councillors and one mayor.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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Hinton, Edson pass mask bylaws The Town of Hinton has passed a temporary mandatory mask and face covering bylaw in all indoor public places.

On September 2, at a special meeting of council, Hinton municipal leaders voted unanimously to reinstate the bylaw, which was first adopted in November 2020 and rescinded in April.

Councillor JoAnn Race voiced her concern of the spreading virus on the local healthcare system.

“How many doctors have to plead with us to get the message across that we are in a very critical state right now?” she asked.

Councillor Albert Ostashek expressed dismay that municipalities are being

forced to act in the dearth of leadership from the province.

“The government has been largely silent, which has put municipalities in position where they feel obligated to take steps to protect their communities,” Ostashek said. “However I am prepared to do what we need to do as a municipality to pick up the slack where the provincial government has dropped it.”

Also on September 2, the Town of Edson passed first and second reading of an indoor mask mandate bylaw. Earlier in the week, the City of Edmonton passed a mask bylaw to come into effect starting September 3.

In Jasper, where the

mask mandate was originally instated on August 4 of last year and lifted in conjunction with Alberta’s “Open For Summer” plan this past July 1, council will discuss reinstating an indoor mask bylaw at its September 7 regular council meeting.

During its August 25 meeting, Grande Yellowhead Public School Division board members agreed to “strongly encourage the use of masks in common areas and situations where physical distancing cannot be maintained.” École Desrocher, on the other hand, has made masks mandatory for K-12 students in all gathering places.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 195 // WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

LOCAL ENVIRONMENT

Metis group to file injunction to stop caribou habitat clearcut Ramstead said.

A Grande Cache Metis organization is preparing to seek a prohibitory injunction to halt a Hinton-based logging company’s planned harvest of 3,500 hectares of critical caribou habitat.

The Mountain Metis Nation Association, an umbrella organization of the Metis Nation of Alberta, says the Moon Creek Forest Harvest Plan (FHP) submitted by the Hinton/Edson division of West Fraser as directed by the Government of Alberta f lies in the face of the province’s caribou recovery goals.

“Caribou can’t speak on their own behalf,” said Mountain Metis president Alvin Findlay.

“Somebody has to.”

West Fraser’s plans to clearcut 54 cutblocks of old growth forest which overlap designated habitat of threatened A La Peche caribou were first brought to light by concerned trappers in the Berland River/Moon Creek area near Grande Cache. Former fish and wildlife officer Shane Ramstead said the Moon Creek harvest will undermine expensive caribou recovery efforts, including Alberta’s controversial wolf cull.

“I challenge anybody to say that after logging there will be any caribou left in the area,”

A La Peche caribou face further habitat destruction with a proposed harvest plan, but the Mountain Metis are seeking an injunction. // EDWARD DOSTALER FAST EDDY PHOTOGRAPHY

Ramstead said.

In an emailed response to questions about the proposed harvest, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Forest Harvesting “I challenge anybody to say that after logging there will be any caribou left in the area.”

Plans are designed and reviewed by the Government of Alberta and so have considered the impacts of harvesting on non-timber values, like caribou conservation and recovery.

“Timber harvesting within caribou areas can be accomplished to support range protection/recovery

while supporting economic activity,” said Mackenzie Blyth, press secretary for the ministry.

The area in question represents only six per cent of West Fraser’s Forest Management Agreement (FMA). Asked why they couldn’t log in an area that doesn’t overlap with caribou habitat, a West Fraser spokesperson said the company has been directed by government to operate in a specific area until the Berland Sub-Regional Taskforce on caribou recovery completes its work.

“The province’s direction to operate in these areas is intended as an interim measure to allow harvesting and protect jobs and caribou while the Taskforce completes its work,” the spokesperson said.

Findlay, whose family has a 250-year history in the Rocky Mountains, doesn’t buy it.

“There’s no job loss if this clearcut is to be stopped,” he said. “Stopping this doesn’t impact West Fraser at all.”

On the other hand, going ahead with the harvest will have a big impact on local communities, says Grande Cache resident Hilda Hallock. Hallock grew up near Grande Cache; her family has hunted and trapped in the area for generations. As a result of the province’s killing of moose and elk to produce wolf bait that they subsequently lace with strychnine, Hallock has seen the local ungulate population dwindle.

“Hunting’s not what it used to be,” she said. “The government went to such great efforts to try to protect these caribou, for them to be ok with West Fraser logging it just baffles me.”

To get some answers, Hallock attended a West Fraser open house hosted by the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation (AWN). The AWN has said they have no site-specific objections to the plan and that their radio collar data shows the Moon Creek area isn’t frequented by caribou.

Ramstead disputes that claim, noting that only a handful of A La Peche caribou are even collared.

“Surely to gosh you cannot infer that there’s no caribou in a certain place or that they’re not utilizing range because of that modelling,”

Moreover, the AWN doesn’t represent all of the local stakeholders, Ramstead pointed out.

The Mountain Metis, in particular, do not agree with AWN’s position, and noted that West Fraser’s August 19 open house to share information about the proposed logging project was latecoming and ultimately, unsatisfactory.

“The consultation process needs to change,” said Kristina Hallock, executive director of the Mountain Metis. “West Fraser and the province should be consulting with the community as a whole, regardless of political affiliation.”

Even though West Fraser said the company has been developing its harvest plan since the summer of 2018 and initiated consultation with local communities and stakeholders in 2019/20, Hallock said most community members she talked to hadn’t heard about the project until concerns about the threatened caribou herd were making the rounds on social media.

“The fact that it’s happening so soon is scary,” she said.

The plan is still in the review process, according to the Minister’s office, but if it meets all the criteria set out by the GOA in 2018, it will be approved. West Fraser has said the harvest operations are planned for September.

Hilda Hallock is not anti-logging.

She understands the need for a working forest, but more important, she said, is a healthy forest.

“I live in a house made out of lumber but there are sustainable ways of doing things.”

West Yellowhead MLA Martin Long is the chair of the subregional taskforce which has yet to produce any recommendations.

Long’s office told The Jasper Local that due to the current COVID situation, the MLA has been in emergency caucus meetings and has been unavailable.

In the meantime, Findlay and the Mountain Metis know that time is of the essence, which is why they are prepared to use their limited resources to take the Government of Alberta to court.

“Our lawyer has been instructed to proceed with an injunction,” Findlay said. “In the interim I would ask Albertans to contact the MLA and the Minister of Environment and say ‘let’s wait until the caribou task force is completed with their recommendations before we go ahead and clearcut.’”

BOB COVEY

// thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 // ISSUE 195 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B2

LOCAL POLITICS

Local NDP candidate in conservative country embracing the challenge issues, he suggested. The other piece of his platform— transitioning the energy industry— might not be as easy to hear for Yellowhead voters.

But that tough pill has to be swallowed, he said.

As a youngster, Guillaume Roy wanted to be mayor of the small town he grew up in.

“I’ve always liked to talk politics, share ideas and opinions,” said Roy, who grew up in Mascouche, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.

“If we start now to act and take those [oil and gas] subsidies to lower carbon initiatives we can help transition to other jobs that will help the planet,” he said. “The climate crisis is inevitable. Why don’t we start now instead of hitting the wall?”

The 28-year-old will have no shortage of opportunities to engage in political discourse. On August 29, Roy was declared the federal candidate for the NDP in the riding of Yellowhead.

Roy has voted for a variety of political parties in the 10 years since he became eligible to cast a ballot. A large part of what has drawn him to the NDP in 2021 is the party’s leader, Jagmeet Singh. Roy said as a visible minority, Singh is empathic.

“It’s a nice journey for me,” said Roy, who moved to Jasper in 2019 and soon after landed a job with the local francophone association, the ACFA. “I’m learning a lot in a short time.”

One of the most valuable lessons he’s learned so far is just how grateful Jasperites are when they learn their candidate lives and works in their community.

“This fact alone means he can better understand what minorities are feeling,” he said. “I think his vision of bringing all of us together as a community is what I want to fight for.”

“It’s been amazing to see people’s reaction to seeing a local person running,” he said.

Not that he’s expecting all his door-knocking to be received so pleasantly. Yellowhead is a riding that has been dominated by the conservative vote.

Since it was created in 1979, the riding has never gone any other colour than blue: be it Progressive Conservative, Reform, Canadian Alliance or the current Conservative Party of Canada, since 1997, conservatives have never had less than 62 per cent of the ballot.

Roy, an apparent optimist, thinks that can change.

To usher in that change, he believes voters need to be heard. He says he’s listening.

“If I know why someone is voting like this then I can potentially reach them,” he said. “I want to understand where they are coming from, what their needs are and how we can help them make up their mind differently.”

Roy said the NDP is the only party with a legitimate

// VYING FOR VOTES // Guillaume Roy is the recently-nominated federal NDP candidate for the Yellowhead riding. // BOB COVEY

plan to meet the climate crisis head on.

“That’s my main concern right now,” he said.

Other pillars of his platform include addressing Indigenous communities’ needs and ensuring community services in rural areas are equitable.

“I want to see more services around rural areas,” he said, noting unreliable internet access and public transportation services are inexcusable in 2021.

Most voters will want to hear his ideas on those

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Roy, who has been meeting with the NDP’s volunteer team in Yellowhead to create an awareness campaign for his candidacy, said his lack of experience in the political arena shouldn’t necessarily be construed as a liability.

“The Liberals and Conservatives have had their chance and they’ve broken promises,” he said. “I may not have political experience but I have a voice to speak up for the community.”

The federal election is September 20. Registered voters should receive a voter card in the mail by September 10, which they should bring, along with accepted identification, to make the voting process easier. If you don’t get a voter information card, use the online voter registration service at elections.ca or call 1-800-463-6868 for assistance.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 195 // WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

PHOTOS BY SIMONE HEINRICH

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Authentic, Homemade Mexican Food Pop-up shop at Coco’s Cafe Fridays & Saturdays 5:30-9PM Weekly specials Tacos, Sopes & more!

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ID the wild creatures of summer and WIN Local wildlife photographer captures all things fuzzy. You can capture all things yummy!

Wildlife challenge time! Can you name all of the critters in this photospread?

Rather than risk embarrassment by mis-labelling a goat as a sheep or a squirrel as a chipmunk, The Jasper Local’s editor wants to pass the biology buck to our dear readers. If you can correctly identify these furry friends, captured so expertly by the stealthy Simone Heinrich, email your answers to thejasperlocal@ gmail.com with the subject line: Syrahs Wildlife Challenge. Those with the correct answers will be placed into a draw to win a $100 gift certificate from our longtime advertising partner, Syrahs of Jasper. Go on, Jasper, give it your best shot!

// Contest sponsored by Syrahs of Jasper

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The Jasper Local // ISSUE 195 // WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

LOCAL ARTS & CULTURE

New poetry collection sprinkles simple, hard-earned wisdom We drink or we drown, Paulette Dube says.

The Jasper author has released a new book of poetry titled the deepest part of the river won’t freeze. At an August 12 online book launch, organized by Dube’s publisher, Green Olive Press, and hosted by fellow Jasper wordsmith, Niki Wilson, Dube brought her digital audience along as she waded into the fast current.

Expanding on themes of family, curiosity and coping with everyday existence, the session gave a snapshot of Dube’s trail-found inspirations, her over-the-fence interactions with neighbours and the guiding lights left by unseen collaborators.

UNFREEZABLE // Paulette Dube’s new poetry collection is brimming with elegant pieces that relate to family, domesticity, and the everyday life that we all experience. // JASPER LOCAL FILE

“Anybody that touches, we keep that perfume on us…I think those are the angels that follow us,” she said.

Dube’s exploration of past and present was a focal point for Wilson, and as they ruminated on the passage of time, Dube allayed Wilson’s anxieties of losing touch with her teenage son when our children move away from home.

Dube is tough. Reading her work is not.

Although poetry has a reputation of being inaccessible, of requiring special training and education to appreciate, Dube’s form is deep without being obscure. Yes, there is a certain mystery which reveals itself long after you’ve read it, but her metaphors aren’t hidden. Like her, they’re direct, sometimes hypnotizing.

“They always come back,” Dube laughed. “That bond between any mom and their kid is beyond walking through fire.”

Dube’s wisdom on such matters has come, in part, through her friendships with her neighbours. She dedicates a poem to “These Women,” who taught her that even though she didn’t always have girlfriends to chat with about the weather or gossip about their husbands, she is part of a network of women that will support each other.

Somewhat reluctantly, Wilson transitioned the conversation from the warm fuzzies of community to the catastrophic warming of climate. She asked Dube about the role of poets in a world experiencing environmental crisis. Her mentor, as always, was armed with creativity and forgiveness, yet another reminder of the maternal instinct.

“This is to the bone, these are women that will come to your house and bring you borscht because you’re having radiation therapy for breast cancer,” she said. “They’re not going to stay for chit chat. You love this person and that’s all there is to it.”

“We’re at this point where we’ve pushed Her. We see these wildfires and the glaciers falling and we’re going to see violence in terms of temperature and thunderstorms,” she said. “We have to be the adults in our house and that’s really tough.”

“When you read Paulette’s writing you will notice it has a kind of aura,” Wilson suggested in her introduction. “She casts you under her spell, whether we are walking beside her with angels or being stung by a bee.”

Those experiences—the stings, the tears, the relentless shadows and the “ridiculous beauty”— are all writeable, Dube promises. As a poet, she tries to drink it all in. Otherwise she drowns.

Dube’s latest book, the deepest part of the river won’t freeze, is available through Green Olive Press.

BOB COVEY // thejasperlocal@gmail.com

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LOCAL IN MEMORIUM

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021 // ISSUE 195 // The Jasper Local // PAGE B6

Born-and-raised Jasperite was a community builder and adventurist He may have been hard of sight, but after 92 years in Jasper, Jack Pugh had pretty much seen it all.

truck and drove like hell,” Jack remembered when interviewed by The Jasper Local in 2016. “I just wanted to go skiing.”

A carpenter by trade, Jack was an active member of the community, an expert skier, a park ambassador, an entrepreneur and a legendary storyteller. Jack’s adventures as a young boy were the stuff of storybooks—he and his siblings were raised on an acreage outside of Jasper where their parents, George and Alice Pugh, ran a market garden on the south side of the Athabasca River. Although the house is no longer there, if you look closely where the Miette joins the Athabasca, the foundation is still visible.

Olson and for the next 52 years he skied and danced with the love of his life. They raised two boys, Ross and Jay, and in the summers the family managed Brewster’s restaurant/ hotel/gas station operation out at the Columbia Icefields. Jack recalled watching a grizzly bear wander through the parking lot and wolverines showing up at the kitchen door, looking for handouts.

Jack and Barb later took over the running of Olson’s, her father’s drug store, which they changed to Jasper Camera & Gift in 1971. There was nothing more Jack and Barb loved than meeting customers from around the world.

Jack was responsible for building the 1960 ski chalet on Whistler’s Mountain, and although glaucoma stole his eye sight starting in the late 1980s, Jack continued to ski until he was 83.

Barb, and after her passing, their sons, would take Jack out on the slopes and guide him down the hill by shouting out directions from behind.

Jack also spent much time in his workshop making cabinets, shelves and anything else family or friends requested.

On July 15, 2021, Jack passed away, but similarly, if you’re looking closely at Jasper’s foundations, it’s not hard to find signs of Jack Pugh.

Jasper’s early ski industry was where Jack had arguably the most influence. In the 1940s, as Jasper was becoming known as a ski destination, the National Film Board of Canada followed a group consisting of Jack, Fred Brewster, Doris Kensit, Tom McCready and Ken Cook into the Tonquin Valley. The spent a week at Fred’s camp, making turns in the spring snow for the camera.

In 1952, after a summer of running snowmobile tours on the Columbia Icefields, a friend suggested Jack apply for a job with the ski patrol in Banff. He had spent the fall and early winter out on Vancouver Island when on the sixth of December he received a telegram from the chief warden in Banff, offering him a job at Mt. Norquay.

As head of patrol, Jack invented the chain brake for the toboggans that carried injured skiers down steep slopes. The mechanism is still in use today.

“I said, ‘G’bye!’ to my brother, jumped in my

On August 26, 1956 Jack married Barbara Anne

Jack Pugh, who passed on July 15, with a photo of him and his siblings in Jasper in the 1930s. // MIKE DONNELLY JASPER LOCAL FILE PHOTO

It was the quality of those friendships that helped define Jack Pugh. His greatest pleasure was the company of his friends whether out skiing, golfing or just enjoying each other’s company.

Of a lifetime spent living in the mountains, Jack had many stories to tell. On September 12, some of those stories will be shared by the people who played important parts in them. Join Jack’s many friends in a celebration of his life at 1 p.m. in the Sawridge Hotel Ballroom.

WITH FILES FROM MIKE DONNELLY

//thejasperlocal@gmail.com