Parks Canada to look at divesting highways, bridges, dams
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Keith Ewing
The government seems to be
able to find millions, if not billions to spend overseas on various
things...maybe it is time they start spending a few bucks on Canada
Tow Hill
@Keith Ewing
So people literally starving to death in natural disaster zones takes a back seat to our government retaining jurisdiction over a few dozen bridges? That's really how you view the world?
So people literally starving to death in natural disaster zones takes a back seat to our government retaining jurisdiction over a few dozen bridges? That's really how you view the world?
David Raymond Amos
@Tow Hill Framing your question is not fair to Mr Ewing.
Turnabout is fair play so how about we start saving money in other countries by not assisting NATO in teasing Russians or supporting Yankee War War Mongers in attacking people who did not attack us?
Furthermore I am sure a lot decent folks would rather have fed the starving people overseas with the crops we plow under or the livestock we have killed in the past for no reason I will ever understand.
How about we quit overpaying political pals to take fancy jobs with embassies and consulates worldwide and use that money to feed the needy at home first and make certain our First Nations folks get food and water etc?
In a nutshell don't ya think charity begins at home?
Arlond Lynds
@Keith Ewing
They have not been spending any more over seas than the Harper Government™, less if you consider the money wasted sending fighters planes over. But back to the topic of the story, they should simply spend the money necessary to up keep the parks, selling off assets is ridiculous.
They have not been spending any more over seas than the Harper Government™, less if you consider the money wasted sending fighters planes over. But back to the topic of the story, they should simply spend the money necessary to up keep the parks, selling off assets is ridiculous.
David Raymond Amos
@Arlond Lynds YUP but.... "the money wasted sending fighters planes over"
Methinks Harper sent our planes overseas to do a few bombing runs too
Methinks Harper sent our planes overseas to do a few bombing runs too
mo bennett
so, justin, can you tell the
audience why you are spending millions on immigrants and essence of
squat on your own country's heritage and infrastructure!
David Raymond Amos
@mo bennett Gerald Butts does
not answer questions because he does not have to. He is one the
special non elected people who are not accountable to us. Only Prime
Minister Trudeau the Younger gets hear what Butts' thinks and those
thoughts come byway of whispers in his ear Nothing is in writing for
obvious reasons.
Arlond Lynds
@mo bennett
"23 billion on immigrants" .... seriously, would you please use real facts. The government did not spend and part of that on immigrants. It is not nice to use alternate facts.
"23 billion on immigrants" .... seriously, would you please use real facts. The government did not spend and part of that on immigrants. It is not nice to use alternate facts.
David Raymond Amos
@Arlond Lynds So just exactly how much has Justin spent on his new friends he has settled in our Native Land?
mo bennett
@David Raymond Amos i said that. just in less words.
Max Merl
Sorry but the Liberals and Trudeau rather spend our money to other countries than our own.
Pete Shartin
@Neil Gregory
Canadians need to start asking and especially the journalists and press people need to start asking
Where did the money go Justin ?
Canadians need to start asking and especially the journalists and press people need to start asking
Where did the money go Justin ?
David Raymond Amos
@Pete Shartin Better yet why not ask Trudeau The Younger where the money is coming from?
Rick Nash
Selling off infrastructure
assets means selling the roadways which are the access into and through
the Parks. Since when are National Parks up for sale? It would be
entirely possible for private commercial interests to redevelop lands
associated into commercial businesses. There is plenty of associated
lands that are used to provide road materials which likely would be in
the sale that could be developed into resorts that Parks Canada would be
powerless to control. Look at Lake Louise and how the land became owned
by foreign interests. Basically Canada's National Parks are up for sale 
Angus Stafford
@Rick Nash Trying again
without the reference links. "Since when are National Parks up for
sale?" Canadians keep electing the same two neoliberal governments, in
effect giving tacit approval to an ongoing push for privatization. This
is just the early stages: our airports, ports, municipal water services
and numerous other public service are potentially up for grabs and CETA
likely will make anything privatized gone for good.
David Raymond Amos
@Angus Stafford That been the plan since the reign of Trudeau The Elder
Ida Pomme
Canada for sale. The Liberal way.
Debra Patricia
@Ida Pomme
The Liberal AND the Conservative way. Eg. Steven Harper's sellout of the Canadian Wheat Board to the Saudis.
The Liberal AND the Conservative way. Eg. Steven Harper's sellout of the Canadian Wheat Board to the Saudis.
David Raymond Amos
@Debra Patricia Steven Harper's sellout of the Canadian Wheat Board should never be fotgotten by fans of ol R.B. Bennett
Arlond Lynds
@Debra Patricia
And how Harper and co sold the commercial rights to the Ebola Vaccine for just over $200K to US company Newlink Genetics so they could simply resell it for $50 million +++, for a tidy 250 times more than they paid us for it. Yeah, hopefully the Liberals can beat that.
And how Harper and co sold the commercial rights to the Ebola Vaccine for just over $200K to US company Newlink Genetics so they could simply resell it for $50 million +++, for a tidy 250 times more than they paid us for it. Yeah, hopefully the Liberals can beat that.
David Raymond Amos
@Arlond Lynds Now that is interesting I never heard about Newlink Genetics deal
leonard g MacAulay
So far the current govt has left me far from Impressed. Is it 2019 yet ?
Arlond Lynds
@leonard g MacAulay
I am totally impressed, they have not been going on the PM's gut like
the previous government, they are looking after the store and
methodically working to achieve stated goals. And no they have not been
spending more than the Harper Government™ on foreign aide, and no,
people getting selfies with the PM do not cost us anything and he goes
to the meetings he was headed to when they finish with the pics. And yes
the fact that the world actually likes our PM is a good thing that
brings advantages while costing nothing.
David Raymond Amos
@Arlond Lynds Methinks you should do a tally on Trudeau The Younger's broken promises that do matter to lots of folks
Anthony Kennedy
I smell tolls and user fees.
David Raymond Amos
@Anthony Kennedy Yep Just likes skunks private companies with government pals have a stink that is hard to forget
Dimitri Stantos
Doesn't money grow on trees
in Trudeau's la la land rainbow unicorn world where the only hard
decision is what colorful thematic socks to wear and best photo-bomb
selfie poses?
David Raymond Amos
@Dimitri Stantos Methinks
Trudeau The Younger's toughest job is trying to remember everything his
buddies Butts and Leblanc tell him to do.
Pete Shartin
The loss of sovereignty
through debt created by trudeau to give away to foreigners will see
Canadian airports , highways and now National Parks given away to
foreign interests , he is pissing away money he doesn't have and will
now give away Canada piece by piece
@Pete Shartin How much did Mulroney and Harper give away to their pals?
Zavie Johnston
Maybe they wouldn't have to eat their seed corn if the PM didn't keep giving our money away to make himself look good.
Pat Smith (JuJubes)
@kathy powell briand
Kathy, your boys Chretien and Martin gutted everything they could to make a fake "balanced" budget, long before Harper came along.
Kathy, your boys Chretien and Martin gutted everything they could to make a fake "balanced" budget, long before Harper came along.
David Raymond Amos
@Pat Smith (JuJubes) Oh my how quick we forget the bag man Mr Mulroney N'esy Pas?
Parks Canada to look at divesting highways, bridges, dams
Cash-strapped agency examines whether to transfer or divest non-heritage assets worth $8.3B
A new bridge is shown in Pacific Rim National Park on
Vancouver Island. Parks Canada has ordered a study into whether it
should give up its bridges, dams and highways. (Parks Canada)
The agency plans to hire an outside consultant to advise on "options for divestiture or transfer" of infrastructure not considered part of its core mandate to safeguard Canada's cultural assets, says a recent notice.
Bridges that have heritage value will be retained. But the so-called "pre-feasibility" study will look at whether to shed any of the rest of Parks Canada's general infrastructure, which represents close to half of the agency's $17.5 billion worth of built assets.
A line of parked vehicles snakes down the
shoulder of Highway 16 near Jasper, Alta. Highways are among the assets
that Parks Canada is considering whether to shed. (Supplied/Darryl
Ropcean)
"When managing such a large and diverse asset portfolio, it is standard practice to conduct regular asset assessments," Meaghan Bradley said in an email.
"To be clear, this is an initial exploratory study to inform future discussions around the management of Parks Canada's highways, dams and non-heritage bridges and no decisions have been made regarding the future of these general assets."
Require routine maintenance
Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway, along with national or provincially numbered highways, run through national parks and historic sites managed by Parks Canada, and are considered agency assets that require routine maintenance and repair that draw on scarce resources.
The consultants are being asked to provide financial modelling and analysis for a wide range of possibilities, including potential transfer of assets to provinces or municipalities, with a final report by Feb. 28.
Cash-strapped Parks Canada owns a vast variety of land, buildings, roads and other infrastructure across the country, with some 15,000 assets in its official inventory, many of them in poor shape and long overdue for repair.
In 2012, the agency conducted the first comprehensive National Asset Review of that inventory, and found about 47 per cent of all its assets were in poor or very poor condition.
'Under-investment has been a chronic issue...' - Parks Canada tender document
An outside consultant in 2013 revised that to 53 per cent for the entire inventory. Opus International Consultants also said about 61 per cent of 2,000 cultural assets — such as historic houses, fortifications and locks — were in poor or very poor condition.
Parks Canada estimates carrying out all deferred repairs would cost some $2.9 billion.
Earlier this month, the agency said it plans to update the National Asset Review next year.
"Under-investment has been a chronic issue impeding the sound and consistent life cycle management of the portfolio," says an agency document outlining plans for the 2018 inventory update.
Long-term plan needed
The federal budget in March promised Parks Canada $364 million over two years, starting next April, to help with repairs. The agency was also asked to prepare a medium- and long-term plan for its asset portfolio.
"Parks Canada is not embarking at this point on any type of divestiture plan," spokesperson Jason Bouzanis said in an interview. "We're really just conducting … an exploratory study," calling the exercise "standard practice" when developing long-term plans.
The federal government is also examining whether to sell off Canada's major airports and marine ports, and has hired consultants to advise it on the feasibility.
To celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation this year, Parks Canada eliminated admission fees for national parks and historic sites. The number of visits so far this year is up about 12 per cent.
Parks Canada Discovery Pass is free for 2017
to mark the 150th anniversary of Confederation. The agency was given $76
million to help cope with the lost revenue. (Parks Canada)
Parks Canada operates 46 national parks, a national urban park, four national marine conservation areas and 171 national historic sites, including nine historic canals.
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