Grooming eliminated in Riding Mountain National Park

News — May 9, 2012

The following is an email recently forwarded to the CCSAM office…

Following the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan tabled on March 29th 2012, I would like to provide you an update on how the Government’s effort to reduce the deficit will impact Parks Canada.

On April 11, we announced to staff several measures to improve internal efficiencies and reduce costs while focusing on agency priorities and quality service delivery to Canadians on our important mandate. On April 30th, we notified our team members of the necessary associated staffing reductions.

One of Parks Canada’s decisions is to align the season, hours of operation, and personal service offer at national parks and national historic sites to better reflect patterns of visitation. When visitation is at its highest during the peak season of operation, staffing will be at its highest levels, and facilities will be fully operational. During the shoulder season and off season, however, resources will be aligned to better reflect the reduced number of visitors.

At Riding Mountain, this will mean:

The hours of operation of the VRC will be reduced in the spring and fall to five days per week. In the spring and fall, the Wasagaming Campground hours will vary according to demand, as is now the case. Reduced seasonality will result in less use of assets at certain time of the year and the period of work will reflect this.
Visitor services will be limited during the winter months, including eliminating the grooming of cross-country trails, the skating rink, and skating trail. Cairns Cabin will not be open during the winter months. Visitor information will continue to be available through the administration building during normal business hours.
Limited Visitor Safety services will be available in the off season through Parks Canada and we will work with the local RCMP detachment and Search and Rescue groups in the event of any emergency.

I would like to stress that we are not closing permanently any parks or sites. Our approach has been to do our best to improve internal efficiencies, align our operations to seasonal requirements while continuing to focus on our mandated priorities of protecting and
presenting Canada’s treasured places.

I want to continue to assure you as a valued Parks Canada partner; it is my goal to keep our staff, partners and stakeholders informed as we implement these changes, and to work with stakeholders like yourself, where possible, to minimize the impacts of program change on neighboring communities and businesses.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 204-848-7222 or by email at robert.sheldon@pc.gc.ca.

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