By Sumayya
A group of people is working to try and change Parks Canada’s choice to stop its search-and-rescue dog program in Banff National Park.
A member of Parliament named William Stevenson, who represents the Yellowhead area, is leading an official request with that goal.
The member of Parliament told CTV News on Friday that the response to the request “did not take very long.”
“We had over 2,500 people within 24 hours. We were gaining about 100 people every hour,” Stevenson said.
“We were over 5,000 yesterday.
“A lot of people are worried about this, and I think it is the safety problem more than the money.”
Parks Canada’s search-and-rescue dog program in Banff National Park started in the early 1970s.
The program includes specially taught dogs working next to park officers in Banff and other national parks.
These dogs have helped find lost hikers, find people caught in snowslides, track suspects, and find clues during police investigations.
They have also helped other emergency workers, including local police.
Cutting this program completely is the result of government-wide actions to lower costs and save money.
In a statement, Parks Canada said it is “working to update how it gives programs and services to make sure they offer the best value to Canadians while helping long-term survival.”
Parks Canada said those actions include “updating its law enforcement system.”
“As part of these changes, Parks Canada has made the hard choice to stop its dog handler program,” Parks Canada said.
“Banff National Park had the organization’s only dog handler job in the country.
“Park officers are taught and given tools to enforce the Canada National Parks Act without using dogs.”
Stevenson told CTV News he has written a letter to the federal environment minister, whose government department looks after Parks Canada.
He said he asked what the reason was, how much money the move is really going to save, and how the empty spaces it makes will be filled.
“My personal view is probably not 100 percent correct, but when some of these choices are made in Ottawa instead of locally, I think they are looking more at a numbers sheet,” Stevenson said.
“The minister probably gave the order of, ‘You people have to find a certain amount of dollars,’ and left it up to Parks Canada to find those dollars.
“Maybe she does not even know, so I am making sure she knows very well.”
The minister in charge is Julie Dabrusin, who represents Toronto-Danforth in the House of Commons.
The leader of the Canadian Avalanche Association, Joe Obad, told CTV News his group “knows the Government of Canada has to make some hard choices.”
He said Parks Canada “has a world-class reputation for its public safety team and the work it does.”
He said part of that reputation “is the search-and-rescue dog program.”
“Dogs give some very specific help that in certain situations, humans and technology cannot give,” Obad said.
“Dogs have the power to lower the time that some parts of rescue work take.
“It is really about the safety of rescuers in many situations, and dogs help lower the time that rescuers are put in danger.”
Parks Canada said in its statement that public safety stays most important.
“Search-and-rescue work will continue to be given through a group of taught workers, operational tools, set ways of working, and partnerships.
“We will keep working with outside organizations, police partners, and special search-and-rescue workers, when needed, to ensure a helpful response when it is required.”
Obad told CTV News his group supports thinking over the choice again.
“It is often the situation that search-and-rescue teams work together as a network… The result of this change has a result on this whole network,” Obad said.
“An important tool is being taken out.
“There is really a chain reaction of effects, and a lot of doubt in the community about how this is going to affect an important tool that people have come to depend on.”
