We will have comments once we have studied the bill. However, we really like the direction. This bill delivers on the commitment to legislate limits for commercial growth in national park communities made by Minister Copps in June of 1998. National parks are the crown jewels of Canada's wilderness parks. The 1997 State of the Parks Report cites 31 of 38 national parks reporting ecological stresses from significant to severe, and in 13 parks these have increased in intensity since the previous report in 1992.
National parks have the highest standards of park management in Canada.
A public campaign to save Banff and other national parks from commercial ruin helped spur Hon. Sheila Copps to set limits to commercial growth in all national parks. The challenge now is to ensure this commitment is met, and to ride the momentum to address other national park issues. Following on a Red Book II commitment, a Panel on the Ecological Integrity of Canada's National Parks was appointed in November 1998 to study the system and make recommendations on how national parks can be better managed. Their final report is expected to be publicly released sometime this spring.