Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Federal legislation introduced Wednesday aims to give the fire-ravaged Rocky Mountain town of Jasper full authority over local land planning and development, instead of Parks Canada.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the legislation, once passed, would help speed up rebuilding efforts.
Wildfires in July destroyed over a third of the town’s homes and businesses and wiped out more than 800 housing units.
As Jasper falls within the boundaries of Jasper National Park, Parks Canada currently has authority over land use planning and development in the town.
This means that building plans and permits are issued by Parks Canada rather than the local government.
At a news conference in Ottawa, Guilbeault said giving Jasper control over development in the community transfers authority “where it belongs.”
“It will make it possible to give the town of Jasper, businesses and residents more of a say in shaping the town’s future,” said Guilbeault.
“We are committed to removing any obstacles that stand in the way of these efforts.”
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said the new legislation is the first step in a long process to actually get the authority, but that it comes at a critical time for the town.
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“This is a huge step forward for Jasper,” he said.
“The changes this legislation enables will allow us to plan for Jasper’s future with more local input, ensuring that decisions can truly reflect the needs of our residents while, of course, preserving the unique character of our iconic national park .”
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said once the legislation is passed, Parks Canada and Jasper will create a community development plan that would then need to be approved by the Alberta government.
Ireland said this change has been in the works since 2022.
“We’ve been in long discussions with Parks Canada over a number of years to get to a point where we think we’re very close to agreement on the technical aspects,” he said.
“But we need this legislative change first and hopefully that will come quickly.
“It can’t be fast enough from our point of view.”
Jasper faces a number of challenges as the community begins to rebuild.
Earlier this week, the town council voted to ask the Alberta government for help in stabilizing its annual budgets for the next few years since the fire took a significant amount of property tax revenue.
Without provincial help, local officials say the town would need to cut services significantly, which could harm the visitor experience and consequently harm the vital tourism economy.
Another option would be to raise property taxes for the remaining residents, which officials say would slow the rebuilding.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10763274/parks-canada-jasper-land-transfer-planning/
