The Jasper Local January 1, 2018

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thejasperlocal.com

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monday, january 1, 2018 // ISSUE 112

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 112// monday, january 1, 2018

Local Vocal here we are again.

With another calendar year in the books, The Jasper Local is proud to present you with our annual “Looking Back” issue.

Don’t call it our lazy bones issue! It’s a media tradition to check the rearview to see what the last 12 months looked like—and besides, it’s nice to take a bit of time to recharge for the next news cycle.

As usual, a peek back shows us that some things in Jasper never change while other things refuse to stay the same.

In the former column, let’s put Jasper’s airtight housing market, this town’s countless unfilled job postings and Parks Canada’s penchant for peeving people off. In the latter category, chuck in the end of unmitigated tobogganing, four new faces on municipal council and the federal agency’s well-intentioned but clunky attempts at reconciliation with Canada’s First Nations.

This really was an interesting year for watchers of the green machine. We saw Jasper National Park getting ready to shop out its former assets (Parks to rent out warden cabins); completely bungle the Phoenix file (Payroll errors ongoing for frustrated JNP employees); and tell local cowboys and cowgirls that their next rodeo will be their last (Rodeo given one more year to buck off). circumstances, what was clear from the outpouring of love at Representatives of the Municipality of Jasper, for their part, Calla’s funeral was that this community has a great capacity made headlines by sliding into a sledding safety debate; for love and support. What was also clear was how deeply such by searching for senior and staff housing solutions; and by a loss cuts in a town such as ours. Teachers, caregivers, elected denying—then approving—the installation of a rainbowofficials, business owners, tradespeople, service industry staff, coloured crosswalk. mothers, fathers, children, seniors and others came together Over yonder, many in Valemount are still crossing their fingers to lean on one another so Calla’s loved ones could in turn lean that investors will throw down big bucks for a glacier-based ski on them. Hundreds of people affected by Calla’s death are still struggling to understand, still trying to make sense of an act resort; Banff brought back the bison; and some folks in Hinton and an outcome so horrible. The only hope, it was said during are ticked off because they haven’t seen Jasper National Park the service, is that over time Jasper will be able to accept, take enough action on the mountain pine beetle. bear, endure and somehow find faith in humanity again. The These are only a few select stories, of course, and keep in mind only solace, perhaps, is that Calla has been reunited with her that the lens with which we view our community is decidedly brother, who was also taken from this world too soon. alternative from what you get in other local media. We at The That’s what 2017 has given many of us in Jasper: An Jasper Local typically try to look for storylines that are less excrutiating lesson which asks us to try to take the good from time-sensitive, less sensational in nature and more in-tune the bad. With another year on the horizon, let’s draw from our with what is generally thought of as our “mountain culture.” strengths and remember those who we hold dear.

We don’t like to cover car crashes and won’t geek out on the gratuitous. What’s more up our alley are profiles of unusual bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com characters, accounts of incredible adventures and celebrations of community spirit.

The Jasper Local // Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0 Having said all that, there was one story in Jasper that, when it took place, was so difficult to Published on the 1st and 15th of each month comprehend that we weren’t sure how to approach Editor / Publisher it at all. We’re referring, of course, to the passing Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com of Jasperite Calla Medig, who was shot and killed Art Director in Las Vegas on October 1 in the United States’ Nicole Gaboury.................................................................. nicole@thejasperlocal.com worst shooting in that country’s history. On that Advertising + sales tragic night, Calla’s best friend and roommate, ..............................................................................................................ads@thejasperlocal.com Amica Allenbach, was with her until Calla’s final cartoonist moments. While we won’t pretend to know how Deke.................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com difficult it has been for Amica, or for Calla’s family and friends, to process the pain of those traumatic facebook.com/thejasperlocal @thejasperlocal

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2017 best of deke //

monday, january 1, 2018 // issue 112 // the jasper local// page A3

2017 Best of Deke As much as we in the editorial room like to think our stunning photos, engaging stories and witty headlines grab readers’ attention, there’s no doubt that Deke always gets the first

read. Deke endears himself to his audience by drawing it like he sees it. In 2017, Jasper’s favourite satirist had plenty of inspiration to draw on. Here are a few of our favourite ‘toons.

// FEB 1, 2017

// MAY 15, 2017

// AUG 1, 2017

// OCT. 15, 2017

// NOV. 15, 2017

// DEC. 1, 2017

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page B1 // the jasper local // issue 112 // monday, january 1, 2018

looking back at 2017 //

JANUARY 2017

Banff Bison reintroduction program under scrutiny As Parks Canada looks to reintroduce Plains bison into Banff National Park, a former Jasper wildlife biologist is suggesting the risks of the ecological experiment outweigh the rewards.

In April and May, 10 bison calves were born in Banff National Park’s remote Panther Valley. In June, they were reported as healthy and doing well.

Lu Carbyn, an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta who in the early 1970s did his field work in Jasper’s Snake Indian Valley, says the bison reintroduction program proposed in Banff will rely too much on human manipulation to be consistent with national park tenets.

“The grass is just starting to sprout, the leaves are starting to come out on the bushes, it’s like an orchestra is playing out here. It shows us these animals are adapted to this place.”

“There’s a degree of artificiality to it, which you try to avoid in national parks,” Carbyn said.

Project Manager Karsten Heuer was buoyed by what he sees as the perfect harmony of environment and animal.

In spring of 2018 they will be released to explore the full 1,200 sq-km reintroduction zone in the remote eastern slopes of Banff National Park.

FEBRUARY 2017

Parks to rent out former warden cabins Parks Canada is considering making former warden cabins available to the public as part of a backcountry shelter visitor experience.

Jasper National Park personnel are investigating the feasibility of a pilot project to make the Chaba and Jacques Lake shelters available for rent. The

Chaba shelter, along the Athabasca Crossing trail, would be a four season hut, while the Jacques Lake shelter would only be available in the winter.

“The shelters would be run by Parks Canada, a fee would be set, and reservations would be handled through

A COMMUNITY THAT DINES TOGETHER, SHINES TOGETHER // COMMUNITY DINNERS WERE ONCE AGAIN AN IMPORTANT PART OF WINTER IN JASPER. THE PROGRAM IS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS. CONTACT COMMUNITY OUTREACH SERVICES TO GET INVOLVED. // ASHLEY KENNEDY

the Jasper Information Centre,” said Steve Young, Public Relations and Communications Officer.

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monday, january 1, 2018 // issue 112 // the jasper local// page B2

// looking back at 2017

MARCH 2017

Jasper to welcome back Tour of AB

It’s official: The Tour of Alberta is coming back to Jasper National Park.

Jasper will welcome back Canada’s highest ranked professional road race September 1, kicking off the four-day event as host of the race’s first stage.

“I think it’s a great thing for our mountain community,” Mayor Richard Ireland told The Jasper Local February 27. “The amount of exposure we can get for our town is just incredible.”

The last time the Tour of Alberta rolled through town was September 4-5, 2015.

While predominantly considered a huge

success, there were some rumblings from local business owners who weren’t happy that the event overlapped with the long weekend.

This time around the peloton and its accompanying contingent of media, support vehicles, race officials and racing fans will wrap up festivities in Jasper by Friday afternoon. That coordination was by design, Ireland said.

“Consensus around the local table was that recognizing that the race is going to be held over that long weekend, could we find a day that doesn’t interfere as much?”

CENTRE STAGE // THE EIGHTH ANNUAL JASPER PRIDE FESTIVAL WAS MORE FABULOUS THAN EVER. PARTICIPANTS HELPED RAISE MONEY FOR A RAINBOW CROSSWALK IN JASPER. // ASHLEY KENNEDY

APRIL 2017 Valemount resort gets final approval Valemount Glacier Destinations has the green light from the province of British Columbia.

On March 27, B.C. Minister Shirley Bond, along with proponents of the year-round ski resort and representatives from the Simpcw First Nation, signed the project’s

Master Development Agreement. The MDA is the culmination of a multi-tiered process that began in 2012 when the 20,000 acre, 2,000 bed mega resort west of Valemount was first pitched to resort architect and designer, Oberto Oberti.

“It’s a real sense of accomplishment,” said project lead Tom Oberti,. “Now we’re ready to get down to the real work.”

PEAK PATROL // ISLA AND GREG SHORE HIKED TO THE TOP OF MARMOT BASIN TO GET IN A LAP OFF THE PEAK. // BOB COVEY

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 112 // monday, january 1, 2018

2017 // A YEAR IN REVIEW

Artists pay tribute to unearthing rich Méti MAY 2017

More than a century after Mary Schaffer admired the detailed embroidery that Rocky Mountain homesteader Suzette Swift sewed onto her handmade gowns, moccasins, coats and gloves, descendants of that pioneering Jasperite are following in her stitch marks.

Artists Kristi Bridgeman and Lisa Shepherd are distant relatives of Suzette Swift, but it was only through the shared experience of creating Métis art that they discovered a familiar thread linking them with Jasper, and to each other.

They have been following that since.

“What we’re sharing is our auth said Shepherd, who created the beadwork which compliments B detailed paintings of local flora “We’re trying to preserve that p history.”

J U N E 2 0 1 7 Jasper ACC’s Mountain

Peter Amann doesn’t have a buck

The 62-year-old mountain guide doesn’t have a to climb to feel like he’s been successful in the m concern himself with all the 11,000 foot summit doesn’t care much about what others regard as any particular rush to top out on Mount Athaba does know he’s at 95, however).

Amann just isn’t competitive like that. He never whole reason he got into mountain climbing in //JASPER’S CORY WALLACE BROUGHT HOME THE 24 HOUR SOLO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, A FEAT HE’D ATTEMPTED SEVERAL TIMES.

“I’ve never been a charger,” he said. “I don’t nece objectives.”

J U L Y 2 0 1 7 Parks on pine beetle: W Parks Canada maintains it has a handle on risks presented by mountain pine beetle (MPB) in Jasper National Park.

Meanwhile, the Municipality of Jasper will be barking up another tree in the hopes of getting more action to prevent a potential disaster.

Despite Jasper’s mayor “sounding the alarm,” according to a June 16 CBC article, over the threat MPB-infested forests pose to public safety in the form of wildfire risk, Parks

// THE JASPER LEGION’S JAM NIGHTS WERE T THANKS TO ACTS LIKE MIDNIGHT GRACE FENI

A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 Fire for ceremony dur Jasper’s National Park’s Field Unit Superintendent is defending Parks Canada’s decision to issue a cultural use permit for fire-tending during a park wide fire ban.

Meanwhile, Parks Canada resource conservation officers were called to respond to a human-wildlife conflict issue at the same cultural site where traditional ceremonies were being practiced.

On July 18, Parks Canada issued a fire ban due to elevated wildfire danger. The ban, which was still active at press time, covers the entire park including all front and backcountry

campgrounds and day-use area

At the same time, however, Parks C permit for First Nations communit

Some members of the public were standard, but Alan Fehr, Park Supe to allow an open fire at the cultural looked at the permit application fro representatives it was determined

“We spoke to the groups, we said ‘h understand this is important to you said.

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o ancestors while is culture thread ever

hentic story,” e intricate Brideman’s a and fauna. piece of

//CAMUS D’ANTONIO CHRISTENED THE SPARKLE RUN IN 2017, AN EVENT DEDICATED TO MENTAL HEALTH. // BC

r’s Peter Amann to be honoured as n Guides Ball patron

ket list.

a catalog of peaks he needs mountains. He doesn’t ts, for example, and he the “classics.” Nor is he in asca for the 100th time (he

r has been. In fact, that’s the n the first place.

Call it humility, call it non-competitiveness…whatever it is, it’s the reason why being selected as the Alpine Club of Canada’s honorary patron for the upcoming Mountain Guide’s Ball was never on Amann’s radar.

“I almost felt like they had the wrong person,” he shrugged.

But it wasn’t a mistake; the ACC has selected Amann as the 2017 Patron of the Mountain Guides Ball. Like Chic Scott, Pat Morrow and Don Vockeroth before him, Amann is being honoured for his contribution to the mountain community over a lifetime spent in the alpine.

cessarily have big

We've got this Canada says it has tools in place to actively manage MPB as the situation dictates.

Moreover, officials assert Jasper National Park is not an epicentre of mountain pine beetle from which the insects are spilling uncontrollably into Alberta’s working forest.

“Our policy completely allows us to actively manage this situation when there are economic, social or public safety implications,” said Salman Rasheed, resource conservation manager for Jasper National Park.

TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL IN 2017 IAK. // BOB COVEY

ring ban was justified: supe

as.

Canada issued a cultural use ties to practice ceremonial sweats.

frustrated by the apparent double erintendent, defended the decision l site. Fehr said when officials om Indigenous community that the request was justifiable.

here’s the [fire ban] situation, we u in terms of your culture,’” Fehr

// MITCH FOSTER TOOK HOME THE FAIRMONT JASPER PARK LODGE’S CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW IN 2017. // BOB COVEY

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page B5 // the jasper local // issue 112 // monday, january 1, 2018

looking back at 2017 //

Indigenous consultations on Icefields Trail extended SEPTEMBER 2017

Parks Canada has extended the deadline for Indigenous input on the proposed Icefields Trail’s detailed impact analysis.

The extension is to allow sufficient time for meaningful consultations, according to media relations officer Audrey Champagne.

“Extending the consultation timeline also responds to several requests for the public review of the draft detailed impact analysis to occur outside of the busy summer months,” Champagne said.

The Icefields Trail proposes to link Jasper and the Columbia Icefields via a 106 km

paved pathway alongside Highway 93. Critics have suggested it will destroy important wildlife habitat and compromise public safety. Proponents argue it will enhance cyclist safety and have a minimal impact on the park.

“It is important to note that the proposed Icefields Trail is currently in the conceptual phase and no final decisions have been made,” Champagne said.

//THE WILDERNESS ACCESS PROGRAM GOT ROLLING IN THE SUMMER THANKS TO ACCESSIBILITY ADVOCATES SUCH AS JUSTIN RIEDLER (CENTRE). // BOB COVEY

OCTOBER 2017

Residents uneasy with rental restructuring JASPER’S NEW COUNCIL, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JENNA MCGRATH, HELEN KEHELLER-EMPEY, RICO DAMOTA, PAUL BUTLER, BERT JOURNAULT AND SCOTT WILSON // SUPPLIED

Jasper renters are feeling vulnerable after the announcement that many of the community’s rental suites are set to be turned into condominiums.

evicted. That’s not going to happen,” said Chris Ritter from the newly formed Jasper Multi-Family LP group.

“You don’t have to worry about being displaced, or six months from now worry about being

renters can’t afford these units,” Raurell said. “They will have to find another place.”

Despite the encouraging words, some residents were not mollified.

Alejandro Raurell lives in Aspen Gardens.

He noted there was nothing binding in the The new owners of developers’ promises Aspen Gardens, the and suggested that Cabin Creek “Walkmany of the working Ups” and the adjacent town homes on Patricia class families who rent those units will never Street were in Jasper be in a position to buy last week attempting when the transition to to ease residents’ condominiums takes concerns that the place. changes would leave renters without a place “I can tell you that to live. more than half of these

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monday, january 1, 2018 // issue 112 // the jasper local// page B6

// looking back at 2017

NOVEMBER 2017 Rodeo given one year to buck off Parks Canada has told the Jasper Heritage Rodeo it has one year to skedaddle.

Field Unit Superintendent Alan Fehr has said that he is unwilling to commit to a long-term agreement to allow the rodeo to continue in Jasper National Park.

“We have had visitor noise complaints and a loss of revenue as a result of closing camping loops during the rodeo,” Fehr said in a letter to the association.

But the group’s members are railing against the idea that the Jasper summer rodeo poses a problem for the visitor experience.

Helen Switzer wants harder evidence than what’s been presented. The noise issue was a complaint in 2016 and the rodeo abided by Fehr’s request to tone it down, Switzer said.

“We addressed the issue,” Switzer said. “We obtained a decimetre to measure the sound.”

Fehr says Parks Canada is aware of the impact that this decision will have on the rodeo. He wrote that the one year permit is to allow organizers to make alternative arrangements, but that “there are no other locations in the park that are acceptable for this purpose.”

Switzer and the rodeo association want the tradition to continue. They see Jasper’s rodeo as an important part of Jasper’s history. They are asking for an extension.

WALK IN THE PARK // PAW PRINTS ON THE SHORES OF THE THE ATHABASCA RIVER WILL OFTEN LEAD TO UNMITIGATED VIEWS AND UNCROWDED PLACES TO WET A FISHING LINE. // BOB COVEY

DECEMBER 2017 Payroll errors ongoing for frustrated JNP employees Jasper National Park employees are still experiencing significant payroll errors more than a year and a half after they were first reported.

Moreover, employees are frustrated that they aren’t getting any local support for their ongoing issues.

“The hardest part is you feel like nobody’s going to bat for you, that nobody wants to deal with your problem,” said a Jasper National Park employee who spoke to The Jasper Local on the condition of anonymity.

For the past 18 months, since the government of Canada overhauled its payroll program and implemented the failed Phoenix payroll system, tens of thousands of federal employees have been underpaid, overpaid or not paid at all.

“It takes a toll,” she said. “At the end of the day you just want to feel appreciated and valued and I don’t feel that at all, other than the team I’m working with. They’re the only ones that hold me up.”

THE WAIT IS OVER // ON DECEMBER 1 MARMOT BASIN OPENED TRES HOMBRES, EXPERT TERRAIN ON THE NORTH ASPECT OF THE MOUNTAIN WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN SKIED BY THE PUBLIC BEFORE. // BOB COVEY

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