The Jasper Local February 15 2016 by The Jasper Local

a lt e r n at i v e +

LOCAL + independent

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thejasperlocal.com

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monday, february 15, 2016 // ISSUE 67

JULIE-ANNE WEAVER AND COLIN AMMON TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE DOWN MALIGNE LAKE. WARM TEMPERATURES HAVE SENT SKIERS SCRAMBLING TO HIGHER ELEVATIONS.// GEOFF FRASER

Conservation groups remain hopeful after legal challenge against Parks Canada is dismissed A federal judge has dismissed a legal challenge claiming Parks Canada does not have the legal authority to consider overnight accommodations at Maligne Lake. On behalf of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and the Jasper Environmental Association (JEA), Ecojustice was arguing that former JNP superintendent Greg Fenton should not have been allowed to green light consideration of tent cabins at Maligne Lake because it would require a change to the management plan. However, a February 8 decision by Justice James Russell ruled that considering a proposal and changing the management plan are separate processes. “In my view, Parks Canada cannot be prevented from

considering project proposals. And project proposals cannot be accepted or implemented unless they comply with a validly enacted and/or amended management plan,” Judge Russell wrote in his decision. Although they lost the case, CPAWS and the JEA are taking solace in the fact that the judge crystallized the idea that there won’t be approval of any development which goes against the management plan. Parks Canada has said it has a rigorous review process. “The ruling is confirmation that ... the superintendent’s decision ... was reasonable,” a statement said. JEA Chair Jill Seaton is pleased that the current government has already shown to be more interested in limiting development than its predecessor. “The Minister has said they will limit development… we’re not discouraged,” Seaton said. Bob Covey //bob@thejasperlocal.com

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editorial //

page A2 // the jasper local // issue 67 // monday, february 15, 2016

Local Vocal What makes one unique?

It’s a question that for two years, the Diversity Project asked residents of Jasper to ponder. For some participants, the answer was easy; perhaps their hair colour, sexuality or culture set them apart. For others, it was more difficult. Most of us spend a lot of time just trying to fit in; it often takes an act of courage to acknowledge what makes us different, let alone celebrate it. It’s not always easy putting ourselves out there, and even if we do have a story to tell, it can be hard to imagine doing so in public. The Jasper Local ran into this situation during production of this edition when, at the last minute before deadline, one of the people we had interviewed for this loosely-themed “Diversity issue” decided they weren’t comfortable being in the spotlight. Even though I felt strongly that their journey from foreign worker to landed immigrant, from renter to home owner and from housekeeper to caregiver would resonate with, and even inspire others, this person was adamant that their story be kept private. Applications Period for Canada Happily, there’s no shortage of inspiration in those Summer Jobs 2016 Program Extended who did agree to be featured. Anne Gibson offers The deadline to apply for funding through the Canada Summer it in spades as she tells contributor Fern Yip about through the Canada Summer Jobs Jobs Program. The program her incredible journey of self-awareness. Jack Pugh is the original Jasper lifestyle-liver and Sgt. Program has been extended to consistently ensures that local Rick Bidaisee’s background in hi-stakes police March 11, 2016. Canada Summer employers are able to hire young work makes his community policing policies all Jobs provides funding to not-for- workers for the summer. It is a the more authentic. These are but three unique profit organizations, public-sector great way for employers to hire individuals in our diverse community. We at The employers, and small businesses young and skilled workers and Jasper Local plan to feature many more. with 50 or fewer employees to also a great way for students to As mentioned, often we’re trained to think create summer job opportunities gain valuable work experience that diversity is inherently bad—or at least less for young people aged 15-30 who while also saving money for the convenient to getting along with others. But all are full-time students intending to following school year. we have to do is look to nature to show us that the return to their studies in the next For more information please go to: healthiest ecosystems are the ones which contain a school year. www.servicecanada.gc.ca/csj diverse array of species and inputs. Diversity is not I strongly encourage all local a characteristic of life, but a condition necessary - Jim Eglinski, MP – Yellowhead for life, as American author Barry Lopez eloquently employers to apply for funding put it. The Jasper Local // Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper Hearing that, it would seem that Jasper has 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0 a good thing going. But as the Diversity Project points out, it’s not enough to simply Published on the 1st and 15th of each month be diverse, it’s critical to have a deeper Editor / Publisher Bob Covey..........................................................................................bob@thejasperlocal.com conversation about diversity and our own Art Director personal reactions to it. In that regard, after we’ve decided what makes Nicole Gaboury........................................................................nicole@thejasperlocal.com Advertising + sales us individually unique, it might be time to Rachel Bailey..............................................................................rachel@thejasperlocal.com consider who were are as Jasperites. cartoonist A visit to the museum this month should give us a deke......................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com few starting points. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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Local law enforcement //

monday, february 15, 2016 // issue 67 // the jasper local// page A3

Pricey penalties imposed for caribou closure trespassers Three people were given stiff fines last week for entering areas closed for caribou conservation. On February 11 Jasper Provincial Court heard two cases wherein parties were charged by Parks Canada for trespassing in delayed access areas. After hearing the cases, Judge J. P. Higgerty imposed fines of $1,500 for each person. The court learned that on December 12, two males— one from Jasper, one from Beaumont—walked part way up the Signal Fire Road after ducking the tape delineating a wildlife closure. The area is part of the Maligne Range, where a small herd of caribou is known to live. On November 1, as part of conservation measures to protect the dwindling species, the Maligne Range was closed to all winter users until March 1. Parks Canada took the steps to prevent facilitated

predator access—i.e., wolves using packed ski trails to access caribou habitat, as demonstrated by scientists. Alerted to the area by an electric monitoring system on the trail, Parks Canada wardens followed the men’s footsteps in the snow, wherein they discovered the two trespassers. Notable for the Crown’s submission was the fact that when a Parks Canada helicopter flew over the area to assess the situation, the two men hid in the bushes. Their defence that they didn’t read the signs did little to sway Higgerty. In a different incident on January 2, two female snowshoers were caught in a delayed access zone in the Bald Hills area. Similar to the first case, the women had to duck underneath tape and walk by prominently-displayed signage to access the area. According to warden Mike Misskey, Parks Canada staff at Maligne Lake noticed fresh tracks in the snow

and decided to investigate. The staff member encountered the trespassers approximately 2 km up the fire road; the women were on their way back from the subalpine. “They had gone straight up into caribou habitat,” Misskey said. Only one woman was at court on February 11 (the other woman’s court date is March 10). The woman who stood pled guilty to the charge, but like the hikers on the Signal Road, claimed she did not read the signs. Judge Higgerty reiterated to all parties the severity of their actions in light of Jasper’s fragile caribou populations. The $1,500 fines were less than the $2,000 penalty the Crown was asking for. Five more people will face similar charges for trespassing in caribou closures. Those cases will be heard in Jasper Provincial Court on March 10.

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com CHRISTOPHER READ AND JULIE DESBEQUETS TAKE IN THE DIVERSITY PROJECT AT THE JASPER YELLOWHEAD MUSEUM. THE EXHIBIT FEATURES HUNDREDS OF PHOTOGRAPHS OF JASPERITES COLLECTED OVER TWO YEARS, THE SUBJECTS OF WHICH DECLARE THEIR UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS. THE EXHIBIT RUNS UNTIL THE END OF FEBRUARY. // BOB COVEY

Local diversity //

page B1 // the jasper local // issue 67 // monday, february 15, 2016

Overcoming fear, understanding self One of the first challenges Anne had to

Sarah Anne Gibson began her extraordinary journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance five years ago.

face in making the transition to being a woman was the fear of rejection. This fear was not unfounded. Discrimination against transgender individuals is very real and often results in the inability to

Anne, a carpenter, ice climber and outdoor

find employment, high rates of poverty,

sports enthusiast, is transgender. Her story

depression, and suicide. There have also

is one of courage, acceptance and a testa-

been a lot of violent hate crimes against

ment to the importance of inclusion and

transgender individuals. Between January

diversity in a small community. Anne knew at a very young age that the male

Glen Leitch has benefited from being top deli dog on Trip Advisor.//Bob Covey photos

no one would accept her, Anne seriously

not match her true feelings of being female.

considered moving away and coming out

When Anne was 11-years-old her mother perimenting with her identity by trying the clothes on. Shortly afterwards, she was sent to a psychologist, therapy sessions Anne describes today as ‘scareapy.’ Although the sessions did not last long, they made Anne feel deeply guilty and ashamed of how she felt. They also made her recognize the dangers of expressing her authentic self. Back then

“You’ve got to be who you are and be okay with it.” she was transgender. Connecting with the transgender community online led her to seek out neighbouring transgender communities in person. A group in Nelson, B.C. helped her to express herself as a woman in a public setting for the first time.

courage to tell the rest of her circle of friends

munity. In fact, Anne remarks that she “has

Instead, she learned to identify as a male.

not had one negative experience” in her tran-

“I did a lot of guy things” Anne says. “I hunt-

sition. Instead she feels that the community

ed, shot guns, drag raced, did mechanics.”

is there for her.

At the time, no one around Anne, not even

“I’ve got a whole town backing me up.”

her family or close friends, knew about her

When asked if she regretted that there were

inner conflict, but her authentic self contin-

no opportunities to come out when she was

ued to follow her like a shadow.

younger, Anne replied that she was happy to

When Anne moved to Jasper about a de-

have the opportunity to have a family.

cade ago, she found herself in a stable

“I got to have a family and two kids,” she

position in life, and with this new ground-

said. “I’m glad the time to come out came

ing came increased awareness and clar-

was not alone led Anne to recognize that

That first ally was pivotal. It gave Anne the

build from her coworkers to the wider com-

press her feelings and stop being herself.

similar experiences. The discovery that she

huge,” she said.

that, the momentum of support continued to

decision in those adolescent years to sup-

vate and learned that other people had very

“To finally be able to tell someone was

decided to come out in Jasper. Following

bullied, ostracized, or worse, Anne made the

share feelings that she had long kept pri-

her secret.

of her closest friends and her two sons, Anne

selves wholly outside of it. For fear of being

Through online forums, she was able to

friends, one she knew she could trust with

ing that she had the unquestionable support

ance or support for youth who found them-

most logical starting point—the internet.

chose to confide in one of her closest

was nothing short of total acceptance. Know-

heterosexual box, and there was no guid-

to explore them. Her search began at the

anonymity would make things easier.

and her two sons. Their immediate reaction

tion against anyone who did not fit into the

rose again, but this time Anne was ready

in a different community where perhaps

Before making any moves, however, Anne

there was even more extreme discrimina-

ity. The feelings she had long suppressed

and gender-diverse people were murdered in North America. Anxious and afraid that

gender she had been assigned at birth did

found girls’ clothes in her room. She was ex-

2008 and December 2014, 112 transgender

Anne Gibson’s journey from identifing as a male to embracing her true identity as a female would not have been possible without the support of allies. // supplied

later in life.” Although Anne’s story is an uplifting one, it is unfortunately not as common as it should

“It was wonderful, the feeling was so amazing. It just felt completely natural. That feeling helped me know that this was going to be my path.” Eventually Anne realized that she wanted to express herself as a woman full time.

be. She chooses to share her story with others so that others who find themselves in a similar position may be encouraged to do the same. “You’ve got to be who you are and be okay with it.” fern yip // info@thejasperlocal.com

Local celebrity //

monday, february 15, 2016 // issue 67 //the jasper local// page B2

Becoming part of the scenery for visiting Hollywood Simply by virtue of looking rather unkempt and having nothing to do for a few days, last spring, I got on as an extra in Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant.

In July, another blockbuster descended on the Bow Valley; Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks were producing a new mini-series for HBO about the Lewis and Clark expedition across the American West in 1804. The previous week I showed up not far downstream from the confluence of the Bow and Highwood Rivers for canoe practice, only to be informed that I wasn’t supposed to be there. Now I was told by wardrobe that they didn’t actually have a costume for me to wear. Luckily for me this morning, “Tim” hadn’t shown up, so I was fitted for his white canvas coat and breeches, and the blue felt hat of a US Marine Corps soldier. Three of my fellow marines had been waiting to be hailed since dawn, killing time by playing ping pong. When a call came over the radio that we were needed immediately, we dashed over to wardrobe, where it was discovered that during the raucous game of table tennis, two of the marines had split their pants.

“Actor” mike Donnelly in costume, on the set of Lewis and Clark, an upcoming HBO mini-series. // supplied

As director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu waited for more snow to fall in the Goat Range just outside of Canmore, for three days in April last year, I waited for one of five assistant directors (AD) to give me a command. When I wasn’t standing around, I carried boats on my shoulders, stacked and scraped furs, sat around campfires and fake-drank grog. For I was a Trapper. The day started with a 4:30 a.m. breakfast at the Holiday Inn, then it was downstairs for wardrobe and makeup. By 6 a.m. we were herded onto buses and driven up the Spray Lakes Road to the set, which consisted of an elaborate 1820s-style fur trade fort complete with log palisade, gun bastions and surrounding tipi village. Here we were handed our props from a table laid out with rubber muskets, powder horns, bows and arrows, leather satchels and hunting knives. Besides the cast, crew, horses and their requisite cube vans and trailers, there were at most times dozens of extras wandering about: not just trappers but traders, boatmen, blacksmiths, Blackfoot, Arikara, and Sioux. Prone to wandering myself, on the 15th hour of the last day, I decided to go for a stroll. As I rounded a corner of the fort I saw an AD approaching. “You there, in the red coat, pretend you’re drunk,” he commanded. I hesitantly obeyed, stumbling about with my back to the camera. “Cut,” came the call. “Less drunk!” shouted the AD. “Rolling. Action!” the voice sounded again. After another cut, the AD walked over. “You are no longer drunk. Just be passed out.” As I lay in the snow, my hat pulled down over my eyes, my wool mittens clasped tightly around an empty bottle, dusk began to settle. Take after take, the directors refined the scene. The temperature dropped and the light faded. Now and again I would steal a peek at the camera, mounted on a crane in the open meadow, as it panned across the grounds in front of the fort then followed a furcloaked Leonardo on horseback as he passed through the village of sleeping tips and smoky campfires. I had a feeling I was nailing my role.

pants tucked into high brown boots, a long black coat, a peach-coloured cravat tucked into a grey woolen vest and what felt like a a very tall, grey top hat. “Do you like my creation?” she had asked of a colleague. “A little Willy Wonka,” came the reply. The day was warm. The extras, 50 or 60 in all, were cooped up in the old school house, hidden from the camera out in the street. There was a doctor, a businessmen, carpenters, railway workers, rough looking types, upstanding ladies of the town and less upstanding ladies of the town. Finally the call came in that everyone was needed in the street. I fell in with a group, following one girl with a headset. “I need someone to hold this hammer,” someone said. A young man dressed in a short jacket and a newsboy cap eagerly offered.

“I can have that ping pong table taken away!” the woman from wardrobe fumed.

“You’re too fancy,” he was rebuked, until the AD looked at me. “Well at least you’re not wearing a top hat. Come.”

All sewed up, we were shuttled up-river via jetboat, the sandstone bluffs of the Bow lit by the summer evening’s light. We weaved between gravel bars and past the occasional drift boat of fly fisherman.

I wasn’t fit to hold a hammer. Instead, I was shuffled to the furthest end of the street and instructed to cross in front of a team of horses without getting run over.

Nine large dugout canoes were lined up against the north bank of the river. There were others dressed as we were, loading bales and kegs into the boats, a collection of bearded voyageurs scattered amongst them. On the bank were men and women with headsets around their necks, earpieces in their ears and makeup bags around their waists. One lone crew member stood behind a monitor, swatting the air with a battery-operated, tennis racket bug zapper.

“Rolling!”

“I’m Creed,” a red-bearded marine in the stern greeted me as I stepped into the centre of the boat, “and that’s Labiche.” A long haired, Captain Jack Sparrow type gave a little nod. We were then joined by an enormous, shaggy, black dog. “His name is ‘Sir,’ the trainer said to me as he climbed back up the bank. “He’ll probably try to jump out of the boat.” As the camera rolled, one by one, our wooden canoes peeled off from the river bank and headed upstream, across the clear waters of the Bow and into the setting sun. I attempted to maintain an even paddle stroke, while at the same time did my utmost to prevent 120 pounds of wet, unruly, slobbery faced Newfoundland dog from jumping into the river and ruining the shot. After five seasons of shooting in and around Calgary, AMC’s Hell on Wheels—the story of the race to complete the Transcontinental Railway across the American west—finally wrapped up in the fall. In late summer I found myself in a mock up western town, set on a ranch in the rolling hills west of Calgary. A hotel, stage coach office, saloon, Chinese laundry and a half dozen or so other period buildings led to a railway platform into which an old steam engine had pulled. The sign next to the train signal read ‘Laramie.’ I was dressed fancier than the other townsfolk of Laramie. The week before, an energetic clerk at the show’s production house, located in a vacant car dealership south of Chinook Mall, had costumed me. I was wearing burgundy

The empty street of false-fronted buildings came to life. The wagon driver and his team of horses worked their way towards me; a carriage rolled by in the other direction. Harnesses jingled, wagon wheels creaked, footsteps echoed on the wooden boardwalks. Workers rolled barrels down from the train platform, a salesman gesticulated with his cane and hawked snake oil to passers by. Another man, getting his shoes shined near a storefront, perused a newspaper. Ladies glided past with parasols over their shoulders, side by side down the street in pantomimed conversation. I avoided getting trampled. I even managed to prevent dirt from soiling my outfit. When the call came—”that’s a wrap, people!”—I looked, I thought, a little less unkempt than when I was hired. mike donnelly // info@thejasperlocal.com

page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 67 // monday, february 15, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE DONNELLY

OFF THE BUS AN

WHERE TO HANG YOUR PA As Hostelling International unpacks its plans to create a hostel in Jasper, The Jasper Local tucks itself into what other accommodation options exist in Jasper for budget-conscious backpackers.

hostel out of their small, unassuming Street, when they dreamed up their bu close-knit backpacking community th globe trotting. They also had experien hosting passers-through looking for b they were seeing, in 2013 they went th ning and development processes and a six-bed dorm, one private double roo bathroom.

“Pine Grosbeaks. The big finch of the boreal forest.”

“We want it to be like the best shared your newest friends,” Ashley said.

Volker Schelhaus walks over to where I’m watching a flock of large, reddish birds feeding on seeds, his boots crunching in the snow. “They’re usually up there.” He points to the top of the snow covered spruce trees. “Only in the winter they come down.” Volker, along with his wife Paulette, have managed Hostelling International’s Maligne Hostel for 30 years. As such, they have a close affinity with their backyard and share that knowledge freely with guests and travellers. The small, log cabins on the bank of the Maligne river, with their low, gabled roofs certainly exude an austere charm. The buildings date back to the late 1940s, a time when national parks officials concerned with the “moral and physical development of Canadian youth,” cooperated in establishing a chain of hostels throughout the mountain parks. A central cabin houses the kitchen and common area, while the two other cabins sleep 12 people each. Maligne Canyon hostel is one of Jasper National Park’s five HI hostels, the fleet of which also includes Athabasca Falls, Hilda Creek, Edith Cavell, and Whistlers. All of the backcountry hostels offer a common area and kitchen served by propane heat and light, with outdoor toilets. “They are rustic, wilderness hostels,” says Michel Tremblay, who for the past three years has overseen HI’s Jasper properties. “Each has something very special, whether it’s the location or the hostel itself.” With electricity and running water, guests at Whistlers’ Hostel aren’t roughing it quite as much, but it’s still in the middle of the woods, relatively speaking. Although the wilderness aspect lends to their charm, the fact that the HI properties are—for now, at least—all out of town makes getting groceries, for example, a bit of a chore.

In fact from the outside you could be f hostel at all; only a small sign in the fr indication to the wayward traveller. A a two-night minimum stay. Even throu typically full. “Before it was more of a transient vibe,” Ashley says. “Now we want to cater to people who are staying here, having a vacation.”

i de h a

Although HI’s locations are a bit inconvenient for folks wanting to shop, for example, they are certainly conducive to exploring the park—so long as you have a car. Hostelling International guests often come packing skis, ice to snowshoes or other outdoor implemen While some people consider the remo ness a disadvantage, to others it’s an a set. Tremblay is of the latter mind-set. suggests some of the buildings are ne as picturesque as the setting.

“The common room at Athabasca Fall amazing,” he says, “It has a big, beauti chandelier, everything you need to co and lots of room to accommodate 40 But unlike 15 years ago, when I first came to Jasper and stayed a few weeks people.” up at Whistlers, there are now hostel options in town. In the fall, the Jasper If everything goes planned, 40 beds w Downtown Hostel opened for business and two years before that, the look positively quaint compared to wh World Travellers’ Fraternity offered the first hostel-style accommodations coming down the pipe for the organiz within the townsite. Both businesses saw an opportunity to give visitors tion’s newest capital project. On Febru a wider range of options for where they unpacked their bags—they also 2, HI requested a letter of support from wanted to meet backpackers close to where they disembarked. Jasper municipal council as they seek “Jasper is an international destination, but has never had a hostel right funding opportunities from the provin downtown,” said Carlos Rodriguez, part-owner of the Jasper Downtown government to build a hostel with roo Hostel. “This gives people more options. They can book here and be able for 154 people. to walk to the bus station.” It’s not a new proposition. Parks Cana The two-storey building on the 400 block of Patricia Street underwent commodations 10 years ago and, acco five months of renovations to transform a humble residence into a gleam- in between Connaught Drive and Slee ing, 32-pillow hostel, replete with wrap-around curtains in the bunks, USB Today, HI has finalized the conceptua outlets on the headboards and the spastic-bombastic, playful paintings project will depend on funding, in the of local artist Tristan Overy up and down the hallways. What it’s missing, proposed, the reason for its being hasn however, are common areas—no kitchen means guests are forced to eat out, and those looking to connect with fellow travellers might be dismayed lers looking for a place to crash and se transients to Jasperites. that as of yet, anyway, there is no common room. For Mike and Ashley Kliewer, who operate the World Travellers Fraternity

“Backpackers and hostellers arrive by

feature //

ND ON A BUDGET$

ACK IN JASPER NATIONAL PARK

bungalow at the east end of Patricia usiness, they were remembering the hey encountered during their own nce using couch-surfing websites, budget digs. To cater to the demand hrough Parks Canada’s rigorous planconverted their basement to include om, laundry facilities and a shared

the seven kilometeres to our site out of town, Alistair McLean, CEO of HI Canada’s Pacific Mountain Region, said.

house you ever lived in, with seven of

forgiven for not thinking it was a ront basement window gives any All the booking is done online, with ughout the winter, the Kleiwers are

Dish duty at HI-Athabasca Falls, a “wilderness hostel.”// Mike Donnelly

“Jasper is an international estination, but has never had a hostel right downtown.”

ools, nts. oteas. He early

ls is iful ook

will hat’s zauary m k ncial om

Jasper’s newest budget digs, the JAsper Downtown Hostel.//

Guided Splitboard Festival

Welcome sign at wtf hostel on Patricia.//

ada agreed on the need for budget acordingly, designated a parcel of land epy Hollow Road for that purpose.

al drawings. While the timeline of the 10 years since the hostel was first n’t changed: namely, young traveleasonal workers transitioning from

y bus or train and it’s tough to get up

COMING TO JASPER ON A BUDGET? BOOK A HOSTEL:

March 4 - 6, 2016

HOSTELLING INTERNATIONAL 1.778.328.2220 / 1.866.762.4122 (Toll Free) Dorm Bed: $22 - $26 Private Room (Whistlers/Athabasca Falls): $60 - $66 www.hihostels.ca

WORLD TRAVELLERS FRATERNITY 106 Patricia St. / 780-820-1177 Dorm Beds: $28 Private Room: $70 www.hostelworld.com JASPER DOWNTOWN HOSTEL 400 Patricia St. / 780.852.2000 Dorm Beds: $30 Private Rooms: $90-110 www.jasperdowtnownhostel.ca

• • • • •

2 days of guided splitboard touring with ACMG guides. Demos and rental splitboards are available. Beginner, intermediate and advanced group levels. At your pace with one on one opportunities with your guide. Friday kickoff + Saturday night fundraising social.

page B5 // the jasper local // issue 67 // monday, february 15, 2016

Local diversity //

New sergeant plans to engage with community There’s a new sheriff in town.

Bidaisee’s community-policing mandate is a good way to make sure citizens don’t judge, either; he

Sergeant, to be precise. But don’t let the idiom fool you: Rick Bidaisee is a community-first cop. “I buy into the philosophy of working together to make a safe community,” he said. “I want to be part of the team.”

“I buy into the philosophy of working together to make a safe community.”

“I’ve seen things that people are not meant to see or experience,” he said. “It’s an illness. I don’t judge.”

“Look at where we live,” he said.

“I thought ‘I could get used to this,’” he said. By hitting the streets, Bidaisee was leading by example. He said he wants local members to have a strong community presence. He wants the agency to be accessible. He wants the RCMP to be visible.

Now 52-years-old, Bidaisee has done stints in Stoney Plain, Drayton Valley and Whitecourt, where he was an operations sergeant. In Edson, he spent six years as a plainclothes police officer, conducting investigations and familiarizing himself further with the region’s “pitfalls,” as he put it.

That viewpoint isn’t always popular amongst those who take a more hardline approach to combatting the drug trade. But Bidaisee has seen enough despair and anguish over the years that he knows a heavy hand in these cases rarely works.

of the communities he’s worked. And he certainly doesn’t take it for granted that he now lives in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

That feeling was particularly acute on just his sixth shift. Walking around town, he was pleasantly surprised by all the people who approached him to say hello.

Sg.t Bidaisee grew up in the Caribbean. Having moved to Canada as a young man, he didn’t get into police work until relatively late in life. Although he had been a volunteer emergency services worker and auxiliary police officer, Bidaisee didn’t officially put on the the badge until he was 36.

“I’ve seen my share of the downtrodden and addictions,” he said. “My view is ‘how can we provide tools and resources for people that need it?’”

Bidaisee counts himself among the proud, too. He feels fortunate to have raised two children with his wife. He feels lucky to remain close to friends in all

“I want the community to feel that we’re part of their community,” he said. Bidaisee takes over the top cop role from Cpl. Ryan Gardiner, who was acting in the position since Sgt. Dave Maludzinski retired. Sgt. Rick Bidaisee says he wants Jasperites to feel like the local RCMP is part of their community.,// Bob Covey

said that if there’s something that he’d like people to remember about RCMP members, it’s that they’re people first, police officers second. “They’re people. They’re passionate about their communities, about what they represent,” he said. “They’re proud of the country they live in, they’re proud to be Canadian.”

Having vacationed in Jasper for many years, not only is Bidaisee looking forward to get his feet wet on Jasper’s various community boards and committees, but he’s excited to get into his hiking boots. “This is a dream come true, to become detachment commander in Jasper,” he said. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Local diversity //

monday, february 15, 2016 // issue 67 // the jasper local// page B6

A lifetime of skiing, a library of mountain stories He may by hard of sight, but after 88 years in Jasper, Jack Pugh has seen it all.

tours on the Columbia Icefields, a friend sug-

truck and drove like hell,” he laughed.

gested Jack apply for a job with the ski patrol

The winter rain on the coast wasn’t his bag.

in Banff. He had spent the fall and early winter

“I just wanted to go skiing,” he said.

Jack Pugh’s father, George, was 18-years-old

out on Vancouver Island when on the sixth of

Norquay has never been noted for having the easiest terrain, especially for beginners. As

and newly arrived from England when he disembarked from the train in Stony Plain, Alberta. It was March 1906, 20 degrees below zero, and Stony Plain was the end of the rails at the time. As the story goes, George reached into his pocket to count his money, hoping he might just have enough for a return trip. Turns out he did not. That might

head of ski patrol, he saw more than one person

“Many just slid all the way down,” he chuckled. “You could see their finger marks in the snow.”

come up the chair, take one look around, and take the chair back down. “Many just slid all the way down,” he chuckled. “You could see their finger marks in the snow.” In 1956 Jack married Barbara Olson and they raised two boys, Ross and Jay. In the summers

have been tough at the time, but the circum-

the family managed Brewster’s restaurant/ho-

stances turned out to be a good thing for

tel/gas station operation out at the Columbia

Jasper. While homesteading and freighting

Icefields. Jack recalls watching a grizzly bear

goods along the Grand Truck Pacific rail-

wander through the parking lot and wolverines

way, George Pugh met his future wife, Alice

showing up at the kitchen door, looking for

Gates. Not long after, the young couple moved to the young town in the mountains.

handouts.

Soon the Pughs had a family. First born was

of Olson’s, her father’s drug store, which they

Jack and Barbara later took over the running changed to Jasper Camera & Gift in 1971.

Reg, followed by Alan and Nancy. Jack came

Jack, a carpenter by trade, was also responsible

last, born in 1928. The children grew up on

for building the ski chalet on Whistler’s Moun-

an acreage outside of town where George

tain, completed in 1960.

and Alice ran a market garden on the south side of the Athabasca River. Although the

Although Jack still keeps busy, it’s been

house is no longer there—Parks bought out

about five years since he’s put on skis. He

the family in the 1950s —if you look closely

did ski until he was 83, however—notably, for

where the Miette joins the Athabasca, the foundation is still visible.

the last 20 of those years he was skiing blind.

If there was a solid foundation in the Pughs’

1980s, his sons would take him out on the

After he began to lose his eyesight in the late slopes, guiding him down the hill by shouting

lives, it was skiing. All of the children

out directions from behind.

learned at a young age, and in the 1940s, as Jasper was becoming known as a ski desti-

Of a lifetime spent living in the mountains,

nation, the National Film Board of Canada followed a group consisting of Jack, Fred Brewster, Doris Kensit, Tom McCready and Ken Cook into the Tonquin Valley. They spent

Jack holding Family Photo 1932: left-right: Jack(4), Reg(12), Alan(10),Nancy (6) // mike donnelly

Jack certainly has many stories to tell. Of course, if you’d like to know more about Fred Brewster, or getting down from Cavell Meadows

December he received a telegram from the

with a broken leg, or treeing bears in the depres-

the spring snow for the camera.

chief warden in Banff, offering him a job at

sion days of the 1930s, you’ll just have to talk to

Mt. Norquay.

Jack yourself.

In 1952, after a summer of running snowmobile

“I said, ‘G’bye!’ to my brother, jumped in my

mike donnelly // info@thejasperlocal.com

a week staying at Fred’s camp, making turns in

Service Directory

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com