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Parks Canada history
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Not until 1911 were park regulations made applicable to the forest park surrounding the Waterton or Kootenay Lakes.
When Canada created a Dominion Parks Branch in 1911, it became the first country in the world to establish an agency devoted to managing its national parks.
An amendment to the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act made in June, 1913, extended the choice of lands for park purposes beyond the boundaries of forest reserves.9 Section 18 of the Act, as amended, read:
The first distinctive park publication, issued in 1914, outlined the objects and functions of the parks, and carried as an insert in its cover, a sprig of mountain heather.
The site of Fort Howe in the City of St John, New Brunswick, formed the third park created in 1914.
One made in March 1915, contained a definition of game; and another amendment approved a month later prohibited the sale of firearms within national parks.
The cutting of green timber, exclusive of that cut on licensed timber berths, was authorized on the enactment of new timber regulations in April 1915, for the purpose of "thinning out dense growth, making roads, or any other improvement in Dominion Parks."24
The Motor Vehicle Regulations were revised and expanded in June 1915, and authorized travel over roads in the park approved by the Minister.
Ice Removal Regulations were established on June 29, 1916 to control the cutting of ice by park residents, either for personal use or for sale.
Although the privilege of filing mining claims to lands in the parks was withdrawn in 1916, existing rights were recognized and the working of coal and base metal deposits was carried on in Banff and Yoho Parks for more than half a century.
Canada's participation in 1916 with the United States in a treaty to protect migratory birds resulted in another expansion of the National Parks Branch.
A similar arrangement was reached with British Columbia under the Banff-Windermere Highway Agreement of March 12, 1919.
The first of these groups, known as the Banff Advisory Council, was elected by the citizens of Banff in 1921.
Later in 1922, these areas were established as the Nemiskam, Wawaskesy, and Menissawok Parks.
In 1923, the Banff-Windermere Highway, the first automobile road to cross the central Canadian Rockies through Banff and Kootenay Parks, was completed.
In November, 1925, two resolutions sponsored at a joint meeting of the Banff and Canmore Advisory Councils were submitted to the Honourable Charles Stewart, Minister of the Interior.
National Parks Branch (April, 1926) J.B. Harkin, Commissioner of National Parks, April 1926 — Nov.
In 1926, the General Regulations were amended to permit the issue of camping permits by the park superintendents subject to payment of a fee fixed by the Minister.
The Board of Trade was supplanted in February, 1927, by a Jasper Advisory Council which was elected from the citizens at large.6 The membership of nine appointed A. Gray as chairman and G.E. Clarke as secretary treasurer.
1 Memorandum, Superintendent of Banff Park to Commissioner, June 21, 1928.
16 Cautley, R.W. Report on the selection of Permanent Boundaries of Rocky Mountains Park, Jasper Park, and the Jasper Park Extension, Department of the Interior, Ottawa, 1928.
The last two national parks to be established under the authority of the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act were authorized by order in council on December 29, 1929.
Considerable improvement was made to the Banff system in 1929 when much of the open wire system was replaced by underground cables.
The long deferred National Parks Act was introduced in the House of Commons on May 2, 1930, and given third reading on May 9.
The enactment of the National Parks Act in 1930 climaxed the prolonged efforts of Commissioner Harkin and his staff to have the administration of the parks removed from the authority of the Dominion Forest Reserves and Parks Act and placed under the authority of a separate act.
The years immediately following 1930 were difficult ones for Canadians, the Department of the Interior, and the National Parks Branch.
In 1930 he joined the National Parks Service and was appointed Acting Superintendent and later Superintendent of Riding Mountain National Park.
After the National Parks Act came into force in 1930, a forest management policy was adopted to restrict operations to those primarily concerned with the protection and maintenance of national park values.
However, in March, 1933, Jasper Park was included within the group in which the $2 park motor licence was valid.
Effective January 31, 1938, the free camping privileges which formerly accompanied the purchase of a park motor licence were withdrawn.
Prior to 1938, duck shooting in Point Pelee Park was permitted by hunters in possession of a permit from the park superintendent, issued free of charge.
Reconsideration of the fee schedule led to an amendment on November 2, 1939, which established the fee for a seasonal licence at $2.25.
On April 11, 1940, a further amendment gave purchasers of a seasonal transient motor licence at a cost of $2, a bonus in the form of a free angler's licence.
The power development subsequently was ratified by complementary legislation of Canada and the Province of Alberta under the National Resources Transfer (Amendment) Act, 1941.
An experiment in the form of short-term fishing licences was made in 1944, when a fee of $1 purchased a three-day licence.
The office of Deputy Minister of Mines and Resources was vacated on December 31, 1945, when Charles Camsell commenced his retiring leave.
Jean Lesage, Member for Montmagny-Islet since 1945, was appointed Minister of Resources and Development, replacing the Honourable Robert H. Winters, who became Minister of Public Works.
In 1945, an Edmonton architect, Cecil S. Burgess, was engaged by the National Parks Service to conduct surveys of Banff and Jasper Townsites, and make recommendations for their improvement by replanning and zoning.
Applications for the erection of signs, awnings and canopies were approved by the issue of building permits, but it was not until 1945 that guide-lines for the acceptance or rejection of applications to erect signs were adopted.
Telephone service on the forest telephone systems of Banff and Jasper Parks was made available in 1946 to the operators of visitor accommodation along highways and roads in areas served by the park system.
The terms "townsites" and "other subdivisions" are incorporated in amendments to the National Parks Act in July, 1947.
Waterton Lakes Park was a grazing area favoured by nearby ranchers for many years, until grazing privileges were terminated in 1947.
1, 1947) R.A. Gibson, Director, Nov.
New year-round rates were approved for Radium Hot Springs Townsite, Kootenay Park, in 1948.
In November, 1949, the Government of Canada introduced legislation in Parliament to abolish the Department of Mines and Resources and to establish in its place three new Departments — Resources and Development, Mines and Technical Surveys, and Citizenship and Immigration.
Park visitors were required to obtain a fishing licence in Prince Albert and Riding Mountain Parks in 1949.
He was followed as Minister on January 18, 1950, by the Honourable Robert H. Winters, who previously had been Minister of Reconstruction and Supply.
The departmental reorganization of 1950 resulted in other changes in personnel responsible for national park administration.
In 1950, a special fee of $525 for each 10,000 miles travelled was approved for buses maintaining a regular interprovincial schedule in Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho Parks.
On July 1, of the same year, R. Gordon Robertson, Deputy Minister since 1953, was appointed Clerk of the Privy Council, and Ernest A. Cote, was promoted from Assistant Deputy to Deputy Minister.
The retirement of James Smart in 1953 concluded a long and active career in national park administration.
16, 1953) James A. Hutchison, Director, Dec.
Although a recommendation that the annual park motor licence fees be increased had been made to the Cabinet in 1954, it was turned down.
The latest amendments made in 1954 established the fees for permits at $2.00 if ice is cut for personal use and $10 if cut for sale.51 Very little ice is now harvested in national parks, owing to the increased use of mechanical refrigeration.
By 1955 new exchange buildings had been erected and brought into operation in the towns of Banff and Jasper.
An extension to Canada's park system was confirmed by the establishment of Terra Nova National Park in Newfoundland in May, 1957.
Regulations for the operation and management of Jasper Cemetery were approved in June, 1957.
His term of office was brief, for on August 7, 1957, he became Minister of Agriculture.
Finally, discouraged by its failure to solve its financial problem, and the fact that some of its proposals respecting changes in park regulations and administrative policies were not accepted, the members of the Jasper Advisory Council resigned on June 3, 1958.
Appointed by the Government of Canada in September, 1960, the Commissioners included J. Grant Glassco of Toronto, R. Watson Sellar of Ottawa, and F. Eugene Therrien of Montreal.
The government pools at the Cave and Basin Springs were converted to the use of fresh water in 1960, and the Upper Hot Springs pool now offers the only opportunity at Banff of bathing in natural hot water.
Boating activity at Waskesiu Beach and other points in the park had attained by 1960, a popularity that necessitated the provision of additional facilities for the shelter, launching and berthing of water craft.
In turn, the Branch directorate was strengthened in 1961 by the appointment of an assistant director, A.J. Reeve.
In January, 1962, Ministerial approval was given to a new land rental formula.
Implementation of the reorganization began in December, 1963, when Mr.
The expansion of the parks system resulting from the acquisition of lands for national parks purposes in the Yukon and Northwest Territories and in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the four Atlantic provinces, led to an extension of the reorganization carried out in 1963.
The Townsite Designation Regulations established in 1963 were designed to identify clearly the areas to be known in the future as "townsites" and "subdivisions".
On October 1, 1964, the administration of Wood Buffalo National Park was transferred to the National and Historic Parks Branch of the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources.
In 1964, a land acquisition and registry section, known as the Property Section, was established under the supervision of the Branch Financial and Management Adviser.
In 1966, Chairman Goble announced his retirement from council activities for reasons of ill health, and following the death of his successor, Hugh Craig, interest in the council and its activities waned.
The resulting vacancy was filled in June, 1967, by the appointment of J.J.L. Charron, formerly an officer of the Public Service Commission.
John I. Nicol, Acting Director, May 1968 — Dec.
By 1968, a programming and co-ordination section had been established in the National Historic Sites Service, to meet its individual needs.
Nicol's appointment as Director was confirmed on January 1, 1969.
Dempster retired from the Public Service in April, 1969, and was replaced by J.J. Seguin, an officer of the Department at Ottawa.
16 Report on meeting held with Jasper Park citizens groups, June 10, 1969.
He occupied this position until January, 1970, when he was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Works.
The program was launched in Halifax in April, 1970, with a hearing on Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia.
Following a public competition, P.L. Morel was appointed Chief of the Property Management Division in May, 1970.
In February, 1971, the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development offered his counterpart, the Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs, full co-operation in any study undertaken to prepare a report.
In April, 1971, J.J.L. Charron relinquished his position as Assistant Director (General) to accept a position with the Public Service Commission.
The Banff-Jasper Autonomy Report, completed in March, 1972, was tabled in the Provincial Legislature on on April 7, 1972.
Robinson was named successor to R.P. Malis as Regional Director at Calgary, effective May 1, 1972.
The latest agreement relating to the establishment of a national park in Canada was concluded by the Minister with the Province of Nova Scotia in August, 1972.
Under the schedule adopted, the changes in management became effective in the Western, Ontario and Quebec Regions on January 1, 1973; in the Prairie Region on April 1, 1973, and in the Atlantic Region on June 1, 1973.
Memorandum, May 28, 1973, Deputy Minister to Minister
In September, 1973, Parks Canada accepted responsibility for the administration of remaining Ordnance, Admiralty and public lands formerly supervised by the Water, Forests and Land Division of the Northern Economic Development Branch of the Department.
In the following pages will be found an outline of national park administration from its inception to 1973.
R.W. Maslin, Director, April 1974
Basil Robinson vacated the post of Deputy Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs on December 13, 1974, when he was appointed Under Secretary of State for External Affairs.
Grizzly Killed By Truck In Jasper National Park (NPT Staff, June 20, 2022)
Manitoba Fort Launches Guided, Hands-On Experiences (NPT Staff, June 7, 2022)
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