A bill that would prevent the government from selling or delisting provincial parks without consulting Albertans has been introduced by the NDP opposition.
Environment and Parks Critic Marlin Schmidt was on the Trending 55 Hot Seat and says there’s two main components to the bill.
“The first component is a legislative requirement for the government to consult with Albertans before they implement any changes to parks or provincial recreation area boundaries. The second park is a legislative requirement that proposed changes to park boundaries be completed by a vote of all members of the legislature.”
Schmidt says the bill comes in response to the UCP government’s attempt to fully or partially close 20 parks or recreation areas, and delisting 164 sites in hopes that third parties could take over their management.
“One of the concerns that people have raised with me regarding the parks issue is that the parks department had a consultation policy in place and unfortunately the government dropped it. This will replace that consultation policy but also strengthen it by giving it the force of legislation.”
Schmidt was this week’s guest from the NDP on the Trending 55 Hot Seat, you can hear the full discussion below.
– Kyle Moore, Trending 55 Newsroom
