Decision day for proposed Jasper Glacier Discovery Walkway
Posted Jan 31, 2012 8:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A private company will learn the fate of its proposed multi-million dollar Glacier Walkway in Jasper National Park sometime Tuesday.
Brewster Travel Canada wants to build the tourist attraction, jutting 30 metres out and sitting 280 metres above the Sunwapta Valley.
Proponents of the project say the facility would increase tourism in the area by 219 per cent, attracting nearly 263,000 visitors a year.
The American-owned business wants to charge tourists $15 to $29 for a trip along the side of a glacier.
Opposition to the project has grown thanks to an online petition from Avaaz.org.
The organization has collected more than 178,000 signatures on its “Save Jasper National Park” petition in hopes of preventing the privatization of Canada’s ecosystems.
“The real issue here is if we let big corporations and their lobbyists turn our parks into moneymakers, there will be no end of it,” says Campaign Director Emma Ruby-Sachs.
The lawyer and lobbyist tells 660News there is also concern any added traffic in the area could harm the already endangered ecosystem.
The decision rests in the hands of Jasper’s Superintendent, Greg Fenton, who is expected to reject the project, ask for more information, or give it his approval.
Parks Canada has been examining the proposal as well as 2,200 formal submissions by the public.
Brewster is hoping to begin construction this summer in hopes of being ready for public use next spring.
The Glacier Discovery Walk project has been in the works for several years.
