Kootenay–Columbia MP Wayne Stetski gets National Parks critic portfolio

The NDP MP for the Kootenay–Columbia region has been appointed as the critic for the National Parks portfolio, the NDP announced Nov. 12.

As far as Revelstoke is concerned, the appointment is significant. Parks Canada is a prominent stakeholder and employer in the community, and the issue of upgrades to the federally controlled sections of the Trans-Canada Highway in Glacier National Park and Mount Revelstoke National Park has been a key federal issue for the community for decades.

“I’m honoured to be appointed to the NDP shadow cabinet as the Critic for National Parks. Our experienced and united team is ready to get to work on behalf of Canadians as the progressive opposition,” said Stetski. “The Liberal government made a lot of commitments this campaign. We’re going to hold them to their promises.”

In a statement issued by the NDP Stetski said he would work to ensure that “we protect our natural environment for future generations and reverse Stephen Harper’s damaging changes to environmental protection laws.”

In a statement, Stetski said: “That work begins with updating Parks Canada’s national park system plan to focus on protecting the ecological integrity of our national parks, creating new parks to improve representation of natural regions, and improving ecological connectivity between national parks and other protected areas.”

In his professional career, Stetski worked extensively in parks management, including with the provincial parks system, including a brief period in Revelstoke in the early 1970s.

The NDP finished in third place. The Conservatives form the Official Opposition, and as far as we can tell they haven’t announced a shadow cabinet yet.

The issue of funding to national parks played a significant role in the Kootenay–Columbia riding in the federal election. Conservative MP David Wilks unveiled a major funding package for the national parks in the region weeks before the writ was dropped on the election. Opposition critics attacked the announcement, saying that the funding was an election ploy that didn’t make up for years of infrastructure cuts to Parks Canada under the Harper government.

In addition, a story in the Revelstoke Mountaineer about the funding announcement that took place in Mount Revelstoke National Park drew national attention. The communications wing of the Conservative party tried to pad the funding announcement with extra dollars by adding a previous budget allocation into the total. When pressed on the numbers, MP Wilks conceded that an “mistake” had been made and presented a new, corrected total.

Albeit a brief blip in the election news cycle, that story featured prominently for a day or so, and went on to become a topic of debate in subsequent election debates across the riding, which Wilks eventually lost by just 285 votes.

During the election, significant work was underway in local parks, including extensive paving in Mount Revelstoke National Park, including the Meadows in the Sky Parkway, and the Nels Nelsen recreation area parking lot.