Banff, Alberta October 7, 1996 Ladies and gentlemen. Let's think about this place called Banff National Park. What do you see? What do you feel? This is a living work of God's art. A place of such raw visual strength, that it staggers the human mind. In its 111 years as a National Park, Banff has been for us -- the citizens of Canada, and the citizens of the world -- a place where souls can breathe. We come here because it feels good here. We arrive from places that bear absolutely no resemblance to this place. We search for Banff's peace in a world that grows louder every day. For all Canadians, preserving the natural heritage and the environmental health of Banff is one of our greatest passions, one of our greatest responsibilities, and one of our greatest national missions. Banff is the heart of our country's National Park System. And the Bow Valley is the heart of Banff. But, it's a heart that lies in a very delicate state. The Bow Valley isn't just the most fragile part of the park, it's also the most populated and visited part of the park. Montane -- the fertile land on the bottom of the Bow Valley -- may only make up 6.3% of the park, but it's at the very centre of the park's fragile eco-system. And it is this unique and sensitive land that represents the prime feeding corridor for park wildlife. This makes for a tricky and difficult balance. And it is this balancing act -- called sustainable use -- that is at the core of the Banff Bow Valley Task Force Report. In the summer of 1994, the Task Force was formed. It was formed in a climate of uncertainty -- not over the meaning and the importance of Banff, but over the future and direction of Banff and the Bow Valley. It was the arduous job of this Task Force and the Banff Bow Valley Round Table to find the common ground on which Canadians can assemble a new future and vision for Banff National Park. Canada owes Dr. Robert Page and his team a great debt of gratitude. You endured, you persevered, and you have delivered to Canadians a study that sheds a lot of much needed light on the park. You had the foresight to look into the future and see that if we don't get our act together today, this park may not exist in 50 years. On behalf of all Canadians, thank you Dr. Page, and Dr. Suzanne Bayley, Mr. Douglas Cook, Mr. Jeffrey Green, and Dr. Brent Ritchie for your outstanding service to Canada. And thank you to the Secretariat led by Doug Hodgins, everyone on the Round Table, and everyone who cared enough to roll up their sleeves and take part in this wonderful exercise in democracy. I am pleased to make the product of your work public today. And it is my privilege to be here to present it to you directly. I have already read the report, and I am prepared to act immediately on some of the recommendations. The actions I am about to announce flow directly from the report, and come directly from the people of the Bow Valley. Ladies and gentlemen, the Banff Bow Valley is a place for nature. Ecological integrity in the Bow Valley is the foundation for the future of Banff National Park. The future of the people who live here, and work here, and visit here depends on maintaining the integrity of the park. That means there are clear limits to growth. Therefore, starting immediately, no new land will be made available for commercial development in Banff National Park. As of today, we are also establishing a new, special protection area for the Fairholme Range -- the area by the East Gate entrance, on the north side of the highway. And on top of that, we are proceeding to designate key areas as wilderness under the National Parks Act, not just in Banff, but in all of our parks in the Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site -- Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. We are going to beef up all our efforts to restore the wildlife corridor. To do that, we will proceed with plans to close and rehabilitate the airstrip, the bison paddock, and the cadet camp. The public and park horse corrals will be relocated as soon as a new location is found. We will also consider adding more wildlife overpasses after an assessment of the overpasses already under construction is carried out. And we are going to improve our efforts to restore the aquatic biodiversity in the entire park. As for ski runs, those runs which are identified in approved long range plans will be considered. As for the Banff Springs Golf Course, I am delighted that Canadian Pacific Hotels has decided to withdraw its application for an expansion of the golf course. The company has agreed to focus its efforts on improving and enhancing the guest experience, rather than increasing hotel capacity. We should all thank Canadian Pacific for taking this bold step forward for the Bow Valley. Ladies and gentlemen, the Banff Bow Valley is also a place for community. The Town of Banff has been an integral part of the park for over 100 years. And the communities of Banff and Lake Louise are places where the needs of visitors and the needs of residents are in line with the real limits of size and space. We want the Town of Banff to remain a Town -- a Town that respects its very special place within a National Park. I am asking the Mayor and the Council to ensure that within the community plan, to be completed in 1997, the Town's population remains below 10,000 permanent residents. As for Lake Louise, the Lake Louise Action Plan will be adopted. The overnight commercial capacity of the Lake Louise Area will remain at 3,500. And the number of rooms at the Château Lake Louise will not exceed the current hotel capacity. And again, I thank CP Hotels for agreeing to that. The Banff Bow Valley is also a place for visitors. Banff National Park will always be a place to visit, to experience, and to learn. In order to enhance and protect the visitor experience, I am confirming today that Parks Canada intends to implement quotas and reservation systems on certain trails. What's more, we will adopt the framework recommended by the Task Force for determining appropriate use of the park. Also, to ensure the accessibility of the park to visitors, I am authorizing that a feasibility study on public transportation, as recommended by the Task Force, be conducted very soon. The Banff Bow Valley is also a place for heritage tourism. Tourism is an intrinsic part of the park. The simple fact of the matter is, tourism gave birth to this park. And the park will always be a place where nature is an integral part of everyone's visit. Indeed, there need to be more and better opportunities for visitors to experience the natural splendour of the park. Today, I call upon the tourism industry to develop a heritage tourism strategy, that builds on the ideas of the Task Force. And I urge you to develop and adopt the World Tourism Organization's Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Sustainable Tourism. Banff can become the model for eco-tourism in the 21st century. The Banff Bow Valley is also a place for open management. We need to make sure that the decisions made here are made in the open, are made with common sense, and conform with the National Parks Act. We need decisions that are fair and predictable. That is why I have instructed that a clear and open development review process, as recommended by Task Force, be in place by the end of the year. I have also requested that a revised, comprehensive management plan, one that provides clear direction for this park, be tabled in Parliament by April 1997. The Banff Bow Valley is a place of environmental stewardship. This place must lead the way, nationally and internationally, in ensuring that environmentally friendly practices are carried out by everyone that lives, visits and operates here. I have instructed that Parks Canada improve sewage treatment immediately at all our facilities, and that we reduce, at source, our phosphate use. And today I challenge every individual and both communities in the Bow Valley to work with us, and with the province, to develop excellence in environmental practices. Because let's face it -- if we can't keep the park clean, then we can't keep the park. There are naturally parts of this report -- as with all massive undertakings like this -- where more public evaluation is needed before more decisions can be taken. Today, I may be able to move on some of the report's recommendations, but, of course, I can't move on all of them. That job doesn't belong just to me -- it belongs to all of us. And we can't do the entire job today -- but it can start today. Make no mistake -- the time for decisions is now, and the time for action is now. Today we have the report in our hands, and we must begin immediately to sit down with each other and assess it, and consider it, and determine the feasibility of all the recommendations. And to help us do that, I have asked Tom Lee, my Assistant Deputy Minister for Parks Canada, to play a special role. Mr. Lee will work with a team of advisors who will collect views and feedback on the report's recommendations. And in keeping with the Incorporation Agreement, Mr. Lee will work closely with Mayor Hart to examine those recommendations in the report that relate to the Town. The people I have asked to assist Mr. Lee are: Ms. Leslie Taylor, the former Mayor of Banff; Mr. Harvey Locke, Past President of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society; Mr. Dave Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of Brewster Transportation; Mr. Ken McCready, former Chief Executive Officer of TransAlta; and, Dr. Robert Page, whom we have come to know very well. I have instructed Tom Lee and his advisors to begin work immediately and report back to me next January. The result of their work will be incorporated in the management plan to be tabled in April 1997. And so, ladies and gentlemen, today we are not really ending something, but rather we are beginning something very important -- the job of ensuring the long term future of Banff National Park. As we prepare to do that, I call on this community to work together and make the best possible decisions for one of Canada's most beloved National Park. I call on you to understand that the stresses and strains of human development can not be allowed to snap back and injure the wild places we are pledged to protect here. I call on you to remember that this is a natural reserve, and a natural reserve it will always be. I call on you to appreciate that the future health of tourism in the park depends on the environmental health of the park. I call on you to accept that our role in this park is to be active observers, not unobservant actors. I call on you to acknowledge that we have a fundamental obligation to protect Banff for the children of the next millennium. And I call on you to recognize that the citizens of this area have a special obligation to the citizens of our country. And the citizens of our country have a special obligation to the citizens of the world. Banff is one of the kindest gifts that has been given to us. Let us not spoil it. Let us not be ungrateful. Instead, let us act thankfully and carefully. Let us preserve and enjoy this cherished gift from the planet Earth. Thank you.