OTTAWA - At the same time as the Parks Canada appeal of the health and safety decision on the issue of appropriate protective equipment for federal Park Wardens is being heard in Ottawa, 12 Park Wardens from across the country will be lobbying various Members of Parliament seeking their support for the Canada Labour Code decision.
During the hearings from October 29th to November 2nd , Parks Canada will be arguing that the job of a Park Warden is not a dangerous one and that no further protective equipment is required. "Our members who work as Park Wardens in Canada’s National Parks are concerned that their safety is being jeopardized because their employer does not offer them adequate protective equipment in the performance of their duties as Peace Officers," says Ed Cashman, national president of the National Component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).
The Canada Labour Code, Part II decision handed down February 1st, is the result of the investigation of a complaint filed by a Park Warden from Western Canada. The decision pointed out that: ‘Wardens who are expected to engage in law enforcement activities such as patrols, intelligence gathering, investigations of possible offences and arrests, for resource management purposes and the maintenance of the public peace, activities in the performance of which they may find themselves at risk of grievous bodily harm or death, are not provided with the necessary personal protective equipment’.
Cashman adds that the government’s response to the decision was to assign an already ‘stretched to the limit’ RCMP contingent to do enforcement duties. "Substituting the RCMP instead of providing the Park Wardens with the appropriate equipment to do their job is not the solution. For example, in Jasper National Park, five additional RCMP officers are expected to do the enforcement work of 43 Wardens," Cashman says. "They are feeding right into the hands of the poachers and criminals."
Today and tomorrow the 12 Park Wardens who are in Ottawa attending the hearing, will be lobbying various MPs including NDP House Leader Bill Blaikie, Canadian Alliance Senior Critic for Canadian Heritage Jim Abbott, as well as Members of Parliament for the PC-DRC Coalition, the Bloc Quebecois and the Liberal Party. "The one MP the Wardens are anxious to meet with is the Minister of Heritage Canada, Sheila Copps," continues Cashman, "but to date have been unsuccessful."
The Park Wardens, on the eve of the hearings, attended an all-day conference organized by the PSAC’s National Component, where they ‘learned from the experience of others’. Six peace officers from various provincial and federal jurisdictions participated in a panel discussion on how they fought long and hard to achieve the appropriate protective equipment for their jobs.
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For information:
Ed Cashman, president, National Component of the PSAC (613) 560-4301
Nancy Mitchell, PSAC communications officer (613) 560-4235
52-301001