CPS began tracking the condition of PANP assets after members observed that some of the more visible assets (such as the breakwaters and roads for example), were in worsening condition. After researching the state of the Park's assets using Parks Agency reports and with the help of the Park Superintendent, the CPS Infrastructure Committee concluded that the problem is significantly deeper across Canada in all national parks and heritage sites.

In its Annual General Meeting on July 10, 2004 PANP reported a $2 million annual shortfall in the Park's budget needed to maintain buildings and roads to accepted standards. On a national scale, the Parks Canada Agency in its Long Term Capital Plan 2000-2005 reported a $475 million annual shortfall needed to maintain the total asset base of $7.1 billion.

An editorial appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald on July 12, 2004 under the banner heading Ottawa needs to maintain our parks, in which the observation was made that: "Prince Albert National Park and others across the country are drastically under-funded when it comes to maintaining the investments already made in them."

The editorial went on to say that: "In the case of the field unit of which Prince Albert is a part, funding is less than half what it should be. Field unit superintendent Rod Blair said his unit should receive about $3.8 million a year - two per cent of the value of the assets - to maintain those assets, which include roads, sewers, buildings, campgrounds and the day-use areas. Instead, this year the unit received about $1.6 million, or less than one per cent of the value of the assets. "If we don't maintain these assets, eventually they will reach the point where they are unsafe," he said. "And the implication is that if we lose these assets, eventually we will have to close the facility."

In other words, for want of about $2 million a year, Ottawa will flush $190 million in assets down the drain. At the very least, not providing proper maintenance now means higher costs for large repairs later. And in the case of national parks, money is not even the biggest issue. National parks preserve our natural history. They maintain, it not in pristine condition at least in good condition, parts of our land the way they were before we industrialized and modernized, polluting our air and water, tearing down our forests, wiping out species of animals and paving our way from sea to sea."

CPS seized the opportunity to capitalize on public interest in the problem by issuing a news release which in turn, triggered a follow-up article in the Herald. CPS has developed a plan for informing the federal government about the state of the Park's infrastructure and seeking new funding for the asset base. Follow the links below to learn more about what is happening with infrastructure.

ø CPS Inrastructure Strategy

ø CPS Summary: PANP Five-year (1999-2004) Asset Review

ø (More to follow)