The report indicates the agency would have to spend $351 million a year to keep its assets in “an appropriate state of repair” over the course of their serviceable life. To address work that has been identified as required, but put off, Parks Canada would need to spend $191 million per year over a 15-year period.
The agency has spent an average of $119 million a year over the last decade on repairs, and has complained of “chronic underfunding” that is putting some of Canada’s most iconic parks and historic sites at risk.
“Public health risk, the rate of asset deterioration, and the cost to repair or rehabilitate assets increases significantly when deferred work remains unresolved,” reads the report, prepared for Parks Canada by Opus International Consultants.
The report, obtained under access to information laws, was commissioned to check the accuracy Parks Canada’s 2012 National Asset Review.
A Star analysis of that review revealed a total of $2.77 billion in deferred work, with the “current replacement value” of all Parks Canada assets reaching $15.2 billion.
The consultants found those numbers to be accurate. Opus estimated deferred work to be in the range of $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion, will the replacement value between $15 billion to $16.5 billion.
The replacement value is not meant to suggest Canada’s national parks and historic sites could actually be replaced. The figure is instead used to calculate how much the federal government should spend in order to keep Parks Canada assets in good repair.
And according to the report, those assets are in even worse shape than Parks Canada initially reported. The consultants estimated that 74 per cent on visitor and townsite assets were in poor or very poor condition — including roads and bridges, grounds and buildings. Of cultural assets such as forts, 61 per cent were in the same state.
Supporting assets, including more roads and buildings, were in the worst shape, with 79 per cent in poor or very poor condition. Only “high-risk” assets such as highways and bridges were determined to be in better shape than Parks Canada estimates, and 44 per cent were still rated poor or very poor by the consultants’ estimates.
Liberal environment critic John McKay said that leaving Parks Canada assets in poor condition will only increase the cost further down the road, and have effects beyond the simple upkeep of a historic site.
“All of these things have this massive ripple effect that not only diminishes the use but it also diminishes the economic utility of the asset,” McKay said in an interview Friday, specifically pointing to lost tourism dollars along the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario. “And (based) on your numbers, nothing is going to get any better.”
The Star requested an interview with Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, as well as Parks Canada staff, on Friday. Both the minister’s office and the agency were provided with the figures reported in this story, and sent one-paragraph statements in response.
“In addition to our current investments, Economic Action Plan 2014 is providing additional funding to make even more improvements to highways, bridges, and dams,” wrote Amanda Gordon, Aglukkaq’s press secretary, in an email. “Our government investments will ensure that Canadians and visitors continue to connect with our country’s heritage.”
The Conservative government did announce $391.5 million over five years to help with Parks Canada’s crumbling infrastructure — but only $1 million of that is slated for this year. An additional $4 million will be doled out in 2015-2016, according to budget documents.
The government also notes that it has continued to protect land, and created new national parks. But NDP Deputy Leader Megan Leslie said adding parks to the protected roster means little if Ottawa will not put up the funds ensure that they’re actually protected.
“I whole-heartedly support the creation of a new park. However, how are we able to actually fund these new parks when we have this crumbling infrastructure in the parks and heritage sties that already exist?” Leslie said.
“Conservatives don’t realize they have an environmental problem, whether it be parks or climate change. They do realize they have an environmental PR problem, so they’re making (those) kind of announcements.”
Source: thestar.com/
Author: Alex Boutilier
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