And the agency’s bureaucrats warn that if action isn’t taken soon, the backlog will present a serious risk to preserving Canada’s historic sites and national parks.
A Star analysis of Parks Canada’s 2012 National Asset Review shows a total of $2.77 billion in deferred work — repair and replacement work identified as required but pushed back. The delayed repairs range from $1,000 for smaller, newer monuments to $676.9 million required for the Trent-Severn Waterway. They include everything from highways to historic buildings, canals to bridges.
The data, released under access to information law, raises questions about the safety and sustainability of Canada’s 44 national parks, 158 historic sites, four marine parks and nine canals.
According to Parks Canada documents, “chronic” underinvestment has lead to an “exponential increase in the backlog of maintenance and recapitalization requirements.”
“An agency priority is to address potential risks to public safety, primarily related to bridges, dams and roadways,” one document reads.
“At the same time, our priority is to address the deteriorating condition of our cultural resources and visitor experience, which if not rectified soon, will pose a real and significant risk to the achievement of our mandate — which is to preserve and protect these special places for future generations.”
That risk is growing larger. A 2009 audit of Parks Canada’s assets revealed a “replacement value,” the total cost to replace all agency assets, of about $8.3 billion. In the 2012 review, the replacement value cost ballooned to $15.2 billion.
The replacement value concept is a matter of some debate within Parks Canada, according to the audit.
How do you “replace” the Halifax Citadel ? The Rideau Canal? Yoho National Park ? But that measure is commonly used to estimate the long-term cost of keeping up infrastructure.
The audit noted one industry standard of spending 4 per cent of the total replacement value on annual upkeep. That would have required Parks Canada to spend more than $600 million on repair work alone in 2012. Its capital budget was $76.6 million that year.
“This comes down to the Conservatives’ maniacal obsession with balancing budgets at all costs,” said Megan Leslie, the New Democratic environment critic. “Just because you defer work and put it off doesn’t mean it’s a good economic decision . . . that the problem is going to magically go away.”
It’s not only Canada’s cultural landmarks and heritage sites that are at risk, Leslie said, it’s also public safety.
“We’re not talking about a rusty old plaque somewhere. We’re talking about dams, we’re talking about bridges, we’re talking about retaining walls,” Leslie said. “These are serious infrastructure issues.”
The Conservatives often hold up Parks Canada to prove their concern and care for the environment, Leslie said. But a recent report from a federal environment watchdog found a significant backlog in the agency’s attempts to protect vulnerable ecosystems.
The commissioner of the environment and sustainability’s office noted a “significant risk” that the agency will fall further behind in its mandate to protect and preserve at-risk ecosystems in national parks.
“Overall staffing for conservation has declined by 23 per cent and the number of scientific staff positions has decreased by over a third,” noted the report, released earlier this month. “Parks Canada has not clarified how and by when, with significantly fewer resources, the agency will address the backlog of unfinished work.”
More than a third of park ecosystems have been identified as being in decline, and the commissioner’s report could not get a response on how the agency plans to deal with emerging threats to ecological integrity.
The commissioner’s report noted the national parks and historic sites are a huge economic boon for Canada, bringing in an estimated $3.3 billion and attracting about a million tourists annually. The agency also provides jobs in more than 400 communities.
Amidst all this, Canada is currently struggling to attract international visitors. A recent report released by Deloitte found that Canada has lost 20 per cent of its international visits since 2000. Where once we ranked No. 1 among international destinations, the auditing firm noted we have now fallen to 18th, behind countries such as Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
Between 2007 and 2011, the Conservatives actually increased Parks Canada’s budget from $655.4 million to $937.6 million at the height of stimulus spending. Since 2011, however, the agency’s budget has been cut to $781.7 million. Parks Canada’s capital budget has been slashed from $279.7 million in 2010-2011 to $76.6 million in 2012-2013, according to newly released figures.
The budgeted amounts can be somewhat misleading due to under spending — when departments and agencies spend significantly less than their budget. In 2010-2011, for instance, Parks Canada spent only $885.7 million of its $937.6-million budget. The agency also changed how it reports capital spending in 2010-2011, making direct comparisons to previous years difficult.
In an emailed response, Parks Canada said it has invested $990.7 million in infrastructure maintenance since 2006, and that the 2013 federal budget added another $19 million for bridges and highway infrastructure.
Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who counts four national parks in her Nunavut riding, declined the Star’s interview request. Her director of communications, Jennifer Kennedy, said the government is proud of its track record on the Parks Canada file.
“Since we formed government we have protected an area twice the size of Vancouver Island,” Kennedy wrote in an emailed response. “Our national parks and historic sites will continue to provide Canadians and visitors the means to connect with our country’s national heritage.”
Parks Canada has commissioned Vancouver-based OPUS Consulting Group Ltd. to scrutinize its 2012 asset review. The consultants have been assigned to visit a number of Parks Canada assets, among them Yoho National Park (deferred work: $78.9 million), Waterton Lakes National Park ($35.2 million), Prince Albert National Park ($43.3 million), the Rideau Canal ($104.3 million), the Fortifications of Quebec ($30 million), and the Halifax Citadel ($35.8 million).
The consultants will review four categories of Parks Canada infrastructure:
High-risk assets, such as highways, waterways, bridges and dams (replacement value: $8.06 billion)
Visitor experience and town sites, including campgrounds ($4.65 billion)
Cultural resources, such as national historic sites ($1.8 billion)
Supporting assets, including Parks Canada administrative and operations buildings ($832 million)
Ultimately, OPUS is expected to weigh in on the findings of the 2012 asset review and report back to Parks Canada. That report is expected at the end of the month.
CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK:
The Cape Breton Highlands park, jutting out of the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the premier tourism destinations in Atlantic Canada.
Deferred work: $1.83 million
Identified needs: $5.5 million for the Black Brook Bridge, $9.9 million for the Cabot Trail highway, $1 million for the electrical system at the Cheticamp Campgrounds.
Current replacement value: $422.8 million
FORTIFICATIONS OF QUEBEC:
The Fortifications of Old Quebec hearken back to the provincial capital’s early days as a colonial stronghold.
Deferred work: $30 million
Identified needs: $4.98 million for Bastion Dalhousie; $2.8 million for Bastion Richmond; $2.7 million for Bastion du Roi.
Current replacement value: $310.7 million
RIDEAU CANAL:
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Rideau Canal cuts through Ottawa to connect the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario. In the summer it provides passage for boats; in the winter it becomes the world’s largest naturally frozen skating rink.
Deferred work: $104.3 million
Identified needs: $3 million for the Hog’s Back Bridge; $3 million for the Jones Falls lock; millions for other locks and marine infrastructure.
Current replacement value: $928.98 million
PRINCE ALBERT NATIONAL PARK :
A swath of boreal forest home to Canada’s only fully protected white pelican nesting colony and a free-ranging herd of plains bison.
Deferred work: $43.3 million
Identified needs: $22.1 million for Highway 263; $4 million for the South Shore Scenic Dr.; $1 million for storm sewers and drainage.
Current replacement value: $280.5 million
BANFF NATIONAL PARK:
Nestled in the breathtaking Rocky Mountains, Canada’s first national park is one of the country’s most popular destinations.
Deferred work: $249.5 million
Identified needs: $64.5 million for the Banff-Castle stretch of the TransCanada Highway; $8.5 million for the Minnewanka Interchange bridge; $9.2 million for the Bow River overpass bridge.
Current replacement value: $1.42 billion
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