Indigenous peoples will have one less cost to bear while visiting Jasper National Park and the townsite.
On Tuesday, Jasper Municipal Council directed administration to waive paid parking fees for individuals and families who display a Parks Canada-issued Indigenous Park Pass in their vehicle.
On April 25, the municipality engaged in discussion with Indigenous partners.
“We were given the lesson that waiving paid parking is a thing that could contribute to reconciliation,” said Christopher Read, director of Community Development, in a May 14 presentation to committee of the whole.
“This decision would extend a privilege enjoyed by Jasper residents to all Indigenous peoples of Canada.”
In the past, parking fees were waived for Indigenous partners visiting Jasper for National Indigenous Peoples’ Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The Town of Banff has also considered offering free parking for Indigenous peoples and is currently investigating the proposal.
Parks Canada has given out 1,435 passes to Indigenous partners so far this year and gave out 1,751 passes in 2023.
In 2023, the agency also gave out 9,500 six-month passes at the gate to anyone who self-identifies as Indigenous.
Read noted that the municipality didn’t have the “horsepower” to create its own program or policies for verifying who qualified for this exemption, which is why the only requirement is a Parks Canada Indigenous Park Pass.
He later added that the impact on paid parking revenue would be “negligible.”
During last week’s committee meeting, Coun. Wendy Hall voiced her support for the motion.
“I think the first residents of our park should be able to enjoy the benefits of the residents of Jasper in parking,” Hall said.
Mayor Richard Ireland also supported the recommendation but took issue with some of the wording in the report, such as whether free parking should be considered a “top priority” item or implying that all Indigenous peoples across Canada have a connection to Jasper.
“I don’t know really whether there would be any objection [from Indigenous partners] if those who have a connection with this land would recognize that all Indigenous people across Canada share in that same connection,” he said.
Ireland also noted the phrase “the right to be here without barrier.”
“That’s a big step to identify a right to be here without suggesting there’s any barrier,” he said.
“The rules of the road will still apply whether you pay for the parking pass or not, there’s all sorts of other barriers and so I just find the wording to be a step too far for my comfort level. This is such a sensitive area that I think we have to exercise a degree of care.”
Ireland added that while council was not officially receiving the report, it was still part of the public record.
