The number of people illegally camping in town is on the rise leading to a spike in tickets, according to Jasper’s bylaw department.
Since June bylaw officers have been handing out at least six tickets a day.
“Our numbers are going up dramatically,” said Dave Osborne, the licensing and enforcement manager for the municipality, during a council meeting Aug. 16.
From January to Aug. 19 the municipality issued 262 tickets and 49 warnings.
According to Osborne, 237 of those tickets and 44 of those warnings were issued since May.
Last year bylaw officers issued 137 tickets in total and 48 warnings.
“Our numbers are probably up 20 or 30 per cent just in enforcement compliance and I get a feeling next year is going to be even bigger,” said Osborne, pointing to the weak Canadian dollar and free admission to Canada’s national parks and historic sites in 2017.
According to the municipality’s traffic safety bylaw, it is illegal to park a vehicle for the purpose of overnight accommodation. The penalty is a $65 fine.
The municipality recently increased the fine from $50 when it approved a revised version of the town’s traffic safety bylaw, Aug. 16.
“The old traffic bylaw was $50 dollars and if they paid within 14 days we dropped it down to $30, which was comparable to the cost of camping in a campground,” said Osborne, adding they can still use their discretion to knock down the ticket if it’s paid within 14 days.
“The problem we have is people don’t like to get the piece of paper that says you’ve got a ticket. They take exception to that so we try to sell the idea that this is the cost of camping in a designated area.”
The cost to camp in Jasper National Park varies depending on the campsite and the amenities that are available, but a single night at Whistler’s Campground costs $27.40 per night. Add the cost of entry and a daily fire permit and a single night of camping can cost closer to $50.
Despite the spike in illegal campers in town, Parks Canada said it has not seen a similar trend outside of the townsite.
"We are aware of the challenges that the Town of Jasper is facing and will continue our co-operative approach in working with them on the issue," wrote Steve Young, a communications officer for Jasper National Park.
"Illegal camping can be a safety concern that may put visitors or wildlife at risk when it involves fires and/or bear attractants. These situations are a priority for law enforcement."
Although reassuring, Jasper isn't the only town struggling with the issue.
According to the Craig and Canyon illegal camping is also on the rise in Banff National Park.
So far this year there have been 201 incidents of illegal camping in Banff National Park compared to 214 incidents in total in 2015, according to Parks Canada. In 2014, there were 144 tickets issued.
According to Osborne, he believes the problem is people aren’t getting the message.
“What we hear is staff from Parks Canada as well as employees from businesses is you can camp anywhere in Jasper–this is what we’re told–it’s false information,” said Osborne.
“When we deal with violators we tell them to go to designated areas. The response we get from them is they’re full,” said Osborne, adding overflow campgrounds are also at or near capacity on weekends in the summer.
Mayor Richard Ireland, said he shared Osborne’s concerns.
“If after careful consideration you think there ought to be further changes to this bylaw involving penalties for camping, would you bring that forward in the winter time or sometime before next camping season,” said Ireland.
Osborne said he would bring it back to council in the fall once he has more data to present.
Coun. Gilbert Wall asked Osborne how aggressively Parks Canada was handling the issue.
“It’s a big park, they have limited resources in law enforcement and I think there is a reluctance to prosecute because of the nature of how they have to go through the process, whereas we issue a ticket they have to issue what is called an appearance notice, which means a mandatory court appearance, which means preparing court disclosure right off the bat,” explained Osborne.
“It’s a very long drawn out process where as our process is very simple.”
Following Osborne’s presentation council agreed the issue should be brought up during the next Jasper Partnership Initiative meeting between the municipality, Parks Canada, Tourism Jasper, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce, Marmot Basin and the Jasper Hotel Association.
Paul Clarke
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