EDMONTON, AB – It sounds like the province’s idea to charge people for visiting Kananaskis Country has brought in a pile of money.
The Kananaskis Conservation Pass as it’s called, was brought in five months ago and since then over 253,000 passes have been issued, generating more than $10 million in provincial revenue.
Parks Minister Jason Nixon says every single dime collected from this pass goes to enhancing conservation, public safety, services, and facilities throughout K-Country. This revenue has also resulted in the province hiring 20 additional conservation officers.
Personal vehicle day passes for Kananaskis are $15 dollars. Yearly passes are $90.
The Opposition New Democrats though are criticizing what they call “a fee on nature.” The NDP’s Parks Critic, Marlin Schmidt says this is hypocritical of the government for charging a money to visit Kananaskis after spending millions on an energy war room and giving billions of dollars away in corporate handouts.