Two avalanche and search-and-rescue dog associations say Parks Canada’s cancellation of its K9 program could increase risks for rescuers and the public.
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The Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA) and the British Columbia Search Dog Association (BCSDA) have asked Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada to immediately reverse the cancellation of Parks Canada’s K9 search-and-rescue program in Banff National Park, warning it could reduce public safety and rescue capacity.
In a letter sent by CARDA president Kyle Hale and BCSDA president Megan Kelly, the groups asked Parks Canada to “immediately reverse” the decision to “reduce risks to rescuers and the Canadian public.” Hale said only a small number of search-and-rescue dogs are trained to work in mountainous terrain under rapidly changing weather.
Hale said dogs can be dropped with their handlers into an avalanche scene and are more likely to quickly locate people who are missing, while relying on people to carry out avalanche probing would “take hours or days” and leave them exposed to further avalanches. “They save lives collaterally,” Hale said.
The associations also said Parks Canada’s K9 program was meant to help instruct civilian dog handlers working alongside BCSDA and CARDA, which they described as creating “a significant gap in Canada’s rescue dog capacity.” They also said they understood Parks Canada intended to rely on volunteers from both associations “at least in the short-term” and that there was “zero consultation and zero outreach to any stakeholders” about the decision.
Parks Canada said the cancellation was part of work to “modernize how it delivers programs and services” and support long-term sustainability, including “modernizing its law enforcement model” to focus on high-risk areas. A Parks Canada spokesperson said park wardens are trained and equipped to enforce the Canada National Parks Act without the use of dogs.
The federal government is cutting $145 million from Parks Canada’s budget over the next three years, as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s directive for federal agencies to scale back public sector spending by 10 to 15 per cent. Parks Canada previously said it made the difficult decision to discontinue its dog handler program.
The K9 program has existed since 1971 and, at its peak, had six dogs, but had been at one dog for about the past decade. Parks Canada’s previous dog, Leroy, retired in the summer after turning seven; the program credited him with finding 57 missing people in the wilderness and tracking more than 150 people, and noted he was pivotal in locating people during the Bow Glacier Falls rockfall.
Yellowhead Conservative MP William Stevenson, whose riding covers Banff and Jasper National Parks, presented a petition in the House of Commons on Nov. 5 signed by more than 11,500 people calling for the program’s return. Stevenson said in Parliament that the dogs have “saved lives, located missing people and supported avalanche rescues,” and he sent a letter to Environment, Climate Change and Nature Minister Julie Dabrusin and Parks Canada interim CEO Andrew Campbell seeking information on why the program was halted and what the estimated savings would be.
Parks Canada said it is eliminating 13 warden detachments and reducing the number of wardens across the country from more than 100 to about 85, while downsizing a warden position in both Banff and Jasper and shifting to a regional model that could send wardens to other areas. The agency is also hiring three regional intelligence coordinators.
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