Park wardens still hoping for approval to carry guns
Last Updated: Thursday, May 3, 2001 | 12:59 PM ET
CBC News
The fight over firearms started last summer when a warden in Alberta complained about his personal safety and asked to carry a gun. A health and safety officer rejected the request. Instead, wardens were told to call the RCMP for any law enforcement issues.
Mike Bagnall, the Atlantic Representative for the Warden's Union, says it's not enough.
"A lot of our wardens are working in the back country," he says. "They're in more remote areas and to stand by and put a call in for the RCMP and to wait for the nearest detachment to respond – that is a concern."
Bruce Amos, a spokesperson for Parks Canada, says there is no hope of a quick resolution. Amos says the only thing he can guarantee is there will be no disruption to visitors planning to use the parks this summer.
"We hope that we will have a satisfactory plan in place for the summer that we will work constructing to find a long-term solution," he says.
In the meanwhile, it's business as usual. The only difference may be the presence of more RCMP officers in the parks.
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