Do you support the Glacier Discovery Walk project in Jasper?

Environment Minister Peter Kent said the environmental assessment for the project has been completed, and Brewster Travel Canada can go ahead with its proposed Glacier Discovery Walk project.

"The Glacier Discovery Walk in Jasper National Park, I believe, will very quickly become an iconic Canadian tourism experience," Kent said at a news conference in Ottawa.

Readers on CBCNews.ca reacted quickly to the glacier walk's approval, with more than 200 comments posted on the article right after the announcement was made early Thursday afternoon.

Some said that the planned Discovery Walk would obstruct the natural beauty of the glaciers in Subwapta Valley. Others balked at the idea of being charged to enter an area of a public national park.

• "Leave the glacier alone! It's under enough stress already." - Revsol
• "No more development please, Brewster. People go to enjoy the natural beauty not the rides and thrills." - Pi....
• "Jasper is one of Canada's true treasures. It is beautiful because it is natural and unspoiled, and it belongs to all Canadians as a part of our National heritage. Allowing a private, for-profit company to effectively slice off a piece of this park and make it a private, admission-only area is a travesty." - underdogg
• "The company who wants to make money says 'their' studies all show 'minimal' impact. Isn't this a bit like the fox telling the farmer, 'I've commissioned several studies (from other foxes) and they all agree - the impact of having me watch your hen house is minimal.'" - Kent_brockman

Some thought the plan could reap some benefits for the parks, though - a structure like the Discovery Walk could attract tourists who would otherwise not visit Jasper, for example.
   

• "As long as it is reasonably run and does not otherwise deny access to park goers to the sights of the park or other 'wild' access to exploring the glaciers, then it is a reasonable thing. The balance between protection and access is not easy to manage - without trying it's impossible to know where the balance is." - QuebecAnglo
• "Building tourism attractions doesn't have to be a government payment only option. Let's take it case by case." - ClosetIguana
• "Despite an initial knee jerk reaction (a national park say it ain't so!) I think the more we can educate people going through the parks, the better. I almost think it is better to shuttle the regular tourists who drive to all the sites they want to see, through facilities and interpretive centres like this. It takes pressure off the backcountry. People enjoy it, they learn something valuable, and have fun. It creates jobs. It hopefully fosters some thoughts of conservation etc. as most of these places do all draw attention to conservation issues." - Calamari

Do you agree with the plan to build the Glacier Discovery Walk at Jasper National Park? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments section below.


(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)