To the editor:
When I first read the Clearwater Times, Oct. 19 front page article headlined “Simpcw Hunt in Jasper National Park,” my immediate reaction quickly turned from disbelief to disgust.
These are the people who call themselves “the custodians of the land.” In 1907, the federal government formed Jasper National Park.
This was to secure this wild area and its wildlife for all people to enjoy forever.
For 100 years, the animals have coexisted with human visitors, not feeling any threat.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadian and international tourists have taken pictures of them in campgrounds and along the roadsides, the large rams east of Jasper being just one example.
Now that humans are a threat, those days are probably gone forever.
I really hope that the nine so-called hunters in the Simpcw hunting party celebrate their kills but realize that the previous day, their trophy ram was probably eating a salted cracker from the hand of a German tourist.
The article goes on to say: “The hunting party included two youth, which Matthew felt was particularly valuable in that it helped pass down the traditional Simpcw way of life.”
Isn’t that wonderful? What is the next lesson?
Perhaps it’s a trip to the Vancouver Aquarium to learn how to trap otter.
The law of our land says it is illegal to hunt in a federal park. It is also illegal to discharge a firearm in a federal park.
Any firearm carried through a federal park must be sealed with a government seal.
If Parks Canada and our jam tart Liberal government are not able to uphold these laws, then maybe they will have to be held accountable in the next election.
Jim Lamberton,
Blackpool, B.C.