Rioting protesters and wayward wildlife won’t be the primary concern for Canmore’s municipal enforcement when G-8 leaders meet in Kananaskis next week.
Special constable Ash Wilson says constraining people looking to set up illegal camps in and around town will be the department’s chief priority.
Municipal enforcement is preparing to write up $100 on-the-spot fines to people camping anywhere within Town of Canmore limits other than designated campsites.
“While it appears to be a trivial matter, the ramifications are a lot bigger,” Spec. Const. Wilson said.
Non-controlled camping outside unmanaged areas opens the way for fire and wildlife hazards, he said. Campers tend to be more careless with their fire practices and leave uneaten food and dirty dishes that beckon wildlife, he said.
“There’s a lot of bears about,” Spec. Const. Wilson said.
“It’s a public safety issue when campers get attacked and the community at large is put at risk.”
He said the wildfires, which have been burning throughout Alberta since April, are a “perfect example of what happens” when a campfire gets out of hand.
Municipal enforcement, which works out of the Canmore RCMP detachment, has fined around five illegal campers so far this season, but Spec. Const. Wilson said he expects to encounter more as weather continues to stay warm.
Three campers were fined as late as Tuesday (June 18) staying in tents amid woodlands around three and a half kilometres west of the TransAlta hydro electricity plant off Plant Road.
Spec. Const. Wilson says the G-8 meetings, at Kananaskis Village June 26 and 27, will be a prime time for illegal camping in Canmore when the town’s woodlands might be particularly susceptible to unkempt campsites.
“I just think it’s going to be a busy period for the town,” he said.
“Anytime we have an influx of people we’re dealing with an increase in traffic and concerns that come with that.”
He said municipal enforcement officers regularly patrol trails and wooded areas on the Larch Islands, across from the pond at Mallard Alley and along Policeman’s Creek and the Bow River, where unauthorized camping has been a problem in past summers.
Illegal camping is outlined in the Town’s Parks Bylaw 2797, section bylaw number 11.1
Spec. Const. Wilson said paid camping is permitted at the Bow Valley Park Campground east of the town, Wapiti Tents, Restwell Trailer Park and on Highway 1A opposite McDonalds.
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