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December 18, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


The following statement was issued today by Sanda Kelly, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Update on Parks Privatization Initiative

As promised earlier this year, I rise today to update my honourable colleagues on the success of my department's 1997 parks privatization initiative.

Government has just completed its review of the parks that were privatized in the spring of this year. This review was a responsible approach which enabled government to monitor the new privatization arrangements for each and every park. I am happy to stand in the House this afternoon and report on those findings.

All of the 21 parks offered for privatization have been successfully released to new operators. Three of these parks had a temporary operating licence in place for the 1997 season. Government operated one park, Duley Lake, for this year only. In the fall of this year, government issued a separate call for proposals for these four parks in order to secure a long-term operator for each. My department expects that this process will be completed and that new long-term operators will be secured within the upcoming months.

Thirteen operators have made capital improvements to their parks in the first season. These improvements range from the construction of a kitchen shelter at Sop's Arm Park, to the installation of electrical and water hookups at Catamaran Park, to the start-up construction of a lodge at Indian River Park. Other operators are planning major construction for the parks while they are closed for the winter months.

My department's review of the parks has shown that the new operators remain committed to developing their business plans as outlined in their proposals. All have been encouraged to become members of the province's tourism association. Some parks are jointly exploring the option of marketing partnerships.

These parks were made available to the private sector because they offered viable business opportunities for rural Newfoundland. Government also realized that it no longer needed to play as large a role in the recreational camping industry as it once had in the 1970s.

The purpose of this review was to: (1) establish contact with the operators; (2) ascertain the operators level of satisfaction in relation to their expectations; (3) identify any problems/obstacles being experienced by operators; (4) assess operators' adherence to original business plans; and (5) determine operators' conformance to the conditions of the licence to occupy. I am pleased with the review of the parks, the success of the privatization initiative, but most importantly that these parks are being developed in a manner in which government simply, could not afford.

I would like to remind the House at this time that all the privatized park land continues to be owned by the government, and that the operators hold a licence to operate. Government is committed to preserving and protecting the significant ecological features in the parks, and as such, portions of 10 of the privatized parks have been retained for land protection under the Provincial Parks Act.

This privatization initiative will see a stronger recreational camping industry emerge in this province. This initiative will benefit users in the long-term.

1997 12 18 3:45 p.m.

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