Alpine Club of Canada - Montreal Section
Box 543
Victoria Station
Westmount, Quebec
H3Z 2V5
January 16th 2002
The Honorable Gordon Campbell,
Premier of British Columbia
P.O Box 9409
Station Provincial Government
Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 9V1
RE: Proposed Cutbacks to the Canadian Avalanche Association's Public Avalanche Bulletin
Dear Premier Campbell,
I am writing to you on behalf of the Alpine Club of Canada, Montreal Section, following
a public announcement that cutbacks within your Government threaten the funding of the
Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) Bulletin. We do not support these cutbacks to
the avalanche bulletin and urge you to keep funding this information service we deem
essential to public safety.
The Alpine Club of Canada, which provides financial support to the CAA, believes the
Bulletin is an essential public safety service and that its elimination would have serious
negative impacts on all alpine backcountry users and the Canadian mountaineering
community. Lives will unnecessarily be lost!
In addition, the money the British Columbia Government might save each year through
the funding cuts would be more than used up on avalanche search and rescue missions
that would be unnecessary if the service remained available.
We therefore urge you to reconsider your planned funding cuts - public safety is at risk
and this concerns each and every one of our members visiting the British Columbia
backcountry. How else could backcountry users find out about avalanche conditions?
This service is absolutely necessary.
Sincerely,
Isabelle Daigneault
Access and Environment Coordinator
Alpine Club of Canada, Montreal Section
Cc: The Honorable Michael DeJong, Minister of Forests
The Honorable Rich Coleman, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General
The Honorable Stan Hagen, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management
The Honorable Joyce Murray, Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection
Mr. Bill Valentine, President and CEO, BCAL
Mr.Bruce Keith, Alpine Club of Canada
Mrs.Clair Israelson, Canadian Avalanche Association
All Alpine Club of Canada members
