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Parks Canada’s muted response on Banff wolves questioned

Banff tourism up partly due to low loonie, say merchants

A shift in how federal government employees communicate during the election appears to be taking a toll on operational issues at a local level.

The Caretaker Convention outlines how government employees must limit their communication during an election in an effort to keep things neutral.

One media report details how Parks Canada spokeswoman Christina Tricomi would not be interviewed for a story about two wolves that killed a deer in a populated area of Banff. Instead the agency released a statement nearly a week after the two animals chased and killed the deer in the townsite.

Tricomi referred to the Caretaker Convention as to why she couldn’t speak directly on the matter. The report points out that the convention excludes “routine, non-controversial or urgent issues,”,which can be addressed.

When asked for comment by Yahoo Canada News, a Parks Canada media relations advisor responded with the following message:

According to the Caretaker Convention, which governs government operations during an election period, departments and agencies must curtail their communications activities.

Parks Canada responds to requests from the media promptly and in an appropriate format based on the nature of the questions.

Eddie Kennedy, national advisor on Parks Canada for the Union of National Employees, says the union understands the government may be in a caretaker mode leading up to the election. However, there’s still a responsibility to communicating necessary information to Canadians in a timely manner, particularly if it’s related to public safety.

“I’m not overly surprised (the statement about the deer) took so long to get out because I’m sure they’re dealing with approval processes to get any information out while in this caretaker mode,” he told Yahoo Canada News.

He explains that media relation positions were first created about five years ago. Prior to that there weren’t any formal positions that served as a liaison between the agency and the media. Employees with the agency are not allowed to speak with the media unless they’re approved to do so.

“If you can get a media relations person to have a frank conversation with you, I’d be surprised that they would,” Kennedy says. “They’re very heavily governed about what they’re allowed to say and how it’s framed and said in the media.”

He adds that doesn’t alleviate the responsibility of the department or government to communicate issues that concern public safety issues.

It’s not the first time restriction on employees of the agency have raised eyebrows.

In the midst of budget cuts in 2012, employees of Parks Canada were told not to criticize the government or the agency.

In a letter to staff, with the subject heading: Duty of loyalty and freedom of expression, employees were instructed to “refrain from public criticism of the Government of Canada when speaking as an employee of the agency. Any breach of that duty could result in disciplinary action.”

The letter, which was obtained by CBC News, went on to read: The duty of loyalty includes the duty to refrain from public criticism of the Government of Canada when speaking as an employee of the agency. Breaching the duty of loyalty may lead to disciplinary action.

The Conservative government cut back $29 million dollars from the agency, which resulted in the loss of jobs held by technical staff and scientists, as well as reduced work hours. A petition launched in 2014 in an effort to reverse the cuts, garnered over 2,000 signatures.