Kootenay-Columbia MP Rob Morrison was in Golden on Thursday, Aug. 11, to meet with local tourism stakeholders about some of the unique challenges Golden faces.
One of the primary purposes for the trip was a visit to CP land just off of Highway 1, to discuss potentially restoring access to the lower Kicking Horse Canyon for rafters.
In attendance was Morrison, Ryan Johannesen, co-owner at Glacier Rafting, Joanne Sweeting, executive director at Tourism Golden and Mayor Ron Oszust, as well as a representative from CP Rail.
Morrison is advocating for a simple bells-and-arms crossing to be installed, which he believes to be a common sense and reasonable solution. Morrison agrees that restoring access to the lower canyon is an important issue that he would like to see resolved.
“This particular crossing here, it had been used safely by the rafters for 35 years, up to 15,000 people a year,” said Mayor Ron Oszust.
“We know the industry can do it safely, we just need to know what we need to do to comply with the requirements of Transport Canada, to be able to restore that access to a natural resource.”
CP has suggested that the river be re-aligned to allow rafters to pass from the upper canyon into the lower canyon, which would eliminate the need to take out rafts and put them back in the river, negating the need for a crossing. However, Johannesen says that’s not a feasible option, as the environmental impact of disrupting fisheries, as well as the upkeep to an ever-changing section of the river would mean a never ending investment.
“It’s huge for us, we’d like to get back to what we used to do down there and introduce people to our town by floating right through at the end of the trip,” said Johannesen.
“It’s a big reason why people come back year after year, it’s an exciting part of the river.”
Access to the lower Kicking Horse canyon was revoked at the conclusion of the 2015 season, after a routine inspection from Transport Canada witnessed rafters crossing rail tracks to get to the put-in spot along the Kicking Horse River. The government body told CP that a proper crossing needed to be put in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Back in April of 2016, it seemed like a solution had been reached with then-MP Wayne Stetski at the helm, organizing to have a temporary flagger for the 2016 season. However, at the last minute, the proposal was revoked and a gate was installed to block access.
According to Tourism Golden, the loss of the lower canyon rafting has had its impacts on tourism in Golden. The lower canyon is renowned as some of the best rafting in Canada and people are choosing not to return to raft the Kicking Horse River knowing that they will not be able to access the lower canyon.
Sweeting says that revenues lost could be close to $5 million in the years since access has been denied, not just from the rafting industry, but from the hospitality industry as a whole. Fewer people coming to raft means fewer people staying in hotels, dining at local restaurants and spending money, explained Sweeting.
While no solution was reached, the conversation has been re-opened and is expected to continue moving forward.
