Grade 8 students are invited to experience Canada’s national parks and historic sites for free

May 21, 2010

WINNIPEG – Steven Fletcher, Member of Parliament for Charleswood – St. James - Assiniboia, welcomed the announcement from Environment Minister Jim Prentice that students from across Canada will be given the opportunity to experience their national parks and historic sites for free. The launch of “My Parks Pass”, a program partnering initiative with Nature Canada and The Historica-Dominion Institute, will allow over 400,000 Grade 8 students to visit Parks Canada administered national parks and national historic sites for free for twelve months.
 
“I’m very pleased to be passing on this exciting news to local Grade 8 students,” said Minister Fletcher. “I had the opportunity today to visit area schools and hand out the ‘My Parks Pass’ to more than a hundred very excited Grade 8 students. Parks Canada offers some of the most unique and relevant places to appreciate Canada, and this new opportunity is a great way for students to connect with Canada’s natural and historical treasures.”
 
The passes, which are being distributed this week, provide free access to 27 national parks and 68 national historic sites. In addition to twelve months of free access to the parks, beginning this September all new Grade 8 classes across Canada will be able to visit their national parks and Parks Canada-administered national historic sites for free when visiting as part of an organized school trip.
 
“Canada’s future lies in the hands of its youth, I am proud to place a key to the nation’s greatest treasures in those young hands,” said Minister Fletcher. “The ‘My Parks Pass’ will open the doors to Grade 8 students to connect their hearts and minds to the places and events that embody the very essence of Canada.”
 
For additional information on Parks Canada’s the “My Parks Pass,” please see the backgrounder provided below or visit www.parkscanada.gc.ca.