A bidding process to lease the hot springs is expected to start within the next three months. Thiessen would not say whether one company would be responsible for the three hot springs or how long the leases would be.

The privatization move comes a year after the federal government approved Brewster Travel Canada’s bid to develop a glass-floored observation deck in Jasper National Park. The plan was attacked in an online petition eventually signed by 180,000 people.

The move also follows a $29-million budget cut to Parks Canada announced by the federal government and the planned elimination of more than 600 jobs. Thiessen said plans for the hot springs were developed before the 2012 budget announcement and that any jobs lost wouldn’t be counted in the government employment target.

But the union representing employees at Miette Hot Springs said privatization of the pools goes beyond potential job losses, with the possibility of rising admission rates and concerns about whether a private operator would maintain the integrity of the pools.

“This isn’t just about employees losing their jobs, this is about changing the face of a community that’s built around something that belongs to all Canadians,” said Marianne Hladu, regional executive vice-president of the prairie region for the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

Source: Edmonton Journal