Parks Canada officials met the public at Fort Battleford historic site Thursday to outline the site's activities for the coming year.
The site has seen its share of adversities over the past while following federal government budget cuts that impacted 26 historic sites in Canada.
The cuts prompted local speculation and concern about the future of Fort Battleford. The three Parks Canada officials at the meeting were there to dispel the myths and outline what was actually happening at the site.
One of their messages was that Parks Canada is committed to Fort Battleford and will continue to be so.
Katherine Patterson, superintendent of Sask. South Field Unit, said, "there was no intention to divest of these sites or walk away from them." She anticipates there will continue to be investment in the artifacts and the buildings.
There is no intention, she said, of "shutting the site down or letting it get to the state where it starts to become decrepit."
Dan French, visitor experience manager for Fort Battleford and Fort Walsh, acknowledged the $30 million federal funding cut to Parks Canada's sites and the loss of jobs. Despite that, "we're all in the frame of mind now that this change is going to make us stronger in the future, and we are moving forward collectively."
He pledged Parks Canada would continue to work with its partners to keep the sites viable.
"We are hoping to be here for another century, at least," said French.
April 30 was the day Parks Canada was forced to share the news of the budget cuts with staff, with 600 jobs eliminated across Canada. The cuts impacted 26 historic sites, including Fort Battleford, that were directed to go towards a "self-guided" model.
The annual operating budget was cut from $500,000 to about $175,000, Patterson said.
As for capital investments money to keep the buildings and maintain historical artifacts, "I have no reason to believe that kind of funding will diminish or have changed," she said.
Some of the visible changes the average person will see were outlined. Last year, there were costumed interpreters as well as costumed North West Mounted Police doing cannon demonstrations each day.
The site would no longer have those costumed interpreters, Patterson said, except if they were "part of a paid program, for a school-group program or one of the day-trip programs."
There will be staff on site to answer questions, but most visitors will be provided with a guide book. The audio tour has been revamped, and there will be some panels set up and games and activities developed for children.
In addition, bookings are being taken for school tours and some special events are planned.
But unlike previous years, there will not be enough staff for there to be one employee per building, Patterson noted. "It's not 'no' people, but it's not as secure as having somebody watching all the time," said Patterson.
In terms of staffing, last year there were five full-time year-long employees plus the management team. That number is down to zero, noted Patterson.
She said there is now one employee on staff, but only for a nine-month period.
As for the summer complement, instead of 12 people on staff giving programs and interpretation, this year there are six people on staff until July 1, when two more will be added for the rest of the summer.
There are also some changes to hours of operations. From May 22 until June 29 the site is open three days a week, Wednesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The site remains open over the May long weekend and the July 1 long weekend. After the July 1 long weekend the site will be open seven days a week until Sept. 2.
Popular programs - ghost walks, the children's day camps for kids ages six to nine and Halloween Haunted Fort - will continue.
The Ghost Walks are scheduled for May 31, June 21, July 18, Aug. 8 and Aug. 22.
The children's day camps are scheduled for July 3-4, 9-10, 16-17, 23-24 and 30-31, as well as Aug. 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21.
The Halloween Haunted Fort event with five haunted buildings is set for Oct. 26.
At the meeting Thursday were several members of the Friends of Fort Battlefords, as well as a number of local public officials including Mayor Derek Mahon of Battleford and councillors Gordon Yarde and Shelley Boutin-Gervais. Also there was North Battleford Ryan Bater, representing Battlefords Tourism.
Not surprisingly, the impact of the budget cuts on the site drew some concern from the public officials there.
Boutin-Gervais openly wondered what could be done to reverse the cuts, noting the importance of "preserving the history of Canada. It just doesn't make any sense to me - it teaches the young people how Canada came to be and how things started. So it makes no sense to me."
