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Thursday, January 5, 2017 | 6 â€" Join our national park party The old saying that "every party has a pooper" never | sounded truer than this week as Canada‘s longâ€" awaited 150th birthday celebrations yot underway. No sooner had [‘arks Canada begun offering free adâ€" mission to the country‘s national parks and historic â€"sites for the entire year than a bunch of partyâ€"crashâ€" 5 ing began griping that this generous invitaâ€" | ; tion could lead to the end of the natural world as we | know it â€" or pretty much words to that effect. Take Ben Gadd, for instance, a retired nature guide ; who frets that the creatures and landscapes of marâ€" quee national parks such as Alberta‘s Banff will be under attack for the next 12 months. Even Eric Herbertâ€"Daly, national executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, couldn‘t | help pouring glacial water on Parks Canada‘s initiaâ€" tive with the gloomy prophecy, "this may be the year where we realize just how overstretched some of | these (parks) are." Critics like Gadd and Herbertâ€"Daly doubtlessly mean well â€" though they should have spent more energy accentuating the positives of this federal plan. That‘s because offering free admission to our naâ€" tional parks and historic sites is a fantastic idea. It‘s a wonderful way of encouraging Canadians to explore an unfamiliar or undiscovered part of this land. People who journey to a national park will quickly learn the free admission covers only a nominal entry fee. For instance, Bruce Peninsula National Park will not charge an entry fee previously listed at $14.70 a family or $4.80 an adult. But if you want to camp or | buy firewood there or at any other national park in 2017, you‘ll have to hand over cash. Many of the country‘s national parks are in remote places that can be reached only after meticulous planning and an arduous, costly journey. Gros Morne National Park features moody mountsins, soaring fords, icebergs and whales. But to get there, most Canadians would likely have to fly to Newfoundland, rent a vehicle and drive to the far western edge of the island. It‘s crazy to imagine that waiving a paltry entry fee will result in a destructive tourist invasion. To be sure, the publicity surrounding the free admisâ€" sion â€" and the lure of saving a little cash â€" will reâ€" sult in even more people visiting a national park or historic site in 2017 than the 24.5 million who did last year. Destinations such as Point Pelee National Park or Bruce Peninsula National Park, which are relatively close to Ontario‘s big cities, may experience considâ€" erably more traffic. But Parks Canada has already planned for this by reinforcing maintenance and cleaning crews. And it‘s sensibly monitoring who‘s getting its free, advance passes in order to be better * prepared at the most popular parks. In the long term, Canadians who learn more about the treasures they have inherited will be most likely to value and preserve them for future generations. This land belongs to all of us. Let‘s get to know it better. & 4 i & # m 4 ‘J. # j k $ ‘,1"-:‘.., 4‘“‘" sast ¢ » ® © 5 3 ~ sns Opinionm +7 m " mm , Cofomams io qy 5 4% qoi e\ «iÂ¥ sts o. * ko . e k e wan 4B togis SHIMMER AND SHINE: Champion reader Mona Hashim recently moved to Milton and snapped this photo in November 2016 near Laurier Avenue and Tupper Drive. Do you | have a unique, interesting, fun or cute photo taken in Milton that you would like to submit to be considered for Snapshot? Send submissions (minimum 600 KB resolution) to editor@milâ€" toncanadianchampion.com or use the hashtag #MiltonChampion on Instagram. Please include the name of the photographer (for publication) and a description of the photo including the location where it was taken Don‘t let fear stop you It won‘t happen to me. It‘s a synâ€" drome many sufâ€" fer from â€" myself included. But if Sunday‘s terror attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey has taught me anything, it‘s that we aren‘t imâ€" mune to the evils _ Catherine O‘Hara of the world. Managing Editor On January 1, a gunman entered a packed venue and started shooting, claiming the lives of 39 innocent souls and injuring more than 60 others â€" men and women out for a night on the town to ring in the new year. Although the massacre occurred half a world away, the impacts of this despicable act could be felt right here in Halton after it was reveal@dt that one of the victims â€" the sole Canadian killed â€" was a Milton resident. Alaa Alâ€"Muhandis, 29, a mother of two young children, was a successful entrepreâ€" neur who headed up her own eventâ€"décor business. Friends and family describe her as a beautiful, happy person who always had a smile on her face. As news of Alâ€"Muhandis‘s senseless death grabbed headlines across the country, | couldn‘t help but think of just how vuinerâ€" able we can be to terrorism. Take the recent attack in Berlin that saw a man drive a truck into a crowd of people enjoying the Christmas market, killing 12 and maiming 20 others. Or the November 2015 coâ€"ordinated attacks in Paris, includâ€" ing at the Bataclan theatre where nearly 90 concertâ€"goers were killed. In each of these tragic cases, the victims were simply going about their daily lives. The victims weren‘t on the front lines or in trenches fighting in a theatre of war, they were front and centre at concert venues, walking down the street and out celebratâ€" ing the start of a new year â€" activities that many of us take part in regularly. While it‘s scary to think that we could be victims of a terror attack, we can‘t let fear get in the way of living our lives. Howevâ€" er, we can stand together in denouncing these atrocities. insidehaiton.com Champion. 555 Industrial Drive, Milton, Ont. L9T 5E1 905â€"878â€"2341 Advertising Fax: 905â€"876â€"2364 Classified: 905â€"875â€"3300 Circulation: 905â€"878â€"5947 www.miltoncanadianchampion.com V.P â€" Group Publisher Nell Oliver Regional General Manager Kelly Montague Director of Advertising Danie! 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