Banff National Park’s superintendent said walking his dog off-leash — a violation of the Canada National Parks Act — was an “isolated, lapse in judgment.”
First reported in the Rocky Mountain Outlook on Oct. 8 with a photo, the Bow Valley newspaper broke news that Sal Rasheed was caught walking his dog Max off-leash on the Tunnel Mountain trail in Banff.
Rasheed admitted to CBC News that the incident happened, but said his “commitment to Parks Canada’s mandate remains unchanged” and “it has reinforced the importance of leading by example.”
Rasheed, who has had the superintendent role of Canada’s premier national park since 2022 and has been acting executive director of Alberta’s national parks since last year, said he’ll “continue to support the agency’s efforts to protect wildlife, visitors and the ecological integrity of our national parks.”
In a statement, Jennifer Burnell with Parks Canada’s national communications team said the federal agency was aware of the photo of Rasheed with an off-leash dog.
Burnell said Parks Canada expects everyone to follow the rules, and the agency underwent an internal review as a result of the report.
“Parks Canada is satisfied that the matter was appropriately addressed,” she said.
Neither Rasheed nor Burnell said what action — if any — was taken. Burnell said those details won’t be shared publicly.
Burnell said the federal agency promotes “compliance with park regulations” through education, awareness and enforcement when it’s deemed necessary.
Any person violating the regulation doesn’t face a criminal charge, but can be issued a fine of up to $25,000.
The Alberta courts told CBC News that no charges have been filed as of Oct. 8.
“While individual lapses in judgment can occur, they do not change Parks Canada’s commitment to protecting places such as Banff National Park for future generations,” Burnell said.
Parks Canada acting CEO and senior vice-president of transformation Andrew Campbell told CBC News he was away and deferred questions to Parks Canada vice-president of operations Jewel Cunningham, who has not yet responded.
Banff field unit external relations manager Natalie Fay and press secretary for the federal Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature Amy Falkner have not yet responded to requests for comment from CBC News.
Dogs can increase risk of conflict between people and bears: study
In July, a high-profile incident led to an American woman pleading guilty to having her dog off-leash on the trail to Taylor Lake when she encountered a grizzly bear.
The female grizzly bear showed no aggression and was walking down the trail as the small dog barked and Brook Koski recorded the incident on her phone. Her husband, Kraig Koski, had bear spray ready to deploy and yelled at the bear the entire time.
Brook Koski pled guilty and was fined $1,500.
A peer-reviewed study found an off-leash dog significantly increases the potential of bad encounters with bears. It analyzed 326 conflicts involving dogs and bears from 1901 to 2023, and incidents with off-leash dogs compared to leashed dogs was six to one.
Parks Canada frequently warns people about the need to have dogs on leash. On Banff National Park’s Facebook page, there have been 26 posts advising people this year of the importance of keeping their dogs on leash. The last post was Oct. 7 with regards to elk rutting season.
2 hikers and dog encounter grizzly bear in Banff National Park
Additional dog restrictions in Banff National Park have been discussed for years.
After two hikers and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear in the Red Deer Valley in 2023, an internal report obtained by CBC News recommended “enhanced dog restrictions” in the park.
“The Red Deer Valley incident clearly demonstrates the need for Parks Canada to critically re-evaluate dog-related policy and regulations in [Banff National Park] and across its network of protected areas,” stated the internal report.
The report noted “the presence of dogs is well recognized as an important risk factor for serious bear-human contact encounters and attacks.”
The report, which was sent to Banff field unit senior leadership including Rasheed, noted “compliance with leash regulations is very often lacking.”
No changes were implemented from the report, but it warned as visitation continues to increase in the national park, the risk of negative dog-wildlife encounters “are easily foreseeable.”
The Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier national parks in the United States all ban having dogs on hiking trails or in the backcountry.
