Request for Engagement with Parks Canada

Recently, four of the national certifying bodies for outdoor professionals—ACMG, IGA, Paddle Canada, and the OCC—have come together to present a unified request to Parks Canada for a dedicated, two-way engagement process with the outdoor industry. This joint effort seeks to establish a clear, consistent, and reliable channel for dialogue between Parks Canada and national certifying bodies, enabling timely collaboration on shared priorities such as permitting, safety, professional standards, and visitor experience. By grounding this engagement in national standards and the day-to-day realities of certified outdoor professionals, the initiative aims to support more streamlined processes and identify opportunities where professionally guided experiences can further Parks Canada’s mandate of ecological protection and high-quality visitor experiences. This letter outlines our request and the collective commitment of the national certifying bodies to work collaboratively with Parks Canada in support of safe, sustainable, and memorable outdoor experiences across Canada.