Sask. government rolls out array of camping fee hikes

After railing against what it called a "wiener roast" tax, the Saskatchewan Party is introducing sweeping price hikes for camping in provincial parks.

The changes announced Friday will cost users much more than the $3 a day firewood fee that the Saskatchewan Party attacked in the legislature and scrapped after taking office.

Various fees, from making a reservation to booking a seasonal campsite, will almost double. Also almost doubling are fees for trailer storage and hall rentals.

Among the main changes:

• Daily camping fees will increase by $2 a night.
• The cost of seasonal campsites near washroom service centres rises from $830 to $1,500 for a site with electricity.
• For seasonal campsites near washroom service centres without electricity, the cost rises from $540 to $760.
• Campers using the Reserve-a-Site service will see the reservation fee rise to $10 from $5.
• There's also a new $7 "change fee" being introduced.

Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Christine Tell told reporters that people in Saskatchewan didn't like the previous government's firewood fee, but she doesn't think they'll mind wide-ranging increases.

"We were undervaluing our parks and not putting that value on them," she said. "People thought that 'Maybe it's so cheap that maybe we're not going to come and visit the parks.'"

According to NDP MLA John Nilson, Tell's explanation was a "very, very strange comment."

The government is being hypocritical to scrap thecampfire fee, which raised $370,000 a year, and replace it with other fee hikes worth more than triple that amount about $1.25 million, Nilson said.