Canada Threatens $750,000 Fine For Travelers Who Stop At Their National Parks

Mush You Huskies. Stay Moving Along The ALCAN!

Canada's Banff National Park Is One Detour Canadian Authorities Are Not Tolerating This Year. (Photo, Wikipedia)

Canadians Throw The Book At Motorists Who Loiter & Sightsee On Their Way North To Alaska 

If there's one thing cross-Canada travelers have always known about Canadians, it's that they don't take any guff when they decide to lay down the law. 

That's something that American prospectors realized in 1898, when Mounties patrolled the Klondike, demanding that Americans heading for the gold fields comply with their rules when crossing Canadian land. (It's the no-nonsense law enforcement by the 19th century Canadian Mounties that led to the great Valdez-Copper Valley Gold Rush in the first place. The Valdez Gold Rush is called the "All American" route as a way of bragging that you could use Valdez to avoid Canada -- and Canada's stricter regulations.)
 

Mural On A Wall In Valdez Celebrating "All American Route." (Photo, Journal)

On Friday, July 31st, 2020 the Canadians made a stand again. As of right now, Americans who enter Canada on their way back and forth to Alaska are going to have to comply with new rules of behavior aimed at keeping them on the move.  Or else.

Canadians say that errant Americans en route to work or to other sanctioned activities in the United States and who pass through Canada to Alaska have been stopping and sightseeing at places like Banff National Park. Considering America's massive coronavirus epidemic, the Canadians are apparently having none of it.

Starting July 31st they're threatening $750,000 fines and up to 6 months in prison for gawking in Canada, and not keeping to your business as you rapidly pass through. (That's $750,000 in Canadian dollars. If it's any consolation, that amount translates to only around half a million dollars, U.S. currency.)

The Canadians say that if somebody causes "imminent death or serious bodily harm" to another while breaking this Canadian law, they'll stretch the fine to $1 million, and imprisonment to 3 years.

Of course, this is an extremely different situation for Canada-Alaska travel than most years. The ALCAN is the road entrance to Alaska, and for decades a convivial exchange of tourists between the two countries has defined both Alaskan and Canadian summer tourism. Alaskans have traveled to Dawson City. Canadians have traveled to Alaska. And Americans have used the ALCAN to enjoy the best of both countries.

The Copper Valley is the second community that many road travelers hit after they enter America at the Canada border. The first is Tok.