WAIPAROUS — Responding to a family left traumatized after spending an afternoon taking cover behind a cooler while live rounds passed through their public-land campsite, the province moved quickly this week to reassure Albertans that being shot at remains one of the many no-cost amenities of unmanaged Crown recreation.
"Random camping is offered free of charge, and we think it's important that people calibrate their expectations accordingly," said a spokesperson for the ministry responsible for the area, the trails leading to it, and apparently nothing that happens once you arrive. "You are welcome to set up a tent anywhere on this land. We simply make no representations about what else may be travelling across it at high velocity."
The family, who reported that gunfire continued in their direction for an extended period, were later informed that charges in the matter had been stayed. The Crown declined to elaborate, citing the broad public interest in not elaborating.
Officials were eager to highlight the response's strengths. "We can confirm a conservation officer was nearly struck, which we feel demonstrates that enforcement was, at minimum, physically present in the area," the spokesperson said. "It is difficult to argue the system failed when an officer of that system came within feet of the same bullets."
Pressed on whether anyone would face consequences, the province pivoted to its preferred framing: personal responsibility. "Albertans value freedom, and freedom includes the freedom to discharge a firearm in a popular camping corridor, as well as the corresponding freedom to be camping there when it happens," the spokesperson explained. "We trust adults to sort this out among themselves, ideally before anyone is hit."
The family, who have not been camping since, said they were considering a paid private campground for their next trip, on the theory that a fee structure might come with the implied promise of not being fired upon. The ministry called that "an interesting interpretation of what the money is for."