mécanicien d'équipement lourd

service attendant

guide touristique

camionneur

presenter

Parks Canada

I worked a summer student position with Parks, and for the most part I loved it. 

You meet some really incredible people working here, as everyone tends to have similar interests - cheesy as it is to say, we did all feel like a family by the end of our contract. The visitors actually want to be there, so I had very few negative interactions with them. I learned so much about nature and had some hands-on experiences I could have never had otherwise. The duties under my position ranged widely: we did a bit of everything including customer service, invasive species management, taking records of wildlife, farm work, gardening, etc. 

That being said I do not think we were paid fairly regarding the sheer quality and quantity of work we were expected to do, getting only minimum wage. My biggest gripe with the work was that on contract, time off was very unconventional. We all had to work weekends, so instead of Sat-Sun off we would just get 2 random consecutive weekdays off.  We were paid biweekly, meaning you were only allowed 4 days off in total per pay period, with literally no exceptions - make sure you aren't planning any trips if you're working a seasonal position, because they will not accommodate you no matter how early you try to book off. Things are obviously different for those who have seniority, but as mere seasonal students we had no say. 

All this to say that the job itself is amazing, and I'm incredibly grateful to have worked here and for all the experiences I had. However, unless you have been there for a long time, wage is laughable and you basically sign away your social life with the seasonal hours. 

Although my review may be an outlier here, I feel like it needs to be put out there...

When I started working for Parks Canada, I noticed there was neglect for very basic Health & Safety Protocols. I observed employees smoking cigarettes in work vehicles, in workshops, and while working around fuel drums, and other gas-powered equipment. Some employees would not wear their seatbelts while traveling in work vehicles. Operational safety procedures and best practices were barely followed, and there seemed to be a lack of communication and culture for bringing up safety issues. I brought up a number of these safety issues with management, and it seemed like it was ignored.

If you want a job where you feel like you've accomplished something at the end of the day, the work culture at Parks is not for you. The work ethic that I saw on a day-to-day basis was the worst I have ever experienced. There is a lot of sitting around and waiting to get a task from management, and when there is finally work to be done, employees don't take pride in their work so the same task has to be repeated 2 or 3 times. The hardest part of the job was trying to keep busy. I tried to keep busy, but all I got from it was onlookers and negative energy.

There was a lack of structure in the organization, complacencies that seemed to be ingrained from the top down, and a work culture that didn't take health and safety seriously for their employees.

Take what you want from this, my experience will be vastly different from other employees, and other Parks agencies may operate on a whole different professional level.


My day usually ran from 8 - 4:30 Monday thur to Friday, most of my time was spent in the office, except in the visitor season, usually spent one day a week in the campground and the visitor center visible to our visitors, allowing myself to meet and chat with our users to discuss their issues, concerns and opinions.

I was in a Management position and sat around the table with the Management Team all of whom were male. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussions, opinions and decision making, often times very entertaining and educational.

The hardest part was leaving my position after 19 years, I had worked hard and moved up the ladder but in 2001 a new Superintendent was transferred in, I reported directly to him and we never seemed to see eye to eye on most subjects, in March of 2002 I decided to leave Parks Canada because it was affecting my health and changing the person I was.

The most enjoyable part of the job was during cutbacks in the 1990's we the management team struggled to come up with ways to save money. In the end we decided to allow all staff to help us find the savings, it was a struggle at first but in the end the staff opened their arms and start to embrace the situation and after month or so the savings had been discovered and over 90% of it coming from our frontline staff. Quite an acomplishment one that everyone was quite proud of.

Although it has been many years since I was employed by Parks Canada, I remember it to be a very demanding position. I was the Clerical/Admin Suppot for approximately 18 individuals who were dedicated to Archaeological studies for the Canadian Parks Service. I was initially placed there with a temp agency on a two year assignment. When the Federal Govt. received approval for a new position it was offered to me by the Chief of Archaeology. His decision was based on the fact that I not only created and developed the position as a temp placement, but the smooth transition to create the new position was excellent.

The position also included the development of the study area/library, typing the Archaeological reports, managing the General and Capital finances and keeping the head of the department abreast of issues as they arose. In addition I would inform the management when it became necessary to either begin tightening out financial belts or to inform them if additional Capital funds would be required to finalize the fiscal year.

I was employed in this position for 20 years and then was offered an early retirement package. At that time I decided to accept the package, and as well accepted a two year secondment to "Gateway North International" which was an Federal Government initiative to sell the Port of Churchill.

I had the chance to be an intern student as an juniour accountant at Parks Canada because of Internship Course from Trent University Business Program. During the four month I was there, I have learned about Canadian working culture as well as what is an learning organization is. Finance department in Parks Canada provided an environment that everyone is learning from one another and employees would not hesitate to ask questions when they have concerns/confusions towards the tasks they were working on. Therefore, since manager, supervisors, and co-workers always taught me with patience when I have questions, I could learn more and work with higher efficiency. 
The enjoyable part of the job was that there were always tasks assigned, but the tasks would not be too challenged nor too easy. I like the state of flow during the internship experience, and I also enjoy the relationship and atmosphere in the workplace which made me like to keep doing the internship if possible. 
The hardest part of the job would be learning how to manipulate the SOP finance system at the beginning, however, with more practice, I had became familiar with it.
Overall, it was an experience that I appreciate to had.

The Parole board is a very important department for the protection of society and for the preservation and sanctity of laws which are necessary for everyones safety.  The work was extremely rewarding, especially in my capacity to help and educate persons needing pardons from criminal records.  It was also rewarding to meet and understand different cultures as I worked with many elders and took part in many aboriginal ceremonies.  I developed a deep compassion for victims and an understanding to criminal behavior to complement my degree in Psychology.   I organized and attended many training events for our Board members and provided assistance in any area that was needed.

Good emphasis on safe work practices, on a culture steeped in history and the environment: nature conservation & education. (Although would not recommend this job for the most idealist amongst us, as Parks has become - in the past few years, esp. in the highly visited areas - more about providing public access and generating revenue than about true conservation...) Mostly overly qualified people, passionate about the environment, work here. The sort of job, like journalism, where you do it for passion more than for money. This said, there is the lure of a secure government job - am weary of this myself, as I find there's a risk of "stalling" in this organization just because you obtain permanence in a given position... But to gain experience and work within the Parks system for a few years, I highly recommend it. Do apply for a job you think you are going to like and prioritize what you like - working with people? Seeing concrete results of your work (cleaning qualifies for this!) Being outside? Follow "by the letter" the requirements for the job posting you're interested in, and go for it!

Parks Canada is a wonderful job, especially for students looking for a seasonal position. Most if not all of your job is outdoors spent helping boaters get to their destination, maintaining the grounds in which your station is at, as well as basic building maintenance like the washrooms, and keeping the office clean.

As a lock operator you are responsible for the safe travels of everyone passing through the Trent Severn Way, you are responsible to ensure proper lockage, and well as safe water levels in order to maintain water supply to the upper canal as well as the Bay of Quinte and to ensure that the boats can safely get through without damage. As a lock operator you will be working almost every single day, the hours vary from weekday to weekends. You could expect to work from 9-6pm Monday-Thursday and 9-7pm Friday-Sunday. The hours are long and can be very tiring as the job is physical labour in the heat.

The most enjoyable part of the job is that you are outside all summer, you are not cooped up in a building sitting at an office, so if you enjoy spending day in and day out outside, continuously moving and doing something then this job is for you.

I enjoyed most of my time at Parks Canada. The problem which may be specific to the park I worked at in Manitoba is that there’s very little room for advancement. I would have had to interview for the job I had already been doing to become a full time employee in that position and still would have been beat out simply because someone else was bilingual for a job that didn’t need to be. While working for Parks I interviewed for better positions in the same park but they would rather hit their goals of employment equity with unqualified people for certain positions than hire people who don’t fit their EE groups but have experience. Also there’s a lot of departments that have a “I’m better than you” attitude and will make your life miserable if they can just so they have that power dominance feeling over you. I honestly only stayed because of the money. 
That being said, when I worked as a cleaner it was the best job I ever had. 

On a typical day, everyone met up outside and the management team would let us know what is expected for that day, and any events we should be aware of for that day (ex. school trips). I learned a lot about the history of the War of 1812, along with the roles of the solders, their families, and careers in the military at that time. I found the management team to be friendly and courteous, and very nurturing, such as be aware of our needs, and make sure we were happy walking in for our shift, and going home without any issues. The hardest part of my job was knowing all the facts about the history with visitors would stump you with very specific questions about the war Along with that, another hard part would be learning the foot movements doing drill. I really enjoyed how much everyone was involved working here, and how the management team would be just as involved, and brought humour to our day to make it more enjoyable to be there each day.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Mécanicien d'équipement lourd 7 salaries reported	$39.49 per hour
Service attendant 4 salaries reported	$19.73 per hour
Guide touristique 1 salary reported	$26.60 per hour
Camionneur 6 salaries reported	$30.60 per hour
Presenter 4 salaries reported	$18.30 per hour

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