Call them what you like — outhouses, pit privies, vault toilets, washrooms, bathrooms or just plain old public toilets. When you spend the year touring Parks Canada's national historic sites and national parks for stories — like I just did — you'll need to use the facilities on a regular basis. And by facilities, I don't mean the "facilitrees" when you're desparate and have to go in the great outdoors, and I don't mean the cush indoor ones with flush toilets found in heated/air-conditioned visitor centers. I mean the standalone ones that aren't always as clean and fragant as you'd like and where you consider yourself lucky if there's a good supply of toilet paper and sanitizer.

It’s something that every national park struggles with — balancing the need to protect its natural and cultural resources with the mandate to showcase itself and attract a good array of people but not too many.

Parks Canada is having a virtual open house March 23 to hear from Canadians and Indigenous groups as it seeks input on a new draft management plan for Georgian Bay Islands National Park including Beausoleil Island National Historic Site.

Canada’s smallest national park is gearing up for the second active season of a fight against an aggressive reed that has been called the country’s worst invasive plant.