Canada Post has released some new stamps as part of a series celebrating Canada’s World Heritage Sites, but it appears there has been a mix up with one of the pictures.
Released on Friday, the new stamp collection was to feature a photo of Dinosaur Provincial Park, located near Brooks, but instead featured a photo of the Drumheller Hoodoos.
Canada Post Spokesperson Anick Losier said the company has done an investigation after the issue was brought to their attention on Friday.
“We can confirm that it is indeed the wrong image. We are apologizing for the confusion that this may have caused of this unfortunate incident,” she said.
She told The Mail that Canada Post has since removed the stamps that are for sale on their website and mail order, mentioning that they are in the process of removing them from their retail post offices.
“We are going to bring them back to our warehouse where they will be destroyed, and we are working closely with Parks Canada as well as the Dinosaur (Provincial) Park people on a new stamp that will be issued as soon as possible and will feature the correct image,” she said.
Canada Post has also called Drumheller Mayor Terry Yemen, Alberta Parks and the Canadian Badland Tourism to apologize for any confusion that this may have caused. She said from what she understands people have confused the image before but, “certainly for us it is not acceptable, so we will be re-issuing. We are also reviewing our process and taking steps to make sure that errors of this nature will not happen again.”
Yemen said something like this is, “disrespectful. If you are going to honor an area have the respect to do the research and do it right. I am looking at it from the perspective of Dinosaur Provincial Park, if you are going to honor the place and create a stamp for it, then obviously the picture should be of that area out of respect for it.”
Yemen said it was, “certainly an embarrassment, and a slap in the face to Dinosaur Provincial Park, when they used a picture from Drumheller.”
He said it is, “the appropriate thing to do” when it comes to Canada Post pulling the stamp and re-issuing it with a proper photo.
Brad Tucker, Executive Director for Canadian Badlands Tourism said, his reaction was, “number one, disappointment, but number two was I am not that surprised. Even among Albertans there is still some confusion sometimes about Drumheller verses Dinosaur Provincial Park. Of course the Provincial Park has been deemed a World Heritage Site so that is what they meant to put on the stamp, but even people traveling within Alberta sometimes come to Drumheller believing that they are in Dinosaur Provincial Park or their intention is to end up at Dinosaur Provincial Park and they end up in Drumheller or sometimes the other way around.”
“I wish I could say this is an unusual thing, but it’s not and it’s something we want to work hard at clarifying,” he said.
“Dinosaur Provincial Park I describe as more of the outdoor experience. It is about hiking in the Badlands, discovering fossils for yourself, that is a little bit of a different experience, where in Drumheller you have the indoor experience of the museum which is outstanding, and then you have the town which is so well set up to accommodate tourists… there are so many attractions close to there. You can say they are quite different, but they compliment each other well,” Tucker told The Mail.
