Interesting discussion. A couple of comments:
Dont' get me started on what a mistake it was to move 1CMBG out of Calgary where there was the local Sarcee Training Area and ranges, or that if they went to all the trouble to move the units to Edmonton, they'd have been better off putting everybody permanently in Wainwright.
I was intimately involved in the move of 1PPCLI to Edmonton in 1996/97, and I had served in the bn since 1989. The time had definitely come to leave Calgary: the city had grown so much that the base, which was way outside the city in the 1930s, was trapped inside a busy commercial/residential area. We were constantly dealing with noise complaints every time we fired blanks or used helos (ESPECIALLY when we used helos), we had at least one motor vehicle accident every time there was a major road move (sometimes serious ones), and there was an ongoing conflict with the Sarcee First Nation over access to the training area. Sarcee offered a fair selection of SA ranges, but it was a very restricted mech manouevre area. The infrastructure on the base was outdated, with the majority dating from the 1950s or even the 1930's or before. It was inevitable that we would leave.
Having said that, I agree that we should have gone the whole way and moved the Bde to Wainwright. However, I have heard from several sources that local politics came into play. While the city of Edmonton/Strathcona County were only too happy to receive the new base, the town and RM of Wainwright were not. Contrary to popular opinion, Wainwright/RM do not survive because of the base-their main income is from oil and agriculture. Many people in Wainwright regard the base as a nuisance that they could do without.
Does anyone know the status of the training area that was in the middle of the Caribou Chilcotin, out by Williams Lake? It is still marked off on maps as a military area.
I believe that while this may still belong to DND, it is no longer in use for military training. Chilcoten was for years the epicentre of an ongoing dispute between the Fed Govt (DND) and the local First Nation over access and hunting rights. This got to the point that during one 1 CMBG RAPIER THRUST (any body remember those...?) the entire Bde road move was halted by a FN roadblock. We had to sit there while the local RCMP got the FN people out of the way, and a FEL cleared the road. Later, there was a very embarassing and unpleasant incident (that was brought up in the House of Commons) in which live ammo was thrown into the Riske Creek dump by some Army nitwit. The dump, which was also frequented by local FN people, was set on fire and unfortunately the ammo was ignited. The locals, in particular the FNs, were somewhat upset by this, to say the least. In the end, IIRC, 1 CER had to bury part of the dump, and we all got our willies smacked about putting ammo cans and boxes in the garbage.
I believe that incident contributed to the decision to cease training in the Chilcoten; the subsequent move of Chilliwack, 1 CER and CFSME may have been "chickens" or "eggs" in relation to that decision: I don't know.
Anyway, it was a great dismounted winter/alpine training area(crap for mech). Too bad we dont have it anymore. Cheers.