Canadian park wardens to be armed

OTTAWA, July 23 (UPI) -- About one-quarter of Canada's national park wardens will be allowed to carry sidearms, but will have to undergo psychological evaluations first.

In May, the Parks Canada agency announced about 100 of the country's 450 wardens could carry handguns after several wardens complained about safety concerns with unruly park visitors, the Canwest News Service reported.

Two former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers are touring parks and talking with wardens to determine the best type of weapon, while the agency is soliciting qualified companies capable of applying the psychological tests needed before wardens are armed.

Doug Stewart, director-general of national parks for Parks Canada, said the psychological testing would have to match an industry standard that's applied for all armed enforcement officers.

All wardens in the country's 42 national parks already have access to shotguns, which are used in dealing with aggressive wildlife, the report said.