Parks Canada will begin equipping national park wardens with side arms by March 2009, the federal government says.

Environment Minister John Baird announced late Friday that Ottawa is authorizing the government agency to create up to 100 armed enforcement officer positions.

"Parks Canada's enforcement officers have the important responsibility of protecting visitors and staff in Canada's national parks, and they require the right tools to do the job safely," said Baird in a statement.

Until early last year, park wardens had law enforcement duties, such as dealing with unruly campers and protecting the park's natural resources.

But in May 2007, an Occupational Health and Safety report said that to continue to deal with such issues in the parks, officers would need firearms. Following the report, wardens were relieved of law enforcement duties.

According to the Environment Ministry's statement, Parks Canada enforcement officers will be responsible for enforcing the federal conservation laws that apply to national parks and marine conservation areas, but police will still take care of Criminal Code violations.

There are 42 national parks in Canada and Parks Canada employs about 425 park wardens.

The program will be funded from the $12.2 million set aside in the federal budget for park law enforcement over the next two years, with $2.7 million for each following year.