written by Dr Natalie Knowles - POW Canada Resident Scientist
TAKE ACTION BELOW⬇️
Ontario's Provincial Parks are at risk of being sold and paved over by our own elected officials!
Starting with our most visited park, Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, the Ontario Government has proposed removing 645 acres (one seventh of the entire Wasaga Beach Provincial Park - including 60% of the park's waterfront and an entire island) of key public recreation and conservation space.
In doing this, the Ontario Government is proposing fundamental changes to the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act that would put the French River and Grundy Lake Provincial Parks next up on the for-sale list, and all Ontario's 300+ provincial parks would be at risk of removal and sale.
“Provincial Parks belong to the people of Ontario and are meant to be protected forever. It is appalling that the current government is trying to give away big parts of our most popular park and make it easy to give more park land away in the future. These beachfront lands on Georgian Bay are worth millions of dollars and owned by the people of Ontario.They should never be a gift to well connected developers” - Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence.
The Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act protects our publicly owned provincial parks, and currently require study, reporting and agreement before more than 120 acres or 1% of a park area can be removed or sold. The Ford Government's proposed amendments to the legislation would remove these requirements, making it easier for the government to remove and sell public lands or entire parks across the province.
These legislative changes affect more than just Ontario - Canada has signed an international commitment to protect 30% of all our lands and waters by 2030. Provincial parks are an essential part of this goal, and removing environmentally protected lands only takes us backwards putting endangered species at risk, reducing nature-based climate solutions and negatively impacting our outdoor recreation economies.
Wasaga Beach, provides an example and a warning that we must ensure our provincial parks remain public and protected forever.
Conservation & Endangered Species: Wasaga beach is the best remaining habitat for the Piping Plover - listed as endangered under both the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act.
Nature Based Climate Solutions: Wasaga Beach's mature sand dunes and shoreline habitat provide important ecological functions including protecting interior land against wind, storms, erosion and flooding, which will become increasingly important as climate change accelerates. Replacing these natural systems with built infrastructure is extremely costly, resource heavy and less effective.
“When you get those big storms coming down Georgian Bay, spring, fall, winter, the dunes actually act as a barrier to, you know, waves pounding into the town itself for wind and sand and other things. It’s kind of a natural protective barrier that builds up along a natural beach, and so if they’re removed or replaced with parking lots, that’s going to change the dynamic there as well.” Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence.
Outdoor Recreation Economy: Wasaga Beach is Ontario's most visited Provincial Park and a key part of the Collingwood outdoor recreation economy. People come from the city to enjoy nature including the beaches, sand dunes, islands, wetlands and forests. They come to surf, kiteboard, kayak, hike, swim and more. Research shows that local outdoor recreation based tourism economies rely on protecting public spaces and natural ecosystems.
Ford's amendment plans to build Destination Wasaga to "enhance tourism”, transferring Wasaga Beach Provincial Park administrative responsibility from from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and opens up public land for sale and private development by the Town of Wasaga Beach in the process. But, removing public protected provincial park area including beaches, waterfront and public access for private development won't enhance tourism in Wasaga Beach, it will reduce accessibility, increase crowding and devalue the natural outdoor recreation assets that Wasaga's local outdoor recreation and tourism industry is built upon.
Removing, selling, privatizing and "developing" our provincial parks takes away the generational wealth of the Canadian public, putting our species, ecosystems, climate, communities and future generations at risk. This isn't new for Ford's Ontario Government either. Auditor General reports found that previous plans by this Ontario Government to sell and develop public land and natural space in Ontario Place were done through a process that was "not fair, transparent or accountable"; the "social and environmental benefits and costs of redevelopment were not factored into the assessment", and "key environmental assessments will not be conducted even though many concerns were raised by the city council and regional conservation authority".
Luckily it's not too late! The proposed legislation is still open for public comment until August 11! Be an active member helping to protect our Provincial Parks forever by submitting a comment here: https://ero.ontario.ca/comment/reply/node/14225/comment
or emailing your MPP, local Simcoe County MPP Brian Saunderson, Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith, and the Wasaga Beach City Council.
TAKE ACTION - Public comment open until August 11th
If you're not sure what to write, feel free to copy and paste the following into Public Comment :
I'm writing to strongly oppose the Ontario Government's plan to amend the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act and the Town of Wasaga Beach's Tourism Enhancement Proposal.
Provincial Parks belong to us, the people of Ontario and must be protected forever. Our Provincial Parks are key public spaces for outdoor recreation, essential to Canada's commitment to protect 30% of nature by 2030 including key endangered species habitat, and important nature-based solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change! Removing, selling, privatizing and "developing" our provincial parks takes away the generational wealth of the Ontario public, putting our species, ecosystems, climate, communities and future generations at risk.
Wasaga Beach is the most visited Provincial Park. People come from the city to enjoy nature including the beaches, sand dunes, islands, wetlands and forests. They come to surf, kiteboard, kayak, hike, swim and more. Removing protected provincial park area including public beaches and water access for private development won't enhance tourism in Wasaga Beach, it will reduce accessibility, increase crowding and devalue the natural outdoor recreation assets that Wasaga's local tourism industry is built upon.
In conclusion, I DO NOT support the proposed legislation amendments and further demand that Ontario's provincial parks remain public and protected forever.
To support your comment you can copy and paste the following in SUPPORTING LINKS:
- URL: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/conservation/conserving-30-by-2030.html Description: Canada's commitment to protect 30% of nature by 2030
- URL: https://www.birdscanada.org/wasaga-beach-is-the-best-piping-plover-habitat-remaining-in-ontario-and-its-future-is-at-risk Description: Wasaga Beach is the best Piping Plover (a critically endangered species) habitat remaining in Ontario and this proposed amendment could cause extinction.
- URL: https://www.protectourwinters.ca/economicreport Description: Outdoor recreation is a key economic driver across Canada including Wasaga Beach. Outdoor recreation economies rely on public natural spaces, thus protecting provincial parks is key.
- URL: https://myescarpment.ca/conservation-economy-report/ Description: Report demonstrating that the South Georgian Bay and Wasaga Beach area tourism economy is built on nature, and growing this economy sustainably requires conservation, protection and restoration of our natural and cultural assets.
- URL: https://www.nvca.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Factsheet_Wasaga_Beach_Coastal_Dunes.pdf Description: Wasaga Beaches coastal dunes are rare critical habitat for wildlife that provides important ecological functions including protecting interior land against wind, storms, erosion and flooding, which will become increasingly important as climate change accelerates.
- URL: https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/annualreports/arreports/en24/pa_OntarioPlace_en24.pdf Description: Auditor General reports found that previous plans by this Ontario Government to sell and develop public land and natural space, Ontario Place were done through a process that was "not fair, transparent or accountable"; the "social and environmental benefits and costs of redevelopment were not factored into the assessment", and "key environmental assessments will not be conducted even though many concerns were raised by the city council and regional conservation authority".