The sale of Beach Areas 1,2,…

The sale of Beach Areas 1,2, and New Wasaga (and to an extant, Allenwood Beach), hereafter referred to as Wasaga Beach, represents an extreme deviation from the responsibilities of the provincial government in regards to the environment; specifically to recognize the inherent value of the natural environment, and to protect and conserve the environment (The Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights, 1994). 

To begin with, the sale of the provincial park sets a dangerous precedent for crown-owned land. It perpetuates a notion of instability and exacerbates the decline of trust in the government. Provincial Parks are seemingly stable, with over 10 million visits annually (Newsroom Ontario.ca, 2011). This statistic represents an appreciation for nature on behalf of Ontario's citizens and a desire to preserve this valued land. To sell it signifies to park visitors that their experiences and livelihoods are not important enough to be protected. Furthermore, the sale emphasizes that from this point onwards, there will be minimal public confidence that the government will not sell additional parcels of park land.

The Wasaga Beach land being for sale contradicts a conservative notion, that Canada is not for sale (Gollom, 2025). It mimics the American national policy of the time, as public lands are being sold in the name of "economic prosperity" despite the utility of public land users. With Ontario following the same policies, one cannot hold our country to a higher standard, as we are stooping to the same lows. By selling Wasaga Beach, the provincial park's intrinsic value is underrated, with emphasis solely on the touristic and developmental value.

Increased tourism and the lack of habitat protections threaten Piping Plovers, an endangered shorebird species that resides on the 60% of shoreline that would be removed from Wasaga Beach Provincial Park (Wickham, 2025). As such, this sale, or hopefully, lack thereof, requires conservation and protection measures for the Piping Plovers. These include:

Restricting mechanical raking so that habitat is not destroyed, prohibiting dune alterations, and protecting nests with fenced buffer zones and natural predator mitigations. 

Funding the protection, conservation, and stewardship of Piping Plovers, their nests, and their habitats. 

Engaging experts on the development and implementation of protection plans. 

Please let it be emphasized that the provincial park has already taken many of these measures. Piping Plover habitat and historical dunes represent an ecologically important part of the Georgian Bay area, and withdrawing protections of these areas will forever alter natural heritage. 

Lastly, I want to bring attention to how the sale of Wasaga Beach is the epitome of the privatization of nature. Wasaga Beach is the world's longest freshwater beach, and by selling the land for the intended purposes of tourism and development it will be corrupted (wasagabeach.com, N/A). Coastal development can exacerbate erosion, increase nutrient pollution, and decrease water quality, in addition to the habitat degradation discussed above.

In sum, I do not support this sale, and would like these views to be taken into consideration when forming final decisions.