I was shocked to learn that…

I was shocked to learn that this government is proposing to sell key parts of Ontario’s beloved Wasaga Beach Provincial Park) for a development scheme. This area is part of the of the incredible Georgian Bay shoreline lands and a critical habitat of the endangered piping plover. I am against this plan and remind this government that these sensitive areas rely on the Provincial Park’s protections to safely coexist with the previous bio-diversity of this region, as well as the beachgoers and other recreational users. I urge you to cancel any plans to sell off our assets. The people of Ontario did not elect you to make these haphazard decisions! Not everything needs to be sold for developer profit. The legacy of future generations in

In addition, I am extremely concerned about this provincial government's intention to weaken the process requirements for removing Park or Conservation Reserve lands by passing an unspecified “legislative amendments” to the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) that protects all of Ontario Parks and Conservation Reserves. This is complete over-reach and a further sign of abuse of power. Laws are created to protect and uphold policies - and this government seems all too comfortable with passing amendments and revisions that destroy democratic processes. As a tax payer and citizen of Ontario - you do not have my permission to make changes to the legislation that protects all of our Provincial Parks!!

Perhaps this government also needs a reminder about the significant ecological value within the The Wasaga Beach Provincial Park lands to be lost including:

- piping plover habitat, which is listed as endangered under both the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act.
- mature sand dunes, which provide important ecological and stabilizing functions including providing a protective buffer against high water, wind and storm events for private or adjacent lands, which is an important role as the climate changes.
- significant vegetation communities and provincially significant wetlands.
- “The Point” located in Beach Area 1 which is one of those targeted to be removed is designated as a provincially significant earth science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI)

Lastly, I want to put forward that transferring ownership of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park lands is NOT required to support beach-related tourism re-development plans in the Town of Wasaga Beach. On the contrary, it is thanks to the active protection of the Recovery Program at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park that the rare bio-diversity, such as the habitat of piping plovers, can coexist with a thriving beach destination.

Please - do what is right for the environment and the people. The process through which you are planning to sell off and destroy this provincial park is both reckless and un-democratic.