I live in Simcoe County, and…

I live in Simcoe County, and grew up going to Wasaga Beach PP with my family, then friends, then my own family once I married and had kids. It is not only an affordable, family friendly place for Ontarians to get away & ”staycation” in Canada, it is sn essential way to link Ontarians with the local, natural world. We walk the sand dunes, hope to see critically endangered plovers, or the many variety of birds &birds of prey living there. We fish (were prohibited) in the mouth of the Nottawasaga river &are so thrilled that it’s protected, given how critical a breeding ground it is for young trout &salmon. We fish with our fathers as young kids, and then our own kids as we grow up. These dunes, sandbars, rivers &natural areas are a wonder that we treasure. Esp now my parents are older &on fixed income, &family members are on disability or are struggling with the after effects of COVID, poor Premier policy (such as gutting landlord &tenant act &public health care, nursing home oversight) &tariffs on our economy. Wasaga is still an affordable place for us to enjoy Ontario summers. WE &thousands like us bring tourism dollars to the area already. Visitors from all over the world do too.
The Town of Wasaga is already rebuilding the boardwalk and developing their land, &SELLING off land to developers at an alarming pace- with no environmental assessments thanks to ONBill5 Ford already rammed through (over protests) to GUT PROTECTIONS for endangered species &migratory birds (how convenient). They have revitalization & TOURIST DOLLARS well in hand, without turning Wasaga into a 3-ring circus the area infrastructure and sensitive ecology can’t support, without the “assistance” of Ford once again selling protected areas he does not have support to do. He should have learned his lesson from the Moraine or private foreign Spa debacles. He's proven he can’t be trusted with things that belong to Ontario taxpayers. Has anyone investigated to see what’s in this deal for Ford? Oh yeah - sneaky legislation that makes it possible for him to SELL ANY PROVINCIAL PARK without vote, input or environmental assessment. His own people warn he’s planning to sell GRUNDY and French River next.

This legislation “amendment” cannot be allowed through. Currently OUR provincial parks cannot be sold without a passing vote, oversight & environment impact assessments. It’s difficult for A REASON. These parks bring in tourism &money to the areas they operate in, in an environmentally sound way. They protect delicate, special, RARE ecosystems like the Dunes at Beach Area 1 for Plovers. Like Grundy for endangered &protected TURTLES.

There is NOTHING that stops FORD or ANY FUTURE GOV’T from selling off ANY or ALL provincial parks (or Crown Land) if this “amendment” passes. We will be powerless to stop the bulldozing of OUR parks. The places we camp, hike, kayak, portage, fish and spend quality, affordable, health &mental health promoting, time in nature. We DO know what we’ve got, & DON’T want it gone, paved over for parking lots… resorts, hotels, casinos, and chaos.

The Town of Wasaga is NOT where this stops. Not only will they privatize, sell off to developers and destroy this nature preserve, Ford won’t stop with just this park. The Town of Wasaga has already been in the headlines for YEARS for developer sell offs of waterfront /beach properties. Many of which fell through after public outrage, lawsuits & environmental protection groups educating the public on the destruction of key habitats. People of WASAGA do not want to lose access to the beach, provincial park, or the natural places in their town, just so billionaire developers (some foreign) can make even more billions on the lands that Ontario residents & taxpayers own. These are OUR parks. Protected for good reason. Affordable for US to enjoy, love &protect. These are NOT Ford’s, or ANY developers’ lands to destroy for a buck. Tourism is not the excuse here. We’re not foolish. Billionaire developers &corps are the ones getting rich here, while residents will get paid minimum wage to slog in the resorts, and lose access to and enjoyment of the beach and natural areas we love &enjoy. Ford &the town are lying to people when they pretend nothing will change but a transfer of ownership. Wasaga is lying when they say the public will have access to “a beach”. What beach? Where? Next to what resort or development? How big? No details is on brand.

DO NOT allow this sale to go through, and critically, do not allow ANY amendment to the very legislation that protects ALL OF OUR PROVINCIAL PARKS. If Grundy, one of the Top 5 parks for TOURISM in Ontario is on the block, how long until Killbear, Algonquin or others are?? If THIS sale can’t pass legal muster under our CURRENT laws, then it is obviously not a proper sale, and should not go through. We don’t change laws to fit crimes we want to commit, we shouldn’t do it here. It’s criminal to even consider selling off provincial parks to benefit private companies. Why can’t they buy their own land, already private and up for sale? Why on Earth would we ever HELP them steal hours for pennies on the dollar instead?

Ford’s already proven his deals are terrible, not thought through, and not in the benefit of taxpayers or residents. He BULLDOZED natural spaces and sold Ontario Place (and closed our Science Centre) for a 99 yr deal we will LOSE money on. There is NO return on investment for US. But boy that billion dollar FOREIGN spa corporation got a sweetheart deal on our backs, that will make them millions more. We’ll be paying for that deal in our taxes for generations. Ditto for the Conservative sell off of our publicly funded build of the 407.

Let’s NOT do it again at the expense of our recreational, family outdoor activities at our beloved parks, destroying our wild spaces &sensitive ecosystems. For what? Another sweetheart deal to rich corporations that taxpayers will lose out on AGAIN. Provincial parks already bring tourism dollars and visitors that viable local and Canadian business with good business models can take advantage of. We don’t need money funnelled out to multinational corporations on our parks.

Please look at the past history, violations and court cases of both Ford, and Wasaga, and look at these proposed amendments to the protections of Provincial Parks. It’s not only common sense NOT to allow this farce, it’s already been proven a bad idea, through proven bad deals and actions that have already occurred. It’s not just rhetoric. People will lose more in the future, and will regret ever letting this go through, when it will be too late to save these parks.

Our children and our children’s children- all future generations- implore you to SAVE our provincial parks. Do not allow these amendments to the law that protects them. These laws were enacted for GOOD reason. Gov’t needs to keep their hands off. There’s plenty of available land for developers to purchase and ruin without selling them OUR beaches and parks. Keep them FOR THE PEOPLE.

I’m not including links, as ALL of my statements are fully supported by multiple news stories, analysis, and public court records and votes on the gov’ts own website. There’s too many to include in this forum. A quick search of any public source will prove what I am stating re Ford, Town of Wasaga and their past poor records of selling off public lands for developers benefit. Any analysis of Ford’s amendments to current law regarding the sale of 60% of Wasaga Beach without following said current laws regarding sale of any more than 1%, clearly shows it applies to ALL sales, incl FUTURE sales of ANY other Provincial Park. Anyone in power reading my feedback knows this all to be valid and true.

Thank you