I am writing to state my…

I am writing to state my opposition to the Ontario government’s plan to strip provincial park protection from key parts of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, and to sell much of this land for “integration into the broader development of Destination Wasaga”. I am also gravely concerned by the proposal to make changes to the law - Ontario’s Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, that safeguards all of Ontario’s provincial parks and conservation reserves from surprise backroom selloffs. Every inch of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park - and of each and every other Provincial Park and Conservation Reserve - belongs equally to all Ontarians. None of it should ever be sold off to developers or anyone else, let alone without the express approval of Ontario’s legislative assembly.

Hands off Wasaga Beach

All of the Beachfront lands in Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, including Beach Area 1, Beach Area 2, New Wasaga and Allenwood Beach should remain as part of the Provincial Park, and no land that is currently part of the Provincial Park should be sold or transferred to another owner - even if that owner is the Town of Wasaga Beach. That is because recreation and tourism are only one part of the purpose that Wasaga Beach Provincial Park serves for Ontarians. As independent environmental watchdogs like Ontario Nature and Environmental Defence have already pointed out - these lands also serve all of Ontarians - including people who will never set foot on Wasaga Beach - by preserving a rare and diverse ecosystem.

Wasaga Beach’s beachfront lands cannot reliably continue to serve their environmental purpose if they are removed from the Provincial Park. The ecological integrity of the Park can only be maintained alongside full-scale tourism recreational uses through the active and expert intervention of provincial park staff. For example, the provincial park status of park’s beachfront lands protects freshwater dunes held together by marram grass, a kind of ecosystem that is so rare it is considered globally imperilled. The areas of beachfront land targeted for removal from the Provincial Park include Piping Plover habitats, such as Beach Area 1, New Wasaga and Allenwood Beaches, that have only survived and coexisted with recreational use of the beach because of active work by Ontario Parks staff to preserve this species nesting areas. The current proposal would strip provincial park protection from almost all of the piping plover nests that have been in Wasaga Beach since 2008. As independent experts have already warned, the town of Wasaga Beach does not have the capacity or the extensive, specialized expertise required to reliably preserve these ecologically sensitive features alongside intensive tourism and recreation.

Hands off All Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves

Even more concerning than the proposed sell-off of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park itself, is the fact that the Ontario government is targeting the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) that protects all of Ontario’s Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves. The PPCRA currently requires that elected MPPs approve any significant removal of provincial park land. Rather than simply complying with that requirement and obtaining that approval for Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, the government is proposing currently unspecified “legislative amendments” to the PPCRA itself. The government notice says the amendments are “to remove” land. Since the provisions restricting the removal of provincial park lands are general in application,it is difficult to interpret this as anything other than a proposal to facilitate selloffs of provincial parks and conservation reserves across the province, by removing or weakening the requirement to obtain the legislature’s approval for any significant selloff. If the intention were to authorize the selloff of only the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park beachfront lands, the current law would not itself need to be changed. It would be sufficient to simply comply with the current PPCRA process and hold a vote of the Legislative Assembly on the proposed park area change.

While the Ontario government’s statements express a vague intention to “protect the area’s natural and cultural heritage”, such intentions are incompatible with the substance of what is being proposed here. If “integration” of what are now Provincial Park lands “into the broader development of Destination Wasaga” does not involve any downgrading of protection for the Park’s habitat and ecological values, there is no reason that could not be accomplished while maintaining provincial ownership and continued status as part of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park.

In summary, I am opposed to the sale of any of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park land as well as to any changes to the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act that would lessen the restrictions on removal of Provincial Park or Conservation Reserve protection, or upon the sale of land within a conservation reserve or a provincial park.

We are in a time of climate catastrophe. Forest fires in Canada and all around the world are destroying forests and wildlife that live in them. The carbon released into the atmosphere is dramatically increasing the greenhouse gas burden on Earth's atmosphere with subsequent warming that will remain for hundreds of years. Right now the consequences of smoke from these fires is poisoning every person and animal downwind by thousands of kilometres from these fires. Terrible downpours that used to be 100 year events are now happening regularly with devastating results including loss of life. The natural world that we are destroying is our life support system. We in Ontario and around the world cannot afford to lose even one hectare of natural environment or one species of animal, bird or insect. We cannot afford to trade the destruction of even part of Wasaga Beach and its endangered species for a luxury hotel and McMansions for the rich. I believe that Canada has proposed that we save 30% of our lands and waters as natural areas. But in Ontario, the present government is bent on turning our Provincial Parks and Conservation areas into expensive developments that no-one needs, with no regard for animals and plants who depend on these habitats. For our very survival this needs to stop now!