I am opposed to allowing the…

I am opposed to allowing the government to make legislative amendments to the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) that protects all of Ontario 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. Because of this, I am concerned that the Provincial government intends to weaken the process requirements for removing Park or Conservation Reserve lands seeing as the current law would not itself need to be changed if its process requirements, including a Legislative Assembly vote on the park area changes, are followed.

Currently there's already a legislative approval process in place within the PPCRA to dispose of lands greater than 50 hectares, or one per cent of the total park or conservation area in question and there is no needed change to occur in the legislation in order for Wasaga conservation area to be changed. The Provincial Park and Conservation Reserves land disposition is regulated under Sections 9(3) and 9(4) of the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act. Section 9(4) specifies that “The Lieutenant Governor in Council may not order the disposition of an area of a provincial park or conservation reserve that is 50 hectares or more or 1 per cent or more of the total area of the provincial park or conservation reserve, unless,

(a) the Minister first reports on the proposed disposition to the Assembly;
(b) the Minister tables the proposed new boundaries of the provincial park or conservation reserve with the Assembly; and
(c) the Assembly endorses the proposed new boundaries of the provincial park or conservation reserve. 2006, c. 12, s. 9 (4).”

Change can occur in our Parks and their boundaries but it must be brought into public for scrutiny and approval.

Given the government's actions to develop the Greenbelt even though there was widespread opposition to such actions and their introduction of Bill 5 which has altered the ability of Ontarian's to have adequate protections for endangered species and undermines the oversight of and transparency of the processes for development projects, including the rights of indigenous peoples to be involved in development, I am deeply concerned that the desire to change the law suggests there's a desire to dispose of other areas in the future and to do so in a way that bypasses a legislative vote and avoids scrutiny.

I am deeply concerned that allowing such legislative changes will set precedents that enable more development of our Provincial parks and increased loss of environmental protections and protected places.

The Wasaga Provincial Park belongs to all the people of Ontario and is widely used by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. It is this beach that has a critical habitat for the piping plover, 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. It also has 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)

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 piping plovers and their habitat can coexist with a thriving beach destination.

Again I reiterate, I am opposed to the changing of the legislation as it is not necessary to development of Wasaga, nor would changes be in the interest of the people or the environmental well-being of Ontario.

Sources:
Bill 5 and Ontario species-at-risk-changes
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/ontario-species-at-risk-changes-1.75222…

Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06p12#BK10
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park: Beach Management Secondary Plan: https://www.ontario.ca/page/wasaga-beach-provincial-park-beach-manageme…
Wasaga Beach Provincial Park Management Plan: https://www.ontario.ca/page/wasaga-beach-provincial-park-management-plan
Federal Action Plan for the piping plover: https://www.registrelepsararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/ap_p…