I’m not sure I understand…

I’m not sure I understand the reasoning behind why it’s fine to create an entirely new campground or manage native wildlife without an environmental assessment. The creation of a single campsite, let alone an entire campground, has an incredible impact on the trees and soil in that area and displaces wildlife. I’ve attached a link to a study done in Minnesota, which I believe is a reasonable comparison to the Ontario environment, on the impacts of campsites on the environment. I understand for larger projects with a greater potential impact on the environment, there’s a stipulation that states, “as identified in the management plan,” but the document also states that the Ministry can amend the management plan. This, in my view, removes just about any protection the stipulation might offer if it’s reasonably straightforward to get an exemption by way of amending the management plan.

It seems to me that there’s already a large number of “Minor” projects which are already considered to be “pre-assigned to Category A” and pose little risk to the environment under the Environmental Impact Assessment Policy. I think the vast majority of Ontarians would feel comfortable with the list of “Minor” projects matching the “pre-assigned to Category A” projects, and those that were not “pre-assigned to Category A” should continue to require an evaluation / environmental assessment.

Obviously I haven’t been involved with this for years, nor do I know what procedures the Parks actually follow. I do think, however, that it would be pretty obvious to even a toddler which projects have the potential to greatly impact the environment and that those should require comprehensive assessments / evaluation prior to execution. I think this proposed policy really misses the mark and does not reflect the values of Ontarians with regard to the environment.

That being said, maybe I’ve misunderstood something critical and this policy requires that environmental assessments / evaluations continue to be carried out for projects with the above mentioned stipulation in order to have the management plan amended. Please feel free to reach out to clarify anything or to provide evidence that protecting the environment is going to remain a priority.

I worry that adding large projects which obviously affect the environment negatively to the list of “Minor” projects which don’t require assessment will result in further apathy towards the environment. You need to set an example and treat the environment with reverence if you ever hope the general population will, and that includes looking out for things like insects, trees, soil, birds, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, raccoons, and everything else that you’d find in the wild that would be affected by a human activity. I fear that this might open the door to turning Ontario’s provincial parks into ones that resemble some american state parks: crowded nature resorts with little emphasis on conservation.