Amendment to Ontario Regulation 316/07 under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 to remove land from French River and Grundy Lake Provincial Parks

French River and Grundy Lake provincial parks are located between Parry Sound and Sudbury, with the boundaries of both parks abutting Highway 69. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is expanding Highway 69 to four lanes and requires small portions of both parks to be deregulated to accommodate the expansion.

French River Provincial Park is a 73,530-hectare (ha) waterway class park. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) is proposing to remove a total of approximately nine hectare of land from the park: 1.1 hectare where the highway crosses the French River (map 1) and 7.9 hectare just south of Highway 522 (map 2). If deregulated, approximately 1.7 hectare of land would remain with MTO for the new highway corridor, while 3.0 hectare are intended for the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and 4.3 hectare are intended for the Municipality of Killarney. CN requires the land for a railway realignment that is necessary due to the highway expansion. The municipality requires land for the Key River Landfill, which is impacted by the realigned railway.

Grundy Lake Provincial Park is a 3,614-hectare natural environmental class park. MECP is proposing to remove approximately 12.5 hectare of land in the west and southwest of the park (map 2). If deregulated, the land would remain with MTO for the new highway corridor.

Removing the lands from French River and Grundy Lake provincial parks requires amending Ontario Regulation 316/07: Designation and Classification of Provincial Parks under the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 (PPCRA).

Regulatory Impact Analysis

The proposed regulatory amendments are not anticipated to impose any direct or indirect compliance costs on regulated stakeholders.

Since there are no alternative methods to remove land from a provincial park boundary, amending Ontario Regulation 316/07 under the PPCRA is the sole available option.

Other opportunities for consultation

The ministry will be sending letters to Indigenous communities, provincial and regional stakeholders, and the local community directly to advise them of the proposed boundary amendments.