The Ontario government plan to deliver parts of the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park to the local park for tourism development could establish a “horrible precedent” for other provincial property parks, environmental defenders say.
Premier Doug Ford announced in May that his government would give $ 38 million to Wasaga Beach to help revitalize the city’s tourist scene and support future homes.
Part of the proposed plan includes the sale of the city beach area 1, the area of beach 2, the new Wasaga beach and the Allenwood beach. The amount of land that is transferred is almost 60 hectares, said a spokesman for the city in an email to CBC Toronto.
At the end of June, the province He published a proposal Amend both the Law of Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves (PPCRA) and the Law of Historical Parks to support land transfer.
The proposed changes are a reason for concern, said Laura Bowman, a lawyer for the ecosisty of the beneficial environmental law.
Although the language of the proposed amendments is not yet public, Bowman said that there is already a process of legislative approval within the PPCRA to get rid of land greater than 50 hectares, or one percent of the total park or conservation area in question.
Then, the desire to change the law suggests that there is a desire to get rid of other areas in the future, he said, and do it in a way that overlooks a legislative vote and avoids scrutiny.
“This government has a story of trying to get rid of the land and public lands,” Bowman told CBC Toronto.
“I don’t think it’s plausible that this is something unique,” Bowman said. “This is possibly establishing an additional precedent in that direction, and the developments are becoming larger.”
A spokesman from the Ministry of Environment denied that changes in Wasaga Beach are more than a single.
“Other changes are not considered beyond those included in the [Environmental Registry of Ontario]”Alexandru Cioban said in an email to CBC Toronto.
Tourism thrust within the ecologically sensitive area
The vision of Wasaga Beach is one of the last and greatest tourism re -urbanization projects against the sea of the province in Ontario.
The transfer of parts of the provincial park to the people would be especially positive for local residents and companies, said Mayor of Wasaga Beach, Brian Smith.
“Our vision is and has always been to become a destination throughout the year here at Wasaga Beach that celebrates the longest freshwater beach in the world, but also the entire ecosystem here,” Toronto told CBC.
From an ecological perspective, changes in the beach and the way it is maintained could now have devastating consequences, said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defense.
Wasaga Beach is the home of the pipe of pipes, an endangered species recognized by the federal and provincial government, Gray said, and the beach dunes throughout the park play an important role in the river system of the region and as a buffer for floods.
“Once these areas are removed from the park, those protections will no longer be in place,” Gray said.
“We will establish a horrible and horrible precedent if it is allowed to move on.”
Smith said that his “guarantee” is that the city will act as administrators for the environment during the reurbing process.
But Bowman said he is not sure that it can be done without the “Herculean efforts” that provincial conservation scientists did to protect the chorlitos and their habitat.
Even raking the beach and keeping it careful will prevent the bird in danger of extinction, nest and successfully hide from the dam, he said.
“Really potentially endangers the survival of that species,” Bowman said.
“These are important pieces of land for conservation and biodiversity and the important recreation areas for the people of Ontario.”
Bill 5 project caused environmental concerns
All environmentalists with which CBC Toronto spoke for this story established a connection between these plans and bill 5 recently approved by the Government.
The law, which was approved in June, eliminated the provincial protections for certain aquatic species and migratory birds, which are also protected by the Federal Law of Species at risk, and facilitated that the Government exempts companies or projects complying with provincial laws or regulations.
Bill 5, in addition to other controversial development views, such as Sale of Ontario Place and The green belt scandalHe has led to a deterioration of confidence in the will of the province to put the environment ahead of investment opportunities, according to Jan Sumner, executive director of Wildlands League, who worked with his organization and the Sierra Legal Defense Fund (now Ecojustice) in the current PPCRA.
“This is just another example of the Ford government feeling that they can pass over the people of Ontario and deliver public lands to private developers,” said Sumner.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Environment said by email that the government’s support for destiny Wasaga will help “preserve local heritage, create jobs, boost tourism and boost long -term economic growth throughout the region.”
Cioban said that the changes in the PPRCA would be specifically related to the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, but refused to provide specific language or details about when the proposed PPRCA amendments would be publicly available.
