The current Ontario government proposal to sever part of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park for private development and hotel building is yet another troubling example of the ongoing attack on Ontario’s natural heritage. Selling provincial park land is just the latest in a series of harmful actions, including the repeal of the Endangered Species Act under Bill 5, the stripping down of environmental assessment processes, and granting the government authority to designate special economic zones anywhere and exempt from environmental laws.
The table is being set to undermine Ontario’s system of protected lands started in 1893 when Algonquin Park was established. The government’s focus on unchecked development comes at the expense of nature, threatening iconic parks such as Arrowhead, Killarney, Sand Banks, Quetico, Bon Echo, and Frontenac—each vulnerable to being broken up and sold if current protections are weakened further. Existing safeguards in the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act are being extinguished, risking irreversible damage to our province’s natural treasures.
This is the Red Line. We must stand against the government’s contempt for conservation and their disconnect from the people’s love for Ontario’s parks and natural landscapes. The current proposal to remove nearly one-third—645 acres—of Wasaga Beach Park is alarming, but it’s just a glimpse of the broader threat: legislative changes that make it easier and faster to remove land from parks. These amendments would bypass necessary legislative approval for land removals beyond 1%, weakening protections that preserve biodiversity, recreational spaces, and ecological health.
Ironically much of Ontario parks system was created by previous Progressive Conservative governments. Weakening it risks turning parks into vulnerable assets for short-term profit, diluting Ontario’s natural legacy established by Premiers like Davis and Harris.
We must prioritize long-term conservation above all to ensure Ontario’s parks endure for future generations. The Parks and Conservation Reserves Act must be upheld as the critical shield protecting these areas.
Gord Miller – former Environmental Commissioner of Ontario and Chair of Earthroots
Bracebridge
Don’t miss out on Doppler!Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox six times per week!
Click here to support local news
Ford failed with trying to give away the Greenbelt, now he is slavering at the thought of all that wonderful parkland for his buddies!