Latest news with #provincialpark
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed Wasaga Beach sale could set 'awful precedent,' environmentalists say
The Ontario government's plan to hand parts of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park over to the local town for tourism development could set an "awful precedent" for other provincially owned parks, environmental advocates say. Premier Doug Ford announced in May that his government would give $38 million to Wasaga Beach to help revitalize the town's tourism scene and support future housing. Part of the proposed plan includes selling the town Beach Area 1, Beach Area 2, New Wasaga Beach and Allenwood Beach. The amount of land being transferred is nearly 60 hectares, a spokesperson for the town said in an email to CBC Toronto. In late June, the province posted a proposal to amend both the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) and the Historical Parks Act to support the land transfer. The proposed changes are cause for concern, said Laura Bowman, a lawyer with the environmental law charity Ecojustice. Although the language of the proposed amendments isn't yet public, Bowman said 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. So, the desire to change the law suggests there's a desire to dispose of other areas in the future, she said — and to do so in a way that bypasses a legislative vote and avoids scrutiny. "This government has a history of trying to dispose of park lands and public lands," Bowman told CBC Toronto. "I don't find it plausible, frankly, that this is a one-off thing," Bowman said. "This is possibly setting a further precedent in that direction, and the developments are getting bigger and bigger." A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment denied that the Wasaga Beach changes are more than a one-off. "No other changes are being considered beyond those included in the [Environmental Registry of Ontario]," Alexandru Cioban said in an email to CBC Toronto. Tourism push within ecologically sensitive area The vision for Wasaga Beach is one of the province's latest and largest waterfront tourism redevelopment projects in Ontario. Transferring parts of the provincial park to the town would be especially positive for local residents and businesses, said Wasaga Beach Mayor Brian Smith. "Our vision is and always has been to become a year-round destination here in Wasaga Beach that celebrates the longest freshwater beach in the world, but also the entire ecosystem here," he told CBC Toronto. From an ecological perspective, changes to the beach and the way it's maintained now could have devastating consequences, said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence. Wasaga Beach is home to the piping plover, a federally and provincially recognized endangered species, Gray said, and the beach dunes across the park play an important role in the region's river system and as a buffer for flooding. "Once these areas are removed from the park, those protections will no longer be in place," Gray said. "We'll set an awful, awful precedent if it's allowed to go ahead." Smith said his "guarantee" is that the town will act as stewards for the environment during the redevelopment process. But Bowman said she isn't confident that it can be done without the "Herculean efforts" provincial conservation scientists made to protect the plovers and their habitat. Even raking the beach and keeping it manicured will prevent the endangered bird from eating, nesting, and successfully hiding from prey, she said. "It really does potentially put the survival of that species in jeopardy," Bowman said. "These are important pieces of land for conservation and biodiversity and important recreation areas for the people of Ontario." Bill 5 sparked environmental concerns All of the environmentalists CBC Toronto spoke to for this story drew a connection between these plans and the government's recently passed Bill 5. The law, which passed in June, removed provincial protections for certain aquatic species and migratory birds — ones that are also protected under the federal Species at Risk Act — and made it easier for the government to exempt companies or projects from complying with provincial laws or regulations. Bill 5, on top of other controversial development flashpoints, such as the sale of Ontario Place and the Greenbelt scandal, has led to a deterioration of trust in the province's willingness to put the environment ahead of investment opportunities, according to Jan Sumner, executive director of Wildlands League, who worked with her organization and Sierra Legal Defence Fund (now Ecojustice) on the current PPCRA. "This is just another example of the Ford government feeling like they can step over the people of Ontario and hand out public land to private developers," Sumner said. The Ministry of Environment spokesperson said via email that the government's support of Destination Wasaga will help "preserve local heritage, create jobs, boost tourism, and drive long-term economic growth across the region." Cioban said changes to the PPRCA would specifically relate to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, but he declined to provide specific language or details about when proposed PPRCA amendments would be made publicly available.
CTV News
22-07-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
Nopiming Provincial Park to reopen Friday, campgrounds to remain closed for season
A provincial park closed this spring due to wildfires will reopen this Friday. A provincial park closed this spring due to wildfires will reopen this Friday. As wildfires smoulder through Nopiming, the province says it will reopen the park on Friday. As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the province says permanent residents, cottagers and commercial operators will be allowed to return to Nopiming Provincial Park. The province will also be reopening PR 314 and PR 304. It noted that while Bird Lake Campground is open, all other campgrounds, including Beresford Lake, Black Lake and Tulabi Falls, will remain closed for the season. This includes backcountry campsites at Shoe Lake. 'These closures are in place as significant wildfire clean-up is required across the park,' the province said in a notice posted Tuesday. 'Burn zones with scorched trees pose a safety risk and backcountry areas must be evaluated before water routes and hiking trails can safely reopen. Anyone hoping to spend time in Nopiming backcountry this season should make other plans.' The province said the fire in the area remains out of control, noting flame and smoke will continue throughout the summer and fall. More details on the closures can be found on the provincial parks website.
CBC
11-06-2025
- Climate
- CBC
Sask. cabin owners risk danger to save buildings from wildfire
A handful of cabin owners in Saskatchewan's Narrow Hills Provincial Park have chosen to stay behind to try to save their cabins from wildfire, despite the closure of the park due to severe danger from encroaching flames. Others from Ontario to B.C. have made similar choices this wildfire season.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Protester who broke Lemay Forest court injunction fined $15K
Protesters blocked the road to Lemay Forest in Winnipeg to prevent trees from being cut down on Jan. 8, 2025. (Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg) A woman protesting work to remove trees from Lemay Forest has been fined $15,000 for breaching a court injunction. Court of King's Bench Justice Sarah Inness gave the judgment Monday, saying Louise May was impeding the landowners' access to the forest on Jan. 8. 'In my decision, I found Ms. May did not act in good faith in taking reasonable steps to comply. Her actions displayed a deliberate and intentional breach of the court order. She did so to gain public attention and generate support for the cause she was advancing,' Inness said while reading her decision. The original injunction was granted in late December and then extended on Jan. 6. Two days later, protesters, including May, blocked an entrance to the forest, not allowing construction workers with Tochal Development Group to enter. Tochal had wanted to build an assisted-living facility on the site. That plan had been defeated by the city. After a continued back and forth between protesters and Tochal, Premier Wab Kinew shared in April that the government was planning to expropriate the land and turn Lemay Forest into a provincial park. Speaking with CTV News Winnipeg on Tuesday, May—who is part of the Coalition to Save Lemay Forest and the owner of Aurora Farm—said the fine is 'heavy-handed.' 'It's just not right, and that I should be fined for stopping it and getting the forces aligned to do the right thing is completely unfair,' said May. While her and others' actions did eventually lead to the province announcing expropriation of the forest, Inness said in her decision that it doesn't change May's actions of breaching a court order. She also mentioned this fine should send a strong message to May and others about taking the proper legal steps instead of going against an injunction. 'It's easy to say in hindsight that we could have done things differently, but that was a very fast-moving situation and as a community, it's harder to get people together to get legal advice and to act on legal advice. So, I did what I did to save the forest, and I'm proud of it.' May did note that if she had more time, she would have taken a different course of action. May has until this time next year to pay the $15,000, and said work is underway to help raise money to cover the costs. While she doesn't agree with the punishment, May said everyone who fought to save the forest did the right thing. 'We can be proud of ourselves. It doesn't matter what the court says or what anyone else says. We know what we've done, and we did good.'
CBC
31-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Skin crawling surprise: Alberta woman says camping trip was ruined by dozens of ticks
Social Sharing A Calgary woman says a trip to a provincial campground turned into "a nightmare," after finding out her family was covered in about 30 ticks. In May, Gerri Kunneke, her husband Lloyd Rose, and their two dogs visited Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park in eastern Alberta near Consort, about 290 kilometres southeast of Edmonton, to camp in their trailer. The next day, Kunneke and her husband took their dogs for a walk around the park. "We decided that we actually wanted to … get closer to the lake and just see what shore birds [were] there," said Kunneke. She said they walked off the path, into tall grass, but said they were only in the brush for a few minutes. Later that night, back at their trailer, Kunneke's husband told her he felt something in his hair, and asked her to take a look for him. "I got up, [and] as I got near him, he said to me, 'Oh my, you've got something in your face, it's a tick' … on my cheek,'" said Kunneke. And that feeling in her husband's hair? It was also a tick. "It's truly a nightmare … every time you feel something on your skin, you think it's another one of them crawling," said Kunneke. "Even hours later I found something on my back and lo and behold, it was another tick that was embedded in my back." The incident at the provincial park surprised a tick expert, who says that area of Alberta isn't typically known for large tick populations. "Usually at this time of year, I would expect ticks to be on the … mountain side of Alberta, so it was really quite shocking to me to discover that in a provincial park on the Saskatchewan side of Alberta that the ticks were that bad," said Janet Sperling, president of Lyme Disease Canada. "There are places in Saskatchewan where it's been a problem for quite some time, but … it was really surprising to hear that Gooseberry Provincial Park had such a big tick problem." In a statement to CBC, the office of the Minister of Forestry and Parks said "Alberta is home to many species of ticks that can be found all across the province, including within provincial parks." Conditions where ticks thrive Ticks in the prairies, Sperling says, thrive in wet climates, and the parasites are able to survive cold winters. She says the tick population likely got to Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park either by hitching a ride with migratory birds, or deer. "I knew the ticks were coming in from Saskatchewan, but I hadn't realized they had arrived in quite such numbers," said Sperling, who says that large tick populations are more common in southern Alberta. Warning to campers After what happened at Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park, Kunneke wants the province to install warning signs for campers during peak tick season, which stretches from April to June. "It shakes your confidence, it's like, why was I not warned about this? … I could have been on the lookout, but no one is saying a word about it," said Kunneke. "[A tick] was walking on my face and he attached himself there, I felt nothing and I'm a well-educated, aware person." Sperling says campers should be armed with bug spray and a tick removal kit, and they should remain covered up. She says campers can further protect themselves with special clothing treated with bug spray. "If you do get bitten, remove that tick right away because you're reducing the chance it's actually transmitting anything." She says to keep the tick that burrows into your skin, and take it to a lab to be tested. "They can test for the diseases that you would expect in that tick, and it really helps to sort of guide you and the doctor to know what you're up against." Sperling says that levels of Lyme disease in Alberta ticks aren't super high, but in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec, over 50 per cent of ticks carry Lyme disease. The province says that "Alberta Parks includes messaging in educational programming, reminding campers to check for ticks and how to be safe," urging campers to check the provincial website to find out more information.
