Camping at 10 provincial parks – nine in Northern Ontario – will no longer be permitted due to low visitation, said the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The measure, along with an end to mail notifications for expiring Outdoor Cards, will result in cuts to 28 full-time jobs and 102 seasonal positions across the ministry. The overnight Ontario Ranger Program will be replaced by a day youth employment program.
“Yet again, this provincial government has acted without consultation, closing parks that are the lifeblood of communities adjacent to them,” said Al Spacek, president of FONOM (Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities).
The nine Northern parks include; Caliper (Nestor Falls), Fushimi Lake (Hearst), Greenwater (Cochrane), Ivanhoe Lake (Foleyet), Mississagi (Elliot Lake), Obatanga (north of Wawa), Rene Brunelle (Kapuskasing), and Tidewater (Moosonee). Springhurst in Midhurst is also closed for camping.
The ministry measures amount to savings of $7.1 million a year, and eliminate the requirement of about $12 million in capital funding.
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