The fame of a well-liked Ontario seashore city is being “gravely harmed” by what its mayor says are deceptive social media posts claiming individuals are pooping within the sand.
City of Wasaga Seaside Mayor Brian Smith is asking on Ontario Premier Doug Ford to wash up the mess, which started final month after one TikTok person went viral for posting a video claiming it has been an ongoing problem for years.
“The reputation of the Town of Wasaga Beach is being gravely harmed due to concerns from citizens and tourists regarding the quality of care and lack thereof of the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park,” Smith mentioned throughout a particular council assembly on Monday.
“The level of frustration for me is that this is our community, and it’s an amazing community. … When there are beaches closed all over the place across this province, in this country, Wasaga Beach is still open — and safe and clean.”
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It’s Ontario’s ‘responsibility’ to handle seashore park: councillor
Smith launched a prolonged assertion final month denouncing the posts as “complaints that lack evidence and promote misinformation.”
“The town has received no evidence — from residents, visitors or the Ontario government — to verify that any undesirable, unsanitary behaviour has occurred on the beach areas that make up Wasaga Beach Provincial Park,” he mentioned.
“If any evidence comes to light, I assure you that we will be quick to act.”
His assertion didn’t sit effectively with some, as a number of feedback on Fb teams for Wasaga Seaside continued to reiterate the rumours shortly afterwards.
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The TikTok person who vent viral, Natty Lynn, claimed in her July 9 video that defecation at Wasaga Seaside Provincial Park has been an ongoing problem for years, and that individuals are establishing small tents and digging holes to make use of as washrooms.
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In that video, she mentioned she doesn’t let her children dig within the sand on Seaside 1.
“The mayor can’t deny all of us having experiences,” Lynn, who requested to go by her social media username, informed Ontario Chronicle in an e mail final month.
“If you go through my social media comments, you will see people speaking about this happening at almost every beach across Ontario, across Canada. This is not a new issue.”
Guests benefit from the heat solar and sand of Wasaga seashore on July 15, 2008.
Charla Jones/Globe and Mail file photograph through The Canadian Press
Whereas Ontario’s atmosphere, conservation and parks ministry is liable for Wasaga Seaside Provincial Park, along with Ontario Parks, city officers say they’ve been bearing the brunt of complaints.
“A lot of the social media attention and negativity … has been directed and misdirected towards the town and the people of Wasaga Beach, saying that the leadership here and the people are doing nothing,” mentioned Coun. Richard White at Monday’s assembly.
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“It is the province’s responsibility to manage that provincial park, and we’re standing up today saying that we need some better attention.”
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A spokesperson for the atmosphere ministry informed Ontario Chronicle final month Wasaga Seaside Provincial Park employees “have not observed this behaviour during their regular patrols of the beachfront or in response to any complaints.”
One other ministry spokesperson mentioned that employees have “occasionally received complaints about defecation or urination on beaches since 2020, however no specific evidence of these allegations has been found.”
In response to Ontario Chronicle inquiring if public defecation or urination on the sand has ever been a difficulty on Wasaga Seaside’s seashores since 2020, a city spokesperson mentioned “no.”
Guests bask heat solar at Wasaga seashore on July 15, 2008.
Charla Jones/Globe and Mail file photograph through The Canadian Press
Throughout Monday’s assembly, Smith moved a movement in search of a gathering with Ford and a number of other ministers, in addition to his authorities’s assist in establishing provincial guidelines banning tents on the seashore, mirroring its personal rule prohibiting these non permanent buildings on town-owned waterfront lands.
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Smith’s movement additionally referred to as on the province to raised spend money on Wasaga Seaside Provincial Park for enhancements to rubbish assortment and constructing repairs. He additionally needs extra provincial park wardens to implement guidelines and laws, and stricter fines for individuals caught violating these guidelines.
“I mean this with all due respect to the province, because I know the challenges we face at the local level and I know the challenges the province faces … but it’s high time that the province steps up,” he mentioned.
“They created this provincial park to be a playground and a recreational park for this province (and) this country. When they did so, it was an absolute beautiful, pristine park — and it has been left to decay ever since.”
Smith’s movement handed unanimously. The premier’s workplace didn’t return Ontario Chronicle’ request for remark by publication time.
— with recordsdata from Jacquelyn LeBel
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