By Fatima Syed, The Narwhal
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water. This independent journalism is supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
The Ontario government is proceeding with plans to hand over management of 60 per cent of Wasaga Beach from the province to the town, even after hearing from thousands of Ontarians who voiced strong concerns that this could harm sensitive piping plover habitats and limit beach access.
The Doug Ford government collected 14,233 comments during a 30-day window last summer, with around 98 per cent opposing the proposal. Many people worried that removing provincial protections could lead to losing sand dunes in favor of hotels, condos, and other developments along the beach.
“We did not consider any changes to the proposal based on the feedback received, given the Town of Wasaga Beach’s commitments to keeping the beach public, not building on the beach and protecting environmentally sensitive dunes,” said the government in its decision.
According to Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights, any actions with environmental or energy implications must be posted on the publicly accessible Environmental Registry of Ontario for broad feedback from industry experts and residents. (However, under Bill 5, the Ford government has exempted several projects from this requirement.)
Last June, the Ford administration announced its intention to amend the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act-the law that established over 340 parks across Ontario. This amendment would allow transferring 60 hectares-or three per cent-of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park which protects one of the world’s longest freshwater beaches and nearby natural areas-to town management for tourism enhancement and economic growth.
This transfer involves more than half-60 per cent-of beachfront area containing all sand dunes and vegetation that are critical nesting grounds for piping plovers.
<p Among those roughly two per cent supporting this move for economic revitalization were calls for “continued environmental management and continued public access.”
Most comments submitted highlighted fears regarding losing this vital beach environment or placing it at risk due to increased development.
“Once this precedent is set, we risk irreversible environmental degradation, reduced public access and commercialization of what should remain a protected public space for generations to come,” one local resident wrote. “Tourism and environmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive, and development must not come at the cost of conservation.”
“Public land – especially waterfront property as ecologically and recreationally important as Wasaga Beach – should remain in public hands and under provincial protection,” another added.
<p Nevertheless, these opinions didn’t sway officials. The amendments facilitating this transfer were included in Ontario's 2025 budget released last fall. With this recent decision made by government leaders now will proceed with transferring control to local authorities.
This isn’t the first instance where feedback through Ontario’s Environmental Registry has been ignored by Ford’s administration. The Auditor General has repeatedly criticized this government for failing to follow its own laws requiring meaningful public consultation through said registry.
<p In late 2022 alone-for instance-the government received over 30,000 comments regarding plans to remove 7,400 acres from protected Greenbelt lands but reported “no changes were made” after considering public input according their registry posting.
<p When deciding against modifying their approach based on community feedback concerning Wasaga Beach transfer proposal stated that lands taken out from provincial protection “will continue being subject” to species protection laws enacted by Ontario.
<p Yet just prior before announcing this shift in management authority Ford weakened certain species protections via controversial Bill 5 while also excluding various postings from needing an entry into environmental registry process entirely impacting habitat protections remaining intact within Wasaga Beach area.
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