I have worked for Ontario Parks for the past four summers and I can safely say that our Park's system not only generates the MOST amount of tourist dollars for the Ontario government, but also plays a MAJOR role in the summer lives of countless numbers of Ontarians. I have met millions of people while working at both Neys and Presqu'ile Provincial Parks as a Natural Heritage Educator through various intepretive programs, and they all have noticed the changes in our parks. They notice that there is fewer staff, fewer interpreive programs of lesser quality, maintenace work is not being tackled promptly, there is less enforcement and some parks have even shut the gates to some campgrounds to save money.



The operating costs for Ontario's Provincial Parks is constantly on the rise, as is the cost of living. The parks system has seen OPSEU raise workers wages, cost of materials increase, cost of hydro and other essential services increase drastically, and yet park budgets have either dropped or have remained the same for almost ten straight years! The following is a news release from the OPSEU website that efficently explains the current situation on Ontaro's Parks...

On April 28, 2006, the Ministry told OPSEU of wide-ranging cuts to seasonal staff at 80 provincial parks. These cuts included:

• 293.5 seasonal contracts began later than they did last year;

• 319 seasonal contracts ended earlier than they did last year;

• 61 seasonal contracts had their working hours reduced from 40 hours per week to 36.25;

• 47 vacant seasonal positions were not filled;

• 82 regular full-time student positions were not filled; and

• 10 seasonal positions were abolished.

The total impact was equal to 226 15-week summer jobs. Based on Ministry numbers for July 2005, this was a 19 per cent cut in seasonal and regular student employment. MNR management said the cuts would save about $2.4 million.

The cuts hit park wardens, park interpreters, park maintenance staff, and park administrative staff. Some examples of impacts:

• At Six-Mile Lake (near Georgian Bay), the interpretive centre was open one day a week as opposed to 3-4 hours per day in 2005.

• At Bass Lake (near Orillia) and McRae Point (Lake Simcoe), cuts to maintenance meant staff could not keep up with cutting grass, painting, or clearing trails.

• At Springwater (near Barrie), the park office was not open on weekends.

• At Lake Superior (near Wawa), there was now no park warden coverage for the north end of the park.

• At Esker Lakes (north of Kirkland Lake), guided hikes (advertised on the web site) were no longer available and the children’s programming was gone. Campgrounds were closed because they couldn’t be maintained.

• At Sandbar Lake (north of Ignace), there were no longer any night shifts to ensure visitors are paying park fees, so the park lost money.

To save money, many parks shut their gates early at the end of the season.

Have you ever camped at a park and enjoyed spending a carefree day at the beach, having picnincs with the geese, then going to the Visitor Centre to have a naturalist spark your interest in the reptiles or bird species of a specific park? Even gone on a history walk and had a naturalist explain why the sinking of a schooner changed the fate of the current day park forever, or how the Group of Seven once stood in that same spot and painted the scene in front of you? Ever been up close to wildlife for the first time on an interpretive trail? These cherished memory makers are being lost quickly in ONTARIO PARKS and it is up to YOU to speak out and make it stop. Several NHE programs were cut out completely in parks in the Central Zone as a money saving initiative...help bring them back...click on the link to sign a petition to help bring our parks back to life...before it is too late!