FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 18, 2006
Ontario park visitors
pay more to get less, MNR report shows
TORONTO – Provincial park
visitors in Ontario pay a higher percentage of overall park
costs than park visitors in any comparable Canadian province
or U.S. state, an internal report of the Ministry of Natural
Resources reveals.
The report, obtained by the
Ontario Public Service Employees Union through Freedom of
Information, shows that Ontario provincial parks recover 79
per cent of their costs from park visitors. In Alberta, that
number is 12 per cent.
“In Alberta, they roll out the
welcome mat for visitors to their provincial parks,” said
OPSEU president Leah Casselman. “In Ontario, we just take
their wallets and cut back on park services.
“Our provincial parks need an
immediate cash injection to reduce user fees and restore
service levels and environmental stewardship in our parks.”
The MNR report states that
“Ontario Parks spends less per campsite, less per visit and
less per hectare than any of the other jurisdictions [and]
recovers a greater portion of operating expenditures through
revenues than any of the other jurisdictions.”
The MNR cut the equivalent of
226 summer jobs for seasonal and regular student workers at
Ontario provincial parks this year. Park visitors have
complained loudly about the cuts, which have affected park
services from garbage pickup to nature education to patrols by
park wardens.
“In relative terms Ontario
Parks net expenditures are low,” the MNR report states. “Low
net spending per hectare likely indicates that needed
protection and stewardship work is not being funded; low
spending per visitor may indicate that customer service and
infrastructure maintenance are being short changed.”
“It is a sad state of affairs
indeed when a government cannot provide the most basic
services that its citizens expect to receive,” said Casselman.
“The McGuinty government has lost its way.”
Cost recovery rates for parks
in the eight comparable jurisdictions used in the MNR report
are as follows: Ontario (79 per cent); Saskatchewan (62);
Manitoba (55); Michigan (45); Texas (32); New York (29);
California (24); Alberta (12).
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For more information:
Randy Robinson (416)
448-7441; (416) 788-9134 (cell)
