The gutting of the Ministry of Natural Resources
has accelerated and the real victims will be future generations
of Ontarians who, thanks to the latest round of budget cuts
courtesy of the McGuinty government, will scarcely recognize the
province’s once rugged charm and beauty.
“Dalton McGuinty has tossed his so-called ‘green
agenda’ into the trash can,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas,
president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union. “And
with it, the preservation of Ontario’s natural geographic
wilderness can now be found in a category titled ‘endangered.’
“This should be of grave concern to all
Ontarians and to the millions of out-of-province tourists who
visit us precisely because of our wilderness spaces and the
amenities they provide to nature lovers.”
Thomas was responding to this week’s
announcement by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s to dramatically
reduce the number of provincial parks available for overnight
camping, a move that includes elimination of the widely-admired
Ontario Ranger Program and all visitor services in the affected
parks.
In all, this latest attack by Duncan on
provincial public services will mean 124 positions, including
102 seasonal employees, will be axed.
Thomas said the loss of the Ontario Ranger
Program was especially disturbing. The 68-year summer work
experience program (formerly called Junior Rangers) introduced
thousands of teens to Ontario’s wilderness, thereby building
respect for the outdoors and fostering stewardship of the
province’s natural resources.
Duncan’s actions demonstrate his profound
indifference to the findings contained in last year’s report by
Ontario’s Environment Commissioner. In it, Commissioner Gord
Miller harshly criticized the Liberal government for slashing
funding to the Ministry of Natural Resources to levels not seen
since 1992. The report said that MNR operational funding is 22
per cent less today than it was 20 years ago.
The ongoing devastation of the MNR operating
budget comes at a time when the province is aggressively
promoting mineral exploitation in the Far North, like the
ambitious Ring of Fire.
“More than ever we need the MNR to serve as a
watchdog and a custodian of our natural resources in the face of
mining industry,” said Thomas. “Instead of gutting the
Ministry’s budget, we should be putting more resources into
protection of our natural habitats that could be permanently
scarred by mining interests.
“The finance minister had the audacity to say
these cutbacks at MNR will be achieved in the name of preserving
our public services,” he added.. “This would be comical if it
weren’t so sad. It’s double-speak of the highest order.”
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