Tag Archives: Lake Huron

Earth

Ontario To Sell 60% of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park Beachfront for Development

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This is just a first step- The law protecting other Provincial Parks is also in the government’s cross-hairs

Toronto, Ontario Canada | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – The Ontario government is proposing to sell key parts of Ontario’s second most-visited Provincial Park (2023 data) for a development scheme.  The area on the chopping block includes roughly 60% of the Park’s celebrated Georgian Bay shoreline lands and critical habitat of the endangered piping plover.  These sensitive areas rely on the Provincial Park’s protections to safely coexist with beachgoers and other recreational users.

Possibly even more concerning, the government is targeting the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act (PPCRA) that protects all of Ontario Parks and Conservation Reserves.

The PPCRA currently requires that elected MPPs approve any significant removal of provincial park land.  Rather than simply complying with that requirement and obtaining that approval for Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, the government is proposing currently unspecified “legislative amendments” to the PPCRA itself. The government notice says the amendments are “to remove” land. Because of this, Environmental Defence is concerned that the Provincial government intends to weaken the process requirements for removing Park or Conservation Reserve lands seeing as the current law would not itself need to be changed if its process requirements, including a Legislative Assembly vote on the park area changes, are followed.

“Provincial Parks belong to the people of Ontario and are meant to be protected forever. It is appalling that the current government is trying to give away big parts of one of our most popular parks, and make changes to the legislation that protects all of our Provincial Parks ” said Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. “These beachfront lands on Georgian Bay are worth millions of dollars and are owned by the people of Ontario. They should never be a part of a tourism development”.

Background

Ecological values in the The Wasaga Beach Provincial Park lands to be lost include:

  • Known piping plover habitat, which is listed as endangered under both the federal Species at Risk Act and the provincial Endangered Species Act.
  • Mature sand dunes, which provide important ecological and stabilizing functions including providing a protective buffer against high water, wind and storm events for private or adjacent lands, which is an important role as the climate changes.
  • Significant vegetation communities and provincially significant wetlands.
  • “The Point” located in Beach Area 1 which is one of those targeted to be removed is designated as a provincially significant earth science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI)

Transferring ownership of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park lands is not required to support beach-related tourism re-development plans in the Town of Wasaga Beach.  On the contrary, it is thanks to the active protection of the Recovery Program at Wasaga Beach Provincial Park that piping plovers and their habitat can coexist with a thriving beach destination.  

Hundreds of thousands of Ontarians enjoy the beaches each year, The Provincial Park and Conservation Reserves land disposition is regulated under Sections 9(3) and 9(4) of the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act. Section 9(4) specifies that “The Lieutenant Governor in Council may not order the disposition of an area of a provincial park or conservation reserve that is 50 hectares or more or 1 per cent or more of the total area of the provincial park or conservation reserve, unless,  

(a)  the Minister first reports on the proposed disposition to the Assembly;

(b)  the Minister tables the proposed new boundaries of the provincial park or conservation reserve with the Assembly; and

(c)  the Assembly endorses the proposed new boundaries of the provincial park or conservation reserve.  2006, c. 12, s. 9 (4).”

For the Silo, Tim Gray.

Resources

Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06p12#BK10

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park land removal and proposed amendments to Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, EBR posting: https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/025-0694

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park: Beach Management Secondary Plan:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/wasaga-beach-provincial-park-beach-management-secondary-plan

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park Management Plan: https://www.ontario.ca/page/wasaga-beach-provincial-park-management-plan

Federal Action Plan for the piping plover: https://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/plans/ap_piping_plover_circumcinctus_ontario_0511_e.pdf

This press release was re-issued to address the following issues: 

  • The ERO posting from the Province of Ontario includes a general map without calculations of the areas proposed for land disposition in the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park. EDC’s third party GIS consultant included the lakebed abutting the beaches in the original calculations found in EDC’s media statement. Those figures have now been corrected to recognize that under the current provincial proposal the lakebed would not be transferred to the Town of Wasaga Beach.
  • To clarify that the Provincial government has not yet released for review draft wording or a clear description of its proposed changes to the PPCRA and that it is EDC’s opinion that these changes will be focused on making this and future park land removals easier by weakening transparency and the necessity of a Legislative vote on future boundary changes.
  • The park land is to be sold for an undisclosed sum, not given away as described in our original release.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

Politics

Six Nuclear Unit Refurbs means Ontario Commits to Future in Nuclear Energy

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Ontario has updated its contract with Bruce Power and will proceed with the refurbishment of six nuclear units at the Tiverton-based nuclear generation station.

Nuclear refurbishment will boost economic activity across Ontario, create jobs, ensure savings for ratepayers and secure a clean supply of reliable electricity. The Bruce Power refurbishment project will make up to 23,000 jobs possible and generate about $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province. Ontario is home to a globally recognized CANDU nuclear supply chain with more than 180 companies employing thousands of highly skilled workers.

Note: At Bruce Power-station, each reactor has its own turbine set.
              Note: At Bruce Power-station, each reactor has its own turbine set.

The government was further able to optimize the nuclear refurbishment schedule in order to maximize the value of existing nuclear units. The revised timeline will mean construction commences in 2020, rather than the previously estimated start date of 2016.

Accordingly, the updated agreement has achieved $1.7 billion in savings for electricity customers when compared to the forecast in the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (2013 LTEP).  This means a reduction in forecast household electricity bills by about $66 each year over the next decade. The contract also protects the interests of electricity consumers by ensuring Bruce Power assumes full risk for any potential cost overruns or delays.

Key aspects of the updated agreement include:

  • Securing 6,300 MW of emissions-free, baseload generating capacity while deferring major project work to 2020, to maximize value of the units
  • Bruce Power would invest approximately $13 billion of its own funds and agrees to take full risk of cost overruns on refurbishments of the six nuclear units
  • Initial price for Bruce Power’s generation set at $65.73/MWh starting January 1, 2016. The average price over the life of the contract is estimated to be $77/MWh, or 7.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
  • Both prices are within the range assumed in the 2013 LTEP for refurbished nuclear energy and are lower than the average price of electricity generation in Ontario, which in 2015 was $83/MWh
  • Definitive contract off-ramps that allow the government to assess Bruce Power’s cost estimates for each reactor prior to its refurbishment and stop the refurbishment if the estimated cost exceeds a pre-defined amount

The province is achieving balance by contracting affordable, stable and reliable generation for residents and businesses while securing investments that will be a key source of local job creation and economic growth.

Securing clean, reliable baseload power for decades to come is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan is includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives and building a secure retirement savings plan.

 Ontario Minister Of EnergyBob ChiarelliQUOTES

“This agreement makes 23,000 jobs possible and supports an estimated $6.3 billion in annual, local economic development. Our updated agreement with Bruce Power secures 6,300 MW of emission-free, low-cost electricity supply. These actions will save the electricity system $1.7 billion and provide important relief for electricity consumers.”

— Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy

““Today is a major milestone in the history of Bruce Power as we build on our existing agreement with the province and extensive experience to enter the next phase of our site development. This provides us the opportunity to secure our long-term role as a supplier of low-cost electricity by demonstrating we can successfully deliver this program incrementally.”

— Duncan Hawthorne, President and CEO, Bruce Power

QUICK FACTS

  • Following the release of the 2013 LTEP, the amended BPRIA was negotiated over two years by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
  • The Bruce nuclear site is the world’s largest operating nuclear facility. Since it was formed in 2001, Bruce Power and its industry partners have engineered and developed first-of-a-kind technologies that helped return four dormant nuclear units to service.
  • Nuclear energy plays a fundamental role in Ontario’s electricity system. It provides over half of Ontario’s annual generation, meeting most of Ontario’s baseload requirements.

LEARN MORE

 

Supplemental- The CANDU Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron is the largest nuclear power plant in the world.