From the Save Ontario Parks Campaign Web Site

http://www.opseu.org/campaigns/parks/newsletter.htm

ONTARIO PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOYEES UNION (OPSEU)

Ontario park visitors pay more to get less, MNR report shows

TORONTO, Aug. 18 /CNW/ - 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:

For further information: Randy Robinson, (416) 448-7441

(416) 788-9134 (cell)

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Ont. campers paying higher park fees

James Wallace / Osprey News Network
Local News - Friday, August 18, 2006 @ 08:00

Ontario is ranked fourth in North America when it comes to extracting fees from park users, shows a government report obtained under Freedom of Information.

The report, obtained by Osprey News from the provincial civil service union, shows the Ministry of Natural Resources recovers 79 per cent of park expenditures from users - roughly $50 million from a $64-million budget.

Only Alabama (at 86 per cent), Vermont (99 per cent) and New Hampshire (100 per cent), recover proportionally more from visitors than Ontario to offset park operating costs.

At the low end of the scale, New Jersey recovers seven per cent, Missouri 13 per cent and Illinois 14 per cent.

The report also shows Ontario spends significantly less than most Canadian provinces and U.S. states on park programming - just a loonie per visitor in this province.

"How are you going to encourage people to come back (to the parks) and kids to get the whole thing about the environment and being healthy and all that kind of stuff on a dollar a day," asked Leah Casselman, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

The report, prepared for the Ministry of Natural Resources, shows all Canadian provinces and U.S. states charge fees to help recover the cost of park maintenance and operations.

However, there are significant discrepancies in how much different jurisdictions charge visitors to enter and use park facilities.

Camping fees listed on the Ontario Parks website are as high as $32.69 per night ($228.83 per week) for a premium camp site with an electrical hookup and access to showers plus another $11.89 to make a reservation.

Driving into the park for a day trip costs as much as $14.86 per person while cabins in Algonquin Park go for as much as $113.93 per night and a cottage at Sandbanks Provincial Park's Maple Rest Heritage House go for $257.57 per night.

A quick survey of Internet fee schedules also shows Ontario's camping and park fees are generally higher than those charged in other jurisdictions.

Alberta charges $20 for its most expensive campsite and in New York State, fees are typically about $16 US.

Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay is unapologetic.

"We have more hectares of parkland in Ontario than all 50 state park systems combined," Ramsay said, in total more than seven million hectares of provincial parkland.

Unlike "intensely managed" American parks that jam visitors together "for a camping experience," many of Ontario's are wilderness parks, he said.

Ontario's goal is run a "self-sustaining park system" that offers "superior" programs, a wilderness experience and that won't cost taxpayers' money.

Most of Ontario's parks have comfort stations, many have utility hookups.

Ramsay said "superior" programs include Algonquin's, where interpreters take campers to howl at wolves - and the wolves howl back.

"That's just a fantastic experience for people and I think that's priceless," Ramsay said.

However, Casselman said rising user fees are driving attendance down at provincial parks and making parks.

Rather than invest in parks, the province has flat-lined its natural resources budget and slashed summer staff by 19 per cent this year. The cuts came on the heels of a decision to cancel a 10 per cent user fee hike, which left Parks Ontario short $2.4 million.

Park administrators responded by wiping out the equivalent of 226 full-time summer jobs and 1,189 seasonal and student jobs, the union calculates.

James Wallace is Queen's Park bureau chief for Osprey News Network.