WHEREAS the Town of Wasaga Beach is home to the longest freshwater beach in the world;
AND WHEREAS the Town of Wasaga Beach hosts millions of tourists each year, that come to enjoy all the Town and the Provincial Park have to offer;
AND WHEREAS Wasaga Beach is the only municipality in the Province of Ontario that has a Provincial Park 100% embedded within the Town boundaries and this Ontario Park (Wasaga Beach Provincial Park) the Town believes, is one of the busiest Provincial Parks and one of the highest revenue generating Parks in the province;
AND WHEREAS approximately 25% of the Town’s landmass is Provincial Park, including almost all of the 14 kilometres of beachfront;
AND WHEREAS the reputation of the Town of Wasaga Beach is being gravely harmed due to concerns from citizens and tourists regarding the quality of care, and lack thereof, of the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park;
AND WHEREAS the Town of Wasaga Beach currently has a By-law in place that prohibits tents on any Town-owned waterfront lands; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Town of Wasaga Beach immediately requests assistance from the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario to work with the Town of Wasaga Beach on implementing rules for the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park beachfront that prohibits any enclosed temporary structure on the beach;
AND FURTHER THAT the Province immediately looks to invest more resources and finances into the Wasaga Beach Provincial Park to bring it back to a standard similar to which it was when the Park was first created. This includes better managed washroom facilities, a clean and pristine beach, increased garbage receptacles and garbage collection, increased repair and maintenance on all buildings, structures, picnic tables etc., owned by the Province;
AND FURTHER THAT the Town also request more Provincial Park Wardens to enforce rules and regulations within the Provincial Park boundary and to drastically increase the fines for individuals found violating these rules;
AND FURTHER THAT the Town is urgently requesting a response and a meeting on the matter with the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Andrea Khanjin, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and the Honourable Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and Ministry of Sport at either Queens Park or the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference in Ottawa;
AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Andrea Khanjin, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming and Ministry of Sport, MPP for Simcoe-Grey Brian Saunderson, AMO and the County of Simcoe.