Earthroots congratulates the Ontario provincial government on increasing the amount of protection afforded to Algonquin Park, Canada’s oldest and most visited provincial park.  On November 2nd, 2009 the government increased the level of protection in the park by more than 50%.  Currently logging is illegal in all of Ontario’s 631 protected areas with the exception of Algonquin and for several years, Earthroots has been calling for a ban on logging in the Park.  By increasing the total area that is off limits to logging within Algonquin, the Ministry of Natural Resources is showing their commitment to preserving cultural values and is taking a necessary step towards creating more stringent measures to preserve some of the most popular canoe routes in all of Ontario.

This announcement is long overdue.  However, as important of a step as this is, there is still a long way to go before permanent protection for one of the last largest protected areas in central Ontario is achieved.  In December 2006, the Ontario Parks Board released a report entitled Lightening the Ecological Footprint of Logging in Algonquin Park.  The most striking and critical recommendation that came from the Board was to expand protected areas from the 22% to 54% of the park.  The Parks Board determined that this could be achieved without affecting wood supply.

Although the government has taken a big step in the right direction, it is imperative that they do more to protect Canada’s most visited park.

Please contact Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield and Premier Dlaton McGuinty and tell them that they must immediately protect all old-growth stands within the park.  It is time that the same standards which apply to the rest of Ontario’s protected areas are upheld in Algonquin Park; instituting a plan to phase out all logging in the Algonquin is vital towards addressing the biodiversity loss in this province.

Hon. Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Room 281, Legislative Building
Queen's Park, Toronto, ON, M7A 1A1
Fax: (416) 325-3745
Phone: (416) 325-1941
or
Send Dalton McGuinty an email through his website:
https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp

Honourable Donna Cansfield
Minister of Natural Resources
99 Wellesley Street West, Room 6630, Whitney Block
Toronto, ON  M7A 1W3
Fax: (416) 325-5316
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it