MPP Andrew Dowie Proposes Urban Provincial Park Classification at the Ontario Legislature

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

09 May 2024

WINDSOR, ON — Andrew Dowie, Member of Provincial Parliament for Windsor—Tecumseh and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, this week introduced Bill 193, the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Amendment Act, 2024. This legislation, if passed, will introduce a new urban park classification to the Provincial Parks system that will support the proposed Uxbridge Urban Provincial Park and opportunities for future urban provincial parks.

This classification will support for the first time the protection of provincially significant biodiversity and nature-based recreation services within or near large urban areas. The vision of Ontario’s Provincial Parks system is to include ecosystems that are representative of all of Ontario’s natural regions, to protect provincially significant elements of Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage, to maintain biodiversity and to provide opportunities for compatible, ecologically sustainable recreation.

“Bill 193 was inspired by Windsor’s legacy of protecting the Ojibway Prairie Complex that gave a home for provincially significant natural spaces in our urban footprint,” said MPP Andrew Dowie. “There is incredible opportunity to realize the vision of our Provincial Parks system by including the natural environment and potential recreational opportunities close to our urban areas.”

The introduction of the urban provincial park classification further supports the work of the Government of Canada in its efforts to designate national urban parks. 

Second Reading of Bill 193 will be debated and considered by the Ontario Legislature on May 29, 2024.

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Media Contact:

Brianna Robinson

Executive Assistant to the Parliamentary Assistant

brianna.robinson@pc.ola.org

(416) 277-5967