Jeffrey Continues To Ignore MNR ROAD CLOSURE Concerns
From the Editor;
I was disgusted last week, while watching televised session of the Ontario Legislature when, Northern Ontario MPP Gilles Bisson, NDP MNR Critic, asked the Minister of Natural Resources Linda Jeffrey, for the 2nd time in as many weeks, what would be done in regards to allegations of illegal activity by MNR Staff in regards to road closures to suit remote outfitters in Northern Ontario at the expense of residents, recreational users, tourists and other accomodations and tour providers and she once again went off rambling about her enthusiasm for Northern Tourism.
How long I wonder, can Ms. Jeffrey continue to avoid this critically important issue seeming to put on a performance of having either:
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A hearing problem;
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An English Language Comprehension problem;
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An Inability To Address Ministry of Natural Resources Issues?
Will this go on indefinately while accomodations and tour providers like Willy & Bonnie Smedt of the Bristol Motel in Wawa are refused access to through areas of CROWN LAND they require travel on with their customers, putting their business and livelyhood at risk; while members of the Dubreuilvile ATV Club continue to find a road closure sign on the parcel of CROWN LAND which they have used for years to travel and enjoy the recreational activity which brought many of them to live in Dubreuilville and has attracted tourists there for years; or while OntORA’s membership continues to demand unanswered questions of “WHY?” .
What has our government come to when a minister can continue to blatantly ignore a question that carries with it allegations of former and current MNR employees,being in the Outfitting Business, setting the rules in order to restrict access to the forest while, at the same time, being employees of the Ministry of Natural Resources? Where is a line drawn and whom will hold Minister Jeffrey accountable to fufill the responsibilites of her title? The legislative broadcast yesterday, Thursday, November 18th, 2010 was PAINFUL to watch, dare I say SICKENING in my opinion as MPP Bisson attempted to remind Minister Jeffries that her responsibilities laid in the title of MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES and not that of MINISTER OF TOURISM which, in my opinion, she appeared to possibly be campaigning for with what I would only describe as a rant about the wonder which is Northern Ontario Tourism. Would those concerned with Northern Ontario Tourism not be focused on assuring the protection of PUBLIC ACCESS to Crown Lands which attract so many visitors to our region and enhance quality of life for those of us who call it home, rather than continue what appears, in my opinion, to be placation of a select few with MNR Connections unlawfully restricting access, facilitating the actions it appears of select individuals who seem to be claiming large parcels of Northern Crown Lands as their private property on which to entertain a limited few?
THERE must be some end to this! OntORA’s Membership continues growing exponentially with each occurence of Minister Jeffrey disregard of MPP Bisson’s demand for answers, this will no doubt, help, there is power in numbers, but meanwhile time goes on and the consequences for those being restricted access are very much happening in the now.
Below is a transcript of the questionning that so infuriated me, what do you think of it? Share your thoughts as a comment.
Mr. Gilles Bisson: My question is to the Minister of Natural Resources.
Two weeks ago, I raised in the House the issue that people in northern
Ontario are being restricted from getting access to forest roads in
northern Ontario. At that time, you said you’re doing great work working
with tourist outfitters, and that’s raised quite an ire of protest from
people in northern Ontario. It’s been brought to my attention that,
apparently, there are former and current MNR employees, who are actually
in the outfitters business, setting the rules in order to restrict
access to the forest while, at the same time, being employees of the
Ministry of Natural Resources.
Now, you know that subsection 39(1) of the Public Lands Act says, “No
person holding an office in or under the ministry and no person employed
in or under the ministry shall, directly or indirectly, purchase any
right, title or interest in any public lands …” If this is the case-
what are you prepared to do about it?
Hon. Linda Jeffrey: I’m really pleased to have another opportunity to
talk about some of our northern outfitters and some of our northern
recreational industry opportunities. I didn’t get a chance to elaborate
on it the last time as much as I would have liked to, because certainly
we have a long history of providing service in the north, to the
business climate, and encouraging investments in northern Ontario.
Many of our staff in the north work very hard to make sure that there
are wonderful opportunities, because I think many people in the south
don’t think there are recreational opportunities in the north once the
summer ends. I want to encourage them to visit the north, to visit those
remote locations, and see the great opportunities.
We’ve been working with ??Nodo, particularly. They’ve been a great
partner in working with our government, and certainly our ministry
employees are seized with the opportunity to elaborate and engage people
in travelling to the north to visit those locations.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
Mr. Gilles Bisson: Minister, you don’t even get it. The point of the
question is: There is an allegation by people in northern Ontario that
your staff, staff of MNR, have purchased or had land leased to them,
crown land; that they’re benefiting from that land; that they’re setting
the rules to protect the land so they’re able to run their own
businesses and bring tourists in while keeping local residents out.
You’re not the Minister of Tourism; you’re the Minister of Natural
Resources. I’m asking you, what are you going to do in order to
investigate this and, if so, take corrective action?
Hon. Linda Jeffrey: I’m not going to speculate on some of the
assumptions and allegations that are made by the other member, but I
would like to assure Ontario residents that we have some wonderful areas
in Ontario’s north, and those crown lands are available for recreational
purposes.
We want to make sure that people get to use those parks, whether they
come in and fly in or they portage in. I get letters all the time from
people who fish and hunt in the north about how excited they are. We
have a lot of people from outside of Ontario coming to visit. It’s a
critical part of our economy to make sure that the north is strong, that
we provide those recreational opportunities and that we engage people to
see the wonderful asset we have in northern Ontario. This industry
brings a lot of jobs to northerners, and I think this contributes to the
overall economy.
It’s something we’re excited about. It’s something we’re engaged about.
And we want to ensure that the experience is enjoyed by as many
Ontarians and people outside of Ontario as possible.
