Discussion Paper - Comparison of Provincial Parks, Conservation Reserves and Wilderness Areas

	Provincial Parks	Conservation Reserves	Wilderness Areas
Number	316	249	10 (plus 23 within provincial parks or conservation reserves)
Total Area	7.7 million hectares	1 million hectares	800 hectares
Legislation	Provincial Parks Act (first passed in 1913)	Public Lands Act, Regulation 805/94 (1994)	Wilderness Areas Act (1959)
Key Objectives	Protection, recreation, education, tourism.	Protection, compatible recreation.	Protection
Regulations	Provincial Parks Act Regulations (extensive regulations are in place to deal with recreational use).	Public Lands Act Regulations (only 805/94 applies specifically to conservation reserves; otherwise regulations applying to Crown land in general apply in conservation reserves).	Public Lands Act Regulations (regulations applying to Crown land in general apply in wilderness areas).
Policies	Ontario Provincial Parks Planning and Management Policies (1978, reviewed in 1992) Ontario's Living Legacy Land Use Strategy (1999).	Conservation Reserves Policy (1997) Ontario's Living Legacy Land Use Strategy (1999).	None
Public Services and Facilities	More than 18,000 car campsites, 6,500 back country campsites, 2,000 kilometres of trails, comfort stations, visitor centres, etc.	Compatible recreational activities such as hiking, hunting and fishing occur.	Compatible recreational activities such as hiking, hunting and fishing occur.
Revenue	Yes - fees are charged for use of parks that offer services and facilities; these fees support operation of parks.	Minimal - Fees are paid for any leases land use permits, etc. but fees are not charged to recreational users.	Minimal - Fees are paid for any leases, land use permits, etc. but fees are not charged to recreational users.

How is Ontario doing in comparison to other jurisdictions?

Each Canadian province, territory, and the federal government has its own protected areas legislation. Many other countries also have some form of protected areas legislation.

In the United States, protected areas tend to be managed under a wide range of acts, each of which has specific provisions that apply to protected areas.

European countries tend not to have vast tracts of undeveloped land because thousands of years of human habitation has significantly changed most landscapes. Protected areas in Europe tend to accommodate farming, grazing, villages and other activities. In many cases much of the land in European protected areas is privately owned. For these reasons, it is difficult to compare Ontario’s legislation with jurisdictions outside Canada.

In Canada, the National Parks Act is considered by some to be the most effective protected areas legislation. It makes ecological integrity a guiding principle for managing national parks. It also makes park management planning and state of parks reporting (an assessment of how well parks are being protected) mandatory. Most other provinces and territories have not reviewed their protected areas legislation for some time.

In recent years, Ontario has made significant progress in increasing the number of parks and protected areas within the province. In 1999, Ontario’s Living Legacy Land Use Strategy recommended 378 new parks and protected areas. To date, 290 of the 378 have been regulated. Despite this progress, there is still a need to update and strengthen Ontario’s parks and protected areas legislation. Ontario will look to the National Parks Act as a benchmark to develop a “made-in-Ontario” legislative model.