April 16, 2007

TORONTO—To help manage and restore the natural, culture and agricultural heritage of one of North America’s largest urban green spaces, the McGuinty government is providing $2 million to the Rouge Park Alliance, Michael Chan, Minister of Revenue and MPP for Markham announced today as part of the province’s Earth Week celebrations, on behalf of David Caplan, Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal.

“By building a clean, green and healthy Ontario for future generations,” said Chan. “We are expanding on our commitment to protect this large natural green space to give families in Markham and across the province more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.”

To date, the Ontario government has dedicated more than 5,500 acres of provincially owned land to Rouge Park and Bob Hunter Memorial Park. The two parks’ ecological and recreational benefits will be important amenities for the Greater Toronto Area as southern Ontario’s population continues to grow.

Rouge Park, now over 11,500 acres (46 square kilometres) in size, protects natural areas, national historic sites, and green space that stretch from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Ontario. It offers visitors hiking, camping, a beach and spectacular views.

“The outstanding support from the Government of Ontario brings us closer to meeting our natural, cultural and agricultural heritage objectives,” said Gord Weeden, chair of the Rouge Park Alliance, the park’s board of directors. “These funds will be dedicated to restoring lands and historical properties in the park, increasing public awareness of the park’s values and providing an enjoyable and memorable experience for our visitors.”

The parks are part of Ontario’s Greenbelt, which permanently protects approximately 1.8 million acres of environmentally sensitive and agricultural land in the Golden Horseshoe from urban development and sprawl.

“Improvements to parks like the Rouge will allow Ontarians to enjoy a large urban oasis in their own community,” said Chan. “While our government is committed to strengthening our province’s vital public infrastructure, we are going to do it in a way that preserves our green spaces for Ontario families to have a healthy, vibrant and beautiful natural environment for generations to come.”

All Ontarians have a role to play in making our province greener. The government has already taken action by protecting a greenbelt that stretches across southern Ontario from development, introducing tough new laws that protect our drinking water, producing more renewable energy and doing more to conserve electricity. But we know more needs to be done. That’s why our next step will be the announcement of a climate change plan – a step that will help all Ontarians do their part to make our province cleaner and greener while keeping the economy strong.

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Contacts:

Amy Tang
Minister’s Office
416-325-4048

Lori Theoret
Communications Branch
416-325-1810