Toronto: As part of the Ontario government’s Stage 2 reopening plan, more facilities and services will be available at provincial parks in certain regions beginning on June 12.
Gradually over the next several weeks, Ontario Parks will start opening campgrounds, providing more washrooms and drinking water, along with roofed accommodations, park store and rental operations, visitor centres, and sports fields. It’s important to check what facilities and services are available before visiting a provincial park, said a government media statement.
“Due to the tremendous progress we have made to contain the spread of Covid-19, more services and activities will soon be available at our provincial parks,” said Jeff Yurek, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. “While this is encouraging, it is not business as usual. I encourage everyone to be responsible and continue to follow public health advice, including physical distancing, when enjoying our outdoor amenities.”
The following is a list of recreational activities and facilities that will be opening soon at provincial parks in regions entering Stage 2:
- On June 12, beaches at Ontario Parks will begin opening to the public as maintenance and water testing are completed.
- On June 15, campers enrolled in this year’s Ontario Parks’ Seasonal Campsite Program will now have access to their campsites at the majority of participating provincial parks. Those who were preselected in 2019 for the program will be contacted by Ontario Parks directly regarding the status of their reservation.
- Beginning the week of June 22, all other campgrounds in regions entering Stage 2 will gradually open at provincial parks, along with washrooms, water taps and trailer sanitation stations.
- Roofed accommodations (e.g., yurts, cabins and lodges, where available), park store and rental operations, visitor centers, and sports fields will be phased in over the next several weeks.
Facilities such as showers, laundry, group camping, picnic shelter rentals and swimming pools will remain closed for the rest of the 2020 season.
Visitors should check OntarioParks.com to see what facilities and services are available before visiting a provincial park.
To help protect visitors and staff, Ontario Parks will be implementing measures to address overcrowding and promote physical distancing in park spaces and buildings during busy visitation times, by limiting occupancy for day-use and camping in select provincial parks. This may include limiting the number of daily vehicle permits sold or the number of campsites available for reservations.
Ministry officers will be present in provincial parks to provide information, assist with emergencies and enforce provincial park rules and regulations. Additionally, these areas may be patrolled by local police or other enforcement agencies.
Quick Facts
- Any reservations for campgrounds (and select backcountry campsites that currently remain closed) up to and into the week of June 22 will be automatically cancelled and you will receive a full refund with no penalty.
- To ensure the safety of visitors and staff, Ontario Parks will continue to be guided by public health advice and will continually assess and adjust operational and safety protocols as required.
- Ontario Parks manages 340 provincial parks and 295 conservation reserves, covering over nine million hectares of land in the province.
- Ontario Parks operates almost 19,000 campground campsites throughout the province.
Ontario unveils plan to reopen post-secondary education
Ontario government has developed a plan for the gradual and safe resumption of in-person instruction at post-secondary institutions across the province for the summer term. The plan was developed in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health.
Starting in July 2020, limited in-person education and training may restart for students who were not able to graduate due to Covid-19 closures. This first phase will allow institutions to reopen to provide in-person instruction to students in essential, frontline, and high labour market demand areas, such as nursing, personal support workers, engineering, and other critical professions. Thousands of students across the province could benefit from this summer’s reopening.
In September, all students will have the opportunity to attend post-secondary education through virtual learning, in-class instruction, or hybrid formats.
“Whether it’s donating PPE, researching a vaccine or treatment, or helping with contact tracing, our students, researchers and post-secondary community in Ontario have stepped up in a big way to support our frontline health care workers in response to Covid-19,” said Premier Doug Ford. “Now, we have to have their backs and make sure our students can keep learning, in class or virtually, and become the next generation of frontline heroes, innovators and community builders.”
The limited summer reopening will help individual institutions prepare for the fall term by ensuring proper health and safety protocols are in place. The province is developing a framework to be released to the sector in the coming days, which will provide guidance on the summer reopening and on health and safety measures.
Publicly assisted colleges and universities, Indigenous Institutes, private career colleges and other post-secondary education institutions may participate in this voluntary reopening. Institutions that choose to participate will be responsible for establishing their own plans for this limited reopening in accordance with public health advice and any ministry guidance.
Quick Facts
- In 2018-19, more than 800,000 students enrolled in Ontario’s colleges, universities, Indigenous Institutes and private career colleges located in every region of the province.
- Led by the work of the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee, and in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts, the government is planning a measured and phased approach outlined in A Framework for Reopening our Province.
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