Algonquin Park's Maple Leaf Lake pictured on this August 2020 file photograph. (Adam Frisk/CTV Information)
Backcountry allow prices will stay unchanged for the 2022 tenting season as Ontario Parks continues a flat charge pilot undertaking for a few of its parks.
The Ministry of Surroundings, Conservation and Parks (MECP) confirmed to CTVNews.ca Wednesday, allow charges for backcountry campsites will stay "established order" throughout the province this yr regardless of two parks persevering with to check flat charges.
For 2 years, the provincial authorities had been testing the flat charges by which many campers have been paying at the least 300 per cent extra for a backcountry web site than earlier seasons. The undertaking was being examined for websites on the Massasauga and the Temagami cluster of parks, charging $40.75 and $32.50 per evening respectively, whatever the dimension of a bunch. Beforehand, campers have been charged $9 an evening per particular person.
The ministry defined the "charge modifications make backcountry tenting charges in step with our flat-rate per-campsite automotive tenting charge mannequin.”
MECP had mentioned the pilot undertaking was scheduled to conclude on the finish of the 2021 season after which the ministry would conduct a evaluation and gauge suggestions from guests to "decide the long-term plan for backcountry charges throughout Ontario Parks.”
"The ministry continues to evaluation all suggestions together with the outcomes from the customer survey carried out in 2021, and we are able to affirm that the Massasauga Provincial Park and the Temagami Cluster of parks will proceed to take part within the pilot for the 2022 season," a MECP spokesperson mentioned in an e-mail to CTVNews.ca. "All different backcountry parks will stay established order for the 2022 season."
Many campers took concern with the charge enhance on the Massasauga and the Temagami Cluster of parks as a result of it places extra value on those that trek solo or in pairs. The ministry mentioned final yr, based mostly on earlier information for reservations and group sizes, the common backcountry group contains 4 folks, whereas solo campers make up simply 11 per cent of bookings and pairs comprised 38 per cent. It justified the charges as “reflective of the facilities out there on the respective parks.”
An on-line petition was began shortly after the rollout of the federal government's pilot undertaking claiming the charge enhance is “unfair and precludes using campsites by these of us who journey solo, lots of whom have completed volunteer work inside a few of the parks.”
As of Wednesday, practically 11,000 folks had signed the petition.
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