Return Springwater park to its rightful owners

Letter to the Barrie Examiner

(Re: ‘Park back in business; Springwater’ in the July 10 edition of the Examiner)

On April 1, 2013 the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) closed Springwater Park by locking the gates.

When the MNR locked these gates, Tracy Mill, the assistant deputy to the ministry, told a group of Vespra-area volunteers she and other ministry officials would meet with these volunteers to plan the re-opening of the park when the volunteers had a business plan in place to operate the park at no cost to the ministry.

Unfortunately, the ministry deceived the volunteers because the ministry entered into back-door meetings with the Beausoleil First Nation to give it the operation of the park.

The irony of this gift was even though the ministry closed the park because the operating deficit in 2011-2012 was $104,000, the natives reopened the park in July 2015 with the $260,000 annual operating costs being paid by the Ontario Ministry Of Aboriginal Affairs.

It is too expensive for one Ontario ministry, but it is not too expensive for another Ontario ministry.

Makes one wonder.

Springwater Park was developed in the 1920s and 1930s by the pioneers of Vespra Township on private land that had been owned by five Vespra pioneers families since 1825. They were the Hayter family, the Wattie family, the Blanshard family, the Finlay family and the Story family.

The lands were given in trust to the Ontario Ministry of Lands and Forests for the benefit of all Vespra residents, their friends and visitors.

It is not correct, fair or honourable for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests to give this park to the natives of Beausoleil, while at the same time refusing to meet with any of the Vespra volunteers who wanted to help restore this community park to its original beauty at no cost to the taxpayers.

The ministry should do the honourable thing and return this community property back to its rightful owners.

Jack Garner

Barrie