Duffers' Paradise
Should Southern Ontario park be turned into exclusive golf course?

HighGrader Magazine November/December 1999
by Brit Griffin
When the Tories talk green, they really mean it. Tee-off green to be precise. After slam-dunking Northern Ontario with the creation of 9.5 million hectares of park space last spring, the Tories have turned their attention to the state of parks in the densely populated urban belt in Southern Ontario. The issue seems to be whether these postage-stamp sized enclaves of wilderness could be put to better use. And if high profile cabinet Minister Cam Jackson is any indication, the Tories certainly are worried about the need to put exclusive, privately-owned golf courses on the list of endangered spaces. Ditch the trees and bring in the greens, sand traps, birders and, while we're at it, why not a Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
Such is the fate that may be awaiting Bronte Creek Provincial Park outside Burlington. The 684 hectare park sits in the epi-centre of the continent's largest clear-cut, the Oakville-Burlington area of the GTA.
Although tiny by northern standards, it remains one of the largest parks in an urban area. The park boasts a huge ravine, mature Beech and Maple forests, and a healthy creek rambling through it. So healthy, it's well known for it's enjoyable fishing opportunities. In the increasingly, dense urban conglomeration of the GTA, that's nothing to snuff at.
So who could blame the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) for casting an envious eye on the beauties of Bronte Creek? Having raffled off Glen Abbey, their premiere golf course, they've been casting around for a suitable replacement. They've short-listed Bronte Creek along with four other sites in the search for a new enclave for the mucky-mucks. After all, why waste such beauty on the picnic basket crowd when well-heeled duffers could use it as a backdrop for the caddies?
Aldo DiMarcantonio is with the RCGA. At the present time, says DiMarcantonio, the proposal is only a `concept'. But what a concept two 18-hole courses, along with another 9-hole course, a new headquarters for the RCGA, plus a golf museum.
But that's not all. In a recent interview in a local publication, The Beaver (Mitchell/ September 26) RCGA Executive Director Stephen Ross says they will need 200 hectares to make room for the training centres plus a parking lot. That would take up a third of the park. And, in the best of all golf worlds, there could be a nearby commercial development of a luxury hotel and conference centre. Certainly more asphalt and car space than you can shake a stick at.
Cabinet Minister Cam Jackson is bullish on the idea of the $30 million plan. Quoted in the Hamilton Spectator, Jackson said the plan was "exactly the type of investment we need in this region."
Moira Latham disagrees. She is with a citizens group formed to protect the park. She claims that even as a concept, the plan should not be given any consideration by the government. "We are talking about one of the few remnants of the Carolinian forest, one of the last places with prairie grasses in our area. It has a whole variety of meadow birds. It would be a disaster if they took it away."
Concern over the park's future was created when the community caught wind of a scheme to bring state-of-the art camping to the unmanaged park. Ontario Parks, no doubt as part of their `make it pay' mantra, were toying with establishing a fully-serviced 400-unit campsite. "We were worried about the camping and then we stumbled over this plan to make a golf course there."
Latham says that what makes this scheme even worse is that this private and exclusive golf club will be encroaching on public lands.
"It's downright immoral," says Latham.
Tim Gray, of Wildlands League, couldn't agree more. And according to Gray, there are serious concerns about the environmental impact of golf courses.
"The footprint of golf courses is much larger than the area they actually occupy." Given the heavy use of pesticides and herbicides, there is concern that the run-off from the golf course will end up in the ravine and in Bronte Creek. That could make the fishing a little less enjoyable.
Economic Development folks in the Oakville area maintain that there are significant advantages to the proposal. But does Oakville need another golf course?
Lathem doesn't think so. "There are so many golf courses in the area already; there's Rattlesnake, there's Granite Ridge, there is a small one opposite the park, Deer Field, there is so many I don't know how they are able to make a living at it. But Bronte Creek is the area's only Provincial Park."
Latham says she is upset at the government and Ministry officials, who, she claims, have been unresponsive to opponents of the plan, and have not supplied proper information.
Lathem's group has put out a press release under the heading "Ontario Parks Can't Spell Protection!" They point out that Ontario Parks stated mandate is "to protect the provincially, regionally and locally significant biological, geological and cultural resources of Bronte Provincial Park."
Ministry of Natural Resources officials say it's no big deal. According to the MNR, there have been only rudimentary discussions and it's up to the RCGA to make the next move.
The RCGA, however, seems to be under the impression that the MNR should be getting back to them.
"Absolutely, it's in their hands," says DiMarcantonio, "It's in their court, they have their internal processes to go through."
DiMarcantonio says that opponents to the plan should relax. "They are getting upset over nothing. There isn't a whole lot of activity on this, we are in a waiting pattern. And even if it does progress there will be a public process and a full discussion."
But Latham isn't waiting for the scheme to go even that far. "We've got a petition now with 2500 signatures. We are talking to people in Hamilton, in Burlington, in Mississauga. We are writing letters to the sponsors of their (RCGA) tournaments companies like Bell Canada. We want to be prepared. We don't want camping or a golf course at the park, we want it just the way it is now."

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