By Staff
April 25th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Getting into spring and thinking about summer is going to be harder this year than it was last.
No camping in provincial parks – Maybe in June?
The province announced on Friday that the government is extending the closure of Ontario’s provincial parks and conservation reserves to May 31, 2020.
This includes car camping, backcountry camping, roofed accommodations, day use opportunities, access points and all public buildings.
Provincial parks and conservation reserves will continue to remain fully closed to all recreational activities.
Reservations for arrivals up to, and including, any further closure extension date will be automatically cancelled and reservation holders will receive a full refund with no penalty. We are also providing penalty-free refunds to reservation holders who wish to change or cancel their 2020 camping reservation, regardless of arrival date.
This is part of the drive to keep us apart and not have groups of more than five people congregating in one place.
This is the infection curve for Halton – it hasn’t begun to flatten yet.
That curve of COVID-19 infections is not flat enough – this kind of direction is going to be necessary until the number of infections stop increasing.
The virus that is now loose in the community is being passed from person to person – we know that. What we don’t know is who has it and who are they passing it to.
I find this totally unacceptable. I am and have been since the beginning an opponent of the lock down and restrictions that all levels of government have imposed on us. Many are simply not logical. They are a tyrannical infringement on our civil liberties and will, in the long run do more harm than good with the possibility of more deadly consequences than the virus. I am not a conspiracy theorists and I do not wear a tinfoil hat. I just use a bit of common sense.
I am not saying this virus is a hoax or that it doesn’t kill. I am not suggesting sensible precautions such as good hygiene and cleaning should not be taken. I am not suggesting that our most vulnerable should not be looked out for, something our government has fallen woefully short of. My issue with the parks and campgrounds is that people need fresh air and exercise. Yes we are still walking in parks. Would camping in parks with an awareness of physical distancing and hygiene be unreasonable. Definitely not. There are epidemiologists who are of the opinion that the restrictions will actually prolong the virus.
Neighbor is being pitted against neighbor and tempers are running high. This is not good. This is also not why I am responding to this particular post. Some will see my next comments as contradictory and I can understand why.
Early today I saw an article about tent city’s of the homeless. This is nothing new. The increase is because they are afraid to go to shelters because of Covid-19 Understandable.
Here is my suggestion. Why not open up the parks with camping to the homeless. They are already camping. This way they could have access to showers. Food could be brought in to help. Or transportation for those with the means to by food. Those of the homeless that could help with feeding the people could. Not everyone who is homeless is helpless or a bum. The reality is if the restrictions are not lifted soon we will see an increase in homelessness. Resources could be transferred to the parks.
There is of course danger with this idea. Some sort of over site needs to happen to protect the parks as well. This could lead to overbearing officials. This can be avoided if things were run by some of the compassionate volunteers that run many of the shelters and outreach programs. Those that truly care about the homeless.
No solution is full-proof or without risks. Either with homelessness or with the virus. What I am suggesting is a different approach that might benefit all.