Operation Perma Frost the campaign to save the Frost Centre
The campus of the former Leslie Frost Centre became the
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From Placards at Kawartha Dairy
to a rally at Queen's Park
Photo by Darren Lum (Haliburton County Echo)
From the roadside signs in Haliburton County
Thanks to Anne Barnes and
the folks on the shores of St.Nora
to a Billboard at the Corner of Bay and Gerrard
Thanks to Cathy Olliffe and Frank Wilson for the "creatives"
We Will Not Take This Lying Down
Note:
This archive is arranged with the most recent material at the top
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Frost Institute needs $1.2 million more to go ahead with plans to begin eco-focused classes this fall
Toronto Star, January 07, 2009
John Goddard
Turning Haliburton's historic Leslie Frost Centre into a top environmental school remains a work in progress, says the former IBM executive who came out of retirement to revive the place.
For the school to open for grades 7 to 10 in September as scheduled, another $1.2 million must be found.
"This dream will take some funding," says Al Aubry, a former Torontonian now living with his wife, Wendy, near the centre on Lake St. Nora, north of Minden.
"There must be lots of foundations and people who love what we're doing who don't realize that we're financially challenged."
Now called the Frost Centre Institute, the site – created in the 1920s as a fire-ranger base – has already reopened as an environmental summer camp for school students, a winter business retreat and a part-time research centre on vernal pool ecology, in a partnership with the University of Guelph.
But to sustain the campus's elaborate infrastructure, Aubry says, an independent school that will eventually grow to serve grades 7 through 12 remains crucial.
"That's what the Frost Centre is all about – environmental education," says Eleanor Harrison, reeve of Algonquin Highlands Township, which includes the centre. "So what better place than to be able to open a school there?
"The setting is ideally suited."
The community of dormitories, offices, conference rooms and teaching facilities graces an expansive lakefront and adjoins 23,000 hectares of Crown land.
By the 1940s, the fire-ranger station on the site had evolved into the country's foremost forestry school.
In 2004, it was serving as a training facility for the ministry of natural resources when Premier Dalton McGuinty closed it to save money.
"We need more environmental education, not less," Aubry told the Star in June, explaining why he and his wife came out of retirement to save what they called "an Ontario jewel" from a high-density condominium development.
The centre reopened in 2007 as a non-profit corporation, beginning with the summer camp. This past season coincided with one of the worst bug infestations in memory.
"A fellow from Bracebridge came and sprayed garlic oil over the whole campus," Aubry says. "The whole place smelled like an Italian restaurant, but overnight the bugs were gone."
Campers in 2008 included 58 young people from Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia and Ukraine. Among Ontario campers, 69 from disadvantaged circumstances stayed free for two weeks, sponsored through the institute's registered charity, the Frost Centre for Environmental Studies.
Activities were divided into three parts: non-motorized water sports, art programs, and hikes over Crown land for environmental learning.
Part of the learning entailed assisting Guelph University researchers in their world-leading studies on vernal pools – studies of pools that form in boreal forests when snow melts.
The proposed school component also complements the program.
"We are setting the tone for environmental education at the 7-12 grade levels," Aubry says.
"We'll have as much outdoor environmental education in each grade as allowed by the ministry, plus a lot of extracurricular activities revolving around our research projects with the University of Guelph."
The school is accredited and applications have arrived from more than 60 qualified teachers.
Frost Centre gets a fresh start
(Minden Times June 27, 2007)
Martha Perkins
Local News - Wednesday, June 27, 2007 Updated @ 11:41:37 AM
The closing of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in July of 2004 provoked a storm surge of emotions.
Emotions were not far from the surface last Thursday afternoon when the facility was officially re-opened as the Frost Centre Institute – only this time the emotions were happy ones.
FCI chairman Al Aubry’s voice often choked on the feelings that welled up in him as he welcomed a packed crowd into the Highlands Pavilion. It was the first time in three long years that the auditorium was filled with people listening attentively to the person at the podium, and in those three years the Boshkung Lake resident had poured a lot of his time and money into coming up with a way to make the centre feasible again.
“There’s a new life that we’re about to breath into the facility,” he said.
The FCI will carry on with the Frost Centre’s tradition of teaching people about their natural environment. On July 7, students will once again fill the classrooms and surrounding forests but some of them will already have graduated from high school. As well as running a summer camp that focuses on natural sciences, art and outdoor recreation, FCI has struck a partnership with the University of Guelph to conduct ongoing research projects.
The Frost Centre started its life as a place to train forest rangers and forestry students. When the Ministry of Natural Resources took over operations, it became a training facility for various ministries as well as an outdoor education centre for thousands of provincial school children. Three years ago, the MNR suddenly announced that operating the Frost Centre no longer fit with its core values and shut its doors. Months of angry protests followed. The Ontario Realty Corporation, which was handed responsibility for the centre, agreed to create the hand-picked Frost Centre Working Committee to try to come up with a plan to re-open the facility.
The Working Committee said that the Frost Centre should continue to operate as a place dedicated to learning about our natural resources. Failing that, the buildings should be torn down and the land made part of the surrounding 32,000-hectare Crown land preserve.
The ORC welcomed management bids and received two: One from the Friends of the Frost Centre and one from Aubry’s FCI group.
This past April, the ORC formally handed over control to FCI. After months of planning on paper how to make the Frost Centre feasible again, it was now time for Aubry and his team to make those plans work on site.
“This is like a university campus built on environmentally sensitive land so you have to be careful every step of the way,” Aubry says of all the hoops that had to be jumped through to get the facility up and running.
He praised the co-operation he received from the ORC, which had certain responsibilities of its own to live up to. “They did everything they could to make the process as least painful as possible.”
Aubry also praised Albert Carpenter, whose job it is to keep the buildings in operational order, and the advisory board, which helped Aubry select the applicants who applied for free tuition at the summer camp, as well as the research applicants who want to use the Frost Centre as their outdoor laboratory.
Aubry’s team includes Kyla Greenham, director of environmental programs and assistant general manager, Wayne Rose, director of the visual arts program, Cassandra Saunders, director of the summer camp, and Terry Stoughton, property manager.
And Aubry stressed that it is a team effort, with everyone pitching in to help, no matter what their title or jurisdiction. “We all work as a family.”
He couldn’t have dedicated his own time and money to the project without his own family’s support. Aubry’s voice cracked when he said, “My wife Wendy is the most understanding and supportive life partner anyone can imagine.”
Aubry said the question he’s most often asked is “Why?” He said that in September 2005, he was driving back home from a game of golf in Muskoka with his friend. They passed the abandoned Frost Centre and his friend asked, “What goes on in there?”
Aubry responded, “Right now not so much but it’s too good of a place to stay empty.”
That night, the retired IBM executive began to think of ways he could re-open the facility. At first his plan was to submit an unsolicited management bid, but then he learned of the ORC’s more formal request for tenders.
But again, why was Aubry willing to give up a relaxed retirement in return for long hours of work and financial risk?
“Initially it was because this was a great place and it needs to be used for what it was intended,” he said. “A lot of environmental ambassadors will come through here.”
The goal he’s been working towards is the sight of young people’s faces light up as they discover the natural world around them.
When the MNR made the decision to close the Frost Centre, Gerry Phillips was the chair of the management board of cabinet, which made him the man responsible for the ORC. He is also a Kennisis Lake cottager so he was well aware of how deeply people cared about the Frost Centre and how angry they were when the government closed it. On Thursday he joked that when he came into Haliburton, “I had to put my sunglasses on and my hat so people wouldn’t recognize me.”
He got together with four MPPs who had a commitment to the Frost, including local Conservative MPP Laurie Scott and Peterborough Liberal MPP Jeff Leal, to decide “where do we go from here?”
The Working Committee was formed, with retired Fleming College president Brian Desbiens as the chairman. Phillips thanked the committee members “for all the work they put in. It was a very talented group of people and not an easy process.”
Throughout it all, the Friends of the Frost Centre were sharing their expertise and cheering on the committee, everyone working together to find a sustainable solution.
“This is a success story; it’s a tremendous success primarily because of this community,” Phillips said.
The process was not without its headaches. When a building is closed the ORC’s policy is to remove the signs. When the Frost Centre’s sign was taken down, the backlash was swift and full of fury. It was as if the government was abandoning all hope for the centre’s future.
Phillips heard about it the next day at Queen’s Park from MPP Scott, who took him to task in the legislature. That afternoon he called the ORC to ask them to put the sign back up, that day if at all possible. A few hours later, in the midst of a cold, dark and wet night, Alf Trotter and Albert Carpenter were nailing the sign back in place and Phillips could face his peers at Queen’s Park.
“This is one of those team efforts,” he said. “We all worked together to make this happen but we’ll all have to continue to work to make it even bigger and better. We’ll work with you to give the Frost Centre the bright future it deserves.”
Laurie Scott said she couldn’t stop smiling as she once again walked the halls of the Frost Centre. “It’s such a thrill to be here and acknowledge everyone who worked together and so hard.”
There was a petition with 15,000 signatures, a protest in front of the MNR office in Minden, a rally at Queen’s Park and countless e-mails from people demanding that the Frost Centre be re-opened.
(Later she said that this public pressure was hugely important in convincing the government to find some way to re-open the centre. The government was “pretty humbled” by the strength of the reaction.)
Scott’s paternal grandfather was a game warden at the Frost and as a child Scott accompanied her father, the long-time MP Bill Scott, to events at the Frost. She shares the love of the facility that brought an entire community – including those outside the county’s borders – together.
“There’s a lot of passion in this area and that passion and excitement is still there,” she said. “I commend you and congratulate you.”
Dr. Andy Gordon grew up in Dorset so he too is well aware of the role the Frost Centre has played. Now he’s a part of the team of University of Guelph professors who’s bringing his university’s expertise to work at the Frost through research projects that will study, amongst other things, the link between aquatic and terrestrial life. “It’s just a delight to be here.”
Sitting in the audience were Barrie Martin, a former Frost Centre employee who also helped spearhead the Friends of the Frost’s campaign.
“I’m so please the Frost Centre is open again. It’s a great day,” he said after the ribbon cutting. “The Friends are looking forward to working with Al’s team and making this as successful as it can be.”
One role the Friends may play is preserving, documenting and celebrating the centre’s rich heritage.
Dave Heaven, another member of the Friends, said, “I’m impressed with everything they’ve managed to accomplish. They’ve worked really hard.”
But, he says, as a group dedicated to preserving the Frost Centre’s rich legacy, “We’ll still keep watching.”
Friends of the Frost Centre to Continue as a Voice for Outdoor and Environmental Education
The Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Frost Centre (FFC) was held at the Kinmount Community Centre on Saturday, January 6th 2007. Thirty-three people met to review the past activities of the FFC and discuss the future of the organization.
One of the key pieces of business under discussion was whether or not to disband the Friends, given the decision by the Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) at the end of November to award the contract for the operation of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre to the FCI Group, rather than to the FFC. (The Friends was one of only two groups that had been invited to submit bids for the Centre’s operation after a general call for expressions of interest earlier in the year.) Thus a major question facing the FFC was whether or not they had any continuing purpose and focus as an organization.
The discussion at the Annual General Meeting revealed that members felt strongly that the FFC represented a constituency of considerable expertise and interest concerning the importance of outdoor and environmental education in the region and indeed the province overall. The group’s perspective was that the Frost Centre was simply the vehicle through which this expertise was going to be expressed, and that the awarding of the operating contract to another bidder in no way terminated the Friends’ ability to continue as a useful voice in outdoor and environmental education.
Accordingly, after considerable discussion about alternative possibilities, the members overwhelmingly voted in favour of continuing as an organization. A ‘New Directions’ committee tasked with exploring specific options and implications of alternative roles was struck, and will be reporting back to the directors by the spring.
“This is an exciting new chapter for the Friends” said Barrie Martin, the new Co-Chair of the Board of the Friends. “Even though we were not selected to be the operator, our main purpose as an organization over the last couple of years has been achieved – to see the Frost Centre continue to be available to the people of Ontario for outdoor education. Having accomplished that, it is time to move on to new challenges and we are enthusiastic about the possibilities that lie ahead.”
The other newly-appointed Co-Chair, Trish Manning, agrees. “There are a number of possible roles we are exploring, that will make good use of the incredible knowledge and experience of our members” she said. She added that, since the ORC decision, the Friends had several different environmental and regional organizations approach them, urging them to continue be a voice for outdoor education in the area.
Over the next few months, the New Directions Committee will be consulting with members, local and provincial organizations and other interested parties to determine how the Friends, as a charitable organization, can best serve the environmental and outdoor education community thus shaping the future role for the organization. One anticipated change will likely be to a new name reflecting whatever new role is developed.
reopen the Frost Centre
Friends of the Frost Centre and the Frost Centre Institute answer questionnaire based on The Frost Centre Working Committee Recommendations
Jan 17, 2006
Jan 10, 2006
Jan 5, 2006
July 22, 2005
The Honourable Gerry Phillips speaks at the presentation of the Final Report (photo Martha Perkins)
July 15, 2005 Frost Working Committee releases Final Report and Recommendations
June 13, 2005 Frost Working Committee releases Draft Recommendations
Working Committee seeking Expressions of Interest
Minden TImes, January 28, 2005
"Education is one of Ontario Parks' four core objectives."
Ontario Parks is a branch within the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
Information Forums to discuss
The Haliburton Highlands Water Trails Committee (HHWT) in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Township of Algonquin Highlands will be hosting Public Information Forums.
The Information Forums will provide information and seek public comment and suggestions on a proposal to develop and implement a user pay/reservation system for recreational users of the HHWT's management area, with the objective of creating a sustainable self-funded system in support of the long term recreational management of the area. Those activities include the maintenance and capital infrastructure of canoe routes, campsites, portages, access points and forest access roads specifically within the 26,985 hectare area historically known as the Frost Centre Area.
“A Connection Failure Has Occurred”
Grant Linney: President of the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario
Perma Frost Comedy Benefit raises $2005!
Thanks to Brigitte Gall, Dave MacKenzie, and Ron James.
The amount raised was slightly under $2000 but Brigitte and Dave added some to make it 2005,
which signifies "the year the Frost will return"
TVO airs Frost Centre story on Studio 2
On the Shores of St Nora
A new CD by David Archibald celebrating the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre,
the Forest Ranger School and the Haliburton Highlands.
By pre-ordering CDs, you are making the entire production possible and supporting the re-opening of the Frost Centre.
For only $18 plus taxes and shipping and handling, you can receive this evocative and
entertaining collection of songs that takes you to the heart of Haliburton.
The CD is expected to be available in January 2005.
Haliburton Echo
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From Placards at Kawartha Dairy
to a rally at Queen's Park
Photo by Darren Lum (Haliburton County Echo)
From the roadside signs in Haliburton County
Thanks to Anne Barnes and
the folks on the shores of St.Nora
to a Billboard at the Corner of Bay and Gerrard
Thanks to Cathy Olliffe and Frank Wilson for the "creatives"
We Will Not Take This Lying Down
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September 14, 2004
Press Release from the County of Haliburton
Establishment of a Working Committee to find local solution for future use of the former Leslie M. Frost Centre
Haliburton County Warden Davis announced today the establishment of a working committee to assist with finding a financially viable and locally driven solution to the ownership and operation of the former Leslie M. Frost Centre. The Committee members will include Dr. Brian Desbiens, Greg Walling, Ken Veitch, Algonquin Highlands Reeve Eleanor Harrison, District of Muskoka Councillor Margaret Casey and Haliburton County Warden Bill Davis. The Committee members bring a variety of skills and expertise to the table. Warden Davis will chair this Committee. A first meeting is being scheduled that will set up the terms of reference and work plan. The Committee will be reporting to Haliburton County Council and to the Honourable Gerry Philips, Chair of Management Board through Jeff Leal, M.P.P. Peterborough.
For further information:
Contact Warden Bill Davis 705-457-1196 or
Jim Wilson, CAO Haliburton County 705-286-1333
Aug 21
Cameron Smith, Toronto Star
Aug 17
Haliburton County Echo, August 17
Aug 10
left to right, Brad Robinson, owner of Robinson's General Store in Dorset; Ron Bilyk, President of FOCA;
Tim Grant, Co-Editor, Green Teacher Magazine; Emily Noble, President of Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario
"Instead of closing the Frost centre, the Liberals should
include it in curriculums as a teaching tool, "
"Well-run outdoor education programs create powerful and unforgettable experiences that are transformational.
They empower today's learners to become tomorrow's responsible, productive and fulfilled citizens.
And, this is why I very much hope that our Ontario government will:
- Recognize how outdoor education can provide the experiential spark that
will motivate citizens to support and act upon Liberal priorities in education, environment and health.
- Give outdoor education the formal recognition it deserves in Ontario curriculums
as a unique and powerful teaching tool.
- Allow school boards the flexibility to fund local initiatives in outdoor education.
- Reopen the Leslie Frost Centre. Renew its mandate as part of a multi-ministry initiative
that both values its great and widespread contributions to date and fully aligns it with the Liberals' overarching priorities.
Residential centres are not the only way to have outdoor education experiences, but the Frost centre is an icon in this province, particularly in terms of education for environment, curriculum and wellness. Its strengths remain and the symbolism of its closing is profound."
First published in 2050
letter by Carolynn Coburn to the Premier...a possible vision
Rally Songs
to the tune of "This Land is Your Land"
lyrics by Zoe Chilco-sung to the tune of Frosty the Snowman
July 19
Photo by Darren Lum (Haliburton County Echo)
July 17 Update
"The centre's budget last year was $1.7 million, and, according to its business plan, revenues came to more than $1.22 million — $500,000 from schools and other parties that participated in the centre's outdoor education programs, and about $650,000 from the ministry, primarily for training employees. In addition, other ministries used the centre in a variety of ways. I don't have a figure for the value of those services last year, but the year before, it was about $70,000.
So, unless the ministry planned to scrap employee training, which would be a disaster, and unless other ministries scrapped the activities they undertook at the centre, the savings to taxpayers by closing the centre would be about $480,000, not $1.2 million."
Minden Times, July 15
CBC radio: Ramsay says "NO" to 6 month extension
The MNR is going to decommission
New Media Coverage
"There will be continuing flare-ups over the budget, as workers see the bite the new health-care levy is taking out of their paycheques, drivers face higher licence fees, homeowners learn that their water rates are going up and residents find out about cutbacks in their areas, such as today's closing of the Leslie Frost outdoor education centre in Minden."
"The Centre's facilities, and the opportunities for educating people about Ontario's natural resources don't exist anywhere else in the Province. It's impossible to believe that the Premier and Minister of Finance couldn't have achieved the necessary cost savings through other means. The O.F.A.H. has indicated to the government that it would be pleased to work with them in anyway possible to help keep the centre open,"
Children learned `to paddle a canoe, to see stars at night' "
If you are sending a letter regarding the closing of the Frost Centre, please email EH! a copy and we'll post it on this website.
From the Minden Times, July 15, 2004
Ramsay won't Budge on Decision to close Frost
Minden Times July 16, 2004
By Sheryl Loucks
The good news is that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty heard enough protests about the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre to order his Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay to meet with local politicians.
The bad news is that he did not tell Ramsay to work out a solution to save the Frost.
MPP Laurie Scott, Algonquin Highlands Reeve Eleanor Harrison, Muskoka District Councillor Ben Boivin and Haliburton County Warden Bill Davis met with Ramsay in Toronto on July 13. The meeting was an exercise in frustration. Davis and Scott say Ramsay made it clear that he was not interested in hearing proposed solutions for making the Frost economically viable and had zero interest in extending the closure deadline.
"He mentioned he was surprised at the media attention this has gotten so far. I made it clear it was not about to stop either. But his attitude was that he'd withstood the fire so far and he wasn't concerned," says Scott.
She says Ramsay told them he does not want the Frost as part of his budget line. He does not want the MNR to be involved in offering education and will not keep the Frost open long enough to see if the Ministry of Education would take it over.
Scott says she pointed out the new visitor center opening on July 16 at Lake Superior Provincial Park is going to teach visitors about the lake's history and influence on aboriginal settlements, the fur trade and present day, which is exactly the kind of thing the Frost has been doing for years.
"He said (the Superior visitor centre) is not mine. I said it is MNR's," Scott replied.
Scott also asked him about the training programs offered at the Frost and what will happen to them. He said they are going to be modernizing the program for the Conservation Officers, utilizing virtual training and cutting costs. Scott says she believes this is not a well thought out decision and reflects slash and burn thinking.
She says it is very frustrating knowing there is $20 million available for public groups to be able to access schools but no money for the Frost Centre. She says it demonstrates the lack of political will to save the Frost.
Harrison took with her a draft document proposing a new partnership between MNR and Algonquin Highlands. It would protect the trail system and current camping sites in the 24,000 hectares of the Frost Centre that the municipality has been working hard, along with the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails Committee, to protect. Ramsay said he would consider it. He gave the draft to a staff person and asked them to set up a meeting with Algonquin Highlands to discuss it.
Another issue discussed is where the Frost Centre’s art and artifacts will be stored. Ramsay did assure her and Davis that a list would be made available of everything that was in the centre and municipalities would have an opportunity to ask to house any of those items pertaining to their area.
Davis says the only good news he took from the meeting is that Ramsay says there are no plans to close the MNR office in Minden or sell the 24,000 hectares of Crown land associated with the Frost Centre. However, he is concerned about MNR statements that trails will remain intact "for the time being." Ramsay told them only 10 acres and the Frost's 21 buildings will be declared surplus.
Davis says they are going to continue the fight and will address other ministries in an attempt to see if the Frost Centre could receive some funding from the ministries of education, tourism or ministry of the environment. He says all of those ministries have used the Frost Centre and should have been at the table a long time ago in terms of paying the centre’s costs.
Ramsay told them he had no money to facilitate discussions with other ministries.
A protest at Queen's Park is being planned for Monday, July 19. Dave Heaven, one of the organizers, says there is some funding already raised so it will be $5 or less. The rally is at 11 a.m. and will be over at noon. Heaven (705-286-6655) says it is going to be much more organized than the last one in Minden. People are asked to bring placards and all their enthusiasm.
Buses to Rally at Queen's Park
Operation Perma-Frost is heading to Queens Park and everyone's invited along for the ride.
The people who have been working to save the Leslie M. Frost Centre have nicknamed their campaign “Operation Perma-Frost” and have hired a bus to take Highlanders down to Queens Park Monday July 19 for a protest rally.
Anyone who wants to participate is welcome on board and if more buses are required, more buses will be hired.
The bus leaves Haliburton's town dock at 7 a.m. and then heads to Minden, where it will pick up more people at the municipal parking lot by the Minden Hills council chamber on Milne St. The bus will leave Minden at 7:30 a.m.
The rally, which is being organized in Toronto by Earthroots in conjunction with Operation Perma-Frost,
starts at 11 a.m. and ends at noon and is
being held near the cannons at the Whitney Block. This area is directly in front of the office of Premier Dalton McGuinty and Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay. Four or five people will be speaking and an open letter will be presented to the government. Signatures are being sought from the heads of organizations, rather than individuals.
If you would like to have your organization sign the letter, please call Dave Heaven at 705-286-6655.
People coming on the bus are encouraged to bring signs, placards, appropriate clothing for the weather and lunch.
If you plan on being on the bus, please reserve a spot with Cathy Olliffe at 705-489-1977 or olliffe@sympatico.ca.
Campfire, candlelight and renewed vow to fight mark final sunset at the Frost
Minden Times July 16, 2004
Izabela Jaroszynski
As the sun set over St. Nora’s Lake on Tuesday night, the community gathered to mourn the end of the last day of operation at the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre.
More than 60 people came to the Frost for a candlelight vigil to mark the closure of a centre dear to the hearts of many.
As they sat around a campfire, both young and old reminisced about the memorable moments they spent in the area.
Noel Hutchison, an Oshawa resident and cottager on Kushog Lake, spoke about how the Frost Centre has inspired other education facilities through its innovative teaching methods.
Barrie Martin, a 28-year instructor at the Frost, said that it has been gratifying to have so much support from the community over the last week.
“Thank you for coming and sharing this rather sad day with us,” he said.
John Etches, an employee of the Frost for the last 21 years, was very emotional during the vigil.
“I think I speak for everyone who’s worked here, that this has been more than just a job,” Etches said. “For me, it has not been just a job. It’s been someplace I’ve gone to everyday where I feel I made a difference.”
He talked about a group from Russia that recently visited the centre and will now be opening a facility in their own country modelled after the Frost.
“But the people who operate this place don’t appreciate it,” Etches said, adding that it is a shame that all the programs so carefully created will now be lost.
“It is going to all go up in smoke,” he said.
Although the faces of the people were sad and tears glittered in more than one eye, it wasn’t long before the mood turned proactive.
Cathy Ollife, a resident of Carnarvon and mother of two young boys, said that the community is not yet ready to quit fighting.
“The people at this Frost Centre have meant so much to this community,” she said as the crowd applauded. “We are not going to give up.”
She encouraged everyone to keep writing letters because they are the most successful method of protest. Letters that are handwritten by children are especially effective, Ollife said.
A letter writing campaign to Premier Dalton McGuinty, which is being called Dimes for Dalton, has already begun. People are including a dime to pay their share of keeping the Frost Centre open. (It’s estimated that the Frost Centre costs every resident of Ontario 10 cents.)
A demonstration in front of Queen’s Park in Toronto is planned for Monday. At least one bus will leave for the city in the morning and the group will be joined by other demonstrators from Toronto. For more information, please contact Dave Heaven 705-286-6655
Anglers and Hunters join chorus of voices speaking out about Frost
Minden Times July 16, 2004
To the Editor
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters condemns the recent decision made by the McGuinty Liberal government to close the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in Dorset as part of the budgetary cutbacks ordered by the premier.
“For thousands of school children, outdoor organizations, Ministry staff and anyone associated with the outdoor community, the closure of this facility as part of a budgetary exercise is a travesty, and a major blow to outdoor education in the Province of Ontario”, says OFAH Executive Director Mike Reader. “The closure is apparently related to budget cutbacks ordered by Premier David Ramsay in the unenviable position of have to close this first class facility.
“The Frost Center is used by outdoor organizations across the province, boards of education, schools, and the Ministry of Natural Resources to train its own staff, including Conservation Officers. It's difficult to see how it can be replaced, and impossible to justify the decision given that the government just invested hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new roof for the main administration building and extensive renovations to thee kitchen and dorm washrooms, some of which were only finished a few weeks ago.”
The Frost Centre is home to the highly popular OFAH Women's Outdoor Weekend in September, as well as dozens of conferences, outdoor education seminars, and Ministry staff meeting.
“The Centre's facilities and these opportunities for educating people about Ontario's natural resources don't exist anywhere else in the province. It's impossible to believe that thee Premier and Minister of Finance couldn't have achieved the necessary cost savings through other means. The O.F.A.H. has indicated to the government that it would be please to work with them in anyway possible to help keep the centre open,” says Reader.
OFAH, with 81,000 members and 660 member clubs across Ontario, is urging the provincial government to reallocate some of the money it spends on the Nuisance Bear Program to help keep the Frost Centre open.
“The OFAH has always maintained that the return of the spring bear hunt in some form would greatly alleviate nuisance bear problems and save Ontario taxpayers millions of dollars, in addition to the costs absorbed by local municipalities and the Ontario Provincial Police,” says Reader. “We have always believed that the millions allocated by the government to address the nuisance bear problem is excessive, that the problem could be addressed in other ways, which would give the government the fiscal resources to continue operating the Frost Centre. In the meantime, we are urging the Minister to look at reallocating $1.2 million from this program to keep the Frost Centre operating.”
Reader says OFAH has received a number of calls from both its members and the public asking, the Federation to step in and try to save the Frost Centre. “Staff are willing to look at the financial records to determine whether OFAH could play a role in the ongoing operation of the Centre, and have the necessary discussion with our Board of Directors to determine a role for OFAH in this issue.”
July 13 Update
Contents:
Update on Today's meeting with Ramsay
Queen's Park Press Conference Tomorrow
Road Trip
Open Letter to the Premier
Let's be Honest
Today's update:
Today's meeting between Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay, local MPPs Laurie Scott and Norm Miller and politicians Eleanor Harrison and Bill Davis was ... well it didn't go very well.
While Ramsay certainly didn't revoke the closure order, he did deflect the issue to Management Board Secretariat Chair Gerry Phillips.
Reeve Harrison felt that Minister Ramsay didn't really care about anything related to this issue, and noted that he stated that the staff were looked after, that somebody had to take the brunt of the economic fallout (that would be our community) and that since he needed the money, he made the decision to close the Frost. Nice and simple.
Minister Ramsay told the attendees that he has no intention of partnering with anyone for anything related to the Frost Centre and that, quite simply, the MNR will not provide any money for anything to do with the Frost.
When advised that the media and letter-writing campaign will continue, Minister Ramsay more or less said he didn't care (OK, get writing folks!).
The highlight surely has to be that Ramsay said the MNR will undertake its training electronically and doesn't need flora and fauna to do so .... OK, I envision a hundred political cartoons on this one but I can hardly draw a stick person! Can you imagine the scene: conservation officers receiving aggressive bear training will press Control Alt 5 to see the bear make a menacing motion ...
Sorry, I digress.
Despite admitting that he doesn't know much about the trail systems, Ramsay also noted that the 24,000 hectares and trail system was not on the table for discussion today and that the trail systems will remain intact for the time being. No one knows what that means.
Mr. Ramsay also said the closure doesn't preclude any organization(s) from presenting proposals to the MNR for alternate solutions but that since his job was done and it's no longer his property, he wouldn't be the one reviewing any proposals.
QUEEN'S PARK PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW (WED)
Disappointed with today's meeting, MPPs Laurie Scott and Norm Miller have called a joint press conference at Queen's Park tomorrow. Scott and Miller will be in attendance, but the purpose of the event is to focus on the community. As such, Scott has invited both Carol Moffatt and Dave Heaven to address the Toronto press. The conference is at 3 pm - just in time to edit for the 6 pm news.
Eleanor Harrison, Bill Davis and County CAO Jim Wilson will also attend to receive any questions from the media.
ROAD TRIP!!
A Queen's Park Rally is being planned for Monday next. At least one bus will (hopefully) transport willing and enthusiastic individuals to rally at Queen's Park. Colleagues of Dave Heaven are instrumental in assisting with permits, logistics and such. Details TBA.
By the by ... anyone have a brother who owns a bus?
OPEN LETTER TO THE PREMIER
An open letter to the Premier will be prepared by these colleagues of Dave, and we need a sort of Million Man March thing. The more signatories the better, so if you want your name or the name of your organization on the open letter, you MUST email me directly and give me your permission.
Send this particular note to every educator, education group, supporter or whomever you can think of and get them to email me directly with the proper spelling, etc.
LET'S BE HONEST ...
Given the extraordinary disappointment of today's meeting, I asked Laurie Scott's assistant when we're supposed to roll over and give up. Her answer: "Never". They plan to keep the pressure up over the long term, to include more and more use groups, citizens and Liberal riding John Q. Public's.
So we will keep up the fight as long as YOU, the public, want us to. Given Ramsay's arrogance, the battleground keeps changing and becoming more interesting!
All for now.
Carol
Some Pictures From Friday's Rally in Minden
From the Haliburton Echo July 13, 2004
Interview with David Ramsay about the proposed closure of the Frost Centre
"Minister defends Frost Closure"
By Sheryl Loucks
Haliburton Echo, July 13, 2004
The reasons behind the province's decision to sever Haliburton County's tangible tie to provincial history through the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre remain as foggy as the shores of Lake St. Nora in an early morning mist.
It's a beautiful moment that Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay has never seen because he has never been to the Frost Centre.
Ramsay and media relations staff are not saying when they decided to close the Frost. It remains to be one of the few unknown pages in the Frost's lengthy history. The decision was announced on July 6 and today, when staff leave the centre's 21 buildings, it will mark the end of 80 years of environmental protection, learning, research and science at the centre, located just south of Dorset on Highway 35 at the edge of 24,000 hectares of Crown land.
Staff are stunned, outraged and incredulous. They describe the decision as brilliant in its execution in that the ministry waited until the Frost's largest public user group, teachers, were on vacation. A one-week timeline has also given the public and staff very little time to try and convince the government the Frost is worth saving.
"I voted Liberal," one staffer said bitterly. "I voted myself out of a job."
In an interview with the Echo Ramsay said the closure has been executed quickly to generate savings as soon as possible for the Liberal government's dollar shift to health care. He says the current "exercise" is to cut $17 million from more than $500 million in the MNR budget so everything was examined. He determined that the Frost is not part of the MNR's "core functions."
Those core functions, he says, are forest management, forest fire fighting, fish and wildlife management, Crown lands and waters management and a parks and protected areas program. The Frost was established as a demonstration area to teach forest/waters/wildlife management. Staff say original research that first demonstrated the effects of acid rain was done at the Frost, contributing to an understanding to how to manage natural resources.
Local Conservative MPPs Laurie Scott, Haliburton-Victoria-Brock, and Norm Miller, Parry Sound-Muskoka, are arguing that closing the Frost does not make sense. In a joint press release they say the MNR's natural resources management programs have been increased by over $36 million for this fiscal year but the Liberals are refusing to spend any of it on the Frost.
Ramsay says operating the Frost will cost $7 million over the next four years because of an annual expenditure of $1.2 million plus capital upgrades to keep the centre up to standards. One example he cited is a need to upgrade the water system. The Frost can accommodate up to 200 people at a time and he described it as being like a "small village when it's full."
Eric Roth, Frost's maintenance supervisor, says a bottled water order for the centre was given because of slight turbidity in the water, an issue that has been resolved but an argument between which ministry needed to rescind the order has left the order active. He called the argument for a new water system "a crock."
Finance administrator Shirley Davidson says the Frost is not costing $1.2 million annually. She says the centre generated $526,000 plus additional recoveries last year. The Business Plan predicted those additional recoveries to be $159,905 for 2003/2004.
The business plan shows that the MNR is used 12,516 "user days" or overnight stays at the Frost for employee training but only paid for 8,500 days last year. Paying for the real number of days used would garner the centre an additional $305,000.
The plan also talks about how the centre could have as many as 65,520 user days if operated seven days a week or 43,680 user days at five days a week but is currently capped at 30,000 user days because of staffing levels. When Steve Payne, MNR media relations, was asked if any alternatives to closure had been examined such as addressing the above issues, he said no.
Ramsay said the Frost's revenue lines are "bigger some years than others" but the bottom line for him is the centre has never paid for itself. He suggested that the community would be better off economically if the centre (meaning only the buildings and the land they sit on) was sold and developed into a resort.
When asked if an economic impact analysis had been done to support that claim or show what the current impact of the Frost is on the economy, Ramsay said no. A press release from the MNR says the loss of jobs from the Frost closure will have an impact but Ramsay says "the Dorset area is beautiful and there may be potential for other economic opportunities."
The same release says managing a training facility is not part of the MNR's mandate, referring to training for conservation officers, senior staff, other ministries' staff and an OPP gun range. Frost staff, who do not wish to be named in case it may jeopardize their future, estimate doing this training elsewhere would cost the MNR at least $3 million.
Ramsay is unconcerned about relocating the training offered at the Frost Centre.
"There are "plenty of other publicly owned (training) facilities, probably a surplus. It's not a problem finding other facilities for training," he says.
The grassroots rallying cry against closure has largely been about saving the centre's environmental education programs. These programs teach a minimum of 5,000 students a year in the classroom and hands-on outdoors. Additional programs such as "Discovery Days" teach families new skills while the lapidary shop and stewardship workshops, targeted to cottagers and landowners, taught people how to preserve the natural environment.
Jim Angel, Sir Sandford Fleming College's interim principal for the Lindsay campus, says they have a long history with the Frost. This fall professors from programs in geology, environmental technology and natural resources law had been planning to use the centre because of its proximity and the "depth and breadth" of history and knowledge there. He says it is unfortunate they will have to look for another outdoor education facility.
The New Democratic Party has also waded into the fight to save the Frost. Peter Kormos, NDP MPP for Niagara Centre, sent out a press release arguing that the Liberals' decision to spend millions to allow community groups to use schools for no charge but not spending $1.2 million to allow school groups to use the Frost shows a shallow commitment to education.
Ramsay did not speak about the environmental education programs. He did say, "there are other places more appropriate for people recreating outdoors." He said Ontario Parks are better suited to meet the needs of the public but when asked if he had ever considered turning the Frost Centre into a provincial park he said no, but "that's an idea."
Ramsay repeatedly said he is interested and open to ideas from the community about how to "carry on the centre in another capacity."
When asked why local politicians were not told of the decision in advance, Ramsay says "When you have people's jobs on the line in order to treat them with dignity and respect you can't say we're considering doing this. It creates anxiety and uncertainty...we have a protocol to follow."
Ramsay says that although partnerships were not explored as a means to make the Frost more efficient and staff were not asked about how to generate more savings, other ministries were consulted.
"We put it out (to all ministries) as our proposal and asked for comments. We didn't receive any comments," says Ramsay.
He did not answer when the proposal was "put out."
When asked why local MPPs were not also asked for comment he said that would have been inappropriate and not possible due to the collective bargaining agreement with OPSEU.
Megan Park, OPSEU spokesperson, says there is absolutely nothing in the agreement to have stopped the MNR from telling the MPPs that the MNR was considering and then later closing the Frost. She says there is also nothing in the agreement to have stopped MNR from giving staff more than seven days' notice of the closure.
Leah Casselman, OPSEU president, said in a press release that the MNR justified the closure by saying it "needs to focus on public services that matter to the public." She argues, "educating our young people about the environment and preserving our natural heritage matters to people."
Ramsay says his government is protecting that heritage by safekeeping the art, artifacts and bits of history inside the Frost Centre as well as preserving the 24,000 hectares of Crown land that he considers an invaluable asset. Ramsay made assurances there were no plans to sell the Crown land.
However, former MNR ministers Chris Hodgson and Jerry Ouellette both said there is nothing to stop the MNR from selling off pieces of Crown land without public consultation. Both men also called the closure decision short sighted and an example of poor planning.
Ramsay has made it clear the Frost Centre's 21 buildings and the land they sit on will be declared surplus by the Ontario Reality Corporation and circulated to other ministries. If there are no takers the centre will be sold on the public market. The market value of the Frost has yet to be determined because that will be the ORC's job, says Ramsay. He says to his knowledge there have been no offers yet to purchase the centre.
Report on the Friday's Frost Protest Rally
Honk if you support the Frost: Car horns punctuate Friday's protest
"A community came together on Friday night..."
Izabela Jaroszynski
Haliburton Echo, July 13, 2004
A community came together on Friday evening to protest the closing of the Leslie M. Frost Centre, which is slated to permanently shut its doors today after an 83-year history.
An estimated 250 people attended the protest waving placards, beating drums, singing songs, and sharing memories of a place dear to the heart of the surrounding communities.
Their message to the Ministry of Natural Resources, which was plainly expressed on the placard of one eight-year old, was simple: keep talking.
The Ministry decided to close the Frost centre with no warning and no public consultation process, giving staff only one week's notice.
The speed and secrecy of the decision prompted the successful protest Friday night in front of the Minden MNR office.
Protest organizers said the community is only asking that the ministry postpone the closure date to allow more time for discussion and negotiation.
During the protest, speakers could scarcely be heard because passing cars were constantly honking their horns in support.
The provincial government has stated that the reason for the closure is financial and that it will save $1.2 million a year.
Peter Taylor, a concerned community member who spoke out during the protest, said that the figure translates to ten cents for each citizen of Ontario.
His comments prompted another protester to yell out to a cheering crowd, “Let's all send a dime to Dalton.”
Neil Sorby, a cottager from Toronto whose daughter attends the centre's programs, said the numbers just don't add up.
“Its not the money (they will be saving), its got to be another reason,” he said. “It's what someone will be making behind the scenes.”
Twelve-year old Devin Hogg, who was job shadowing at the Frost centre this summer, drew rounds of applause as he spoke about his experience at the facility.
“It was really good and I learnt a lot,” he said. “I learnt that they were planning a whole lot of fun days that are both educational and fun. And that's hard to find.”
Children from across Ontario use the facility to learn about the environment and conservation of natural resources through interactive programs such as Discovery Days. The Frost Centre is the only facility of its kind in the province and provides services to approximately 5000 students a year.
The protesters, who lined up from the intersection at Hwy 35 and South Water Street to the Kawartha Dairy, consisted of both local residents and cottagers.
Kushog Lake cottager Scott MacKay, who's permanent home is in Guelph, said the Frost Centre is very important to him.
“I've been going there since I was a kid,” he said, adding that it was the place he took his first solo canoe trip and the place he met his first girlfriend.
“It's a terrible shame,” he added.
Eighty-nine year old Mary Fitz-Gibbon, a former teacher, echoed the same comments, saying that the government has acted shamefully by making the decision to close the centre without consulting anyone in the community.
“I have traveled all over Ontario visiting educational centres and I never saw anything better than the Frost Centre,” she said. “There is nothing that teaches better than hands on. It is such an ideal place.”
Fitz-Gibbon began coming to the area at the age of eight and has been a permanent resident for 21 years.
She expressed concern that the buildings and surrounding land could be sold for development.
“We have only so much land in this country,” she said. “Once its sold, we don't have anything left.”
Local politicians were on hand as well, including MP Barry Devolin, MPP Laurie Scott, Minden Hills Reeve Ross Rigney and councillors from both Minden Hills and Algonquin Highlands.Devolin said he would like to see the province reconsider its move.
Editorial in Haliburton Echo, July 13, 2004
The Frost Centre is not just government real estate
Government jobs are lost. Communities face economic hardships as a result. Angry citizens protest. Nothing changes.
What makes the story about the closure of the Frost Centre different from all the other stories about government cutbacks or layoffs in the private sector? Why should our protest matter to anyone outside of Haliburton County? Other communities have taken their hit and now it's our turn, right?
Wrong.
Yes, it is distressing that 35 people will lose their jobs, taking $700,000 out of the local economy and eliminating one of the area's prime tourism draws. The decision seems to have been made by numbers crunchers who looked solely at the Centre's expenditure line and ignored the revenue side. Staff and local supporters weren't given an opportunity to come up with ways to increase those revenues. The closure was done crassly and brutally.
Do you know what other communities which have lost government services, or factories, or community institutions would say? Cry me a river. Where were you when we needed the outside world's support?
But local reaction to the Centre's closure goes much more deeply than the initial shock and anger. It's as if we're in mourning. We know what's being lost, and it isn't just jobs or the revenue from people dropping by a local store after a visit to the Frost. We're losing our future and cutting off ties to our past.
The Frost Centre isn't real estate. It's not this government's, or any other government's to sell. It's a legacy that the people of Ontario have given to the province, in trust, to manage on their behalf because they believe in what the Frost Centre represents, not just what it is.
The Frost Centre is about teaching people to value, and therefore protect, our natural resources. It's about turning urban kids on to the wonders of nature. It's about making education fun and engaging. It's providing people with the knowledge they need to turn their own backyard into a mini Frost Centre.
The Frost Centre is about giving government personnel the skills and training they need to protect our natural resources from those who want to damage them. First it trained the people who would manage our forests, then those who would police our forests and lakes.
The Frost Centre is about having a public presence standing sentinel at the border of the surrounding 24,000 hectares of Crown land. It's about saying that this might be one of the last places in Ontario where you can canoe and camp for free, but that doesn't give you free reign. We're watching you.
The Frost Centre is about how important it is to provide free access to our amazing natural resources, especially in a day and age when cottages are becoming prohibitively expensive for many families, camps are being sold for their real estate value and the last big chunks of shoreline are being developed. It's about recognizing that no future government will ever be able to afford to create such a humble yet magnificent facility, and that if we lose it now, it will be lost forever.
And that is why the fight is worth fighting.
From the Minden Times July 9, 2004
How MNR PR defends Frost decision
Minden Times, July 9, 2004
By Sheryl Loucks
There's "great opportunity for development" at the Frost Centre, the Minister of Natural Resources told listeners of CBC Radio's Ontario Morning program on Thursday.
"It has great economic development potential," David Ramsay told guest host Ted Barras. When Barras asked if the 24,000 hectares which surround the facility on St. Nora's Lake will be included in the ministry's plans, Ramsay said "we won't be selling the land."
Ramsay says the centre "is a beautiful place that is a cost to taxpayers." He says that the MNR does not need such an "elaborate" training facility.
"We had to close the centre," he said. "My job is to realign services and make sure what we're doing is a core service."
When Barras asked if education was a core service, Ramsay said "Not to my ministry."
The MNR's mantra since announcing the decision to close the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre on July 6 has been that "the management of a training facility is not (the MNR's) core business."
The MNR's website the day before July 6 said the Frost Centre's is "Ontario's leading natural resources education, training and conference centre" and talks about the role of the Frost in educating the public as well as government staff. The rationale for a suddenly new perspective on the role the centre has played and the MNR's responsibility towards public education has been murky.
All of the Times' calls for information regarding the closure are being directed to Steve Payne, the MNR's senior communications officer, regardless of which ministry or department the Times has contacted. The Times has attempted to contact the premier and deputy-premier who signed off on the closure as well as the Management Board Secretariat, the Ontario Reality Corporation, Minister Ramsay and Gail Beggs, MNR deputy-minister.
The following is an exerpt from the conversation between Payne and this reporter.
Loucks - I am calling with regards to the closure of the Frost Centre.
Payne - I'm not sure what I can tell that I didn't tell you yesterday.
Loucks - I was not speaking with you yesterday.
Payne - Someone from your paper was.
Loucks - I can assure you no one from my newspaper called you yesterday.
Payne - It was someone from Haliburton, I'm sorry maybe I've confused names.
Loucks - What alternatives to closure did the MNR examine?
Payne - The decision has been made to close the centre.
Loucks - Prior to the decision being made...
Payne - The centre's not part of our core functions. It was decided to close it.
Loucks - When was the decision made?
Payne - Yesterday.
Loucks - A decision of this magnitude takes more time to...
Payne - Next question.
Loucks - At what point did the Minister become involved.
Payne - I'm not privy to that.
Loucks - Who is?
Payne - The Minister.
[All calls to the Minister are referred to Payne and the Minister's office says Ramsay is not available.]
Loucks - What does it cost to train conservation officers at the Frost?
Payne - I don't have those exact numbers.
Loucks - But the MNR believes it will be cheaper to train them elsewhere?
Payne - There are several other facilities around the province that can be used, that are not solely dedicated to training. [The MNR has been referring to the Frost Centre solely as a training facility.]
Loucks - Is there any intention to move the public education programs (offered at the Frost) to another facility?
Payne - There are a lot of other facilities in your area that do education: Haliburton Forest, Kandalore, Kinark, the YMCA Wanakita.
Loucks - When did the mandate for the Frost change from being one of public education?
Payne - The centre is not one of the core functions of the Ministry.
Loucks - The Crown Land Use Policy Report for the Frost Centre dated January 16, 2004 says the primary goal is to foster a wider public understanding...
Payne - I'm not aware of it, next question.
Loucks - A letter was sent to OPSEU...
Payne - I can't comment on that.
Loucks - Why was the decision made to close during the summer, cancelling revenue...
Payne - The summer is one of the slower periods. This is a tough decision to make at any time of the year.
Despite the unwillingness to answer questions, the Times has discovered the following information.
The ministry has told Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Victoria-Brock, and Norm Miller, MPP for Parry Sound- Muskoka, that public consultation was not necessary because the "majority" of the centre's operations were for internal government training and they do not consult with the public about what they do with internal facilities. In actuality, 48 per cent of the Frost Centre's users days are taken up by students and members of the public.
Payne says the MNR is spending $1.2 million annually to operate the Frost Centre; however numbers obtained from Scott's office suggest that in 2002/03 the actual expenditure was $1.1 million. The MNR allocation that year was only $659,560, the revenue line was $482,880 and recoveries were $69,541 - leaving a surplus of $64,637. However, staff from Scott's office warned they do not have official confirmation of these numbers and there may be other variables than what is reported here.
The ministry has not elaborated on how they will be realizing an oft cited $7 million savings over four years by closing the Frost Centre.
"The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre is closing effective July 14, 2004.
"All hiking and ski trails, canoe routes and the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails remain open for your continued enjoyment.
"FAQ's
"Why is the Centre closing?
" The Ontario government is transforming public service to focus on priorities that the public has said matter most to them. Some programs will need to be enhanced, while others will need to be reshaped to better align funding to the results sought.
"As a result, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) is closing The Frost Centre on July 14, 2004 -- a heavily subsidized training facility -- to refocus its efforts on core ministry programs and businesses.
"What will happen to the Centre’s assets?
"* The moveable assets of the Frost Centre will be re-deployed within MNR and the OPS to be used by other program areas.
"* We share the view that there is a rich cultural and natural heritage to be preserved in much of the memorabilia and historical items at the centre. All Frost Centre memorabilia and historical items will be collected by Corporate Management Division staff. We will be discussing these items with the Archives of Ontario.
" * The lands and buildings of the Frost Centre are owned by the government of Ontario . The Ministry will decommission the property and it will be transferred back to Management Board Secretariat through the Ontario Realty Corporation.
"* Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) has advised that the buildings and land will be declared surplus and enter ORC’s Portfolio after MNR has decommissioned them. ORC then follows strict disposition guidelines and procedures. This would include examining all of the options and circulating the property to other Ontario government ministries and levels of government. If no one expresses interest then ORC will engage a broker and put it up for sale for fair market value.
"What happens to the hiking and ski trails, canoe routes and Haliburton Highlands Water Trails?
"All these trails and their facilities remain open for the time being for your continuing enjoyment and use. "
From Dalton McGinty's Web site:
"health care, and education"....
Isn't that what the Frost Centre is all about? What could be more "healthy and educational" then children learning to appreciate our forests and natural landscape? Not in a classroom or a book, but "HANDS ON", the way it really counts? The Frost Centre is a unique gem I'm sure many other provinces would be proud to have.
G Jones
20 Roselle Place"
Stoney Creek Ont
History of the Frost Centre
The story of the Frost Centre begins back in 1921, when the Department of Lands & Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources) sent an aerial reconnaissance crew over the old Bobcaygeon road in search of a new Chief Ranger station. The Lands & Forests crew recommended the Shores of St. Nora Lake as a perfect setting and began construction. Prior to the depression-era construction project that connected Minden and Huntsville via highway 35 and 60, the closest community to the Ranger Station was Pine Springs, on the northend of Kushog Lake. Many determining factors would evolve in the creation of the Frost Centre from this original Chief Ranger station, as developments in natural resources protection and awareness coincided with happenings of that time period.
The University of Toronto, who established the Faculty of Forestry, was given a donation of 5,000 acres and cutting rights on the west side of St. Nora Lake in 1940. This land was given to the school to provide a place where forestry students could obtain hands-on experience. With this study site, experiments and observations could be carried out over longer periods of time. The donated land was across the road from the new ranger's headquarters. The Department of Lands & Forests donated another adjacent 6,000 acres and the resulting site became the basis for the Frost Centre property.
Following the second world war, a new purpose emerged for the property in the search of post-war employment. The Department of Lands & Forests was looking for ways to offer continuing education for rangers and department personnel. At the same time, thousands of demobilized soldiers were without work and tens of thousands of acres of bush land were being lost to wildfires because of the lack of forestry personnel.
In 1942, a document entitled "Forest Fires Protection in a Post-War Rehabilitation" was presented to the Canadian Society of Forest Engineers. Peter McEwan suggested in this document that not only demobilized soldiers could meet the need for forestry workers, but that the program should lead to the creation of a permanent training facility for forest rangers.
McEwan, who had been on the original reconnaissance flights for the ranger station site, was assigned the job of determining the location and agenda of this new facility. A mutual interest in the development of such an agency led to the University of Toronto and the Department of Lands & Forests deciding to build the school within the university forest.
A formal agreement was signed between the government and the university in June of 1944. This agreement saw the government responsible for the buildings, the hiring of a year-round ranger, a superintendent and the selection of students. The university would use the school for graduate and undergraduate courses, equip the educational facilities and provide demonstration areas.
The site chosen for this ranger school was, naturally, on the shores of St. Nora Lake. Between 1945 and 1966 a variety of buildings were built on site to accommodate the needs of this new establishment. Dormitories, workshops, kitchen, boathouse, sawmill and staff houses were erected to fill the needs of the ranger school. Today, the original Chief Rangers cabin remains where it was built, on the southerly edge of the Frost Centre's lakeside property. The fire observation tower still stands tall overlooking a carpet of forest.
The Frost Centre has a long tradition of educational training in natural resources management. What began as a continuing education school for rangers became an avenue for post-war employment training and eventually gave way to younger applicants and became a post-secondary educational option.
Known by its many graduates as the Ranger School (1943-1966) or the Ontario Forest Technical Training School (1967-1968), the Frost Centre, for many years was one of the qualifying institutions for employment with the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests and the Forest Industry. In 1969, the Ontario Forest Technical Training School closed its doors, and the school's curriculum of resource management was taken over by Ontario's colleges and universities.
Despite changes in the school's mandate over the decades, the core material never changed, except where technological advances made a difference. The basic courses still covered fish and wildlife, the study of trees, drafting, mathematics, surveying, road location, silviculture and flora & fauna. In 1961, the school officially became the source for all forestry job applicants and was noted as the foremost forestry school in Canada. Outdoor education programming remained a strong element of the facility, and it was this emphasis on outdoor education that caught the attention of former Ontario Premier Leslie M. Frost.
A former MPP for Victoria-Haliburton, Frost was well acquainted with the area and served as a member of the Algonquin Park Advisory Committee in 1971. As a member of the committee, he recognized the potential service the school could provide for the province. Premier Frost suggested that the province should have a demonstration centre for resource management in Ontario.
In 1974, Ontario Premier William G. Davis announced that the facility would be developed as a demonstration area in resources management, education and recreation. The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre, named in honour of the late Premier Leslie M. Frost, opened its doors on April 1, 1974.
The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre became the first outdoor education Centre in the province dedicated to environmental and resource management education. It was also the first Centre to have a crown land management unit, 24,000 ha, associated with it for research in and demonstration of resource management, recreation and public education. Today, the Frost Centre is managed by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).
In the early days of outdoor education, Frost Centre staff set the standards for using the outdoors as a classroom and continues to be recognized as leaders in public education related to our natural resources. The Frost Centre enjoys a reputation for excellence and leadership in natural resources education and training, excellence in customer services and clean comfortable, well-maintained facilities. Providing an opportunity to learn about and experience the outdoors in a fun, challenging manner and the knowledge gained from spending time in our natural environment is a tradition at the Frost Centre.
The Frost Centre assists the Ministry of Natural Resources in delivering its core business by providing training opportunities for staff and a wide range of programs for students, educators, program delivery partners, outdoor partner groups and the general public. Courses are delivered from topics such as Awareness and Appreciation of Ecosystems, Understanding Ecosystems, Sustaining Ecosystems and Responsible Human Action. School group programs run the gamut of forestry, water, wildlife and fisheries management and include a variety of teacher led programs like orienteering, survival games, tree identification, shoreline explorations and geomorphology to name a few.
In addition, to the public education mandate for youth and adult outdoor enthusiasts, the Frost Centre is the principal training facility for the Ministry of Natural Resources providing special and mandatory training to MNR and the Ontario Public Service (ie; OPP).
One key for the Frost Centre's success is developing and maintaining partnerships such as Ontario Stewardship Councils, Canadian Wildlife Federation, Ontario Forestry Association, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Participants partake year round in popular programs such as the Womans Outdoor Weekend, Wild Weekend Getaway, Fish Ways, Naturalist Camps, GIS Outdoor Education and the Ontario Forestry Fall Festival make use of the ample resources the Frost Centre offers.
The Frost Centre remains the principle training location for Ministry of Natural Resources professional and technical personnel who utilize the advanced computer technology the facility offers as well as superb natural resources demonstration sites. The Frost Centre offers accommodation to over 200 people in a modern, comfortable setting.
Of course, the Frost Centre offers a variety of recreation facilities and equipment for all season use for the public to enjoy, including snowshoeing, marked hiking trails, canoe routes and its popular classic nordic ski trail system.
The Frost Centre is an integral part of the local community (Haliburton and Muskoka area) providing employment for many people, directly and indirectly. The Centre also provides learning and recreational opportunities for local and seasonal residents as well as visitors to the area.
During its years as MNR's "Frost Centre", more than 200,000 people have used these facilities to learn about the outdoors, train and hold meetings. Government staff, students, educators and the public have taken advantage of the Centre's active outdoor programs, demonstration sites, trails and leading edge technology to further their understanding and knowledge of ecosystems and how they can be sustained for future generations.
The Frost Centre today is indeed a part of Ontario and Canadian History. The facility has evolved through time and adapted to change, but the importance of the work has remained just as crucial. Now, more than ever as we move into the millennium, the Frost Centre continues its long tradition of excellence in developing awareness towards natural resources management, fulfilling its mandate to foster an understanding of ecosystems and how they can be sustained for future generations.
Or this, all the programs planned for this summer's Discovery Days, that are now cancelled:
Discovery Days:
Lapidary Art
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon throughout the months of July & August.
Create your own rock art in the Frost Centre lapidary room. In the process of cutting and polishing your creation you will gain insights into the world of rocks and minerals.
All materials provided.
Cost: Adult $12.00 Youth under 18 $10.00 per person.
Limit – 15.
Look See Paint for Adults (A)
July 6, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
A no-fail introduction to watercolour painting on a special trek to a beautiful location. Adults only!
Cost: Adult $10.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Beauty and the Bog (F)
July 8, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Come for an active boardwalk bog walk to explore one of the special environs of the Haliburton landscape.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
The Scoop On Poop (F)
July 13, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Discover how to identify wildlife by droppings, tracks and other evidence they leave behind.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Parasites: Their World and Ours (A/T)
July 15, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Dr. Ed Addison will reveal the fascinating and important world of parasites that is all around us, and in us!
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Wind Walkers (F)
July 20, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Join a butterfly expert from Algonquin Provincial Park to help you discover and identify these magical species.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Of Wolves & Wilderness (F)
July 22, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Author Mike Runtz will share his special knowledge of wolves and excellent photography from Algonquin and across Ontario.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Get Lost?! (A/T)
July 27, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Get lost?! Not likely if you join us for this hands-on introduction to basic map reading and compass skills.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Back To Basics Canoeing (A/T)
July 29, 2004 -- 9 am to noon
Come for a great introduction to recreational canoeing! No experience required.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Loon Magic (F)
Aug 3, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Get to know one of our favourite symbols of the wilderness and how to help maintain local populations.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Hike The Hills (A/T)
Aug 5, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Enjoy some great scenery on a geologist-led hike to explore the forces that shaped the Haliburton landscape.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Look See Paint For Families (F)
Aug 10, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
You and your kids will connect with the landscape in this no-fail introduction to watercolour painting.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Cottage Gardening (A)
Aug. 12, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Explore with experts the opportunities and challenges of beautifying that special landscape that is your cottage.
Cost: Adult $10.00 , Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Forest Pharmacy (A/T)
Aug 17, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Discover the amazing medicine chest of natural remedies found in our local forests and fields.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Alien Invaders (A/T)
Aug 19, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Find out what you can do to help stem the march of the introduced species that threaten our lakes and forests.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Forests For The Trees (A/T)
Aug 24, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Hike with a forester and get the straight goods on how our forests are managed with on-the-land examples.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Gold Fever (F)
Aug. 26, 2004 -- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Be a prospector and learn how to pan for gold; real gold!
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Fungus Among Us (A/T)
Sept 25, 2004 -- 1:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Get out on the trails with a fungus expert for an introduction to the incredible world of mushrooms and other fungi.
Cost: Adult $10.00 Youth 18 and under $2.00 Friends of the Frost Centre members - FREE
Or this, the famous Stewardship Series:
Informative day long workshops for landowners, cottagers and land stewards, offered in partnership with the Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council and the Parry Sound-Muskoka Stewardship Network. These workshops provide a better understanding of ecosystems and the principles and practices of land stewardship. Lunch may be purchased at an additional cost if ordered 10 days in advance. Please call to confirm price and availability. Please make payments for workshops and lunch upon arrival. Workshops run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. rain or shine. Please be pepared for outdoor field trips. Pre-registration is required. For more information or to register contact (705) 766-2451 or email: frostcentre@mnr.gov.on.ca
July 9, 2004 - Healthy Forests Through Tree Marking
Learn about the benefits of tree marking as a management tool for private woodlots. Contact 705-766-2451 or email: frostcentre@mnr.gov.on.ca to register.
September 10, 2004 - Species at Risk
Learn more about Ontario plants and animals that are threatened by or vulnerable to extinction. To register contact 705-766-2451 or email: frostcentre@mnr.gov.on.ca.
CONTACT NUMBERS to URGE the Government to keep the FROST CENTRE
Open as a Centre for Environmental Education
Whom ever you call be sure to ask for a callback!!
If you write or fax: request a response
A handwritten stamped letter is best, typed and signed is next.
Mark it "personal and confidential" on the envelope and letter.
Premier Dalton McGuinty
After hours number -- call this one in the middle of the night and deluge the office mailbox with messages. Ask that your message be returned.
1-416-325-7961
Dalton McGuinty, Premier
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
Tel / Tél : 416-325-1941
Fax / Téléc : (416) 325-3745
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Minister of Education (because the Frost Centre was involved
with education)
Gerard Kennedy
Minister of Education
Queen's Park
Ministry of Education
900 Bay St, 22nd Floor, Mowat Block
Toronto ON M7A 1L2
Tel / Tél : 416-325-2600
Fax / Téléc : 416-325-2608
------------------------------------------------
Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsey:
Tel / Tél : 416-314-2301
Fax / Téléc : 416-314-2216
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jim Bradley
Minister of Tourism and Recreation (because the Frost Centre
was a tourism destination for Haliburton County and
Muskoka/Parry Sound)
Queen's Park
Ministry of Tourism and Recreation
9th Flr, 900 Bay St
Toronto ON M7A 2
Tel / Tél : 416-326-9326
Fax / Téléc : 416-326-9338
Gerry Phillips (Management Board reviewed this decision)
Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet
Queen's Park
Management Board Secretariat
77 Wellesley St W, 12th Flr, Ferguson Block
Toronto ON M7A 1N3
Tel / Tél : 416-327-2333
Jeff Leal
( Peterborough )
Liberal Party of Ontario
Queen's Park
Rm 184, Main Legislative Building
Toronto ON M7A 1A4
Tel / Tél : 416-325-0534
Fax / Téléc : 416-325-0570
Constituency Office
Suite 207, 349-A George St N
Peterborough ON K9H 3P9
Tel / Tél : 705-742-3777
Fax / Téléc : 705-742-1822
Diane J. Griffin Signed on: Wed Jul 7 10:49:55 2004
I am deeply disappointed in this Liberal decision. Facts gathered to date indicates that upon a phone call to the office of the Minister of Education and the Office of the Minister of Tourism THAT THEY had no idea as to the decision made to close the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre effective July 14th, 2004. Who then were consulted?
I am a Councillor for the Twp. of Algonquin Highlands where this valuable educational centre is located. Local Council was never consulted as to this closure. Has Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, John Gerretson gone back on his commitment in his speech of June 8th, 2004 stating that municipalities would receive prior consultation on matters of mutual interest that affect all of our residents?
THE CLOSING OF THIS CENTRE IS A PRIME EXAMPLE of what I thought Mr. Gerretson was referring to. Why were we not contacted?
The Frost Centre has continued to expand in great strides in what it offers to both Ministry personnel and the public.
I therefore join with others to petition the The Dalton McGuinty Liberals to NOT CLOSE the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre!!!!!
Ron Mackenzie Mon Jul 12 11:23:39 2004
The government has ripped the heart out of Natural Resources by closing the Frost Centre. They say that education is not core business yet they continuely provide training out of the Macdonald and Whitney Blocks in downtown Toronto. They talk about results-based planning, show me what results are produced out of the MacDonald and Whitney Blocks. If it is money they want to save then have them close the Macdonald and Whitney Blocks.
Education is a part of our lives both inside and outside of work. The education provided by the Frost Centre is definitely core business as it provides vital awareness of our natural resources and how fragile they are to those who are not normally exposed to this so important information.
The Ministry of Natural Resources is the caretaker of our Natural Resources. The Government has disolved the Timber Branch, Wildlife Management and privatized most of our Provincial Parks. The Canoe routes of Ontario are no longer maintained and are in disarray and now this vital link to our Heritage, the Heart of Ontario's Natural resources, the icon of everything that Ontario's Natural resources represents will be closed and sold off like so much junk at a yard sale.
What will be next? The Ministry of Natural Resources no longer cares for OUR natural resources or takes care of them and in fact the Government no longer cares for OUR natural Resources. This is an extremely irresponsible move by an irresponsible government. The closing of the Frost Centre, this historic and vital facility is a criminal disgrace to the people of Ontario. An the Premier of Ontario should be held criminally accountable for his actions!!!
John A. Strachan Signed on: Mon Jul 12 14:23:57 2004
Graduated from Ontario Forest Technical College in December of 1962. Retired as aConservation Officer in June of 1993. Frost Centre has become the premiere training centre for conservation officers and others in North America. To close this centre would be a denial of our conservation heritage. :upset
Robert A. Ritchie, O Signed on: Thu Aug 5 15:04:49 2004
I was part of the last graduating class (1968) of forest technicians from the Ontario Forest Technical School which was closed in January 1969 in favour of forestry schools at Sir Sandford Fleming, Lakehead, et al. (When I revisited the Frost Centre a year or two ago I was able to show my wife all the photographs of all of the graduating classes of forest technicians which were still hanging in the lower basement hallway of the Frost Centre Main Administration Building.) Shortly afterwards it re-opened as the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre. My career has been built upon the training that I received during the 12-month period I was in residence at OFTS, and much of what I learned there I have been able to pass on to thousands of other people over the intervening years. To close the doors of this enterprise without giving the people of Ontario the opportunity to assist the Government of Ontario to find creative means to carry on its natural resources and environmental training functions is myopic at best. We elected you to represent us, but closing the doors of the Frost Centre is a slap in the face. I hope there is no hidden agenda for short-term gain when there is surely a long-term benefit to be reaped from an institution that has served so many so well.
Robert Ritchie
Parks Naturalist
The Niagara Parks Commission
Maurice Seymour Signed on: Wed Aug 4 11:06:27 2004
:( Not a broken promise this time, but a breach of trust.....
Letters of protest
U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research
Request that the Frost Centre not be closed today, July 13, 2004
To: Premier McGuinty
CC: David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources
Jim Bradley, Minister of Tourism and Recreation
Gerrard Kennedy, Minister of Education
Gerry Phillips, Management Board of Cabinet
We are writing to ask that you reverse your short-sighted decision to close
the magnificent facility in Haliburton County, the Leslie M. Frost Natural
Resources Centre. For many years the Frost Centre has offered environmental
and outdoor education opportunities to children and adults from across the
province. It is an integral part of the Haliburton Highlands community and
economy, and is a tourism highlight.
U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research works to assist organizations in
the Haliburton community to meet their research and planning needs. The
U-Links Management Committee is concerned about losing this valuable
resource in our community and is willing to offer assistance to implement a
process for discussions that promote positive options for community economic
and social development.
The Frost Centre suffered significant cutbacks from the Harris Conservative
Government and managed to thrive in terms of the programs and services that
it provides. If the viability of this facility has been in question, you or
other Ministers within the Ministries of Environment, Education and/or
Tourism could have been proactive in finding solutions to keep the doors of
this provincially significant cultural and natural heritage centre open. If
anything, additional funds would have been a wise investment years ago to
bolster rather than gut environmental education in this province.
The Frost Centre has the potential to be more not less than it is. With a
little vision, it could be a world-class centre for environmental education,
a shining example for other countries, in areas of stewardship, ecotourism,
protection and planning. There is also more potential for government courses
and conferences of all kinds to be held there.
We believe the decision to close the Frost Centre is detrimental to the long
term environmental health of this province. The Ministry of Natural
Resources has had a long heritage in environmental education and this needs
to continue now more than ever. The announcements have said that the
government is closing the Centre because it is costing the taxpayers of
Ontario $1.2 million per year. We believe that this money is well spent, and
equates to just a dime per person, with 12 million people in the province.
In fact, we believe that closing the Frost Centre will actually cost the
government money in the long run as the training courses currently held at
the Frost Centre will still need to be offered to MNR employees. To have
commercial operators provide this training will cost the tax payers a lot
more than the government currently pays through delivery at the Frost
Centre.
We are deeply disappointed in your Government's decision to close the Frost
Centre and even more disturbed with the way that this closure is taking
place. There has been no public consultation, no solutions considered or
opportunity for the community to be part of the process. We believe that
there are ways to keep the doors open, keep people employed and continue to
deliver the high quality environmental education programs that have been the
trademark of the Frost Centre for decades.
We respectfully request that you, Premier McGuinty, call a halt to this
closure at once so that there is an opportunity for people to come together
example of how communities, government and private enterprise can work
together to keep jobs in a community and maintain local control of a
resource (in this case, environmental education). But this kind of
creativity doesn't happen over night, it takes time and commitment on the
part of all parties to make it work. We are asking you and your government
to remain open to a process for change and not closure, and remain open to
the possibility of being partners in a new Leslie M. Frost Centre. The Frost
Centre is a very valuable resource to Haliburton County and has a strong and
loyal public that will step forth to provide support for a public
consultation process for change. We all know that it takes a great deal of
inertia to start things from scratch again if we are not far sighted and let
them go. It's much less resource intensive to maintain a state or condition
or even put it on hold until alternative arrangements and solutions can be
found and have an opportunity to manifest.
You and your government have an opportunity to do right by the environment,
environmental education in this province and the Haliburton County community
by putting the brakes on and taking some time to consult with this
community. We understand that you are in a position of fiscal
responsibility, however, we are asking you to consider more than the bottom
line here. There is an opportunity for a meaningful community economic and
social development process to take place that will benefit the people of
Canada for years to come. This community would be pleased to invite you and
other members of your government to come to Haliburton County, sit down at
the table and partner with us to create a solution that is acceptable to
all.
Sincerely,
The Management Committee
U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research
Box 655
Minden ON K0M 2K0
Phone: (705) 286-2411
Toll Free: 1-877-527-2411
ulinks@on.aibn.com
www.haliburtoncooperative.on.ca
From Sandy MacKay, Kushog Lake property owner
July 12, 2004
The Honorable Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
RE: Frost Centre Closing
Dear Premier McGuinty:
I feel compelled to write this letter in hopes of being heard on the subject of the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre. My property on Lake Kushog, adjacent to Lake St. Nora, has been in the family since 1930 and will be for many more years to come. Three generations of my family have benefited from the Frost Centre services in one form or another. My aim in writing is to give you some insight into a neighbor's perspective of your decision and as well some suggestions as to what might be done as an alternative.
The Ontario Liberal Government's decision to close the Leslie M. Frost Centre on Wednesday July 14, 2004 and particularly the way it has been handled is a classic demonstration of government arrogance. We thought the Dalton Liberals were to rise above this kind of behavior. Now, public perception is that matters of great importance to the public, such as this, are being handled by your government in secrecy bordering on blatant dishonesty.
The Ministry of Natural Resources spokespersons say they have prepared a business plan for operation of the Frost Centre in its role as the premier outdoor education facility in Ontario. They say it will lose over a million dollars a year. On this basis the Ministry says it must be closed and has branded the Centre as “not part of our core function” to make it sound like a logical move. They have done it without consultation, claiming that it was an internal government matter because other ministries use the facilities of the Frost for training. The timing of the public announcement and the hasty closing have been carefully orchestrated for damage control purposes. You will find out that a large portion of the population of this Province won't go along with it. Here's why:
A) The Services of the Frost Centre are educational in nature and unique. They are of tremendous benefit to Ontarians many of whom know only about grass, concrete and asphalt. This may be the only chance they have to develop skills and learn about and experience the outdoors in a setting which combines history with our natural heritage today. The Frost experience instills in them an interest in not repeating the mistakes of the past, but rather preservation and astute management of those natural resources that we possess in such abundance in this Province. This abundance sets us apart and educating the young today gives a future electorate that is better equipped to manage and value those resources. It is most unlikely that these invaluable and unique services could be delivered to the nearly 25,000 (and growing) clients per year somewhere else for anything like the million plus dollars claimed by the business plan.
B) The Business Plan used to rationalize the closure is flawed. Its aim clearly is to justify closure for claimed cash cost savings. The services of the Frost Centre are not delivered as a business per se. However let's look at the accounting used in the Plan. The “losses” claimed are strictly cash basis calculations. Other ministries use the services of the Frost and I understand that no cash exchange is involved. Have these services been valued and adequately reflected in the loss calculations? No attempt has been made to value the social impact of the services delivered. Nor has there been any attempt to assess whether the services are delivered efficiently by assessing the cost to government of alternative delivery systems. Businesses that are failing to profit from their business activity or break-even have to assess ways to reduce their costs or comparatively evaluate their services for pricing purposes. No well researched plan would fail to consider the alternative costs of delivering the service. The Ministries spokesperson I heard suggested that the services offered by the Frost could be delivered by others in other places. A proper evaluation of the cost to government of providing something like the outdoor education and training services (which can't really be duplicated elsewhere) would make the paltry cash cost, which is claimed to be triggering the closure, look like the best deal around.
C) Secrecy and dishonesty has shrouded the process around the decision to close the Frost Centre. Elaborate plans to close the Frost have obviously been underway for some time yet it was not made public until 8 days prior to the doors being shut. No attempt has been made to honour the educational bookings, group commitments and programs for this summer season, the active and likely profitable time for the centre. This will leave the clients high and dry and without recourse. In the week prior to announcing the closure, when asked outright if there were plans to close the Frost Centre the Minister lied by declaring he didn't know of any plans. Other related (Education and Tourism) Ministers when contacted declared they knew nothing of the closure. OPSU officials were reluctant to comment and declared ignorance in the face of mounting rumors in the week prior to the announcement. A decision of this impact and scope cannot be made without broad consultation among the stakeholders. This does not happen overnight. We, the voters are being lied to. Or maybe our provincial government is out of control and this really did happen that way, without public or internal consultation. Either way, it's not the kind of government we voted for.
D) The rationale used by the Ministry of Natural Resources to minimize the importance of the closure was to declare that outdoor education was “not a core function of the ministry” hence the centre had to meet the break even test or be scrapped. This is the kind of loose rationale that if applied to other ministries (take Health Care for example) would destroy some extremely worthy initiatives. e.g.: Public Health Care education for prevention of or early detection of disease. No matter how you look at it, education of the public about our natural resources is a vital factor for the Ministry. An electorate ignorant about natural resources is not likely to support the allocation of funding for Ministry activities. To fail to give the public an appreciation of what the Ministry's work is all about would eventually lead to its failure to compete with the other ministries for funding resulting in its inevitable decline. Not a winning strategy for a natural resource rich province.
E) A better solution can be found. There is no problem with the way the Frost Centre staff has delivered the services. In fact, they are to be commended because there may have been a distinct lack of proper direction from the Ministry and inadequate resource allocation for a service the Minister so undervalues. Since there are other strong crossover interests with Education and Tourism Ministries, why not get them involved brainstorming ways to improve the promotion and delivery of the services? Get the community involved through public consultation. There is lots of brain power out there. Create a service delivery plan that reflects a partnership of Ministries (e.g.: Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Education, Ministry of the Environment, Tourism Ontario) to support a viable and vibrant Frost Centre continuing to provide their invaluable service and protecting the history of our natural heritage. In the meantime keep the centre open and delivering outdoor education to clients who have booked for this summer season and the fall.
I hope this letter gives you some insight into how your constituents are feeling about the decision to close the Frost Centre near Dorset. Do not proceed with this. It is folly. The optics for your government is damaging. The logic is flawed. The process is flawed as well. The result for the employees and the community are tragic and long lasting. Ontarians are counting on you to do the right thing and find a way to keep the Frost Centre open. You can make this happen.
Yours urgently,
A.L. (Sandy) Mackay
Cc: Minister of Natural Resources
Minister of Education
Minister of the Environment
Minister of Tourism
From Russell Wonker, Owner, Miner's Bay Lodge
Miners' Bay Lodge
RR#1 Norland, ON K0M 2L0
Phone/Fax: 705-286-2978
E-mail: mbl@halhinet.on.ca
To: Premier Dalton McGuinty
By Fax: 416-325-9895
Date: July 10, 2004
I am writing on behalf of our business, which has served the tourist trade since 1938, and our guests (upwards of 250 a week). I cannot protest too strongly the closing of the Frost Centre and the manner in which your government did it.
The lack of consultation with the local community as well as the businesses affected is beyond comprehension for a government which claimed that it was going to be different! I will not go into the litany of broken promises except on this issue. I have reason to believe, from speaking to senior staff in the offices of the Ministries of both Tourism and Education, that they knew nothing of this action until it was taken. Indeed, all offices contacted, including your own, Natural Resources and Management Board, as much as denied any imminent action on the Frost Centre for over a week until after had happened.
As I understand it, the MNR Minister denied any knowledge only 8 days before the announcement and only got back to our local MPP within the hour of closing. One of his political staffers was honest enough with me shortly after the announcement but expressed a very odd tone for a public servant. When I expressed concern that there appeared to be no consultation - even with Education and Tourism - I was told “we had no need to consult, it's our facility”. She then told me, after I explained that 30 minutes earlier other departments knew nothing, that maybe she'd better call them.
My ongoing attempts to speak with your office have been less than satisfactory, although I have left requests for callbacks - as I have with MNR.
A senior MNR “media official” did call me saying she had been asked to by others. She was unable (as opposed to unwilling) to deal with my questions, as she said they were “political” and not within her purview.
Thus, I reiterate my concerns, and by extension and copies to Minister Bradley, Minister Phillips, Minister Ramsay, and Minister Kennedy confirm that I am not prepared to drop this issue until I have had the courtesy of a reply:
Was there real consultation with Education and Tourism regarding the adverse effect on those stakeholders in the province?
What analysis was made or discussions held to determine the “worth” of those agencies to the Frost Centre? i.e. were Kennedy and Bradley aware of how MNR's action would hurt their departmental constituencies?
Was there a full discussion in Cabinet of the issue or simply a pro forma submission by one Minister to close an entity within his own jurisdiction on the premise of saving money?
Was real costing done on this matter taking into account the added expense of transferring some service elsewhere, and the negative impact particularly on tourism and education?
Is it the general approach of your government (despite campaign promises) to have Ministerial staff arrogantly declare that “there was no need to consult”?
What was the urgency in the timing of your decision? It certainly appears that you waited until tourist operators were busy trying to make a living during the short summer season and teachers had all dispersed for the summer. Why did you not let the Centre run through the summer, contact all the stakeholders and see what solution might have been arranged short of total closure on short notice with Gestapo-type tactics?
What will be done with the art and artifacts which have been in the community for generations?
Do you really wish to “develop” this land as opposed to keeping it for all the citizens of Ontario?
It appears, Sir, that the action exemplifies all that is wrong with your government. The arrogance and non-consultation show that you are:
anti-educationanti-community
anti-business
anti-employment
anti-tourism
anti-conservation and environment, and
anti- common decency.
If you will not re-consider this issue, there at least needs to be an examination and dissection of what appears to be the anatomy of deceit.
Yours sincerely,
Russell J. Wunker
Miners' Bay Lodge
cc by fax/e-mail:
Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay 416-314-2216
|
Lindsay This Week 324-5694
|
Minister of Tourism Jim Bradley 416-326-9338
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Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce 286-6016
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Minister of Education Gerrard Kennedy 416-325-2608
|
National Post - Deborah Stokes -
416-442-2212
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Minden Times 286-4768
|
Norm Miller MPP - Norm_MillerCO@ontla.ola.org
|
Haliburton Echo 457-3275
|
Laurie Scott MPP - laurie_scott@ontla.ola.org
|
Toronto Globe & Mail 416-585-5085
|
CITY TV - Bob Hunter - news@pulse24.com
|
Toronto Star 416-869-4328
|
Carol Moffatt loghouse@halhinet.on.ca
|
Lindsay Post 324-0174
|
|
Dimes to Dalton
I am deeply concerned about the closing of this magnificent facility in Dorset. The Frost Centre has for many years offered environmental and outdoor education to children and adults from across the province. I believe the decision to close the Centre is short sighted and extremely detrimental to the long term environmental health of this province.
The announcements have said that the government is closing the Centre because it is costing the taxpayers of Ontario $1.2 million per year. I believe that this money is well spent.
Based on recent Statistics Canada figures, the population of Ontario is 12,280,731. We are, therefore, talking about an expenditure of 10 cents per citizen to keep the Leslie Frost Centre open.
To show my support for the Centre, I have established the “Dimes to Dalton” campaign. I am urging each person in Ontario to send the Premier 10 cents for each family member. In this manner, we will raise the $1.2 million necessary to keep the level of outdoor and environmental education at the present level…
I will appreciate any support that you will give this campaign.
Thank you.
Peter Taylor
409 Masson Street
Oshawa, ON
Canada L1G 4Z7
Telephone: 905-434-6037
Voice Mail: 905-434-8218
Fax: 905-571-6458
A Letter from Barry Devolin MP (Haliburton Kawartha Lakes Brock)
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 2:21 PM
To: dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca; minister@mnr.gov.on.ca; dramsay.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org; gerry.Phillips@mbs.gov.on.ca
Subject: LETTER FROM MP BARRY DEVOLIN - RE: FROST CENTRE
Thursday July 9, 2004
Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Hon. David Ramsey
Minister of Natural Resources
Dear Sirs,
As you know, the Leslie Frost Centre in Dorset has been a provincially significant facility and integral part of this area’s economy and social fabric for decades. Among its many uses, it serves as an outdoor education centre for school-aged children, a training facility for adults (including forest rangers and fire fighters), and as an important anchor attraction for local and regional tourism.
It’s for these reasons that I find it hard to believe you took any pleasure in the decision to close this important facility. To me, the only plausible explanation is that the Ministry of Natural Resources was asked by Management Board to identify a list of cost-cutting measures, and the Frost Centre was unlucky enough to find itself on a list created by accountants at head office, rather than by your own MNR field staff.
If this is the case, the hasty decision to close the Frost Centre is a mistake that might still be corrected – if an alternative operating model can be found that eliminates the ongoing financial obligation of the MNR to subsidize the operation of this facility.
I urge you to maintain the operation of the Frost Centre in the short-term, and to allow a community-based group (i.e. Friends of the Frost Centre) a few months to develop an alternative operating model for the facility – probably some form of partnership between the province, the county, the municipality and other community groups and individuals.
I am confident that the operating deficit can be significantly reduced by increasing operating revenues and decreasing operating costs if a community-based group takes over management and operation of the facility. As the local Member of Parliament, I will be pleased to offer my personal support to any such community-based group.
On this basis, I encourage you to reconsider your decision. If you are unwilling to grant the Frost Centre a full pardon, then I urge you to at least offer a stay of execution so that others might step forward to take over this important education and recreation facility.
Yours Truly,
Barry Devolin MP
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
Letter from Josh Matlow, School Board trustee, Toronto
Help save the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre!
Dear friends,
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has recently announced the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre. One of the reasons given for this action is that most Ministries have been directed to make funding cuts in order to finance healthcare and education, the priorities the people of Ontario have set for this government.
No longer is it part of the mandate of the Ministry of Natural Resources to provide a centre with a goal to “foster an understanding of ecosystems and how they can be sustained for future generations.”
Established in 1974, The Frost Centre was the first Outdoor Education Centre in the province dedicated to environmental and resource management education. The now defunct Frost Centre website read,
"The Frost Centre assists the Ministry of Natural Resources in delivering its core business by providing training opportunities for staff and a wide range of programs for students, educators, program delivery partners, outdoor partner groups and the general public. Courses are delivered from topics such as Awareness and Appreciation of Ecosystems, Understanding Ecosystems, Sustaining Ecosystems and Responsible Human Action. School group programs run the gamut of forestry, water, wildlife and fisheries management and include a variety of teacher led programs like orienteering, survival games, tree identification, shoreline explorations and geomorphology to name a few. In addition to the public education mandate for youth and adult outdoor enthusiasts, the Frost Centre is the principal training facility for the Ministry of Natural Resources providing special and mandatory training to MNR and the Ontario Public Service (ie; OPP)."
I believe that it would be fair to say that the Frost Centre supports the provincial government's commitment to making education the priority. It offers numerous opportunities to students, such as for visiting Grade 12 biology students from Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto, and many members of the general public to learn first hand, the importance of sustaining and managing our valuable resources. With respect to healthcare, funding for these types of programs is an investment in our overall quality of life. If educating environmental sustainability is not a mandate of the Ministry of Natural Resources, then we must ask, under whose watch will this mandate now fall?
Environmental sustainability, wise use of our resources and healthy Ontarians in healthy communities will only come about in the long term through education and by building on and developing and expanding programs that work. Programs such as those developed by the Frost Centre, perform an invaluable service by providing the “hands-on” education and training they provide.
If this is not a priority for the Ministry of Natural Resources, then it surely must fall under a coordinated effort by the Ministries of the Environment, Recreation and Tourism, Education and even Health. I strongly suggest that once the Ontario Realty Corporation, which will act like the property's Real Estate Agent, offers government ministries an opportunity to administer and finance the Frost Centre before offering it to other agencies or private companies, that there be a cooperative effort between these ministries to do this together, without one bearing the cost alone.
What you can do!
Please call Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources, David Ramsay at (416) 314-2301. Ask him to keep the Leslie Frost Centre open by encouraging partnerships with other government ministries in sharing the cost of keeping this invaluable Outdoor Education Centre open! Please lend your voice to defending outdoor education.
Environmentally yours,
Josh Matlow
Trustee, St. Paul's
Toronto District School Board
(416) 397-3094
www.joshmatlow.ca
Environment Haliburton's position from Heather Ross, President
sent to David Ramsey, Minister of Natural Resources, Gerry Philips, Chair of Management Board and Premier Dalton McGinty
Hon. David Ramsey
Minister of Natural Resources
Whitney Block
6th floor, Room 6630
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto ON M7A 1W3
July 8, 2004
Dear Minister:
RE: Closure of the Frost Centre
Environment Haliburton! is truly dismayed at your announcement of the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre on July 13. For decades the Frost Centre has been a centre of excellence in research, education and natural resource management.
The Frost Centre is the pre-eminent institution for the environmental education of Ontario's youth. Thousands of school children from through-out the province gain an early understanding and appreciation of our environment. Many of the children live concrete lives. The Frost Centre is their opportunity to learn, viscerally, that Ontario is more than large cities. There are no comparable alternatives in the province. The Ministry of Natural Resources Statement of Environmental Values holds management for sustainable development is its goal. Sustainability refers explicitly to future generations. Ensuring that these generations are naturally wise is basic to a sustainable future. Surely keeping such a centre open is in agreement with your government's stated priority of education.
The large land base of the Frost Centre is integral to the research needed to continue to improve integrated resource management practices. The Frost Centre is a much too valuable a data base to discard. Again sustainability is a mirage without data, information and research.
We understand that slightly over half of the training and educational work of the Frost Centre is with government employees. Does the proposed closure of the Centre imply that your employees no longer will be provided with training in the most current of resource management techniques?
Environment Haliburton! is appalled at your process in closing the Frost Centre. Your officials did not consult with Reeve Harrison of Algonquin Highlands or with Warden Bill Davis of Haliburton County. Is this neglect of the municipal level your government's commitment to a new way of involving municipalities? The Frost Centre is a large player in the admittedly small Haliburton economy. There will be a decided impact on the County including loss of jobs, loss of tourism, loss of spin-off benefits as well as the loss of a tremendously valuable resource to our community. Practically every day during the summer the Centre offers programs which are both educational and enjoyable. Thousands of adults and thousands of children become more environmentally wise citizens, thanks to their time at the Frost Centre. Sustainable development requires an educated populace and sustainable development in your ministry's core value.
Environment Haliburton! is astounded at the brutal treatment of your fine, dedicated staff. It is not acceptable to provide them with one week to adjust to the end of a career and it is insulting to tell them they need not come to work. Do you really think that the work these fine staff were conducting does not need to be wound down carefully?
Environment Haliburton! understands that the sole reason for closing the Frost Centre is financial. We suggest that, if this is the case, you keep the centre open for the next year and enter into a planning exercise with the local community, stakeholders, Centre users to find a solution.
We are not unfamiliar with the province privatising public institutions. A decade ago, the province sold the Bark Lake Leadership Training Centre to a private individual who was unable to make a success of the operation, despite a provincial loan greater than the cost of the facility. The Bark Lake centre is now about to become time shares and condos. Is this not your real objective in closing the Frost Centre? Is the closure really due to a $7million loss over 4 years or is it the vision of great profits that your government can accrue by selling off yet more of the provinces crown jewels?
Environment Haliburton! joins with others requesting that you visit our community, explain to us, in a public meeting, why you feel the Centre must close, establish a team to develop a plan for the future of the Centre and keep the Centre open while we all work together to keep this extraordinarily important facility open.
Yours deeply angered
Heather Ross, President
c.c. MPP Laurie Scott
This letter was emailed to all MPPs in the province by Cathy Olliffe
Dear (MPP):
Yesterday we learned that the provincial government will close the Leslie M. Frost Centre in Haliburton County. An integral part of this part of the world, it is important for so many reasons: historical; education; MNR training; police training .... the list goes on. For more information, please visit www.environmenthaliburton.ca.
The people of Haliburton and Muskoka are not giving up the fight. We want the government to change its mind and find some way to keep the Frost open. Perhaps partnerships with other ministries and other levels of government could be forged. The Ministry of Education, The Ministry of the Environment, the District of Muskoka, Haliburton County, the Township of Algqonquin Highlands, the Township of Lake of Bays, the Trillium Lakelands Board of Education and other, private stakeholders would likely be interested.
Please let me know how you stand on this issue, if you are willing to work to keep the Frost open.
We see it as a short-sighted financial decision that does not take into account the intrinsic value of educating people about our natural world.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say,
Cathy Olliffe,
olliffe@sympatico.ca
Replies from MPPs
Dear Cathy,
The information I have received indicates that the closure of this facility was a financial decision related both to operating and capital dollars.
The intention is for the Ministry of Natural Resources to concentrate on core ministry programs such as forest fire fighting, forest management, fish and wildlife management, and crown lands and water management among others.
Thank you for your interest in this issue.
Bill Mauro, MPP (Liberal)
Thunder Bay-Atikokan
Kathleen Wynne, MPP (Liberal)
From: kwynne.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org
To: olliffe@sympatico.ca
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 2:32 PM
Subject: RE: Frost Centre closure
Dear Ms. Oliffe,
Thank you for your email regarding the Frost Centre. It is my understanding that the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has closed the Frost Centre - a heavily subsidized training facility - because the management of the facility is not a core function of the Ministry. The Ministry will focus on the delivery of programs such as forest management and forest fire fighting (public safety), fish and wildlife management, Crown lands and waters management and a parks and protected areas program. The final day for the Frost will be July 14, 2004.
This difficult decision is a purely financial one. MNR has been subsidizing the Frost Centre users at a cost of $1.2 million per year. In addition to that, if the government kept the Frost Centre, significant capital and infrastructure spending would be necessary to maintain it, such as: building maintenance costs, cost to upgrade water treatment facilities and costs to hire water and sewage operations service providers. Estimated capital and repair costs between now and 2008 are over $4 million. By closing the Centre, the MNR will save $7 million over four years to put towards key, priority government functions.
Many different options were explored before settling on the closure of the Frost. The Ministry also considered the status quo, full cost recovery, seeking new markets and private-public partnerships. None are viable. Substantial investment would be required to facilitate public/private partnerships. Such money is not available. Over the time it would take to arrange such partnerships, major upgrades or repairs would probably be required. New markets would put the centre in competition with the private sector and raising fees were likely force clients and users to go to other locations. The Frost Centre as it is now could not compete on the open market.
The lands and buildings of the Frost Centre are owned by the government of Ontario. The Ministry will decommission the property and it still will be transferred back to Management Board Secretariat through the Ontario Realty Corporation.
Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC) has advised us that the next steps for the buildings and land after MNR has decommissioned the facility, are that the property will be declared surplus and will enter ORC's Portfolio. ORC then follows strict disposition guidelines and procedures. This would include examining all options and circulating the property to other Ontario government ministries and other levels of government. If no one expressed interested then ORC would engage a broker and put it up for sale for fair market value.
The Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre has a long history and is thought of fondly by many different former client groups, including local residents, school children, and the Ontario Public Service. I will continue to advocate with my colleagues to ensure that this land remains in public hands.
Thank you for sending me your concerns.
Kathleen
Robert W. Runciman, MPP
From: PCRUNCIMAN
To: olliffe@sympatico.ca
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 1:24 PM
Subject: response to your e-mail
Cathy, I support the fight. This is essentially a vindictive and short-sighted political move in an opposition held riding. This kind of attack on opponents is becoming commonplace with the McGuinty government.
Yours truly,
Robert W. Runciman, MPP (PC)
Jerry Ouellette MPP (PC)
Cathy,
Thank you for sharing your e-mail regarding the closing of the Leslie Frost Centre. As a long time user of the Frost Centre, I share your disappointment and anger over this government's secret decision to suddenly shut the place down.
As Natural Resources critic for the Official Opposition, Mr. Ouellette is saddened by the lack of concern for outdoor education values that the government has shown by this action. Moreover, he is alarmed that the Liberals made this decision quietly, at a time when parliament is on summer recess, without any public input at all. In addition, he is disappointed that the Liberals would punish the residents of an opposition held riding for political purposes. Mr. Ouellette will continue to work with his caucus colleagues to urge the government to reconsider its assessment of the Frost Centre and search for ways to allow it to continue to operate.
I am including Mr. Ouellette's press release on this issue. Hopefully, with continued public pressure, the government will back down on its decision.
Regards,
Paul Barta
Executive Assistant
Jerry Ouellette MPP (PC)
Frank Klees MPP (PC)
July 19, 2004
The Honourable David Ramsay
Minister of Natural Resources
6th Floor/Whitney Block
99 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1W3
Dear Minister Ramsay:
I have heard from many of my constituents who are greatly disappointed with your government's decision to close down the Leslie M. Frost Centre.
The Frost Centre has been at the centre of outdoor education for Ontario's children for many years. Education and appreciation of the outdoors has led to an increase in healthy lifestyle choices for many of Ontario's youth. The children of lower income and inner city families who cannot afford to get out of our cities will be the most affected by this rash decision.
Your government has stated that they are going to transform public service to focus on the priorities that matter to the public. I think it would be safe to say from the media generated by this closure and the many calls and letters being received at constituency offices across the province that the public is speaking. They are saying “Don't close the Frost Centre - it is important for our children and for our future”. An educated public with an appreciation of our natural world is the biggest investment we can make in the future of our environment.
Your government won the election on the promise that education and health would be a priority. The Frost Centre definitely falls within your governments mandate to make education a priority. On behalf of my constituents I am requesting that you reconsider the closing of this educational facility and keep the promise of making education a priority.
Yours sincerely,
Frank Klees, MPP
Oak Ridges
The Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queens Park
Toronto, Ontario
M7A1A1
July 30, 2004
Dear ____________
Thank you for writing to me regarding the closure of the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre. I appreciate the time you took to share your views with me.
Over the past several months, my colleagues and I asked Ontarians to tell us what their priorities are. We sought public input through citizens' dialogues, Budget town halls, pre-Budget meetings and online participation. The people of Ontario were clear in telling us that they want better public education, more accessible health care, a more vibrant economy, stronger communities and a greater say in the democratic process.
Based on what we heard, our government is transforming public services so we can concentrate on the priorities you and your fellow Ontarians value most - and give you the results you asked us to deliver. But, in light of the tremendous deficit we inherited, one much larger than anticipated, we need to refocus our efforts on core ministry programs and businesses to make that happen. Getting there means making some very tough decisions. The decision by the Ministry of Natural Resources to close the Frost Centre was one of them.
Our government recognizes that the Frost Centre has a long history and we are proud of its contribution over the years. Given the current fiscal realities in our province, closure was the Ministry of Natural Resources' only viable option: it has been pouring $1.2 million per year into the training centre and is simply no longer able to sustain the heavy subsidization of a program not directly aligned with one of its core functions. Closure of the facility will result in savings of $7 million over four years - savings that will go directly toward key, priority programs crucial to improving quality of life for all Ontarians.
Despite the challenges we face, our government remains committed to achieving the results Ontarians deserve. I support the Ministry of Natural Resources' efforts to better align funding toward those results.
I hope I have been able to shed some light on the reasons for a decision that was not easy, but necessary. Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me. Your input is always welcome.
Yours truly,
Dalton McGuinty
Premier
Candlelight Vigil
Hi everyone.
There is a candlelight vigil planned for tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 8
p.m. at the Frost Centre on Hwy. 35. Please park your car across the
road in the empty parking lot. Bring your own candles, musical
instruments, speeches, prayers. We will be honouring the Frost Centre,
the people who are losing their jobs, the community members who will be
hurt, our memories of this place and our hope that the Premier will
change his mind and save it. We have been given permission to be on the
site; the security guards will be watching us -- we don't have
permission to go inside the buildings. We do have permission for a fire
in the fire pit. Bring marshmallows, your best singing voices and lots
of bug dope. The police have been notified also that we are planning a
peaceful vigil.
Please pass this message on to any email list you may have or any people
you may know that want to participate.
Cathy Olliffe
Saving the Leslie Frost Centre: Will You Help?
Tim Grant, , 9 Jul 04
Greetings all! After weeks of rumours, an Ontario government press release on Wednesday (July 7th) announced that the Leslie Frost Centre - Ontario's most venerable outdoor education centre - will be closed as of Tuesday, July 13th! In cooperation with the local community, a handful of us have launched a letter-writing campaign and we are asking for your help with this important effort.
If you are willing to (1) write a letter or send an email to the Ontario government protesting this week's decision to close the Leslie Frost
Centre, and/or (2) recruiting 4-8 friends to do the same, please hit "reply" and let me know.
Our ability to reverse this decision is dependent on sending many letters and emails over these next few months.
What follows is information about the closing, arguments against the closing, letter-writing instructions, and finally additional information about the Leslie Frost Centre.
CLOSING THE CENTRE
Located in the Haliburton area, 3 hours NE of Toronto, the 83 year-old Centre has provided education and training for over 250,000 Canadians. Both Interpretation Canada and the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) held their first national conferences at the Centre. (Given its national stature, letters and emails from across Canada
are especially welcome.)
Officials with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) now say that maintaining an education and training facility is outside their
recently-redefined "core" activities. With government cutbacks driving the process, they claim that the closing will save $1.2 million annually. But they neglect to mention that they also estimate that the MNR will now be spending $3-4 million annually to provide employee training elsewhere.
I believe that this is a winnable issue "IF" David Ramsay, the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources receives at least 400 letters and emails in the coming weeks, protesting the closure. I also believe that the Ministry is vulnerable on each of three following main arguments against the closing:
1) Countless school, community, private and university groups book the Centre for education programs every year. The number of bookings has
increased every year since 1996. The Centre raises about $500,000 of its $1.7 million annual budget from these bookings, roughly equal to the costs associated with them. The provincial government is not subsidizing these groups. Their use of the Centre strengthens the environmental knowledge base and education of all those that use it. Losing the Centre means that fewer Ontarians will have the opportunity to learn about the natural environment in a natural environment.
2) The largest group of Frost Centre users are the Ministry's own staff. Closing the Centre will undermine the quality and quantity of MNR staff training. On June 30th, the MNR redefined its core services as being those that "protect green space and expand Ontario's parks and protected areas, enhance opportunities for renewable energy, ensure source water
protection and safe drinking water, foster sustainable community economies in the north with public and private sector partners and …continue activities which serve a vital public interest, such as regulatory activities and actions related to health and safety or public security."
While it is also estimated that the MNR will need to spend $3-4 million annually to provide employee training elsewhere, many believe that the increased expense will mean that less training overall will take place. How many hotels have large collections of specimen fish, mammals and other native species or a room full of computers to aid with MNR trainings? How
many conference facilities have a nearby forest marked with study plots that serve as aids for courses in habitat management, forest science and
biodiversity monitoring? While hardly luxurious, the Frost Centre's indoor and outdoor facilities provide and unparalleled training
opportunities, both for civil servants and other groups.
One can only conclude that the closing of the Centre will mean that the quality and quantity of the MNR's staff training will diminish. As a
result, the ability of MNR staff to fulfill its new "core" activities will almost certainly be undermined. This is a continuation of the downsizing of important public sector activities that Ontarians endured for eight years with the previous Conservative government.
3) Why would the Ministry wait until summertime and then announce that the
Centre will be abruptly closing 6 days later? Why throw employees out of work during the Centre's busiest season and inconvenience countless groups that had booked the facilities? Why did the government not want to allow the Centre's staff and the local community to find alternate funding to keep this well-used facility open and available to the public?
The newly-elected provincial Liberal government campaigned for, and has since promised "enhanced democracy" as one its priorities. The abrupt closure of the Frost Centre - and the planned speedy dispersal of its valuable assets - was calculated to catch the public off-guard during the summertime, and to lessen the chances of opponents to overturn their decision. It undermines the democratic process. We can't let them get away with their efforts to avoid public discussion.
Allowing the Centre's staff and it supporters six to twelve months' time to find other funding partners and/or establish an independent non-profit centre, would have been a responsible course of action. Given the Centre's 83 year history and its importance to Ontario's development during those years, the abrupt closing was irresponsible.
LETTER-WRITING
Given the issues, I believe that the provincial Liberal government is vulnerable on this issue. But they will only change their mind if enough
people - about 400 people in this case - write letters or send emails in the coming weeks and months and remind them of their responsibilities.
Please use any of the above arguments, or others drawn from the additional background information found below to craft your letter or email message. If you can, take a few extra moments to send a slightly different message to each of the following individuals:
Hon. David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources
E-mail: minister@mnr.gov.on.ca
Fax: 416-314-2301
Hon. Gerry Phillips, Chair, Management Board of Cabinet
E-mail: gerry.phillips@mbs.gov.on.ca
Fax: 416-327-3790
Hon. Dalton McGuinty
E-mail: Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca
Fax: 416-325-9895
Hon. Jim Bradley, Minister of Tourism and Recreation
E-mail: jbradley.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Fax: 416-326-9338
(If you live in Ontario) Your Local MPP Contact info is available through www.gov.on.ca (Click on "Contact Us" tab at top)
The good news is that the local community around the Frost Centre has been VERY vocal and active in their opposition. In addition, all the members of the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario and the Ontario Society for Environmental Education have now been asked to write letters and send emails. The members of EECOM and Interpretation Canada are in the process of being contacted to do the same.
The Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce has also created an on line petition people can sign at www.experiencehaliburton.com.
I am hopeful that our collective efforts will force the government to change their decision, thus enabling the Frost Centre to re-open and
continue its valuable work.
So that we can keep track of the number of letters and emails sent to the government, please let me know if you are willing to (1) send a letter or email, and (2) corral 4-8 people into also writing to the Minister.
I thank you in advance for your assistance with this important effort.
Cheers,
Tim Grant, Co-editor, Green Teacher magazine
PS. If you would like to receive detailed information about the Centre's illustrious 83 year history - the information that the MNR removed from its website earlier this week - just ask!
-----------------
Background Information - Leslie. M. Frost Natural Resources Centre
1. The Frost Centre's mission is to provide "A quality learning environment dedicated to training and educating people in sustaining
ecosystems" This directly supports Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources vision of the sustainable development of natural resources and its commitment to insuring ecological sustainability.
2. Frost Centre has provided residential learning experiences to approximately 250,000 people since it's opening in 1974. It has also
provided day use programs and hiking, skiing, and canoeing opportunities for many thousands of other users. It has served both youth and adult
clients including MNR and other government staff; elementary and secondary school students; youth groups; colleges and universities; educators; adult and family groups, special interest groups; non-government organizations and the private sector.
3. The breakdown of current client use was as follows:
MNR/other Government staff - 50%
Schools/youth/educators - 40%
Other/ interest groups/NGO - 10%
Actual use for O3/O4 was 25,151 residential user days. Bookings for current year are higher to date than same time last year. Use of Frost Centre has been increasing steadily since 1996.
4. The Centre employs 35 staff, 5 fee for service educators, and numerous contractors and suppliers. Two cooperating associations - the Friends of the Frost Centre and the Ski Friends of the Frost Centre.
5. Current budget is 1.7 million. It generates over .5 million I revenues. It is estimated that it would cost 3-4 million dollars to train MNR staff in other locations.
6. It provides a significant tourism "product" for the Haliburton and Muskoka - providing 25 km of ski trails, 12 km of hiking trails an and a
prime canoeing area containing 60 lakes within a 24,000 acre demonstration area.
7. Prior to becoming the Frost Centre in 1974, the centre started in 1945 and operated as the Ontario Forest Ranger School and later the Ontario Forest Technical School. 2005 is its 60 anniversary as a learning institution. It is important part of the heritage of MNR and the Ontario Government.
8. Over the years the Frost Centre has gained a reputation as a leader and innovator in environmental and outdoor education. It has hosted many conferences and events including ones that resulted in the formation of the Council of Outdoor Education of Ontario, Interpretation Canada and the Canadian Network of Environmental Education and Communications (EECOM). Beyond serving its clients it contributed to environmental education at a
provincial and national level in the areas of curriculum development and strategic planning for environmental education. Currently UNDP and CIDA is funding a feasibility study to develop a similar learning Centre in the Kamchatka region in Russia.
9. For many people there is a strong "sense of place" - the Frost Centre being a special and beautiful setting to gather, share and learn. Many people have been touched in some way by the Frost Centre experience.
10. Frost Centre has won many awards including the Amethyst Award, the highest award within the Ontario Public Service, for excellence in environmental and natural resource management education.
11. In addition to the education positions at the Centre the MNR has also surplused its provincial education coordinator at its head office demonstrating its lack of commitment to public education.
Closing the Frost Centre would:
1. Displace staff and thousands of clients
2. Significantly impact the local economy -Haliburton is the second most economically depressed area in Ontario
3. Compromise MNR's ability to sustain ecosystems - more expensive training and less training of MNR staff and partner
4. Endanger the heritage of the Centre, MNR and the environmental education movement in Ontario - loss of documents, artefacts and stories
5. Bring into question the government's priorities for education, health and community development
-------------------------------------------------
Tim Grant, Co-editor tim@greenteacher.com
Green Teacher (magazine)
95 Robert Street
Toronto, ON M5S 2K5
(416) 960-1244, fax (416) 925-3474
www.greenteacher.com
U.S. mailing address:
2045 Niagara Falls Blvd. Unit 7
Niagara Falls, NY 14304-1675
[Date]
Letter written by Carolynn Coburn to the Premier
Dear Premier Dalton McGuinty,
Re: International Meeting on Protection of the Great Lakes
and
Re: Closure of the Frost Centre
I offer the following bit of creative writing which could be true:
Excerpt from History of Ontario in the 21st Century
First published in 2050
The year 2004 was the year that Ontario took the first significant steps towards the sustainable society we have today.
Faced with increasing extremes in weather events (both flash floods in urban areas caused by "once-in-a-hundred years" rainfalls and droughts causing forest fires and crop failures), with threats to headwaters and ground water sources, and with increasing health care costs due to environment-related illnesses, the people and the government finally recognized the commonality of these problems.
The incident that accelerated the change in direction was the closure of an outdoor education centre in south-central Ontario. Initially, the closure was considered inconsequential. The ministry in charge of the property, the Ministry of Natural Resources, considered the centre to be a training centre for ministry personnel, the function of which could be carried out in other facilities. The newly-elected Liberal government was facing financial pressures, and had given the ministry orders to cut some of its costs. It appeared that the centre was costing approximately a million dollars a year.
To the surprise of the government, the closure sparked a province-wide debate. It became clear that the centre was more than just a training centre. The centre had a large public, province-wide presence. During the previous thirty years approximately one-half of its function had been education of the public: school children and the public in general. The thrust of that education had been teaching an appreciation and understanding of the natural environment. For many children from urban centres, it was their first personal experience of the forested part of Ontario. It was difficult to quantify the value of this learning, and that value had been overlooked when the benefits had been measured against the costs.
The initial objections were the usual: lost jobs, an integral part of the community. The government was relatively immune to these voices. Someone had to take the cuts, and that particular part of the province had benefitted from the protection of a powerful politician in the previous government. It was their turn.
However, there was an unexpected unison of voices from a wider constituency, indeed from across the province and from traditionally opposed sectors. The objections came from groups as diverse as Earthroots, an activist environmental group, and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, as well as from numerous associations of educators.
Coincidentally, in the same month as the centre was closed, the Premier attended a meeting focussed on another environmental problem: protection of the Great Lakes. On his return from that meeting, the connection between the health of the Great Lakes and the many environment-related challenges facing his government and the work being done by outdoor education centres became clear. The smart way to approach all those challenges was to incorporate an appreciation and understanding of the natural environment in every person in the province.
The Premier ordered that the process of disposition of the outdoor education centre be suspended. He initiated a broad consultation process: the old artificial jurisdictional boundaries of ministries were ignored; he insisted on an analysis of all ministry programmes in terms of their relation to other ministries and their recognition of environmental effects. Academics, educators and grass-roots organizations were given opportunities to contribute their best ideas.
Within the next four years, the change in attitude was showing results. People’s behaviour changed. There was more co-operation with the government when it tried to implement energy-saving programmes. There were fewer objections when it imposed regulations designed to protect the environment. At the next election, the new way of working was sufficiently clear to the electorate that the government had no difficulty distinguishing itself from the other parties, and being re-elected.
(End of chapter)
Mr. Premier, I have no children of my own. I care passionately for everyone’s children, and grand-children, and for the natural environment on which we all depend, one way or another. This is not a self-interested plea.
You have been given an opportunity to do something really innovative and significant. Please take the time to consider all the voices you are hearing before you decide the future of the Frost Centre.
Sincerely,
Mary Carolynn Coburn
P.S. I understand you pay more attention to hand-written letters. I still work for a living, and I just cannot afford more time to re-write this letter today. I gave up yesterday to go to Toronto on the bus to protest the closure of the Frost Centre. Please consider this letter to be hand-written!
I also understand that letters sent in an envelope via Canada Post are more effective. However, I sense that this matter is urgent, that you may be making a decision imminently. That being my sense, I am sending this by fax as well.
Rally songs
Tune: This Land is Your Land
Play
Words by Dave and Jan Heaven
(Chorus)
This land is your land
This Frost is my land
From Lake St. Nora to Red Pine Island
In Haliburton
Our precious Northlands
The Frost is made for you and me.
Our students learning
Our planet saving
Our kids canoeing
Snowshoeing, skiing
And people hiking
Their souls are soaring
This land is saved for you and me.
(Chorus) ...
Now we are losing
Our place in history
We see before us
Our centre going
Please lead us leaders
To stop this madness
Please save this land for you and me.
(Chorus) ...
Last line: This land is made for you and me.
Frost Centre Learning
sung to the tune of Frosty the Snowman
Play
words by Zoe Chilco
frost centre learning
is important to be whole;
for so many years,
it has been the gears
of our education's goal.
busloads of school kids,
through the seasons as they come,
taking nature's way
with them every day,
to ignore it is just dumb.
a resource that is used by all
it can't depend on luck;
it teaches what we need to know
way beyond the mighty buck.
frost centre learning
teaches us to love the earth;
politicians' scenes
don't include the means
'cause their brains
don't see the worth.
"no!!" to the closing -
it is much too high a cost;
we must never swerve,
we must say "preserve!"
and refuse to see it lost.
WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE FROST!
- zoe chilco
MEDIA ADVISORY
August 9, 2004
MAJOR FEDERAL AND PROVINCIAL ORGANIZATIONS JOIN FORCES IN OPPOSITION TO FROST CENTRE CLOSURE
HALIBURTON - Environmental, education, labour and business organizations, as well as politicians and prominent environmentalists such as David Suzuki, have endorsed an open letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty urging him to reconsider his decision to close the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in the Haliburton Highlands. The Centre is Ontario's foremost outdoor education facility.
Circulated by Perma-Frost, a group lobbying to save the Frost Centre, the open letter will be released at a press conference in Toronto.
When: Tuesday, August 10
Time: 11 a.m.
Where: Queen's Park Media Studio
The Ministry of Natural Resources closed the outdoor education centre on July 14, reportedly to save $1.2 million annually.
Contacts: Dave Heaven 705 286-6655
Doug Smith 705 286-4924
Carolynn Coburn 705 754-9859
Open Letter Media Press Release
August 10, 2004
DAVID SUZUKI “MAD AS HELL”
World-renowned environmentalist joins education,
labour and business groups in support of the Frost Centre
TORONTO- Environmental, education, labour and business groups today urged Premier Dalton McGuinty to re-open the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in the Haliburton Highlands. To date, sixty organizations, representing over a million Ontarians, have endorsed an open letter to the Premier, opposing his government's decision to close the internationally acclaimed environmental education facility.
Some notable individuals have offered their personal endorsement. Dr. David Suzuki is one of these. The host of CBC's popular science programme, The Nature of Things, says he is “mad as hell”about the Centre's closure.
Dr. Suzuki has high expectations of the new Ontario government. From earlier talks with the Premier and the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Suzuki noted that “Both of them have led me to believe they understand and support my message. So it is a real shock to see what they have decided with the Frost Centre. It goes against everything I thought they would represent.” Commenting on the government's cost-cutting rationale, Dr. Suzuki says that he understands it will take heroic efforts to reduce Ontario's deficit, “But $1.2 million is a tiny saving and its symbolic significance is huge.”
Located in the village of Dorset, Robinson's General Store draws vacationers from all over cottage country. Brad Robinson, the proprietor, reports that his community is also in shock at the government's decision. “Finally they get something right,” says Mr. Robinson of the Centre, “and now they've closed it down.” Mr. Robinson points out that the Frost Centre benefits the local economy in numerous ways that the government did not take into account. With the Centre gone, he wonders how many area businesses will get by.
Organizations as diverse as Canadian Wildlife Federation, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Federation of Ontario Cottagers Association, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, Ontario Public Service Employees Union, and Earthroots have all signed the open letter.“The breadth of support for this unique educational facility is astounding,” said Jane Veit, a member of Perma-Frost, a group lobbying to save the Frost Centre. “We are confident the Premier will respond to the support and act accordingly.”
The Frost Centre opened in 1974 as “the Ontario public's window on natural resources management” to teach the sustainable use of resources and stewardship of the environment.
In later years, it also provided a key location for MNR staff training.
-30-
For further information: Dave Heaven, 705-286-6655; Carolynn Coburn, 705-754-9859
PERMA-FROST
P.O. Box 1002 Minden ON K0M 2K0
T: (705) 754-9859 / F: (705) 754-9860
http://savethefrostcentre.ca
____________________________________
AN OPEN LETTER TO PREMIER McGUINTY
_________________________________________________________
August 10, 2004
Premier Dalton McGuinty
Legislative Building
Queen's Park, Toronto
Dear Premier McGuinty,
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, urge you to reconsider the decision to close the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre in the Haliburton Highlands.
Set in a wilderness of forest and lakes, the Frost Centre is known and valued by Ontarians from all walks of life. While the Centre's original purpose was ministry training, it has since developed into a signature site that inspires and educates the people of our province.
In 1998 the Ontario government bestowed an Amethyst Award, the highest recognition for public service, on the Frost Centre for the quality and scope of its programs.
At the Frost Centre, adults and children alike have learned the importance of sustaining our natural resources for future generations. From their training at the Centre, many visitors have chosen to become stewards of the environment and advocates for environmental protection.
Frost Centre programs are unique in the province. They focus on natural resources
management, including the sustainable use of resources and resource conservation. Students learn about the need to balance resource utilization with environmental protection. Through hands-on, outdoors experience, students gain a deep respect for the land and the resources upon which we depend.
The Frost Centre has provided children raised in the city with their very first immersion in unspoiled nature. For many new Canadians, the Frost Centre has fostered an appreciation of our natural heritage.
The government's closure of this vital facility on very short notice with no public consultation has sparked widespread dismay and strong opposition right across the Province. Educators, area businesses and residents, environmental groups and individual citizens have all spoken out against this decision.
While the government may realize a minor saving, the Province will lose an educational resource that has earned international acclaim. In addition, the Haliburton Highlands, with the second-lowest per capita income in Ontario, stands to lose more than thirty decent-paying jobs. Already local businesses are hurting from the loss of tourism dollars.
Mr. Premier, during the last election you promised to reverse the deterioration of Ontario's environment. At that time you presented yourself as the future “education premier.” To close the Frost Centre surely contradicts both these commitments.
Education is more than rote learning. It involves a growing understanding of deeper realities, an understanding which can transform one's way of being in the world. In essence that is what the Frost Centre provides. We must not - and need not - lose it.
Mr. Premier, you have the opportunity to demonstrate to Ontarians that you care about sustaining a healthy and vibrant Ontario for our children and for future generations. By reconsidering the decision to close the Frost Centre, you will help achieve an outcome that truly reflects these ideals.
Yours truly,
Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association (OECTA)
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF)
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO)
Ontario Professional Foresters Association
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH)
Ontario Nature - Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON)
Ontario Trails Council
Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association (ORCA)
Federation of Ontario Cottagers Associations (FOCA)
Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)
Earthroots
The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario (COEO)
Environmental Education Ontario (EEON)
Green Teacher (the magazine)
Ontario Society of Environmental Education (OSEE)
Ontario Association for Geographic and Environmental Education (OAGEE)
Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO)
Canadian Nature Federation
Canadian Wildlife Federation
Sierra Club of Canada
CPAWS - Wildlands League
Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP)
Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists
Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM)
Association for Canadian Educational Resources (ACER)
Environmental Defence Canada
Interpretation Canada
Centre for Sustainable Watersheds
Outward Bound Canada
Township of Algonquin Highlands
Town of Bracebridge
Town of Huntsville
Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce
Minden Business Association
Environment Haliburton!
Muskoka Heritage Foundation
Friends of the Frost Centre
Trillium Lakelands Elementary Teachers' Local
Haliburton County Development Corporation
Haliburton County Community Co-operative Inc.
U-Links Centre for Community-based Research
Outdoor Centres of the Haliburton Highlands
Haliburton County Snowmobile Association
Haliburton Highlands Trails and Tours Network
Haliburton Highlands Field Naturalists
Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
Haliburton Highlands Stewardship Council
Westwind Forest Stewardship Inc.
Robinson's General Store, Dorset
Glenside Ecological Services Ltd.
SIRCH Community Services and Consulting
Brampton Environmental Community Advisory Board
Friends of Lasting Outdoor Education, Ottawa (FLOE)
Willow Park Ecology Centre, Halton Hills
Boshkung Lake Property Association
Gull Lake Property Association
Horseshoe Lake Property Association
Mountain Lake Property Association
Halls and Hawk Lakes (Haliburton) Property Owners Association Inc.
Paudash Lake Conservation Association
St. Margaret Island Cottage Corporation
And the following individuals:
Irene Atkinson, Trustee and Budget Chair, Toronto District School Board
Donald G. Coates, Councillor, District of Muskoka
Ted Chudleigh, MPP, Halton
Peter J. Ewins, D.Phil., Director, Arctic Conservation, World Wildlife Fund - Canada
Howard Goodman, Trustee, Eglinton-Lawrence, Toronto District School Board
Charles Hopkins, Chair, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), York University
Jean Iron, Retired Principal, Toronto Catholic School Board
Diane Lawrence, Adjunct Professor, Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, Queen's University
Bruce Litteljohn, former Director, Norval Outdoor School of Upper Canada College
Mark Lowry, Instructional Leader, Geography, TDSB
Josh Matlow, Trustee, St. Paul's, TDSB
Rosario Marchese, MPP, Trinity - Spadina
Elizabeth May, Executive Director, Sierra Club of Canada
Norm Miller, MPP, Parry Sound - Muskoka
Ron Pittaway, Co-editor of Ontario Birds
Ross Rigney, Reeve, Township of Minden Hills
Jacob Rodenburg, Executive Director, Camp Kawartha & The Kawartha Outdoor
Education Centre
Richard C. Rosche, President, Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York, Inc
Laurie Scott, MPP, Haliburton - Victoria - Brock
Dr. David Suzuki, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia
Rick Telfer, Trustee, Toronto - Danforth, TDSB and a Director and Alternate Vice-Chair,
Ontario Public School Boards' Association
John Tory, Leadership Candidate, Ontario PC Party
John H. Wadland, Professor, Canadian Studies Programme, & Acting Chair,
Dept of Political Studies, Trent University
Alison Wong, Student Trustee, 2003-2004, Toronto District School Board
John Yakabuski, MPP Renfrew - Nipissing - Pembroke
Lynn Zimmer, Executive Director, YWCA - Peterborough, Victoria, Haliburton
Philips Agrees to Frost Centre Review
August 17, 2004
Haliburton County Echo
by MARTHA PERKINS
Gerry Phillips, the cabinet minister now responsible for the future of the
Frost Centre, has apparently agreed to a six- to 12-month review process
before any decisions are made about selling the former natural resources
facility.
"Maybe I'm naive but Gerry Phillips is a nice man and I think he wants
what's best for the community," says local Tory MPP Laurie Scott after a
meeting with the Chair of the Management Board. "There is no chance of
re-opening it the way it was. I think they felt it was a Ministry of Natural
Resources decision and they weren't moving from it... but [the discussion]
was very positive. It didn't seem like he wanted to sell it off.
"I think the outcry has had an impact," she adds. "They want to do the best
thing. They can't re-open it but are willing to work with the county on a
process of determining the best use. There are hundreds of groups who are
interested in what happens to the Frost; that's a lot to go through."
"There won't be any fire sale," says Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal, a Liberal,
who was also at the meeting with Phillips, along with Northumberland MPP Lou
Rinaldi, a Liberal, and Muskoka/Parry Sound MPP Norm Miller, a Conservative.
"Everyone left in a positive mood."
Phillips said that an environmental assessment would look at the existing
water and sewage facilities to determine what capital investments would have
to be made to ensure it meets regulations.
Phillips told Scott that the review would take up to nine months and no
decision about the Frost would be made before then. He also said he would
set up a meeting with county politicians, who have asked for one year and
$100,000 to come up with alternatives for the centre.
Warden Bill Davis says Phillips, who is a Highlands cottager, has told him
that a meeting will be arranged but no date has been set. Davis said that it
might take place during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario
conference in Ottawa later this month.
"[The government] is looking for prospective partnerships," Leal says, "with
the notion that perhaps Haliburton County be the lead [agency of a]
consultation process to bring all stakeholders together.
"The Ontario Realty Corporation, [which is now responsible for the Frost and
which Phillips oversees], could lease the property back to a group or groups
interested in keeping it going. I happen to know there may be a number of
non-profit groups who may be interested."
As an example, Leal said the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters,
which ran many programs at the Frost, would be interested in renting space.
Scott says the county should be part of what happens to the Frost Centre but
shouldn't be expected to take it on.
Both Scott and Leal say this is not the time for partisan politics. They
want everyone working together the good of the Frost.
"I think from time to time there are issues that we can work co-operatively
on," says Leal, whose riding has many ties with the Frost Centre through
OFAH, Sir Sandford Fleming College and the Ministry of Natural Resources.
"That's the responsible thing to do."
Scott says "We're doing this in a non-partisan spirit of co-operation. I'm
not happy that the Frost Centre closed but we have to move on."
She hopes that Operation Perma-Frost, which has mounted a province-wide
appeal to keep the Frost Centre open, is also involved in the review
process. "They deserve a lot of credit for getting attention to the closure.
I hope they have participation because they've done a lot of work and have
been a conduit for a lot of different groups."
McGuinty to Queen's Park. It contained signatures of 61 organizations that
represent more than one million members, including the Sierra Club of Canada
and the World Wildlife Fund.
(Top)
Reasons to Hope
Editorial, Haliburton Echo, September 21, 2004
Cautious optimism is a good response to the formation of a new Frost Centre committee. Comprised of two representatives from Haliburton County, two from Muskoka and two well-connected "outsiders", the committee's job is to come up with a viable management plan to re-open the Frost.
Most Highlanders don't know much about the two Muskokans, councillor Margaret Casey and retired Gravenhurst clerk Ken Veitch but both appear to have a history of "getting things done." They also have a deep commitment to the Frost which, while not being in Muskoka, is an important part of that region's economy, too.
Brian Desbiens, who in Newfie talk is "from away," is a prize catch. As the recently retired president of Fleming College and head of the Ontario Council of Regents, he is a multi-tasker extraordinaire. More than that he balances his passion for education with an eternally good mood. He a nice and effective solution-seeker, just the perfect combination needed to overcome the anger that resulted from the province's decision to arbitrarily close the educational facility early this summer. With Fleming's natural resources programs Dr. Desbiens is also already very aware of what groups might be called on to help manage the Frost Centre. We're lucky to have him on our side.
Lindsay businessman Greg Walling has been following the Frost Centre travails through the pages of The Echo since day one. Although he's well-connected to the Liberal party he recognizes that the Frost Centre closure was handled improperly. His forte is helping groups find innovative ways to make or access money. A volunteer with many non-profit organizations in Lindsay, his financial expertise has been strongly valued as he's helped to make those organizations stronger by making them more economically viable.
Here in Haliburton County, Algonquin Highlands Reeve Eleanor Harrison comes by her occasional feistiness naturally. She has proven to be a strong defender of the things she believes in, and she passionately believes in the Frost Centre. At county council she's sometimes been a lone (female) voice during debates but she's not afraid to make her opinion known. While some politicians questioned involving Muskoka in the fight to save the Frost she saw the benefits of having as many voices as possible speaking out on the issue. She sees Muskoka as an ally, not a threat.
Warden Bill Davis reportedly worked the crowd on the Frost Centre's behalf at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference earlier this month and as reported in this week's Dysart briefs he's always on his cell-phone with provincial officials, too. Davis has been the county's spokesperson as it demanded meetings with cabinet ministers - two of whom have cottagers in Dysart et al - to try to come up with alternatives to the closure. He can be tenacious.
We now have a two-pronged effort to save the Frost. This committee will come up with alternative ways to manage the Frost, most likely by forging partnerships with non-profit organizations. Members have basically given up on the hope that the province will re-open the centre. That hope is being kept alive by Operation PermaFrost which is undiminished in its commitment to make the government change its mind. It wants the government to honour its duty - to the citizens of Ontario and the province's natural resources - by reinstating funding. Both approaches are welcome, both can be effective. If they worked together the government won't know what hit it.
Committee to Find way to re-open Frost Centre
Haliburton Echo, September 21, 2004
Operation PermaFrost is “cautiously optimistic” that a new committee set up by Gerry Phillips, the Chair of the Management Board, will come up with a plan to see the Frost Centre open its doors once again.
“We're optimistic because the government seems to be genuinely trying to work out a solution that will speak to the real concerns of the people of this province,” says Dave Heaven, a spokesperson for Operation PermaFrost which has been lobbying the province to re-open the Ministry of Natural Resources' education facility south of Dorset.
“But,” he adds, “we're cautious because we don't yet know the terms of reference they're going to use, what will be involved in the work plan, the `agendas', if any, of the committee members, what those members understand about the real imporantce and value of the Centre and even if we will be able to contriburte or have any input into the process.
“We can only assume we'll have input since the government has said firmly that it wants to be more open and responsive to the people and to the communities.”
At least one of the six committee members welcomes the involvement of PermaFrost in the process of bringing together new partners to manage the Frost Centre.
Greg Walling, a Lindsay businessman with Liberal ties, says that PermaFrost is one of the groups that will be consulted.
“Maybe you can take the Frost Centre and make it better,” he says of his goal. “It's an important part of our environment. And if you do something unique and make it more self-sufficient, then it gets off the radar screen once it comes to budget trimming.”
The five other committee members are Haliburton County Warden Bill Davis, Algonquin Highlands Reeve Eleanor Harrison, recently retired Fleming College president Brian Desbiens, District of Muskoka Councillor Margaret and Ken Veitch, the retired clerk of Gravenhurst and chairman of the Muskoka Stewardship Council.
They will be reporting to Liberal MPP Jeff Leal of Peterborough, who will be acting on Phillips' behalf. Not all of the committee members were available for comment.
Yesterday some of the committee members met with Finance Minister Greg Sorbara. One of the issues discussed was how much the province will give the committee to undertake the review. The county has asked for $100,000.
“I think we'll be told we have x-number of dollars,” Davis said on Friday, adding that the group will have to be accountable for all the money it's given.
Davis says he's “very optimistic” about the outcome of the process, which could take up to a year. “I know there are some organizations out there that will come forward. I see it as a group of compatible groups taking it over.”
Perhaps the government will agree to a $1 a year lease, Davis says. “I would like to see the Frost Centre stay public and the government continue to own it.”
The main task will be to ensure the Frost Centre is viable financially. “The last thing this county wants to do is come up with a recipe for disaster.”
Davis says the committee's formation honours the county's request to be given an opportunity to come up with a locally-driven solution to the closure of the Frost Centre rather than have it sold off to private interests.
When David Ramsay, the Minister of Natural Resources, announced the closure of the Frost in late June, he said the province could no longer afford to maintain the education and training facility. He said the move would save the province $1.4 million but groups such as PermaFrost put the number much lower because the Frost Centre was almost operationally self-sufficient.
The public was outraged not only by the closure but by the speed and haste in which it was done. All programs were cancelled from the day of the announcement on and staff were told to immediately start packing up the centre's contents. The building was abandoned, except for hired security, two weeks later.
For weeks The Echo ran letters protesting the closure and protests were held locally and at Queen's Park.
In a previous Echo article MPP Leal says his government handled the decision to close the Frost Centre badly and said he would work with the province to come up with a solution.
Greg Walling says “I think even Liberals admit this wasn't done properly. There's an asset there are regardless of what happens the value of that asset has to be maximized, and I'm not just taking about its financial value. We have a bunch of money invested there as taxpayers.
Walling founded the StarChoice satellite business and now volunteers for many non-profit organizations in Lindsay. “I'm a funding guy,” he says of his efforts to help the groups, such as the Boys and Girls Club, raise money.
In an article in the Huntsville Forester, the chairman of the District of Muskoka, Doug Adams, says he recommended Margaret Casey as a committee member because “she has taken a keen interest in the Frost Centre. She has been involved in educational programs there, as well as her children.”
Adams says that his other recommendation, Ken Veitch, “chairs a stewardship program, so he is chairing a non-profit organization and has some experience with an educational facility that is run up in Algonquin by the association that he chairs.”
Veitch, he says, has a history of “getting things done.”
October 12, 2004
Ontario Hansard
Ms Laurie Scott (Haliburton-Victoria-Brock): This past summer, while the Legislature was not sitting, the Liberal government made a decision to close one of the most valued outdoor centres in the province.
The Leslie M. Frost Centre has provided the surrounding community, and indeed the province, with irreplaceable education and stewardship programs for decades. The Frost Centre was closed with one week's notice. I was astonished that a government that purports to care about the environment and education would move so quickly to close the Frost Centre with no public consultation and no concern for its employees or the public it serves, including the 5,000 children who were scheduled for programs at the Frost Centre this year.
Over the past several months, I have received nearly 15,000 names on petitions and countless letters and calls from concerned constituents. I am sure that many members on both sides of the aisle have heard from their constituents as well. Later today, I'm going to start tabling some of those petitions.
It's not just individuals who are very concerned about the Frost closure. A group of concerned Ontarians, Perma-Frost, presented a letter to the Premier after the closure. Over 60 groups and individuals signed it. Educators, environmentalists, unions and businesses all joined together, calling upon Dalton McGuinty to reconsider.
Later this week will be the first meeting of the local working group that was formed as a result of the pressure brought to bear in the wake of this government's short-sighted, arrogant and rash decision. I am grateful to the government for finally realizing that they needed to act, but I'm concerned about the fact that, since the closure, the decommissioning of the Front Centre's assets has continued. No matter what the working group concludes, their jobs will be harder, because it will have to rebuild many programs from scratch.
I wish the working group well, and I know that they will listen to the voices of the people who have benefited and developed a strong attachment to the Frost Centre over the years. I hope the government provides the working group with the resources they need to do their job well.
Clear Lake World Heritage Site good argument to revive Frost Centre
Haliburton Echo
By Steve Galea
Making Algonquin Highland's Clear Lake Conservation Reserve a World Heritage
Site would provide additional reason for re-opening the Leslie M. Frost
Centre, say Dr. Alicja M. Zobel and retired professor Dr. James Nighswander.
Both internationally-known scientists have asked the Director-General of
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre to consider the Reserve for a World Heritage
Site designation.
The 1,500 hectare area lies within the Leslie. M. Frost Centre's 37,000
hectares of crown lands, and is "recognized internationally for several
unique reasons," the scientists say.
Canning Lake resident and Eminent Scholar Emeritus Orie. L. Loucks,
Nighswander and Zobel, now a Professor of Lublin, Poland's Medical Academy,
have studied different aspects of the region since the 1960s.
Their call for the World Heritage Site nomination pre-dates the Frost
Centre's closure. But Loucks says that the arguments supporting this
prestigious designation have accumulated over the last 40 or so years and
have to do with the fact that the area is essentially as it was prior to
settlement.
Serious research of the area began in the early 1960s when one of Loucks'
students at the University of Wisconsin wanted to study an all-aged hemlock
forest that was unaffected by man, an overabundance of deer, or forest fire.
Though such sites remain rare, some stands within the Clear Lake area fit
the bill perfectly.
It was quickly recognized that they held hemlocks up to 450 years old that
were ideal for core samples. These enabled scientists to learn more about
critical environmental issues such as global warming and precipitation
trends. Now these stands are one of the key areas in North America to
collect this sort of data.
At approximately the same time, Nighswander and Dave Schindler (now widely
acknowledged as one of the best chemical limnologists in the world) decided
to study an undisturbed watershed with no outside influence. They chose
these the waters of the Clear Lake area.
What followed was a comprehensive limnology of Clear Lake in 1970. Now an
"internationally recognized and classic scientific paper," their findings
gained widespread popularity and acceptance when a baseline watershed was
needed to assess the affects of acid rain 10 to 15 years later. Loucks calls
the paper, "terribly significant in the research and investigation of acid
rain."
Of similar importance was the recognition that nearby Blackcat was a
meromictic lake - the largest of only three in the greater Ontario area.
Loucks says, "Among other things, these lakes are very deep in comparison to
their width. (Blackcat is 47.5 metres deep and barely a quarter mile
across.) As such they act as a natural test tube. We can learn a lot from
them."
The configuration of a meromictic lake and its surrounding topography
prevents it from turning over in the spring as other lakes do. In Blackcat,
for instance, any water deeper than 33 metres does not circulate and is
continually deprived of oxygen. As such, there is no decomposition.
Scientists consider this important because core samples of undisturbed
sediments on the bottom of the lake can provide an accurate historic record
of climatic and cultural changes of that area. Approximately one in 500
lakes is meromictic and no other in Canada is surrounded by such a venerable
hemlock forest.
As if these things aren't important enough to win the World Heritage Site
designation, Zobel also points out that the unique region holds a wealth of
important medicinal plants, some found in few other places. And Loucks
suggests that there are other culturally and biologically significant
aspects such as a 20-acre beech forest where nearly every tree has bear claw
marks on the trunks.
"Where else will you see this? It's part of our heritage. Bears have been
using this stand for countless years. But some trees remain untouched; how
do they know to avoid these ones?"
Because of all these things, the province awarded the site Conservation
Reserve status in 1994, protecting the area from commercial mining and
logging. This designation does not go far enough, however, to protect the
integrity of this unique area, according to Zobel. She sees a proliferation
of canoe routes, camps sites and ATV usage as threats.
World Heritage Site status would curtail this.
Zobel, who at the time of the interview had just discovered that she had
been awarded a Collaborative Linkage Grant from the North Atlantic Treat
Organization to do more research on the area, envisions a new role for the
Frost Centre.
"It could be a gateway for researchers and the public into a World Heritage
Site."
Having recently returned from other World Heritage Sites in Eastern Europe,
she was impressed with the respect and protection they were accorded. She
believes that this role as an interpretive centre could be a significant
revenue generator for the Frost Centre.
Nighswander adds that though one of the reasons that the Frost Centre was
closed was the cost of upgrading existing septic and well systems, the Frost
Centre could be revived as "a showcase, teaching people how to minimally
impact our waters. Limited flush toilets, for example, fewer
water-dependent appliances and state of the art sewage systems could teach
people how to have the least impact near water. "
Loucks says that it will take up to three years before any decision has been
made about whether the Clear Lake Conservation Reserve is deemed worthy of
World Heritage Site status. In the meantime, the scientists remain
optimistic.
What does the future hold for Frost Centre?
Committee hires Huntsville based David Gibson to help it come up with a business plan that will inject new life into facility abandoned by the province
By MARTHA PERKINS
January 04, 2005
Haliburton Echo
The future of the Frost Centre is “an open book,” but David Gibson is optimistic that it will have a happy ending.
“I feel strongly that we have to think about what the new entity will be and not what it was,” says the Huntsville consultant who’s just been hired by the Frost Centre working committee to help it come up with a new management plan for the natural resources facility. It’s been boarded up since July, when the Ministry of Natural Resources announced that teaching about the environment and how to use its resources wisely was no longer a core service.
“It will change for sure,” Gibson said in a telephone interview on Thursday. “This is not a battle to get the government to pick it up again. We’ll be creating something new that will have shades of the old Frost Centre, but we will be building on its strengths.”
Even though he was hired just before Christmas, Gibson doesn’t need much time to familiarize himself with the Frost Centre. He worked there from 1989 to 1996 as the education extension co-ordinator. It was his job to encourage professional educators to bring their students of all ages to the Frost, as well as organize conferences and other events.
His background in outdoor education and team building training extends to Quebec and British Columbia, and he’s worked for such organizations as Outward Bound. He’s written for the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Wildlife Canada as well as a curriculum for teaching about species at risk. Since then he’s run his own consulting business, David Gibson Learning Associates. One of his current projects is helping to organize a conference in Huntsville on sustainable forestry.
“He has an excellent reputation in outdoor education,” says Brian Desbiens, one of the working committee’s six volunteer members. “His proposal included an excellent model on how to go about problem solving.”
When the committee discussed hiring a facilitator in early December it was felt that since it had less than a year to come up with a business plan, it didn’t have the time to meet with each proponent separately. Gibson’s job is to research various working models and come up with some ideas of possible partners. He will then cull through these and provide the committee with suggestions.
“We want to cast the net wide at the beginning,” he says. “We need help making this successful.”
With his background, he says, “I have a good sense of what goes on in the province and beyond in terms of what we can look at.”
One of the first places where he’ll look for ideas is Quebec. There are some outdoor education centres that were once owned by the province and turned over to other organizations. “Twenty-five years later they’re still running. They found ways of doing this and diversifying what they have to offer.”
He’s already talked to some organizations that were dismayed by the province’s decision and while they may not be interested in taking over management of the facility, they could certainly be potential clients ÿ as could the provincial government. “It’s a question of coming up with a model that’s economically feasible. That’s the key to the whole thing.”
Gibson’s first formal meeting with the committee is on January 5 at the county council chambers.
Operating costs led to Frost Centre's demise
January 17, 2005 - © 2005 Haliburton Echo
Martha Perkins
The ongoing operating costs were what did the Frost Centre in, an assistant deputy minister with the Ministry of Natural Resources told the Frost Centre working committee on Wednesday.
“It was losses on the operating side but over time there are replacement costs,” David De Launay said, referring to the aging buildings. “Then there are just investments in capital [such as a new water system, projected at $2.1 million.] It all adds up to something that’s not sustainable.”
De Launay was asked what factors went into the MNR’s decision to close the Frost.
“The short story is the fiscal issues within government,” he said. “The costs were draining on ministry so we made for us a very difficult decision.”
He brought with him a detailed account of the costs of running the Frost Centre and while he and the other representative from the ministry would talk about the numbers in general, the specific amounts were disclosed in a closed session with the committee.
The committee is very worried about those costs. Before it can find a new owner for the facility it must have an idea of the fiscal pressures.
Asked if the province expected to make any money from the sale of the facility, De Launay said “Our bottom line is being accomplished now [by searching for a new owner.] The benefit we’ve gained is we’re saving operating costs and future capital costs.”
Hubert Labelle, the Ontario Realty Corporation’s vice-president account executive, said “the driver in any business case is what’s best for the taxpayers of Ontario.” However, what’s best for taxpayers also includes “helping a community take an asset like this and develop it.”
That’s why the ORC “decided to allow” the committee “of community leaders” to find a new owner rather than take on that role itself.
Asked if the MNR would be a partner in any new ownership profile, De Launay said “never say never but it’s one of the reasons we got out of it.”
The buildings “are at the end of their life cycle” and there are stricter new water and sewer regulations to deal with. “I don’t want to give any illusions that we’d be a willing partner on capital expenditures,” the assistant deputy minister said.
However, Larry Davis, the MNR’s acting director of the finance and business services branch, said that the $2.1 million upgrade of the Frost’s water system wasn’t going to be an MNR responsibility. That “bill” was going to fall under the management board as owner.
Then why, committee member Margaret Casey asked, was the MNR so concerned about the cost?
De Launay repeated that it was the ongoing operating costs which drove the decision to close the Frost Centre, not the projected capital costs.
Davis was asked which programs at the Frost were the most successful. “If we want to look to the future we want to build on success,” committee chairman Brian Desbiens said.
Davis said that his branch of the ministry ran the facilities, dormitories and kitchen so he couldn’t comment on what programs brought in the most money. “The fact that we had the same number of students returning every year spoke to the fact that we were offering something good.”
He also noted that the programming offered to MNR staff was free since it didn’t come out of their budgets.
Asked if the ministry ever looked at finding other partners, De Launay said it did. As well, he was employed by Fleming College’s Lindsay campus when the college looked at taking over the Frost Centre. The college didn’t think it was feasible.
Committee member Greg Walling said it didn’t seem as if the ministry had done an extensive job in looking for partners and other solutions.
“We’re struggling with this at other locations,” De Launay said, citing Ramsay Lake in Sudbury. When other ministries were approached about taking on the Frost, “there wasn’t high interest. No one said, ‘We’ll take that over tomorrow.’”
Would the MNR use the Frost for training sessions?
The ministry is trying to make more use of existing facilities, such as the Macdonald Block in downtown Toronto, De Launay said. But “could we be a user [of the Frost Centre]? That’s a possibility. You’d have to look at a range of possibilities and deals…
“There is partnership potential depending on services but we’d have to have a good business case to make us a larger partner than that.”
He also noted that some of the training the ministry used to provide, such as that for forest firefighters, is now being done by outside agencies such as colleges.
Desbiens asked if the MNR felt it had any responsibility to provide outdoor education.
“The specific answer is yes,” De Launay said. “The general answer is how. We do it in a far more limited way.”
The MNR, for instance, is relying more heavily on its website for providing general information. There are also local stewardship councils to help with public education and awareness.
Barrie Martin, a former staff member who’s been auditing the meetings, said that the ministry didn’t put a dollar value on public education. “That wasn’t part of the calculations.”
Politicians do factor in such values, De Launay said, but they are always forced to make tough decisions. “It not questioned that public education is a bad thing to do. It’s an important thing. But it’s where we’re going to put [limited resources.]”
On a personal level, he says the Frost did some very good work in the past on public education. “I see it as a loss. Would we go back [to managing the Frost]? No… There were just intrinsic, intangible things that you can’t replicate.”
He stressed, however, that “we absolutely want to work and will work with the committee.”
Desbiens asked if the Frost Centre had any skeletons in its closet, any hidden problems that would take a new owner by unpleasant surprise. “We don’t want to get blindsided,” he said.
“There are challenges for anyone coming in there,” De Launay said.
Davis said, “I think we’ve been good stewards of the site.”
The committee also asked the MNR representatives of anyone who has expressed interest in the Frost. Davis noted that representatives of Outward Bound had visited the site, having not known of its existence before.
The committee met with three government officials in private to go over the detailed cost analysis.
Ontario Government Brings the Outdoors to the Classroom
Launches Nature Education Website
TORONTO, Jan. 13 /CNW/ - The Ontario government is helping young people
learn about the province's natural environment and discover Ontario's great
outdoors with the launch of an interactive website, Natural Resources Minister
David Ramsay announced today.
"Campsite24 features exciting interactive games and activities that make
it fun for young people to learn about environmental protection, plants and
wildlife, and Ontario's magnificent provincial parks," said Ramsay.
The Ontario Parks' website is also a handy resource for teachers,
complete with ready-to-print lesson plans, activity sheets and background
information. All content is based on Ontario's curriculum guidelines for
grades two to six.
Website users can navigate through the online campsite and take part in a
scavenger hunt, zooming through a provincial park on a 3-D adventure while
searching for wasps' nests, old cross-cut saws, binoculars, wolf tracks and
much more. The site's visitor centre offers a virtual resource library full of
activities, games and information for a school project or for fun. The
ParkPals section features interactive games that explore nature.
"Teachers will find the site user-friendly, with lessons and print-outs
ready to use in the classroom," said Jennifer Baron, teacher at the Sibbald
Point Outdoor Education Centre. "Both teachers and students will really enjoy
the way Campsite24 blends the curriculum with natural heritage education, and
presents activities that are fun, interactive and educational."
Visit Campsite24 at www.campsite24.ca or www.OntarioParks.com and click
on either the kids' or teachers' link.
Backgrounder
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAMPSITE24 WEBSITE
Campsite24 is an interactive, educational website designed to help young
people learn about Ontario's provincial parks and natural resources, and the
importance of a healthy natural environment. The website is also an excellent
resource for teachers, complete with ready-to-use lesson plans and activity
sheets for grades two to six.
Features for students
---------------------
- ParkPals: Students can learn about amphibians, birds, reptiles,
mammals, insects, fish, wildflowers and trees through the park pals
feature.
- Visitor Centre: The virtual visitor centre includes a resource
library full of activities and information that may come in handy
for a school project or just for general knowledge.
- Time Machine: Students embark on an exciting adventure through time
to visit and analyse objects from four different time periods.
- Scavenger Hunt: Students zoom through parks on a 3-D adventure to
test their sleuthing skills while they search for items such as a
wasps' nests, an old cross-cut saw, binoculars or wolf tracks. The
search provides a learning experience about all the things that can
be found in provincial parks.
- SuperIntendent (coming soon): The park is set to open, but a whole
list of tasks needs to be completed before visitors arrive. The
student plays the role of superintendent, and must restore habitat
for species at risk, set up an interpretive trail, get rid of
invasive plants and open up a campground - before time runs out.
Features for teachers
---------------------
The teacher's section has lesson plans focused on Ontario Parks themes of
nature, culture and recreation. Teachers can click on specific grades and
topics and choose from a variety of engaging, ready-to-print lesson plans,
activity sheets and background information.
Campsite24 is available in French and English.
Disponible en français
www.mnr.gov.on.ca
www.OntarioParks.com
For further information: Media calls only, Ginette Albert, Minister's
Office, (416) 314-2212; Steve Payne, Ministry of Natural Resources,
(416) 314-2103; Ron Speck, Ministry of Natural Resources, (705) 755-1720
Campsite24 no substitute for Leslie M. Frost Centre
January 14, 2005- press release
Norm Miller, M.P.P.
Bracebridge
Yesterday, the government launched its interactive, education website, designed to help young people learn about Ontario's provincial parks and natural resources and the importance of a healthy natural environment. The site is called Campsite24.
"This is just the kind of thing I would expect from this government.
First they close the Frost Centre where real children have a real experience with the real outdoors and then they try to replace it with an interactive website," said Miller on learning of the website. "There is no substitute for the real thing."
Jacob Rodenburg, Executive Director of the Kawartha Outdoor Education Centre and Camp Kawartha agrees, "We believe it is especially important for youth to be able to engage in outdoor learning, to get their hands dirty and see first-hand how incredible the natural world can be. In an increasingly urbanized landscape, we are worried that more and more people are finding the outdoors frightening.
Commenting on the decision to close the Frost Centre, Natural Resources Minister, David Ramsay said that it was not in his ministry's core business to provide education. However, Campsite24 was designed as an education website for students and a resource for teachers. "How can the Minister say he doesn't have the funds for the Frost Centre and then develop and maintain this website," questioned Miller?
The Liberal government closed the Leslie M. Frost Centre on July 14, 2004.
Thousands of school children from across the province have learned first hand about the importance of conservation and sustainable development at the Centre.
For more information:
Norm Miller, M.P.P.
705-645-8538
888-267-4826 norm@normmillermpp.com
THE ONTARIO GOVERNMENT'S NEW WEB SITE: CAMPSITE 24
“A Connection Failure Has Occurred”
Grant Linney, President Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario (COEO)
The Ontario Government's latest venture into cyberspace (announced last Thursday January 13th) is called “Campsite 24.”
At first, caught up in the swirl of excitement concerning this bold new initiative (it has not as yet been reported in the Toronto newspapers),
I wondered whether this was a spin-off from the hit TV series “24.” … Could Counter Terrorist Unit Special Agent Jack Bauer be dashing about Ontario Parks saving innocent and helpless campers from unimagined, dark and menacing horrors just in the nick of time?
Or, could this be “Campsite 2-4,” that quintessential of Canadian pastimes, you know, when beer commercials celebrate all those virile and fun loving young men with their fawning and hip young women as they “party on” in the Great Canadian Outdoors. (Fellow canoe trippers will recognize what this campsite looks like next day, week, etc.)
Well, as you can imagine, curiosity was getting the better of me and, so, I boldly went to www.campsite24.ca … but then the unthinkable happened. My computer screen stared back at me with the unfeeling words: “A connection failure has occurred.” (I did not realize at the time just how apt and prophetic this response was.) I tried again, only to be rebuffed with the same harsh reply. Fighting back my disappointment, I googled “Campsite 24,” and two pages of references magically appeared before me, and yes, I was finally able to enter the site.
I spent a good hour browsing through “Campsite 24.” I noted its pedagogical base and curriculum links. I even downloaded a number of instructive and well laid out Activity Sheets (Grades 1 to 6) that I may be able to use as an extension to my teaching at the Norval Outdoor School.
And, then, I returned to the government's press release, with its headline “Ontario Government Brings the Outdoors to the Classroom” and its sub-heading “Launches Nature Education Website.” No, you guys, you've got that wrong … big time. Before you can bring the outdoors to the classroom, you must bring the classroom to the outdoors … you know, like you used to do before you closed the Leslie Frost Natural Resources Centre, and like you should be doing by supporting outdoor education in every school board in the province. Before you can expect children (and teachers) to make meaningful use of a nature education website, you must provide them with hands-on, educator-led experiences in nature. There is absolutely no substitute for direct, first-hand encounters with and within our natural environment.
And, that's why my computer's initial response to a search for nature education on a government web site still rings so true: “A connection failure has occurred.”
Toronto Star Letters about Campsite 24
Campsite 24
Last Thursday, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) introduced the wired world to Campsite 24, a web site designed to teach children about the natural environment.
But wait just a darn minute. Didn't the MNR close the Leslie M. Frost Centre last July because, as Minister David Ramsay repeated over and over ad nauseum, education was not a "core function" of the MNR? Which is it? If the MNR is not in the business of education, then why the heck does it have this new web site?
Aside from being a blatant faux pas on the part of this ministry, the web site is also not doing anywhere near as good a job as the Frost centre when it comes to educating kids about nature.
Cathy Olliffe, Carnarvon, Ont.
Re: What's the reason for new website?
Letter, Jan. 18.
Education is one of Ontario Parks' four core objectives. In 2004, 10,483 unique natural heritage education programs were offered in 45 different parks across Ontario. More than 436,000 people participated in these programs. In addition, more than 1 million people participated in self-guided trails and visitor centre experiences in Ontario's provincial parks last year.
Campsite24.ca is a new website that I am particularly proud of, created by Ontario Parks. Campsite24.ca is not meant to replace outdoor environmental education, it is meant to inspire outdoor environmental education. This innovative website makes parks available to everyone across the province at any time. It encourages visits to parks and allows children to build on the education they may have already received at a park.
Public Internet access makes natural heritage education available to all children, even those whose families may not be able to afford a trip to a park or an outdoor education centre.
Campsite24.ca also has a teachers' section which includes lesson plans on various natural resources topics. Campsite24.ca is available to millions more children than the Frost Centre was able to serve. Thanks in part to corporate sponsors, the website is operated at a fraction of the cost.
David Ramsay, Minister of Natural Resources, Toronto
re:Website inspires outdoor education
Letter, Jan. 19.
I find Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay's letter quite distressing. Before you can bring the outdoors to the classroom, you must first bring the classroom to the outdoors.
Before you can expect children and teachers to be "inspired" to make meaningful use of a natural heritage education website, you must first provide them with hands-on and educator-led experiences in nature.
Minister Ramsay's claim that Campsite24.ca is able to serve millions more than the Leslie Frost Centre (which the provincial Liberals closed last July) is meaningless.
Surfing the net and being immersed in outdoor education experiences are simply not in the same ballpark.
Grant Linney, President,
The Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario, Georgetown, Ont.
(Top)
I nformation Forums to discuss Future Funding of HHWT
The Haliburton Highlands Water Trails Committee (HHWT) in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the Township of Algonquin Highlands will be hosting Public Information Forums on the following dates and locations.
Date Time Invitation Location
Feb. 19, 2005 1pm-3pm Groups/Youth Camps Stanhope Community Centre
Mar. 5, 2005 1pm-3pm Commercial Club 35, Halls Lake - Hwy 35
Apr. 16, 2005 10am-12pm General Public Stanhope Community Centre
May 21, 2005 10am-12pm Property Owner Assoc.'s Club 35, Halls Lake - Hwy 35
June 4, 2005 1pm-3pm General Public Dorset Recreation Centre
The Information Forums will provide information and seek public comment and suggestions on a proposal to develop and implement a user pay/reservation system for recreational users of the HHWT's management area, with the objective of creating a sustainable self-funded system in support of the long term recreational management of the area. Those activities include the maintenance and capital infrastructure of canoe routes, campsites, portages, access points and forest access roads specifically within the 26,985 hectare area historically known as the Frost Centre Area.
The HHWT's initial funding came from Ontario's Living Legacy Program which ended in 2004. As a result, the Township, HHWT Committee and MNR are working together to be able to continue the HHWT Program to ensure that access to recreational opportunities continues and that the natural beauty and health of the Haliburton Highlands is sustained.
The Haliburton Highlands Water Trails Committee is made up of various stakeholder groups and individuals, including business and government bodies dedicated to the conservation, preservation and management of Crown and Municipal lands and their associated back-country recreational opportunities within the Haliburton Highlands.
The purpose of the committee is to provide assistance to the Township of Algonquin Highlands and the Ministry of Natural Resources in the protection, preservation and management of the area canoe routes, campsites, associated portages and access points.
In 2000, the committee was formed out of concern for the increasing environmental impacts of intensive use of the terrain and waters of local ecosystems.
For more information about these meetings or the HHWT, please contact:
Mark Coleman, Co-ordinator
Haliburton Highlands Water Trails
c/o The Township of Algonquin Highlands
R.R.#2, 1123 North Shore Road
Minden, Ontario
K0M 2K0
Tele: 705-489-2379
Fax: 705-489-3491
Gary Clements
Senior Lands and Waters Technician
Minden Area, Bancroft District
Ministry of Natural Resources
Highway 35, Box 820
Minden, Ontario
K0M 2K0
Tele: 705-286-1521
Fax: 705-286-4355
Public's opinion sought on Frost Centre
Meetings will be held in Dorset on March 19 and 22
Sheryl Loucks
Local News - Thursday, March 03, 2005 @ 07:00
The former Leslie M. Frost Natural Resources Centre has not been sold despite a report of its sale by Rock 95, a Barrie radio station.
The Frost Centre Working Committee recently met and discussed the phone calls thet receieved about the radio report.
Eleanor Harrison, Algonquin Highlands reeve and committee vice-chair, says she told people that “it was impossible.” She says the inaccurate radio report highlighted the need for more accurate public information.
Committee consultant David Gibson has been working with the Queen’s School of Business on a set of questions to put to the public and on a format for a public consultation meeting. The committee is working with Ontario Reality Corporation on what the appropriate questions would be to ask the public.
The committee has agreed to focus on finding out what people value, what they think of the committee’s terms of reference and what the public would prefer to see happen with the former Frost Centre. The meeting would also be a means to explain what the committee has been working on and to clarify myths such as the fact that the 24,000 hectares of Crown land are not being sold, only the 40 acres on which the former Ministry of Natural Resources training facility is located on at the shore of St. Nora’s Lake.
It was decided that a public meeting will be held on the morning of March 19 at the Dorset Recreation Centre. The committee decided a Saturday meeting would be easier for cottagers to attend and a meeting on the following Tuesday or Wednesday evening would be more convenient for local residents.
A survey will also be available on the Internet or for pick-up through the Haliburton County office. Gibson says using the Queen’s group as a facilitator is cost effective and they will be able to tabulate results quickly through using electronics to provide
Letter of Support from David Suzuki
To Whom It May Concern:
Having sat on the Board of a United Nations established organization, the
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), for the past four years, I am very
aware of the state of the world's ecosystems. The MEA is the most extensive
study ($24 million, 1300 scientists from 91 countries) ever carried out of
the world's ecosystems and their services. All of humanity is utterly
dependent on those numerous services from cleansing and replenishing the
atmosphere to filtering of water, renewal of soil, fixing of nitrogen,
degradation of dead plants and animals, regrowth of trees, replenishment of
fish, etc. It is not the economy that delivers those services, but nature
and they make an economy possible. The MEA conclusions were devastating, the
planet's life support systems are terribly degraded and their continued
corrosion threatens the very future of humankind. The MEA`report was
released in late March, and coverage of the report appeared in stories on
the inner pages of newspapers, then disappeared because of the Pope's
illness.
For the past three decades, leading scientists have been informing us that
humanity is undermining the very source of our wealth and well being, the
natural world. As we move to cities, a human created environment, it
becomes easy to think that it is the economy that delivers services that in
fact originate from or end in the earth - garbage disposal, sewage
treatment, food, electricity, water, and so on. As our children live
increasingly in a cyberworld, they are losing touch with nature and the
understanding that without clean air, water, soil and energy, we do not
survive. Very few of our business or political leaders really understand
that human health, the economy and nature are intimately connected and
interdependent.
Never was there a time when we needed more the reinforcement of the
knowledge that nature is the source of our well being, that we are not in
control of everything and that it is an illusion to think that economic
growth is the highest measure of progress. We need to educate children in
the role that nature plays in our lives and the best way to get it is
through direct experience. Environmental/outdoor education programs must not
be considered marginal activities to be sacrificed when times are tough, in
fact, they are absolutely crucial if our children today are going to face an
uncertain future with any hope of understanding and solution. Places like
the Frost Centre are priceless and will only grow in their importance in the
coming years. I urge you to do all you can to make this the centrepiece in
a program to educate our youth about the natural world.
Sincerely,
David Suzuki, Chair, The David Suzuki Foundation
Frost Centre to stay in public hands
Lance Crossley
Haliburton Echo - Thursday, January 05, 2006
The spirit of the Leslie M. Frost Centre and its history of environmental education will be preserved after all.
Following several months of suspense, the Ontario Reality Corporation has finally announced its intentions for the dormant Frost Centre, saying it wants to lease the 39-acre property for purposes of “environmental and outdoor education activities”.
Its decision to lease the property instead of sell it promises to keep the mandate of the centre within the public domain.
“Keeping it on lease from the government ensures it will serve that broader use of education. If it was sold to the private sector, who knows what would have happened to it,” says Barrie Martin, a board member at Friends of the Frost Centre, a non-profit group that intends to submit a tender to the government.
Martin was pleased by the province’s decision to honour the key recommendations of the Frost Centre Working Committee, which were submitted to the government last summer.
The ORC will lease the property on a long-term basis and wants the successful tender to commit to a year-round operation.
Soliciting tenders will be two-fold process. The first stage called “Expressions of Interest and Request for Qualifications” (RFQ) will identify suitable candidates who are willing to finance and operate the Frost Centre in manner consistent with its environmental mandate.
Although a detailed business plan is not required at this stage, the government does want to gauge the candidate’s intentions. The deadline for final RFQ submissions is Feb. 24 but the government has set Jan. 24 as the cut-off date for applicant registration.
“Our biggest concern is the turnaround time,” says Friends of the Frost Centre Chairman Max Radiff. “The government’s been sitting on this for six months and now all of a sudden we’ve got to be done in a few weeks. But we’re going to plow ahead with our proposal because we still think we got the best solution for the Frost Centre.”
Friends of the Frost Centre is already looking for a consultant to help form its proposal.
“We have to be able to show we are financially qualified to pull this off,” says Radiff. “That’s going to be tough for us to do in this short amount of time because we are still talking to people.”
Selected candidates will be notified in mid-March and advance to stage two, where a standard Request for Proposal will be issued. The ORC will likely meet at least once with these applicants and has set April 28 as the final deadline for those submissions.
While the primary objective of the new Frost Centre will be environmental education, the province says it is open to compatible secondary uses. It has made it clear that any future operation cannot inhibit public access to the existing walking trails that fall on the centre’s campus. The province says it is also willing to consider submissions that ask for only some of its land and buildings.
The most important criteria for RFQ candidates will be their operational concepts, their ability to finance it, and their ability to show its economic sustainability.
REQUEST FOR EXPESSIONS OF INTEREST AND SUBMISSIONS OF QUALIFICATIONS
Long-Term Lease Opportunity
Leslie M. Frost Centre
RR# 2, Minden, Ontario
RFQ No. 05C027
The Ontario Realty Corporation (ORC), on behalf of Ontario's Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal, is pleased to present an opportunity for a party or parties to enter into a long-term lease of the main campus of the Leslie M. Frost Centre, for the primary purpose of investing in, and operating environmental and outdoor educational programs with possible compatible secondary uses.
This 39-acre property is located in the Township of Algonquin Highlands, about 12 km south of the Town of Dorset, with frontage on Highway 35 and Lake St. Nora. There are 26 buildings and other structures on the site, comprising over 90,000 sq. ft. of gross floor area. For nearly 60 years until July 2004, the Ministry of Natural Resources operated these facilities as a natural resource educational and training centre.
The purpose of this Request for Expressions of Interest and Submission of Qualifications (RFQ) is to seek submissions from parties interested in pursuing this potential opportunity. The RFQ is the first step in the process towards the selection of a suitable proponent with whom ORC intends to enter into a leasing arrangement.
Full details of this invitation are provided in the RFQ document which can be viewed on the ORC website at www.orc.on.ca by clicking on the "Business w/ORC." As specified in the RFQ document, parties desiring to submit a proposal must register their interest in writing, no later than 3:00:00 p.m. EST on January 24, 2006 at the following address:
Ontario Realty Corporation
Tenders Office
77 Wellesley Street West
10th Floor, Ferguson Block
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2G3
Late or misdirected registrations will not be accepted and will be returned unopened. Registrants must identify one contact person; provide a return mailing address; and, other contact information such as telephone, e-mail or fax. Such notice of registration for this RFQ must be clearly identified on the envelop as `Frost Centre RFQ Registration' and can be either delivered, couriered, or sent by registered mail to the above ORC address. Registrants for this RFQ will be assigned a personal reference number and will be allowed to make an appointment to examine various documents and materials related to the Frost Centre lands and structures. Only RFQ submissions received from Registrants will be accepted.
Any questions regarding the content of the RFQ document should be forwarded in writing, via e-mail indicating `Frost Centre RFQ' to Connie Locke, Project Manager, at Connie.Locke@orc.gov.on.ca
News Release Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Friends Working to Re-open the Frost Centre
Is it possible that the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre will re-open? The Friends of the Frost Centre think so. They are making a bid to re-open and operate the popular outdoor learning centre, located near Dorset, Ontario that was closed by the provincial government 18 months ago.
The Friend’s bid is in response to the provincial government’s recent ad soliciting “expressions of interest and submissions of qualifications (RFQ) from parties who would be interested in leasing the main campus of the Frost Centre for the primary purpose of investing in and operating environmental and outdoor educational programs”.
Buoyed by a clear vision, strong community support, a keen and competent Board of Directors, and the services of a business consultant, the Friends of the Frost Centre are busy crunching the numbers and seeking partners, sponsors and potential bookings to develop a viable business model. The Friends’ goal is to re-establish the Frost Centre as Ontario’s premier environmental and outdoor education in this United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
Abruptly in July 2004, the provincial government closed the Frost Centre after more than half a century of excellence in educating and training students of all ages, from elementary school groups to government and industry environmental professionals. The citizens of Ontario expressed their outrage through letters, petitions and demonstrations at Queen’s Park. The government responded by setting up a working committee to explore options for re-opening the residential facility. The committee, through a consultative and thorough process, recommended that the facility be kept in public ownership, leased and operated as an environmental and outdoor learning centre. The Friends of the Frost Centre are grateful that the government is honouring those recommendations by launching a process to re-open the Frost Centre. Full details of the RFQ can be viewed at http://www.orc.on.ca by clicking “Business w/ORC” tab.
The Friends of the Frost Centre, an incorporated non-profit charitable organization, is forging a future for the Centre and environmental education in Ontario. Individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in supporting or being part of the Friend’s bid may contact the Friends at 705-488-2801, 705-754-3436 or friendsofthefrostcentre@gmail.com
Friends of Frost Centre looking for commitment
Martha Perkins
Local News - Tuesday, January 17, 2006 @ 07:00
It’s a classic Catch-22.
Groups and governments don’t want to commit to the Friends of the Frost Centre’s bid to take over management of the Frost Centre until they find out whether the Friends are successful in proving to the province that they have a feasible proposal.
The Friends worry that without commitments from groups and governments they won’t be able to show that they can put forth a financially viable option.
“We’re playing the chicken and egg game,” says Napier Simpson, one of the Friends volunteers who is pulling together a proposal before the January 24 deadline. “Everyone is sitting on the fence.”
Fellow committee member Max Radiff says “Everyone is saying Yea, we want it so you guys go for it’ and that poses some real problems for us. We need cash.”
Not only do the Friends need commitments from groups willing to use the centre’s facility but to be success in their bid they need to find the money to replace all the equipment and furnishings that were removed when the province shut down the former Ministry of Natural Resources outdoor education centre in July of 2004. They also need some up-front operating funds to tide them through until the centre breaks even.
One million dollars is only a very rough estimate of how much it would take to launch their plan.
“We don’t have the resources to carry this all by ourselves at this point,” says Simpson. “But the bottom line is I remain optimistic we have a proposal that meets the Ontario Realty Corporation’s requirements and that with a lot of help from other people we can pull this off.
“Somewhere out there there’s a sponsor or a white knight.”
Originally, the Friends had hoped to put forward a joint submission with the Trillium Lakelands District Board of Education and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.
The board has pulled out, saying it has neither the money nor the mandate. OFAH is no longer prepared to commit so early in the process.
Simpson’s disappointed that both the county and the township of Algonquin Highlands are not willing to commit any money for the Friends’ proposal. Politicians at both levels have told him that they won’t get involved by supporting the Friends’ bid or pledging financial support.
As an Algonquin Highlands ratepayer who fought the proposed airport expansion, Simpson questions why the municipality was willing to fund the airport and not the Frost.
“I just don’t think that Algonquin Highlands wants to get in the business of running the Frost Centre,” Reeve Eleanor Harrison says. “We just don’t have those kinds of resources.”
County warden Murray Fearrey says “There isn’t the will to spend local tax dollars in an organizational manner to keep it open.”
Algonquin Highlands has already committed to taking over the management of the water trails that go through the Frost Centre lands. This summer will be the first time that fees will be charged and reservations taken. Harrison says, “We have our hands full with what we took on with water trails. We don’t know if it will cover its expenses in the first year.”
Algonquin Highlands also has responsibility for maintaining the boat launch and public docks on Hwy 35.
As to Simpson’s comparison with the proposed airport expansion, she says that the township was raising its share of the cost by selling airport lands. Money for the Frost Centre would have to come from the general tax base.
And, as a member of the Frost Centre Working Committee, which was formed by former management board chairman Gerry Phillips to come up with a management plan, Harrison says she does not want to interfere with the process. “I’d be turning my back on the committee and saying I have no faith in the government. As a member of the committee I have to let the process go forward.
“I want to see how it plays itself out.”
But Simpson is worried that by then it might be too late.
If he allowed himself to be a cynic and he’s holding off on that right now he could say that the government deliberately provided such a short timeframe for its “request for expressions of interest and submissions of qualifications” as a way of making sure the process failed.
The ORC says it is willing to lease the 39 acres of land and buildings “for the primary purpose of investing in, and operating environmental and outdoor educational programs.”
If no public group can come up with a feasible plan to honour this mandate, will the ORC then re-issue the RFQ, only this time saying it was willing to sell the property?
“If we don’t succeed or someone with similar aspirations doesn’t succeed, it will be condos or the Cottage Life proposal,” Simpson says. “I hope that there’s not an agenda behind there that this first bidding process is designed to fail.”
That’s why he believes the county and Algonquin Highlands should be supporting the Friends’ bid now.
Radiff believes that the huge public outcry that followed the province’s decision to close the centre in July 2004 will discourage the province from being tempted to make money by selling the property.
“I think the process is designed to get some substantial responses so they can see it go in the direction people want it to go,” says Radiff. “Maybe I’m a fool but I think the government really is interested in getting this going. This would be a feather in their cap. Two-thousand-and-seven is an election year and if they can host a re-opening as a public/private partnership this would look good on them. I have enough faith in their survival instinct to see this as a win for them.”
Radiff says the Frost Centre also has a champion in Gerry Phillips. “I think Gerry Phillips really wants this to work and he’s not a bad fellow to have on your side.”
Reeve Eleanor Harrison believes that when all the RFQs are received, the working committee will be called into action again. “The committee has been told that it will be told what happens in the process.”
If this process fails and the government does consider selling the Frost Centre, “I would like to think that the government would give us some kind of warning so that we, as members, another opportunity.”
However, she also reminds people of the working group’s final recommendation. They said that if the Frost Centre cannot be kept open as a place where all Ontarians can go to learn about and enjoy the province’s natural resources then the buildings should be torn down and the land returned to nature.
Warden Murray Fearrey says that if the first round of RFQ fails, “could the committee sit down and say, We have a guy Al Zikovitz of Cottage Life magazine who wants to buy this; it’s good for the environment, it’s good for the economy, why can’t we have a compromise?’”
But in the meantime, the Friends of the Frost Centre want their idea to work. They invite people to get involved with the process by joining the group and being part of the bid. People can call 488-2801 or 754-3436 or they can e-mail friendsofthefrostcentre@gmail.com.
An Evening with Dr. David Suzuki
Environmental Stewardship: Forging the Future for the Frost Centre
Presented by the Friends of the Frost Centre
Is it possible that the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre will re-open? The Friends of the Frost Centre think so. They are making a bid to re-open and operate the popular outdoor learning centre, located near Dorset, Ontario that was closed by the provincial government 18 months ago.
Join the Friends of the Frost Centre for an impassioned presentation by Dr. David Suzuki on the environment, awareness and the importance of (places like) the Frost Centre for our survival. Musical friends David Archibald and Lani Billard will also be performing. "The Friends of the Frost Centre are very grateful Dr Suzuki’s support for this initiative.
Here are the details:
When: Thursday, February 9, 7:00 pm
Come early and mingle with the Friends of the Frost Centre
Where: The Macleod Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building,
University of Toronto,
1 King's College Circle,
Toronto.
What: Presentation by Dr. David Suzuki on Environmental Education
Musical performances by David Archibald and Lani Billard
Tickets $35/person; $25/student
Tickets can be mailed to you or picked up at door on night of event.
Ticket cost is tax deductible for income tax purposes - retain ticket stub as your receipt
Can’t attend?
Sponsor a student attendee! Or make a donation!
For more information contact
Ann at 416-593-0915, x. 244
or obiesowner@yahoo.com
100% of the proceeds shall go towards the Friends of the Frost and their efforts to reopen the Frost Centre for environmental and outdoor education. The Friends of the Frost Centre is an incorporated, charitable organization. Charitable # - 869531343 rr0001. Suzuki’s books, music CD’s of the performers, and memberships may be purchased at the Friends display in the lobby.
About Dr. David Suzuki
Dr. David T. Suzuki PhD, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. He was born in Vancouver, BC in 1936. During World War II, at the age of six, he was interned with his family in a camp in BC. After the war, he went to high school in London, Ontario. He graduated with Honours from Amherst College in 1958 and went on to earn his PhD in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. The author of more than 30 books, Dr. David Suzuki is recognized as a world leader in sustainable ecology. He lives with his wife, Dr. Tara Cullis, and two children in Vancouver.
Dr. Suzuki has received consistently high acclaim for his thirty years of award-winning work in broadcasting, explaining the complexities of science in a compelling, easily understood way. He is well known to millions as the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's popular science television series, The Nature of Things. His eight part series, A Planet for the Taking won an award from the United Nations. His eight-part PBS series The Secret of Life was praised internationally, as was his five-part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. For CBC Radio he founded the long running radio series, Quirks and Quarks and has presented two influential documentary series on the environment, >From Naked Ape to Superspecies and It's a Matter of Survival.
An internationally respected geneticist, Dr. Suzuki was a full Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. He is professor emeritus with UBC's Sustainable Development Research Institute. From 1969 to 1972 he was the recipient of the prestigious E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship Award for the "Outstanding Canadian Research Scientist Under the Age of 35".
Dr. Suzuki has received numerous awards for his work, including a UNESCO prize for science, a United Nations Environment Program medal and the Order of Canada. He has 15 honorary doctorates from universities in Canada, the US and Australia. For his work in support of Canada's First Nations people, Dr. Suzuki has received many tributes and has been honoured with five names and formal adoption by two tribes.
About the Frost Centre
For almost 60 years the Leslie M. Frost Natural Resource Centre, located near Dorset, provided a quality learning environment dedicated to training and educating people in sustaining ecosystems and outdoor education. With its 24,000 hectares of lakes and scenic landscapes the Centre also provided day programs and hiking, skiing, and canoeing opportunities for many thousands of other users. It served both youth and adult clients - students, educators; government staff, family groups, interest groups; non-government organizations and the private sector It provided a unique residential learning experience to approximately 250,000 people until its abrupt closure in 2004.
Over the years the Frost Centre gained a reputation as a leader and innovator in environmental and outdoor education. It hosted many conferences and events including ones that resulted in the formation of the Council of Outdoor Education of Ontario, Interpretation Canada and the Canadian Network of Environmental Education and Communications (EECOM). Beyond serving its clients it contributed to environmental education at a provincial and national level in the areas of curriculum development and strategic planning for environmental education. Frost Centre won several awards including the Amethyst Award, the highest award within the Ontario Public Service, for excellence in environmental and natural resource management education.
For many people there is a strong “sense of place” - the Frost Centre being a special and beautiful setting to gather, share and learn. Many people have been touched in some way by the Frost Centre experience
In July 2004, the provincial government abruptly closed the Centre. The citizens of Ontario were outraged and a protest campaign ensued. The Liberal government responded to the public outcry by setting up a working committee to explore options for re-opening the residential facility. The working committee, through a consultative and thorough process, released its report in June 2005. The committee recommended that the facility be kept in public ownership, leased and operated as an environmental and outdoor learning centre.
In December 2005 the government honoured those recommendations by launching a process to re-open the Frost Centre. They are currently soliciting “expressions of interest and submissions of qualifications (RFQ) from parties who would be interested in leasing the main campus of the Frost Centre for the primary purpose of investing in and operating environmental and outdoor educational programs”. Full details of the RFQ can be viewed at www.orc.on.ca by clicking “Business w/ORC” tab.
About the Friends
The Friends of the Frost Centre was established in 1999 as a non-profit, charitable, cooperating organization dedicated to supporting the Frost Centre’s efforts to foster appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems, their management and their use. This was accomplished through supporting and enhancing education and recreation programs; undertaking special projects and events; and participating in research and community development.
The closing of the Frost Centre left the Friends in limbo. Fortunately the Board of Directors voted to keep the organization in tact, sensing that there could be a future role for Friends. Members of the Friends participated in the protest campaign, and attended the regular and consultation meetings of the working committee that was established to look at options for the Frost Centre. As the efforts of working committee started to show promise, the Friends took steps to position themselves to play a role in the re-opening of the Centre. By the time the government issued the call for “parties who would be interested in leasing the main campus of the Frost Centre for the primary purpose of investing in and operating environmental and outdoor educational program”, in December 2005, the Friends had decided to make a bid to re-open and operate the Centre.
Buoyed by a clear vision, strong community support, a competent Board of Directors, and the services of a business consultant, the Friends of the Frost Centre are busy crunching the numbers and seeking partners, sponsors and potential bookings to re-establish the Frost Centre as Ontario’s premier environmental and outdoor education. Key goals of the Friends’ proposal are a viable business model, and a significant and strategic role in environmental and ecosystem education, in this United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
The Friends of the Frost Centre are grateful that the government is honouring the recommendations of the working committee. The Friends recognize the outstanding efforts of the working committee for an open and effective process and a well written report with recommendations for the Centre’s future. The Friends also wish to acknowledge the efforts of Perma Frost, a dedicated group of citizens, for their leadership and hard work in protesting the closing of the centre and prompting the government to set up a working committee. Thank you also to the Haliburton County Community Futures Development Corporation for a grant to help the Friends prepare a business proposal.
The Friends of the Frost Centre are committed to forging a future for the Centre and environmental education in Ontario. Individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in supporting or being part of the Friend’s bid may contact the Friends at friendsofthefrostcentre@gmail.com , or call 1-877-892-9955 or 705-792-9955 (local Barrie area calls) or any of the Directors listed below.
Ann Barnes, obiesowner@yahoo.com
Bob Briehl, (905) 690 4364, robertbriehl@yahoo.ca
Mary Lou Eaton, 416-413-0641, eatonflp@aol.com
George Hamilton, 705-489-3225
Barrie Martin, 705-754-3436, barrie.martin@sympatico.ca
Luba Mycio-Mommers, 1 –800- 563-9453 ext. 22, lubamm@cwf-fcf.org
Penny Obee, 705-489-3333, pennystravel@sympatico.ca
Ross Rabjohn, 705-766-2207, rrabjohn@vianet.ca
Max Radiff, 705-488-2801, maxradiff@hotmail.com
Napier Simpson, 519-524-4180, napiersimpson@sympatico.ca
Doug Smith, 705-286-4924, djsmith@interhop.net
About David Archibald
David Archibald, an accomplished songwriter/performer, has written and recorded ten original songs celebrating the life, lore, and landscapes of the Frost Centre. The songs on St Nora’s Tower, ranging from the poignant to the humorous, take you to a special place. Discover the majestic white pines and ancient hemlocks of the Haliburton Highlands in “Before Champlain” “Ranger School Days” will put you in a 1950's classroom at the Forest Ranger School. Smell the smoke from “St. Nora’s Tower”. Take a walk through hardwood forest in “Shelter Wood”. Meet “Dr. Sludge,” a local hero who knows his sewage.
An engaging and energetic performer, David Archibald has recorded on RCA and written for and performed on Sesame Street and Mr. Dressup. His new musical Love and Larceny (co-written by Douglas Bowie) is on the playbill at the Thousand Islands Playhouse this summer. Archibald's other recent musical The Perilous Pirate's Daughter (co-written by Anne Chislett) was performed at the Blyth Festival, the Thousand Islands Playhouse in 2003 and the Haliburton Highlands Summer festival in 2005. David was the producer on pop-star Avril Lavigne's first recording session. He is also a familiar voice on CBC radio. His multi-media shows include: Spirit of the Inland Sea (Great Lakes marine heritage), Farmsteads to Frontlines (rural Ontario's involvement in global conflicts), Legends and Lore of the Charleston Shore (cultural heritage of Charleston Lake Provincial Park) and On the Shores of St. Nora (a celebration of the Frost Centre). He has had his compositions performed by the Kingston Symphony and has written and performed a one-person show entitled Schubert: The Man and His Music with the Genesee Symphony in New York. His discography also includes Titanic – Pride of the White Star Line and Savanna, Sand & Butterflies. David recently helped students of Superior’s North Shore write, perform and record songs (Gulo gulo - a Superior Learning Experience) about Pukaskwa National park.
About Lani Billard
Lani Billard , best known for her role as Bizzy Ramone on Global TV’s Ready or Not has pursued a career in music and has released a CD. She is a dynamic and wonderfully gifted performer.
Press Release
Frost Centre Proponents to Present Business Plans to Community
August 17, 2006
The United Church of Minden and Perma-Frost are jointly sponsoring a Community Forum on the Future of the Frost Centre, Tuesday August 29, 7:30pm at the Minden United Church.
A little more than two years ago, Ontario suddenly locked the doors of the Frost Centre, closing the Province's premier outdoor education centre. In response to the widespread public outcry, Ontario appointed the Frost Centre Working Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Brian Desbiens. In its final report, the Working Committee recommended that Ontario issue a /Request for Proposal, /with the intent of selecting the best management team to lease and operate the facility "as a financially viable entity."
The Committee proposed a framework that would oblige the operator to offer outdoor and environmental education and related activities. These could include/ /environmental training, research and on-site demonstrations "in keeping with the tradition of the Frost Centre's 60-year heritage."
The Committee also encouraged the Province "to offer initial assistance to help the operation become self-funding."
The Ontario Realty Corporation took the Working Committee's advice and issued a Request for Proposals. Two groups, Friends of the Frost and The Frost Centre Institute, have prepared detailed proposals/business plans for the re-opened Frost Centre.
On Tuesday evening, August 29, the community will have the opportunity to hear about the proposal that each group has submitted for the operation of the Frost Centre. Perma-Frost and the United Church of Minden are organizing this forum so that the community will be informed, can ask questions, and stay involved in shaping the future direction of the Centre.
The church is located at 11Newcastle Street, Minden ON.
For more information, contact Dave Heaven at 705-286-6655
Money plays a role in Frost Centre bids
Bryn Weese
Minden Times Wednesday, September 06, 2006
It was standing room only in the Minden United Church last Tuesday night as scores of people turned out to learn about the future of the Frost Centre.
At the Perma Frost town hall event the Frost Centre Institute and the Friends of the Frost, the two groups asked to submit management proposals for the centre, were allowed to present their visions to the public. The public, in turn, was allowed to present their own.
In A brief presented by Barrie Martin and Napier Simpson, the Friends of the Frost envision a charitable organization that operates much as the old Frost Centre did a collection of myriad users from both the public and private sectors.
Its a long list, admits Martin. But it reflects the diversity we are trying to achieve.
In addition to its proposal, which was submitted August 28, the Friends also highlighted two special plans at the meeting.
The first is that the Frost Centre could one day run the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails, the canoe routes through the Frost Centre reserve currently being managed by Algonquin Highlands. Martin admits that that goal is very long-term.
The other surprise was that the Friends of the Frost would apply to host a Fleming College sustainable building, such as the 4Cs building in Haliburton, the sustainable living centre at Kinark and the building likely to house the R.D. Lawrence collection at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre to be built next year. Martin said that his vision is to build a sustainable cottage that could showcase a suitable option for the many cottagers in the area as well as be used at the Frost Centre as part of its programming.
Financially, the Friends of the Frost plan on running a deficit for the first year but their plan envisions financial sustainability in year two.
The other proposal, that of the Frost Centre Institute, was presented by local artist Wayne Rose, marine biologist Twyla Greenham and former IBM executive and head of the FCI group, Alan Aubry, who together make up the entire FCI executive.
In brief, there are three components to the FCI proposal. During the summer months, the Frost Centre would be used as a private summer camp offering campers environmental science programs, visual arts programs and experience with non-motorized sports such as kayaking, sailing and canoeing.
The revenue from the summer camp, the prices of which Aubry said havent been made public yet, will contribute about three-quarters of the revenue while the use of the centre as a conference centre during the weekdays throughout the year (except summer) will contribute the other quarter. During weekends, except summer, the Centre will be used to host school groups from public and private schools throughout Ontario.
Campers and students will learn about environmental sciences, programmed by Greenham, and visual arts from Rose.
Aubry stressed that no public monies would be used to run the FCIs Frost Centre and the non-profit but private organization would see financial surpluses beginning with the first year.
The successful candidate will take over the Frost Centre, which the province closed in 2004, in the spring of 2007.
Questions from the floor varied a great deal, from what would be done with the Frost Centres water and sewage to the importance of keeping the Frost Centre accessible and all points in between.
However, each groups weakness was exposed during question period.
For the FCI group, a slip of the tongue by executive member Wayne Rose, who described the summer camp as high end, instigated a flurry of questions about accessibility for children of all incomes. And considering that the camp will generate three quarters of the FCI groups revenue, some people questioned whether only rich families could afford it.
The FCI countered by saying that scholarships would be made available to offer the camp experience to those less fortunate.
The perceived weakness for the Friends of the Frost came about, in fact, during Aubrys defence of the FCI proposal. Chiefly, that keeping the centre accessible to the public and to the myriad of users who used it before means running the Frost as it was run before, more or less. As Aubry said, the previous centre didnt work financially.
The place closed and it closed for a reason, he said. Changes have to be made to make it feasible. Yes, [the FCI proposal] might have some loss in terms of public accessibility, but it will be sustainable and it will be around in 10 years.
Prompted by a question from Perma Frost member Dave Heaven, who asked if both groups would work together to create a joint proposal should the government ask for one, both the Friends of the Frost and the FCI group seemed willing.
Both opened their presentations with similar statements, that the most important thing was that the centre be reopened.
As Martin said, We sit tonight on the verge of a major decision that will decide the fate of the Frost Centre, but one way or the other, the Frost Centre will be open and that is whats important.
Likewise, Aubry said, If either of us gets it, thats a great thing. If neither of us get it, then its back on the buses and back to Queens Park.
Speaking later on in the meeting, both Martin and Aubry explained that the two proposals were very different and that co-operation between the two proponents wouldnt be sought until the government asked for it.
As Aubry explained, It would be hard to reconcile our differences, but if the minister comes back and asks for us to work together and produce a hybrid plan, that is definitely something we would look at.
Deciding the fate of the Frost Centre is the Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, David Caplan. His decision is expected early this fall.
Selected Evaluation Criteria Proposed by
The Frost Centre Working Committee
Answers to Questions from
1. Proposal's primary objectives relate to environmental and outdoor education and training uses. [mandatory]
2. Proposal's secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as scientific research and activities that pertain to ecosystem sustainability and environmentally-sound living.
[very important]
3. Proposals' secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as leadership development in environmental, educational and related fields.
[moderately important]
4. Proposal incorporates or accommodates an ongoing public accountability mechanism that includes local participation. [very important]
5. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to provide a share of `start up' capital funding. [very important]
6. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to acquire `start up' operational funding. [very important]
7. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to become self-funding in 5 years or less. [very important]
8. The proponent has proven experience and success in similar endeavours. [Moderately Important]
9. The proposal would create significant, year `round, long-term local employment. [very important]
10. The proposed option would contribute directly to local economy through purchasing goods and services over the long term. [very important]
11. The proposal would contribute to the local economy by attracting tourists and visitors who would purchase local goods and services. [moderately important]
12. The proposal would provide accessibility to the site and services for people of all income levels and social classes. [desirable]
13. The proposed business would generate a fair financial return on investment to the Province over the long term. [desirable]
T HE FROST CENTRE FOR ECOLOGICAL
AND SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION
1. Proposal's primary objectives relate to environmental and outdoor education and training uses. [mandatory]
In this, the UN's Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the Frost Centre for Ecological and Sustainability Education (CESE) will:
Provide environmental/outdoor training that is responsive to the needs of a wide variety of environmental and environmental education interests and organizations; Operate on a not-for-profit basis ensuring maximum affordability and accessibility by these organizations;
Provide a relaxing environment that is conducive to learning and discovery;
Be dedicated to providing quality service for all user groups;
Facilitate and broker innovative and creative partnerships;
Serve citizens of Ontario by contributing to Ontario's strategic priorities - Success for Students, Better Health, and Strong People; Strong Economy - including the achievement of Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy, stewardship priorities and Trails Strategy;
Insure the Centre's facilities and programs are accessible to the citizens and communities of Haliburton and Muskoka;
Provide innovative programming that will result in:
An understanding of ecosystems and how they can be sustained for future generations;
Greater understanding of the interconnectedness of economic, environmental and social issues;
Skills in systems thinking, consensus building, informed decision-making and leadership;
The ability to identify unsustainable practices, find the causes, and implement sustainable solutions.
2. Proposal's secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as scientific research and activities that pertain to ecosystem sustainability and environmentally-sound living. [very important]
The Frost Centre for Ecological and Sustainability Education (CESE) will:
Promote, support, and facilitate research related to education for sustainable development; ecological sustainability; sustainable living.
Support the research activities of our clients and partners including York University, Trent University, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment by providing work areas, offices, accommodation, and administrative services;
Work closely with the U-links Centre for Community Based Research to provide research and service learning opportunities for Trent University students and to support community research needs;
Provide a site to demonstrate sustainable technologies including solar, geothermal, and a "sustainable cottage" (in partnership with SSFC's sustainable building course);
Provide office and storage space for like-minded organizations e.g., Haliburton Highlands Water Trails, Ski Friends of the Frost Centre.
3. Proposals' secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as leadership development in environmental, educational and related fields. [moderately important]
Leadership will be a key element of our programming related to ecological sustainability. Other forms of leadership development will be supported. Our partnership with the Tim Horton's Children's Foundation, which will be relocating its Youth Leadership Program (training leaders for its youth camps) is an example of this. We are also accountable to 150 individual, family and business members. We will promote and accommodate representation of our partners and the community on our Board, including Tim Horton's and local government, thus ensuring that the operations' governance is accountable to and reflective of the needs of key stakeholders. CESE will engage individuals and organizations from the community on committees and various projects. With the acquisition of public funds through grant programs, CESE will be accountable to funding institutions such as the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
5. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to acquire `start up' operational funding. [very important]
Our planning process included an in-depth examination of the funding requirements to open the Centre both from the perspective of the period to the anticipated opening on May 1, 2007, and from the perspective of the initial months of post-opening operation. Our pre-opening working capital costs will consist largely of labour related expenses, while our capital costs will consist of equipment purchases. Post-opening operating costs will include an estimated cash flow deficit for the first 8 months of operation, and capital expenses will include additional equipment purchases.
Our identified sources of funding include loan funding from the Haliburton County Development Corporation, grant funding from the Trillium Foundation and the Rural Economic Development fund. We have also identified `venture partners' who will provide us with initial funding, in return for a right to use the facility as well as to influence the future direction of the Centre (through participation at the Board level). These include, for example, the Pinehurst School, and the aforementioned Tim Horton Children's Foundation.
6. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to acquire `start up' operation funding.
[very important]
See Criterion #5.
7. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to become self-funding in 5 years or less.
[very important]
Our detailed projections indicate that we will achieve self-funding by the end of the second year of operation. Our sales projections are based on several factors including a 'Potential User Survey', declared use by 'venture partners', letters of support from numerous organizations, and comparisons to past use of the Centre. Our expense calculations are based on known costs, comparisons to past costs, and comparisons to similar operations. We have taken great care to insure that we have not overestimated sales or underestimated expenses. Our projections, which included various sensitivity and case scenario analyses, allow a large degree of flexibility that may be required to meet unanticipated challenges. In addition to the sources of revenue identified above, we will actively pursue funding from donors, corporate sponsor, retails sales and community development initiatives.
8. The proponent has proven experience and success in similar endeavours.
[moderately important]
Our Board of Directors has considerable depth in Environmental Education, business administration (including not-for profit), as well as first-hand knowledge and experience in operating the Frost Centre and its programs. Its members include a/the:
Former Director of the Frost Centre
Former Education Specialist of the Frost Centre (28 Years)
Practicing corporate, commercial and entertainment lawyer
Environmental education teacher
Environmental education coordinator (Wye Marsh)
Educators with classroom and administrative principal with curriculum development experience
Chartered Accountant with 40 years working in both public practice and industry
Management consultant with over 25 years of experience in cultural and nature-based tourism
Tourism and ecotourism consultant
Environmental and outdoor education/recreation consultant
Former warden ofHaliburton Place
County and reeve of local municipality
Business consultant
Retired professor,York University
9. The proposal would create significant, year `round, long-term local employment.
[very important]
Our proposal envisages creating 11 permanent employment positions at the CESE as the management and core operations team. In addition, a number of part-time employees will be required for the kitchen and accommodation functions (the numbers varying with the level of traffic.) Most of these will be recruited from the local community, and we expect that all of them will arrange to live in the local area. Moreover, to the extent that more users and tourists are attracted to the local area and spend money locally, there will be increased financial flows towards existing and new businesses. Other work to be done such as grounds-keeping, a portion of the education services, and the provision of consulting services will be fulfilled on a service contract basis, thus providing further work for local businesses. The CESE will increase its capacity to deliver its mandate by utilizing special and seasonal employment programs, internships, and service learning placements. We also anticipate that venture and program partners will place staff at the CESE to deliver programming and fulfill their partnership obligations.
10. The proposal would contribute directly to the local economy through purchasing goods and services over the long term. [very important]
We expect to host over 20,000 users in our first year of operation. Though considerable, this number is based upon detailed projections, which our management team has verified with all of the key stakeholders. The majority of users will come from the GTA, and they are expected to contribute to the local area through their purchases of gas, restaurant meals (when not eating at the Frost Centre), souvenirs, etc. We will also provide day programs for visitors to the area. Among other things, such programs will promote the use of hiking, ski and water trails. In addition, the CESE itself will make a significant volume of purchases for its on-going operations. Already we have in place a `local purchase' policy, which ensures that local suppliers are granted the first opportunity to provide goods and services to the CESE.
11. The proposal would contribute to the local economy by attracting tourists and visitors who would purchase local goods and servies. [moderately important]
The CESE will provide day programs for visitors to the area who will be accommodated either in Haliburton and Muskoka, or in residential ecotourism programs. These programs will draw upon a variety of resources and attractions in the area in order to meet the needs of our clients. For example we will bus clients to such places as the placePlaceNameHaliburton PlaceTypeForest or the sustainable living classroom at Kinark Outdoor Centre. We will also hire instructors and leaders on a fee for service to serve our client needs. CESE plans to partner with the Haliburton Highlands Water Trails, the Ski friends of the Frost Centre, Trails and CityTours, and the placePlaceTypeMunicipality of PlaceNameAlgonquin Highlands to insure the hiking, ski and water trails are maintained and promoted for tourists.
12. The proposal would provide accessibility to the site and services for people of all income levels and social classes. [desirable]
Our vision is for an outdoor learning facility that is responsive to the needs of a wide variety of environmental and environmental education interests and organizations. Our proposal is to run the CESE as a not-for-profit operation, ensuring maximum affordability and accessibility by these organizations. Our price points for clients for accommodation, programs, and services will allow for use of the facility by people of all income levels and social classes. We will also seek donors, partners and sponsorships and grants to raise revenue to subsidize the costs of clients in need of financial assistance. Moreover, certain of our users (e.g., Tim Horton's) cater explicitly to individuals who are either socially or economically disadvantaged.
13. The proposed business would generate a fair financial return on investment to the Province over the long term. [desirable]
Our proposal will pay the government of Ontario an effective rent of approximately 7% on the estimated value of the asset. We regard this as eminently fair and reasonable return. We will also re-invest revenues into the program, equipment, and infrastructure, thus reducing the government's costs. However, beyond mere financial returns, our proposal ensures that the people of Ontario (who ultimately own the asset) will themselves enjoy a fair return, in the sense that the Frost Centre will remain accessible and affordable to one and all.
As part of our management plan, we will also offer a value-added training facility for government staff at competitive prices, thereby reducing training costs for the Ontario Government.
A longer-term financial return is an ecologically literate citizenry that will live more sustainably on the land, thereby reducing the costs to government for protection, enforcement, mitigation, and restoration of natural resources and precious ecosystems. In our view, this is the real return to the citizens of Ontario.
THE FROST CENTRE INSTITUTE
1. Proposal's primary objectives relate to environmental and outdoor education and training uses. [mandatory]
We will offer an educational Summer Camp that will operate for 10 weeks each summer, a Conference Centre which will operate on weekdays from mid-September to mid-June, and a series of free 2-day Environmental Science Seminars which will be offered on weekends to Ontario school students at least 35 times throughout the year. This world-class Summer Camp will offer a program of environmental science education, with lectures, lab work and fieldwork for boys and girls aged 10 to 16.
Our campers will get the opportunity to assist in real environmental research projects, funded by the Centre and conducted by leading researchers. The program will include a visual arts component where campers will receive instruction from Haliburton area artists. Our campers will not only get the opportunity to learn about the environment, but they will also learn to appreciate its beauty and will no-doubt get some of their inspiration from the 24,000 hectares of trails adjacent to the Centre. The curriculum will also include non-motorized water sports including sailing, kayaking, canoeing and life-saving swimming instruction. Our Environmental Science Seminars will offer program instruction, accommodation and meals to placeStateOntario school students and to the supervisory teachers and/or parents who accompany them.
2. Proposal's secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as scientific research and activities that pertain to ecosystem sustainability and environmentally-sound living. [very important]
The Centre will generate substantial net proceeds, which will fund on-site environmental research projects. During its first 2 years of operation, the Centre, its staff and guests will take the steps necessary for the Centre to comply with ISO 14000 environmental standards. These standards will be maintained throughout the period of the lease.
The core of the program is the research grant system. We propose to award $4 million in scientific grants over a 10-year period, making it one of the most important centres in placeNorth America in the field of environmental science research. This will include a monetary component (for stipends and purchase of materials & equipment), accommodation, lab and other workspace. Via our web site the grant applications will be accessible world-wide, and will be adjudicated every September by an advisory committee consisting of peers and local stakeholders. To foster experiential learning, we shall require that the resident scientists carry out their work at the Centre, and that they involve our young students as research assistants.
One of the unique features of the Conference Centre will be that the thousands of attendees each year will have to attend an environmental awareness presentation delivered by the FCI staff.
3. Proposals' secondary objectives relate to compatible uses such as leadership development in environmental, educational and related fields. [moderately important]
We will apply for accreditation from the Ministry of Education so that campers who stay for 4 weeks or more and who meet the requirements of the program will be eligible for an Ontario Secondary School Credit (including but not limited to SNC3M, AWM and IDC4U). It will be the only place in placeStateOntario offering these credits in July and August.
Accreditation, along with ISO 14000 compliance, will establish the Centre as a role model for environmental consciousness. Also, having leading researchers at the site will contribute a sense of a leadership and motivation for the people who attend.
We have budgeted to buy new teaching materials, and we will build our own resource library, accessible to staff, guests, researchers, as well as to others on an appointment basis. We will invest in and collect historical documents of interest to the Haliburton area. We are considering a proposal from a group, which wants to recreate some of the living environment of the Ojibwa Nation, but with hunting activities to be carried out not by weapons but with cameras.
4. Proposal incorporates or accommodates an ongoing public accountability mechanism that includes local participation. [very important]
Our Director of Community Relations will be a full-time employee, who will liaise with the public as well as lead the advisory board. The Advisory Board will include politicians and community leaders. It will have two main areas of decision-making. One will be to set priorities and schedules for our infrastructure improvement projects, estimated to cost $3.5 million in the first 4 or 5 years. The other will be to adjudicate research proposals. At least one scientist would sit on this board. In order to be as transparent as possible, the Centre will publish an annual report providing a summary of what transpired in the previous year, as well as a projection of what is intended for the year ahead. The report will include a financial summary, including details on the re-investment of net proceeds.
5. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to provide a share of `start up' capital funding. [very important]
We are well funded, and we have secured the financial backing of a Canadian chartered bank, should we need it. If selected, we propose to establish an office at the Centre, comprising 2,500 square feet, on January 2, 2006, in order to launch our operations and begin our hiring activities, well ahead of the April 1 commencement date of the lease. On May 1, 2006, we will have $3 million on deposit in the Frost Centre Institute bank account, to be used both for start-up and operational costs. Some leasehold improvements must be done before our staff training sessions begin. For example, to accommodate the projected 252 campers, plus staff, dorms will have to be re-configured and additional toilets and washbasins will be installed so as to comply with Ontario R.R.O. Regulation 568, Section 14 (3) and (4).
6. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to acquire `start up' operational funding. [very important]
Some of the $3 Million will be used for initial working/operational funds. In addition, funds are already in place for advertising and for running a web site. Another $95,000 has already been allocated for pre-start-up expenses. To maintain MOE standards during the term of the lease, we have obtained a proposal from the Ontario Clean Water Agency to run the water purification facility as well as the sewage treatment plant. A sum of $166,000 has been set aside for this purpose for the first year of operation. A further sum of $100,000 has been allocated to replace all of the bedding that was stripped from the Centre by the MNR when the Centre was shut down in 2004.
7. The proposal identifies a credible strategy to become self-funding in 5 years or less. [very important]
The Centre will be totally self-reliant from the very beginning. It will generate substantial net proceeds, even during its first year of operation. Half of these proceeds (the other half will fund research projects) will be re-invested in maintenance and infrastructure improvement projects at the Centre. The Frost Centre will be a viable and self-sustaining operation and will require no taxpayer funding whatsoever. It will pay substantial rent to the Government of Ontario and will pay property taxes to the Township of Algonquin Highlands. This is the best way to assure the long-term survival of the Frost Centre.
8. The proponent has proven experience and success in similar endeavours. [moderately important]
We have proven success in endeavours similar to the one we are proposing. Al Aubry, M.B.A., has 30 years experience running large businesses for IBM. He spent a considerable portion of his career turning around under-performing operations, starting new businesses, and launching new services and products. These skills and experiences will be extremely useful in assuring the future success of the Frost Centre.
Regarding the environmental curriculum, Kyla Greenham is an environmental educator and a marine biologist. She has a M.A. in Aquaculture. She has coordinated the Haliburton-Muskoka Children's Water Festival and currently manages the fish hatchery for the Haliburton highlands Outdoors Association. She has taught environmental science at Georgian College.
Concerning the visual arts portion of the curriculum, Wayne Rose, a visual arts education specialist, was responsible for arts education programs at the placeYork region PlaceTypeSchool Board. He has an Ontario Teaching Certificate as well as an M.A. in Arts and Science Education. He is an artisan and a successful gallery owner in the Haliburton Highlands area. He currently teaches at Sir Sandford Fleming PlaceTypeCollege.
FCI will soon announce the name of the future Summer Camp Director, a person experienced in directing programs at one of Canada's best-known camps.
9. The proposal would create significant, year `round, long-term local employment. [very important]
Our human resources plan includes the creation of approximately 70 new positions in the form of full time, permanent part-time and seasonal jobs. Additional employment (approximately 35 jobs) will be created through the Centre's sub-contractor agreements with local area businesses.
10. The proposed option would contribute directly to the local economy through purchasing goods and services over the long term. [very important]
The Institute will create revenues for local subcontractors estimated at $310,000 per year for services such as linen services, snow removal, groundskeeping, etc. In addition, its food services contract will amount to $800,000 per year.
11. The proposal would contribute to the local economy by attracting tourists and visitors who would purchase local goods and services. [moderately important]
By the nature of its activities, the Centre will attract the majority of its visitors from out of town. We intend to host 43,500 person/days per year, 17,000 of which will be concentrated in the summer months. Guests will range from affluent conference attendees to small local or visiting groups of 10 or more people looking to take advantage of the customized environmental and arts programs that will be offered at the Centre. Regular relationships will be established with local businesses and organizations, including local golf clubs, museums, art galleries, the Bigwin Steamship project, maple syrup operators, Haliburton/Muskoka area schools, the place Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Centre, and many more.
12. The proposal would provide accessibility to the site and services for people of all income levels and social classes. [desirable]
Starting with the camp's second season, some enrollment spaces in the Summer Camp will be set aside for “sponsored campers,” that is, for kids whose parents cannot afford the camp fees.
In addition, 35 weekend seminar sessions (for a total of 70 days per year) will be offered free of charge to Ontario school children, including instruction, accommodation, food, and activities. Enrollment kits will be distributed to all schools in Ontario. Transportation will be the responsibility of the schools. However, we have already received corporate expressions of interest in sponsoring some or all of these transportation costs.
The Centre will welcome and will be able to accommodate physically challenged guests.
13. The proposed business would generate a fair financial return on investment to the Province over the long term. [desirable]
The Institute will pay rent, taxes and maintenance costs amounting to $5 million over the 10-year lease period. Another $3.5 million in infrastructure improvements funded by the Institute will add further value to the Province in terms of the site's facilities and its revenue-generating capacity. Options to extend the lease, perpetually in 5-year increments, are included in the offer-to-lease. The taxpayers of Ontario will be well served by our proposal.
Frost Centre closes
Government shuts down environmental institute over missed rent
By Jenn Watt
Posted 10 months ago
Two months shy of its third anniversary, the Frost Centre Institute north of Halls Lake will close down permanently because of overdue rent.
Run by Al Aubry, a former IBM businessman, the institute took over the Frost Centre in June 2007 with the intention of capitalizing on the environment and arts to create a vibrant summer camp, education system and year-round conference centre.
But despite all efforts, Aubry couldn't stop the institute from losing money.
"Like any new business … it was tough," Aubry said in an interview.
"It was brutally difficult to find capital investments."
Over the past three years, the institute bled money through the winter months, unable to get the numbers needed to stay afloat. In a public report released in November, Aubry wrote: "The one goal that continues to elude us is the all-important goal of making the Frost Centre Institute economically self-sufficient. Like many businesses and governments these days, we are operating at a deficit and we are accumulating some debt. The reason is that our activity levels drop off dramatically in the period from November to April, just at the time when the operating costs are at their highest levels."
The provincial government, which owns the Frost Centre, was at first lenient with the institute, MPP Rick Johnson said, but eventually it had to make a decision.
"The bottom line is they're facing some incredible financial challenges. The province has gone above and beyond trying to assist them with this through not collecting rent I think since the first payment and it just got to a point where he's not going to get out of that," he said.
The Frost Centre Institute hasn't paid rent on the building since its first installment nearly three years ago, he said.
Johnson wouldn't disclose how much money was lost on the venture, but called it "significant."
"We've really gone above and beyond to help them out and make it work. If it had been viable, if we could see a point at some point where they'd have a chance to repay the money that hadn't been collected, but it got to the point where it didn't seem that it was an option," he said. Aubry had proposed a few scenarios to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure hoping to break even, but by that point they weren't biting, he said.
"We reduced the loss by 60 per cent … and were to break even in 18 months," he said.
He asked that the centre close down in the winter months, but found the government unwilling to take over the building in the downtime.
Finally, he developed an idea to launch the Frost Environmental College to keep the place sustainable year round, but needed large capital investment, which couldn't be found.
The government's plan now is to take over the building, keep it up to standard and look for a new tenant or owner. "It's unfortunate. I think [Aubry] had some good ideas," Johnson said, "Whether the economy or just whatever undercut his operation is unfortunate, but it's a great facility and I know the government, we believe it's got a lot of history in the area. So the intent is to find someone else to come in and operate it."
The government will be requesting proposals for the Frost Centre in the coming months.
Aubry, meanwhile, is planning to spend time with his six grandkids and do some woodworking.
"I feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to work on a project that gave thousands of kids a learning experience they wouldn't have had otherwise," he said.
The Frost Centre Institute will close at the end of the month.
(Minden Times Sept 6) Money plays a role in Frost Centre bids
