Bill 193 amends the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006 to add "Urban Class Parks" as a formal class of provincial park and to permit the Lieutenant Governor in Council to prescribe other park classes and their objectives by regulation. The statute sets the explicit objective for Urban Class Parks as improving access to compatible nature‑based recreation in or near urban centres.
The change is narrow in text but broad in consequence: it creates a statutory hook for Ontario to designate parks targeted at urban populations and delegates to the executive branch the power to create new park classes and define their objectives without further legislative amendments. That combination affects planning, management priorities, and how the province balances public access with conservation in and around cities.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill inserts "Urban Class Parks" into the statutory list of provincial park classes and adds an objectives clause saying their purpose is to improve access to compatible nature‑based recreation in or near urban centres. It also amends the regulation‑making provision so the Lieutenant Governor in Council can prescribe additional park classes and set objectives for them.
Who It Affects
Ontario Parks and the Ministry that manages provincial parks gain a new designation to use in planning and operations. Municipal planners, park managers, conservation groups, and urban residents who use green space will be most directly affected by how the new class is defined and deployed.
Why It Matters
By creating an explicit urban park class and delegating class‑creation to the executive, the bill changes how the provincial park system can be tailored to urban needs without returning to the legislature. That alters policy tools available for expanding access to nearby nature while also shifting substantive decisions into regulation.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The amendment makes three targeted edits to the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act. First, it adds two new entries to the statutory list of park classes: an explicit Urban Class Parks entry and a catch‑all slot for any other classes the government may later prescribe.
Second, it inserts a short objectives clause tied to Urban Class Parks, stating their aim is to improve access to compatible nature‑based recreation in or near urban centres. Third, it expands the Act's regulation‑making subsection so the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe park classes and specify objectives for those prescribed classes.
Taken together, the changes do not by themselves create any specific park sites or change protections for existing parks; rather, they create authority and intent. The Urban Class Parks designation signals a policy priority — making nature more accessible to urban populations — and the regulatory power lets the government develop categories and objectives more flexibly than by passing new statutes each time.Because the bill puts class definitions and objectives into the province's regulatory toolbox, follow‑on regulations will determine the real effect: what 'compatible nature‑based recreation' means in practice, which lands qualify as 'in or near urban centres,' and the management standards attached to Urban Class Parks.
The Act's immediate coming‑into‑force on Royal Assent means the government can begin drafting and, subject to the normal regulatory process, implementing those definitions and rules right away.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill adds an "Urban Class Parks" entry to the statutory list of provincial park classes (new paragraph 7 in subsection 8(1)).
It creates a regulatory slot for "such other class of park as may be prescribed by the regulations" (new paragraph 8 in subsection 8(1)).
The bill inserts subsection 8(8) making the objective of Urban Class Parks to "improve access to compatible nature‑based recreation in or near urban centres.", It amends subsection 54(1) by adding clause (0.a), authorizing the Lieutenant Governor in Council to prescribe classes of parks for subsection 8(1) and to specify the objectives for each prescribed class.
The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent and adopts the short title Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Amendment Act, 2024.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Adds Urban Class Parks and a regulatory placeholder to the list of park classes
This provision inserts two new numbered paragraphs into subsection 8(1): one naming Urban Class Parks and a second allowing regulations to add other park classes. Mechanically this expands the statute's taxonomy of parks, which matters because many management rules and policy decisions in the Act and in subordinate instruments reference park class. The new regulatory placeholder reduces the need for future legislative amendments to add additional categories.
Sets the stated objective for Urban Class Parks
The bill adds subsection 8(8), which gives Urban Class Parks a single statutory objective: to improve access to compatible nature‑based recreation in or near urban centres. That objective will guide how the province and its agencies interpret acceptable uses, infrastructure, and management priorities for parks carrying the Urban Class designation.
Expands regulation‑making authority on park classes and objectives
Amending subsection 54(1) with clause (0.a) expressly authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to prescribe classes of parks for the purpose of subsection 8(1) and to specify objectives for each prescribed class. Practically, the executive can create new classes and attach objectives via regulation rather than returning to the legislature, which speeds policy adjustments but elevates the importance of the regulatory rule‑making process.
Immediate commencement
The Act comes into force on Royal Assent. That means the expanded regulatory authority and the Urban Class Parks objective are legally available to the government immediately; any follow‑on regulations can be drafted and promulgated without waiting for a delayed commencement date.
Short title
This is the formal short title provision identifying the Act as the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Amendment Act, 2024. It's administrative but signals that the changes are a discrete amendment package to the 2006 Act.
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Explore this topic in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Urban residents who seek nearby nature: the statutory objective gives the province a named tool to prioritize accessible, nature‑based recreation close to cities, which can increase opportunities for short trips, family visits, and everyday outdoor use.
- Municipalities and local planners: provinces can coordinate with municipalities to designate provincial urban parks that relieve local park pressure or fill gaps where municipalities lack large natural areas.
- Recreation and public‑health advocates: the new class creates an explicit policy lever to promote outdoor recreation and active living targets tailored to urban populations.
- Conservation and stewardship groups: the change can open partnership opportunities for habitat protection, restoration, and programming focused on urban‑proximate green spaces.
Who Bears the Cost
- Provincial ministry and Ontario Parks: they will need to develop criteria, management standards and potentially additional operations and maintenance capacity for Urban Class Parks, which could require new funding and staff time.
- Municipalities required to coordinate land use: local governments may face planning and service coordination obligations if provincial urban park designations intersect with municipal parks and infrastructure.
- Regulatory and legal resources: crafting and defending regulations that define classes, objectives, and acceptable uses will consume legal, engagement, and drafting resources at the provincial level.
- Developers and some landowners: if lands are designated or constrained to achieve 'access' objectives, certain development options near designated sites could be limited or require new approvals, increasing transactional complexity.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between expanding urban access to nature quickly and ensuring ecological integrity and clear governance: the bill gives the province a nimble tool to create urban parks and set objectives by regulation, but that nimbleness risks under‑specifying protections, funding commitments, and consultation processes, shifting major policy choices out of the legislature and into the regulatory arena.
The bill is short on operational detail: it creates a class and an objective but leaves crucial definitional and procedural questions to regulation. Key terms — notably "compatible nature‑based recreation" and what counts as "in or near urban centres" — are undefined in the text and will determine how permissive or protective Urban Class Parks actually are.
Without standards in the Act, the substance of the policy will live in regulations, management plans, and inter‑governmental agreements.
Delegating the creation of new classes and objectives to the Lieutenant Governor in Council accelerates policy flexibility but concentrates decision‑making in the executive branch. That raises predictable governance questions: what public consultation will accompany new regulations, how will Indigenous consultation and treaty or land claims issues be handled, and what criteria will govern designation versus use of municipal parks?
The Act also leaves funding, enforcement, and jurisdictional responsibilities unaddressed, which could produce unfunded mandates or coordination frictions once sites are designated.
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