OPPOSITION OUTRAGED OVER CLOSURE OF LESLIE M. FROST CENTRE

QUEEN’S PARK – Natural Resources Critic and Oshawa MPP, Jerry Ouellette, today is outraged over the Liberals secretive plan to close the Leslie M. Frost Centre in Dorset.

Premier McGuinty and Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay quickly and quietly announced the government’s plan to permanently close the Frost Centre as of July 14, 2004.

“I am appalled this government would shut down this facility, which has become the cornerstone of outdoor education in Ontario,” says Mr. Ouellette. “Without any consultation the Liberals have secretly made this announcement while parliament is adjourned for its summer recess. Many residents, education professionals, user groups who utilize the Centre will not be aware of this and will be unable to respond.”

Up until July 6, 2004 (yesterday) the Ministry’s own website regarded the Centre as “Ontario’s Leading Natural Resources Education, Training and Conference Centre.”

The Leslie M. Frost Centre is a provincially significant landmark with decades of history, culture and value. It forms an integral part of the overall history of the management of natural resources in Ontario. The Frost Centre was host to numerous elementary and secondary school education programs, as well as providing MNR training, Conservation Officer training, OPP gun range training, a working saw mill, horse logging, snow shoe routes, hiking trails and canoe routes, along with scientific research programs.

Mr. Ouellette says, “This government never even considered looking at any options or considered public consultation to continue the valued operation of the Frost Centre.”