The local tourism sector got a much-needed shot in the arm today with the province pledging $1.5 million to Huronia Historical Parks.
Speaking at Discovery Harbour to announce the funding, Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop said that the industry has been the hardest hit due to the pandemic and will take the longest to recover.
To that end, more than $1.5 million in capital funding is being invested for the repair and rehabilitation of Huronia Historical Parks (HHP) by the province. Within the total amount, over $500,000 will go toward conserving the Great Fireplace of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Midland, as well as $100,000 for the Discovery Harbour wharf redevelopment project.
Fellow cabinet minister Lisa MacLeod attended the event along with HHP general manager Will Baird.
“Supporting you during the pandemic was important,” said MacLeod, whose ministerial portfolio includes heritage, sport, tourism and culture, “but planning for a full economic and social recovery is absolutely critical for all of our agencies, attractions, and all of the sectors we represent.”
As part of Ontario’s 2021 budget, more than $400 million is intended to support Macleod’s sectors over the next three years, bringing the total to $625 million for those areas since the pandemic began.
Discovery Harbour was the final stop in an 18-destination “Rediscover Ontario” tour by the tourism minister, who visited the Great Fireplace earlier in the day.
“And think about how historic this work is going to be,” added MacLeod in regards to the $500,000 investment, “that the stonemasons from Parliament Hill are actually contributing to the longevity of this masonry.”
Attendees shared a laugh as MacLeod noted that the $100,000 going to the wharf redevelopment project would help preserve the original fixed wharf “which is right now being held up by a beaver dam,” a statement which GM Baird verified before gratefully thanking the two ministers present.
“At the peak of its operation in 1820,” Baird explained, “the wharf that you see down here would’ve been responsible for over 20 vessels, and hundreds of people would’ve used this wharf.
“So if you think about the economic impacts of both of those statements, it’s very fruitful for us to continue as stewards of those pieces of heritage; to use them for the best value of Ontarians,” Baird concluded.
Dunlop spoke to her time growing up in the areas of HHP, reaffirming the importance of tourism for the region.
“As the first European settlement in Ontario, and as a War of 1812 outpost respectively, we have an obligation as the current caretakers of these important landmarks to ensure that Sainte-Marie among the Hurons and Discovery Harbour remain visible, accessible and preserved for current and future generations of Canadians to visit, engage, and learn from,” Dunlop remarked.
MacLeod spoke to recovery in the tourism and hospitality sectors, while praising Dunlop on the latter’s new role within a recent provincial cabinet shuffle.
“I look forward to working with her (Dunlop) hand-in-glove as we start to recover in the tourism and hospitality sectors, as well as our cultural industries,” said MacLeod. “It’s going to be absolutely critical that our sectors work in alignment with her universities and colleges, so that we can train the best workers possible that will make Ontario, once again, a premier destination around the globe.”
The event, which began with an introductory bagpipe procession, concluded with a ceremonial cannon being fired off in a deafening explosion that rattled windows throughout the site.
“Maybe that scared the beaver,” joked one of the ministers as they parted ways.
