Within the Ontario Government, the Ministry of Natural Resources has the lead role for the care and management of Ontario’s Crown land and water, which covers about 87 per cent of the province.
The Ministry of Natural Resources carries out Crown land use planning under the authority of the Public Lands Act. Crown land use planning:
- assigns Crown land to primary designations (e.g., protected areas (Provincial Parks; Conservation Reserves); Enhanced Management Areas and General Use Areas); and
- develops a list of permitted uses for specific areas (e.g., recreational activities such as hiking, ATV use; commercial activities such as commercial fur harvesting, power generation).
Detailed local planning for certain activities is carried out through resource management planning such as forest management planning.
Crown land use planning can occur at scales ranging from the development of large regional plans to site-specific land use amendments. Crown land use planning decisions are made through an open public process.
Local Crown land use policies for central and mid-northern Ontario have been consolidated and geo-spatially represented in the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas. These local policies are referred to as area-specific land use policies. In southern Ontario, area-specific land use policies are found in District Land Use Guidelines and other approved land use plans. In the Far North of Ontario, the Far North Act provides direction for the development of community based land use plans, which are initiated by First Nation communities. In time, the Crown Land Use Policy Atlas will be expanded to include southern Ontario and the community based land use plans in the Far North.
The Guide for Crown Land Use Planning provides detailed guidance to Ministry of Natural Resources staff and others involved in Crown land use planning. The Guide applies to all Crown land use planning carried out under the authority of the Public Lands Act, south of the Far North planning area.
