Ipperwash Provincial Park

Ipperwash Provincial Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Nearest city	Grand Bend, Ontario
Coordinates	43°12′54″N 81°57′14″W / 43.21500°N 81.95389°WCoordinates: 43°12′54″N 81°57′14″W / 43.21500°N 81.95389°W
Area	56 ha (140 acres)
Established	1936
Governing body	Ontario Parks

Ipperwash Provincial Park is a former provincial park on the shores of southern Lake Huron in Lambton County, Ontario.

Located near Grand Bend, the 56-hectare (140-acre) park was established in 1936.^[1] It contains a long sandy beach on the lakeshore, as well as rare flowers and sand dunes. Wildlife include migrating jaegers, scoter, grebe, and Brant goose.

Ipperwash Crisis

In 1942, during World War II, the Government of Canada appropriated land for a military base from the Chippewa of Kettle and Stoney Point First Nation, purportedly only for the duration, and initially with a promise of compensation. The military continued to use Camp Ipperwash for summer training of cadets into the 1990s. During the late 1980s, the Stoney Point First Nation began to pressure the federal and provincial governments to revert ownership of the entire property as per the 1941 expropriation agreement. The adjacent land at Ipperwash Provincial Park was claimed by the Stoney Point First Nation and was reputed to contain a burial ground.^[2] First Nations activism led protesters to occupy the base and the park in September 1995. A confrontation between Ontario Provincial Police and the protesters resulted in the death of Dudley George, the only aboriginal killed in 20th century land claims disputes.

In 2003, the provincial government commissioned an investigative inquiry into George's death and events of the protest. This led to changes in policing policy, and findings that some officials had made racist comments.

On 20 December 2007, the Ontario government announced that it would return Ipperwash Provincial Park to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, and that the park would initially be administered jointly.

On 04 February 2015, chief Tom Bressette informed Lambton County that a cultural center would be built on site of the former park, with a hotel complex nearby.^[3]

References

1. Brown, Dan (4 July 2014). "Paradise lost". The London Free Press. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014.
2. (pdf doc.) Ipperwash Commission Of Inquiry Historical Background Report; pgs 55-58
3. Simpson, Barbara (2015-04-06). "Hotel, heritage centre planned for Kettle Point | Sarnia Observer". theobserver.ca. Retrieved 2015-04-06.