Series consists of the registry files created and maintained by the Ontario Regional Office of Parks Canada and its predecessors. The files deal with the three older national parks in the region (Point Pelee, St. Lawrence Islands and Georgian Bay Islands), and numerous historic sites, as well as such regional concerns as publicity, tourism, conferences, construction and administration. There are also a number of files relating to canals.
Canadian Parks Service. Ontario Region : The Ontario Regional Office is located in Cornwall, Ontario. It is one of five regional offices that is responsible for the local and day-to-day administration of national parks and historic sites across Canada. Cornwall was chosen as the site of the Ontario Regional Office because of its central location. In 1962 the Ontario and Quebec Regional Office in Cornwall was one of three field regions established when the National Parks Branch introduced a policy of decentralization in response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Government Organization (the Glassco Report). The regional offices in Western Canada, Ontario and Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, with their respective directors, coordinated planning and administrative strategy for the parks and historical sites in their respective regions. During the 1970s, the decentralization of Parks Canada functions continued. In 1973, the Ontario and Quebec Region was split in two, the Ontario Regional Office remained in Cornwall, while the responsibility for Quebec shifted to a new office in Quebec City. The Directors of the regional offices reported to the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister and Headquarters' role was redefined to encompass "policy development, strategic policy planning and supportive program research" (Indian and Northern Affairs, Annual Report 1973-1974, pp. 6, 24). Responsibility for land and property management, restoration, conservation and most historical and archeological research was also transferred to the regions.
