Collect DEAD Wood for your Campfire? Go Directly To Jail!

Through my experiences in Provincial Parks I have found that you cannot burn dead wood that is gathered in the park itself, around your campsite for example but you can burn dead wood that is gathered outside the park or wood that is provided by the campground itself. Otherwise there would be no need for firepits in the campground.
Lake Superior park is the exception for some reason. They provide firepits in the interior of the park but do not provide firewood so gathering of firewood from the bush is accepted practice. It appears the park super can make his own rules in some cases because they look the other way when you cut dead trees.
The problem is according to the Provincial Parks Act you shall not cut a tree in a Provincial Park. Period. Dead or alive. It's against the law. They are trying to maintain the buffers around the campsites in the smaller roadside parks I think.
I was charged once in the interior of Lake Superior Park in the middle of the winter on a fishing trip 10 km into the interior of the park. I cut some boughs off a spruce tree to sleep on as a buffer against the cold and the snow. A little extreme I think but it is the law.

A law that stupid needs to be changed. Leaving all the dead wood on the ground just creates a fire hazard.

One can appreciate and understand the rational behind tree cutting in our Provincial Parks but along with this comes the maturity to sensibly apply and enforce these rules.
Tree cutting can range from axe wielding park visitors cutting every tree near their campsite to snapping off a twig while hiking; there's plenty of grey area for the COs to base their decisions on.
It's frightening when we have to fear such immature and irrational enforcement in our parks, theres other more important things to worry about than well meaning people gathering dead wood for a campfire or using a few boughs to sleep on 10km back in the bush..

Leaving dead wood is important to the sustainability of the ecosystem. Many animals use these as homes, or as places to escape predators. Some species are facing certain extirpations in some parks due to the collection of driftwood for fires. I realize it doesn't seem like a lot, but especially in parks where many visitors come to camp and have fires, even a small collection will impact the environment, leaving the forest floor a blank page void of homes or hiding places. So while the amount you yourself collect doesn't damage the ecosystem, it all adds up.

"M", are you serious or is there some tongue in cheek prodding going on here?

at filrst i thought that this was a dumb rule however upon reading further and thinking about it i now believe that this is a proper decision and actually helps the natural aspect of the wilderness

A few years back, MNR was on strike, and ON Parks opened up early and unprepared. Our site still had all the Winter debris, and I simply started "flinging" in the branches with my fire poker… To my surprise, I was promptly told by the Ranger that I was burning Crown property and that I could be charged with doing it.
Could have simply made things more friendly by stating the law, purpose, and moved on… then I could have just as easily flicked these twigs into the bush!