11 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Fall 2022 As summarized in the President’s Message, Coastal Protection Committee matters have dominated our advocacy work since the last UPDATE issue in the spring, but we have also been addressing water quality issues, as described in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement article, and, of course, the usual wide range of concerns that were listed starting on page 12 in the previous UPDATE publication. (georgianbay.ca/flipbook/GBA-Summer-2022/) The addition of Cosette Shipman to the GBA team this year, and the excellent work Cosette has done as the coastal protection projects coordinator has allowed us to move forward on three major projects: ≥ GBA’s Planning Regulation Guide has now been published, see the sidebar on page 9 for more information. It is not intended to supplant the excellent materials that your municipality provides on these topics – in fact, it contains numerous links to that more detailed information. ≥ The municipal planning comparison project has been the major undertaking, as anticipated, and is now close to completion. It will establish base data on the current status and main features of each municipality’s strategic plan, official plan (OP) and comprehensive zoning bylaws (CZB), compare them and then share information on the results. It is expected that this will lead, amongst other objectives, to discussions on potential ways to develop more consistent planning and land-use policies and regulations throughout the coast, including identifying and sharing information on sound procedures and best practices. ≥ Our septic management/maintenance guide is also substantially complete and we are in the process of organizing an independent review of the contents from a qualified professional. We are also actively trying to get ahead of the potential proliferation of floating cottages, as described in the previous issue of UPDATE. The GBA Floating Cottages Strategic Committee includes representatives from: the townships of Severn, Georgian Bay and the Archipelago; the Gloucester Pool Cottagers’ Association; the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA); and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLSLCI). This committee is successfully establishing strategies to advocate to the various government agencies for the changes needed to properly regulate floating cottages. The MPP and MP for Parry SoundMuskoka - Graydon Smith (also Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry) and Scott Aitchison, respectively - have both indicated support for such regulation. Other MPs have also asked Transport Canada to review its definition of a vessel, which is the core issue that needs to be addressed. Recently we discovered that Transport Canada had issued a vessel licence to a dock (which they rescinded eventually) and to a boathouse (still in place), so there are clearly issues with their vessel licensing procedures. We recently received some good news – the Macey Bay development company that has been pushing for 180 trailers on that site has abandoned their plans and put the property on the market. This sale is likely to be problematic since there are still major environmental regulation issues to consider (see: https://bit.ly/MaceyBay-SAR). In particular, Macey Bay includes extensive, sensitive fish habitat that poses a significant impediment to being able to build enough docks for the trailers. This has been a long battle that is not over yet, and we should recognize the generous donation GBA received in 2017 to initiate legal proceedings and the amazing hard work of Tom Bain and Jean DeMarco over the years to work with us to help protect the environment from the potential impacts of this proposed trailer park development. A few other highlights: ≥ Expect a GBA report soon on the long-awaited Environment and Climate Change Canada future water levels study – pre-release summaries of the study findings have recently been made public. ≥ GBA will be working on the regulations for the bill to ban unencapsulated dock foam, and continues to work on getting the washing-machine filter bill approved. ≥ Your Boating, Safety, and Emergencies Committee continues to bring forward to you a wealth of important information, including progress on the Decibel Project – please visit the GBA website and review eUpdate posts on these matters. Finally, I would like to recognize the great work of your associations and GBA board of directors on so many issues on your behalf, without which GBA would not be able to achieve so much to protect our beloved Bay. By Rupert Kindersley, Executive Director ED ADVOCACY REPORT
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