GBA 2021 - Spring Update

11 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Spring 2021 2 020 was a year like no other. Certainly GBA never thought a global pandemic would form part of our agenda. It turns out COVID-19 was on everyone’s agenda, and GBA was no exception, as we grappled with issues like access to marinas and cottages, proper health protocols, and protecting local communities and First Nations in the Georgian Bay area. As I write this, we are not out of the woods yet and Ontario has entered another lockdown. That likely means issues raised by COVID-19 will remain on our agenda entering the spring. We’re all hoping that spring will bring long-awaited relief from this pandemic, and that wider availability of vaccines will reduce the level of restrictions on business and social interaction. But restrictions will no doubt remain in place for some time to come, so GBA will continue to monitor events, advise on best practices for cottagers, and advocate for our interests where appropriate. As I wrote in the fall issue of UPDATE , a concern that has been front of mind for GBA from the beginning has been the plight of American members of our local associations who have been unable to get to their summer homes on the Bay due to restrictions at the US border. Late last year, the GBA Board made the unanimous decision that if those restrictions might remain in place this spring, we should do more to advocate for an exception to the restrictions for American owners of seasonal residences. But it is too early to initiate that effort now, given the alarming data on COVID-19 and the severe lockdown in place in Ontario. We will continue to monitor the situation and respond accordingly. Meanwhile, in 2020 GBA remained very active on the issues that we traditionally focus on. It was a very busy year for Executive Director Rupert Kindersley and our GBA Board. Here are just a few of the highlights: ≥ Water levels: GBA carried out extensive analyses and consultations on water levels issues in response to the record high levels people are grappling with on the Bay. We devised a new strategy to address high water levels. We added new bench strength to our Water Committee when volunteers from outside the GBA Board joined the Committee. This all culminated in the important GBA-GBF symposium on water levels in October, which brought together many top experts to explain and debate the issues. Read the latest in Rupert’s front-page article on this issue. ≥ Planning and development: GBA’s Coastal Protection Committee is focused on addressing planning and development issues on the Bay, with a view to taking action to protect the water, wetlands, lands, ecology, flora and fauna in our unique archipelago. Actions will address planning and development rules in area municipalities and at the provincial level, and responding to significant development applications that could have precedent- setting impacts in our region. GBA voiced opposition to all or parts of several proposed developments over the past year. In most cases those plans continue to be contested. We will keep at it. ≥ TC Energy project: GBA also made several major submissions on TCE’s proposed “stored energy” project at Meaford, and we engaged in direct discussions with the company to voice our concerns about environmental and Georgian Bay impacts and to discuss potential solutions. We’re pleased that TCE has significantly redesigned the proposed project in ways that will address many of our concerns. We continue to monitor progress and events. ≥ Aquaculture: GBA rejuvenated the makeup of the Aquaculture Committee with qualified new members joining the team. Many submissions were made to both Ontario ministries on regulatory issues, and the federal government on the Aquaculture Act. We also held productive, lengthy discussions with a large team from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, which the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans also participated in. Those talks are ongoing. ≥ Water quality: We continued our long-standing participation in the Great Lakes Executive Committee conferences, which provide progress reports under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Also, in late 2020, a welcome new federal initiative arose with the formation of a new Canada Water Agency. GBA started discussions with Terry Duguid, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Environment Climate Change Canada who is in charge of this initiative, and who also gave an informative introductory talk at our October water levels symposium. Rest assured that GBA remains active on your behalf on all these fronts entering into 2021. Thank you very much for your continued support of GBA and engagement in these issues. We all share in the interests and values that make pursuing them so vital. PRESIDENT’S REPORT A Year Like No Other By John Carson, GBA President