GBA - Summer 2019

14 ≥ www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Summer 2019 ED’S ADVOCACY REPORT By Rupert Kindersley, Executive Director S ince reporting on GBA’s advocacy work in February - https://georgianbay.ca/ flipbook/GBA-Spring-2019/10/ - we have been busy on your behalf on a number of fronts. To highlight just a few… Aquaculture At two discussions with Ontario Minister Rod Phillips - Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) - GBA pressed for action on the Lake Wolsey open net fish farm - see the Spring 2018 UPDATE for details: http://georgianbay.ca/ flipbook/GBA-Spring-2018/ Discussions are ongoing with both the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and MECP to have this operation closed down before the annual (since 2015) blue-green algae blooms cause even more damage to the aquatic environment and further increase the risk to public health and safety. We recently attended the Ontario Aquaculture Association’s annual conference and it is apparent that the other Ontario open net fish farm operations want to see this facility closed down. In April, GBA appeared as a witness before the Senate Sub-Committee dealing with the new Fisheries Act, Bill C-68. This gave us another opportunity to draw the government’s attention to the dangers that open net fish farms pose to water quality and the aquatic ecology in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. See www.georgianbay.ca for the evidence provided and a video of the proceedings here: www.georgianbay.ca/ news/gba-appears-as-a-witness-on-bill-c-68 GBA will continue our advocacy efforts on these open net fish farms with the Senate, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), MNRF and MECP. Development of the proposed Federal Aquaculture Act is now, at last, underway and GBA has taken steps to ensure that we are positioned to provide input at an early stage to ensure that this Act properly protects the waters of Georgian Bay and the North Channel. Henvey Inlet Fire In February, MNRF advised that their investigation report into this fire was completed, but not released to the public. We, along with the Key River Area Association, have therefore issued a Freedom of Information request to obtain a copy of the report. Look for UPDATEs on our website and in eUPDATEs for progress on this convoluted process. In March we wrote to MNRF to ask for a review of their forest fire rating system and protocols in order to reduce the risk of future fires. As we have seen, the MNRF’s ratings are not always in line with the on-the-ground accurate ratings that our municipalities provide. Since climate change appears to be causing increasingly dry summers, with a greater risk of fire in the Bay and throughout the Canadian shield, it is crucial that MNRF provide accurate fire ratings. When their ratings are less restrictive than municipalities’ ratings, high-fire-risk activities on construction sites and in parks will increase the likelihood of more human-caused fires. That must be changed! Species at Risk (SARs) Also in March, we submitted many recommendations for improvements to the 10-year review of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (see https://georgianbay.ca/news/gba- advocates-for-better-protection-for-endangered-species ). When introduced in 1971, this legislation was rightly hailed as a stellar example for other governments to follow for the protection of species at risk (SAR) – a global problem that has since worsened substantially and needs to be addressed immediately. Photo credit: Craig Bowden, CCA Aquaculture cage at Lake Wolsey. Photo: Kelly Hille