12 www.georgianbay.ca GBA UPDATE Summer 2023 As usual, lots of activity to report to you since my previous update in February. Floating Cottages Following the letter GBA and other members of our strategic alliance wrote to Minister Graydon Smith, asking for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to take a lead role in addressing the proper regulation of floating accommodation units, MNRF asked for comments on proposed new regulations that would prohibit floating accommodations from tying up to Crown land or anchoring to the lakebed overnight. GBA submitted their comments and is following up with a letter to the minister. However, the prohibition will be ineffective if Transport Canada (TC) continues to grant vessel licences to these floating accommodations. Accordingly, the priority for the strategic alliance is to persuade TC to amend their licensing protocols to prevent vessel licences being issued to floating accommodations. Details about our progress can/will be found here: georgianbay.ca/floating-cottages/ Underused Housing Tax (UHT) As 23 per cent of GBA members are US or international citizens, GBA reached out to the Canadian Revenue Agency as soon as we heard that the requirements for the UHT were released. You can read more about the tax and how to file in the short article on page 11. GBA believes that all, or almost all, of our members’ properties will be exempt from the tax, but even if your property is exempt, you still must file or risk a fine. We will continue to advocate to the government to waive the annual filing requirement for properties that will always be exempt. Aquaculture First a big thank you to Claudette Young who has stepped up to chair this committee again. Claudette has been on the committee for almost all of its 25-year history, and being back at the helm has provided a great boost to our goal to move all open-net fish farms to land-based, sustainable facilities. Claudette’s actions and GBA’s recent attendance at the Ontario Aquaculture Association’s (OAA) annual meeting have yielded some useful updates: ≥ The industry has been asking MNRF to move to 20-year licences (current licences must be renewed every five years). This has still not been implemented, as consultations with Indigenous communities have not yet begun. ≥ We have also learned that recently developed Indigenous guidelines about open-net aquaculture are apparently more stringent than those of MNRF and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). ≥ We have restarted regular meetings with MNRF, MECP and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), with the next meeting set for early May. ≥ We continue to work with OAA and MNRF to get the Lake Wolsey operation closed down before there are more algae outbreaks. We have also recently provided support/ information for the consultant hired by the Sheshegwaning First Nation to interpret the environmental compliance reports that the Lake Wolsey operator provided to the Sheshegwaning under their joint venture. In other news: ≥ Claudette and I met with MP Vance Badawey, who we hope will help us on a couple of DFO issues. ≥ We have commenced discussions with Indigenous leaders to see how we can work together, particularly in light of their new guidance document, termed the Great [Aquaculture] Plan. ≥ We have begun formulating plans to reboot the past aquaculture environmental forum with support from the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission. ≥ We are investigating the need to update the agreement between DFO and MNRF, which grants MNRF the authority to regulate this industry. Wiikwemkoong (Wiiky) Interim Land Claim There are some updates on this file regarding progress and timing. The past GBA work, led by Northern Georgian Bay Association (NGBA) can be found here: bit.ly/GBA-LandClaim. The environmental study report has now been completed, which paves the way for the Philip Edward Island and its By Rupert Kindersley, Executive Director ED ADVOCACY REPORT
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