2013 Lake Links Workshop

Nov 07, 2013

This year the annual Lake Links Workshop, titled "The Lake Landscape - From Political to Practical", was held at the Civitan Hall in Perth on October 19. It focused on the importance of local lake associations developing strategies for community engagement in order to continue to “protect, celebrate and improve the health of area lakes”. Emcee Lynn Weston introduced the day's first speaker, executive director of the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Association (FOCA), Terry Rees, as “our fearless leader in all things lake related”. Rees' talk was titled “The New Landscape in Ontario Lake Country” and it encompassed recent regulatory changes and the roles of government regarding lake funding and policies while stressing the need for lake and cottage associations to lead the way in protecting the health of local lakes.

“It's not about the government doing stuff for us,” Rees said, “it's about the role of government but, more importantly, how we can serve ourselves.

He cited the importance not only of having local champions to speak out on the issues but also for individuals and associations to be able to participate in the formal process.

“It's very important that every lake association be well organized and ready to respond to issues in their own local community, and to build a sense of community as well as a regional presence. Changes can be painful and slow but it's really up to us to make them happen.”

Rees highlighted a recent survey done by FOCA that surveyed 300 of the over 500 Ontario lake associations as to how they felt their lakes were doing. He reported that roughly one quarter of those surveyed thought their lake was under developed; and 55% felt their lakes were over developed and reported excess noise, lights and boat traffic. Of those who were asked if they felt their lake cares were being adequately looked after by the prevailing laws in place, Rees reported 49% thought they were well looked after; 20% did not know; and the rest felt a sense of discomfort and angst.

Rees showed a video about Sylvan Lake, a small lake located in Alberta. In the clip, Dr. David Schindler, a world renowned and internationally celebrated scientist and professor of ecology at the University of Alberta, spoke about plans to further develop Lake Sylvan. He stated, “We have 50 years of science to know what not to do and it's damn time that developers and city councils learn to use it and not turn every lake in the country into a cesspool.”

Rees said that that same situation could be the case anywhere in Ontario. “No one knows area lakes better than those who reside there; no regulators, and no government rules will change that.”

That being said, Rees also said that the government does have a role to play. “We have a federal system of government and we rely on various government departments to take care of the commons.... to set the underpinnings, the policies, and the framework so that we can reasonably expect that our communities will look the way we think they should down the road.”

Rees also spoke of the “several affronts to our democratic process in the last couple of years that we should all be very offended by.” He spoke of the environmental Bill of Rights, which was overridden by the 2012 federal omnibus budget bill and how, in that case, environmental laws can be “changed with no oversight ... all in the name of economic development”.

He touched on the 100-year-old fisheries act. “They (the feds) retracted it and gave away its authority. That fact should be disturbing to all of us and we need to hold this government to account.”

He spoke about $70 million in cuts to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the end of the stewardship programs, which he said are “short sighted and not about the budget and that makes a dramatic difference in the development of rural Ontario.”

Rees ended his talk by posing two questions. “What can you do?” His answer is to "get to know your local councilors and make sure they know what your opinions and what the issues are”. Lastly he asked, “Who's really in charge?" His answer- “It's all of us. Vote for the people you like and make sure you hold them to account.”

Following Rees' talk a panel discussion took place with representatives from four local lake/cottage and community associations speaking about how they go about engaging the community, acquiring and sustaining membership, and building community locally. In the afternoon portion of the workshop, Angus McAllister, president of Fathom6 Research, spoke further about how best to engage local lake communities into action.