Dear Editor:
I would like to provide a response to Whitewater Region Councillor Charlene Jackson’s comments in the “Briefs and notes from the Sept. 6 Whitewater Region council meeting” published in the Sept. 14 edition of Whitewater News.
While I can appreciate Coun. Jackson’s loyalty to the Muskrat Watershed Council (MWC) as it is the only organization that WWR Council is willing to recognize, I take issue with her failing to recognize the hard work of Don Deer and the progress made by the Muskrat Lake Association (MLA).
Allow me to correct the inaccuracies provided by Coun. Jackson with some facts: Mr. Deer and Gary Younghusband submitted the Request for Review on behalf of the MLA, not as individuals. Louise Deschambault is a member of the MLA and plays an active and dedicated role in the quest to fix Muskrat Lake. In fact, she hosted the first AGM and can be credited along with the Ontario Land Owners Association and others for creating the MLA and MWC; however, it was Mr. Deer who made contact with the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario in November 2015 to determine the best course of action regarding the condition of Muskrat Lake.
The Request for Review contained a tremendous amount of data that was collected from several open sources, such as the MNR, MOECC, Algonquin College and the MWC. In fact, of the 48 documents that were included in the Request for Review, there was only one from the MWC: the Rebecca Dalton Report that the MWC commissioned and that was paid for by the Cobden and District Civitan Club. As part of the Request for Review was a Remediation Plan for Muskrat Lake. Mr. Deer spent countless hours researching and completed the Remediation Plan from the research he conducted. This was done after WWR township and Renfrew County refused to support or fund a Remediation Plan for Muskrat Lake. Both Renfrew County and the Township have stated that the issues with Muskrat Lake are “Not our problem”, so the MLA, led by Mr. Deer, went ahead and completed the Request for Review and submitted it to the MNR and MOECC. Yes, the MWC provided the Dalton Report, but to insinuate that the MWC was the sole source or had any part of the research completed by Mr. Deer is completely false.
Members of the MLA have and continue to work collaboratively with any and all organizations willing to help remediate Muskrat Lake. In fact, members of the MLA are also members of the MWC, holding positions on the Science Committee. We will continue to do whatever it takes to help our lake and if that doesn’t sit well with Coun. Jackson and WWR township so be it.
If Coun. Jackson cannot set aside her personal feelings towards individuals or organizations such as Mr. Deer and Mr. Younghusband and the Muskrat Lake Association, perhaps she should step down from her position on the MWC. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Kevin Lamorie
Vice President
Muskrat Lake Association
