Dear Editor:
Recently, the Ontario Landowners Association has been approached by literally thousands of people, regarding Bill 118, the “Great Lakes Shoreline Right of Passage Act.” Some may be of the opinion that this Act, for a trail system, is restricted to the shorelines of the Great Lakes and it doesn’t affect them. They are wrong. Under this Act, the St. Lawrence River and the connecting channels to the Great Lakes are affected. That isn’t the end of this violation of private property. If this Bill passes, because government cannot discriminate, it will mean every creek, stream, river, canal, etc., you name it; that flows into the Great Lakes or the St. Lawrence, on or from your property. And your property will be subject to this Bill.
So what is Bill 118 you may ask? It is to allow a trail to be created on everyone’s private property so that people who want to can go for a walk, ride a bike, or to use a wheelchair on someone else’s property. What this Bill says is that between the “high water mark” and private property, the public can use the land. Firstly, the term “high water mark” only pertains to tidal waters, meaning that it is only applicable to water that is affected by tidal action, as in the Atlantic, Pacific, and in the Artic.
And yet this Bill is applying this term to non-tidal water-ways as in the Great Lakes or the St. Lawrence waters and the tributaries to said waters. Secondly, any land between any boundary mark, on private property, must be reserved in the Letters Patent or on a plan of survey, for public use. At least that is what the courts say.
But this isn’t the first time government has attempted to take away waterfront or stream front private property, for public use. Every political party has tried, throughout the history of Ontario, to do this. And every time people have had to get their letters patent, have their complete title searches done, obtain copies of the original surveys and the original surveyor’s notes, and go to court, to stop this. And the Courts, historically, have always ruled in the favour of the private property owner, right up to the Supreme Court of Canada. So here we go again.
Some MPPs say this Bill will never pass, and yet it has gone through two votes in Queen’s Park and has been sent to Committee for ratification. Can we trust what they are telling us? History says we cannot. If you are concerned about Bill 118, contact your MPP and don’t take the answer that this will not pass, at face value. Because this may very well be just another Breach of Trust, that Kathleen Wynne will have to apologize for.
Signed by Elizabeth Marshall,
Researcher, Ontario Landowners Association
Submitted by Donna Burns, President, Renfrew-Pembroke-Nipissing
Landowners Association Chapter of the Ontario Landowners Association
