Canada's Tourism Vision - Canada's Tourism Vision

I hope Wasaga Beach keeps it's vision to the future. All signs lead towards a long and fruitful economy rising with a growing world wide tourism movement.

Are we aligning ourselves with Provincial and Federal initiative?
Have a read! ;

Canada's Tourism Vision - Canada's Tourism Vision

I was disappointed this year that I did not see any fireflies. I worry that in an attempt to "urbanize" our population, we are creating an "industrialization" of our rural lands. Whether it's large scale factory farming or resource extraction, we have been killing things at an alarming rate with out practices and insatiable wants. 
Everyone recognizes  the loss of our larger more obvious, furry or cute creatures, but the loss of worms, bugs, flying insects, crawly things and even lowly microbes, by the ton, is ten times greater. Those little creatures are the basis for the whole system.

Here in Wasaga Beach, there is a push for more intensive urbanization, improved infrastructure like concrete curbs, sidewalk and buried storm sewers.
This all takes a lot of concrete and aggregate. I took part in the fight against the "mega quarry" just south of us a few years back.
I look at the legislation that pushes and promotes urbanization, only to read, hidden in the middle, that most of the so called protection of our environment is really little more than protection for the "right of extraction" on our all ready overused natural resources.

An excerpt from the 2014 Provincial Policy Statement
2.3.6 Non-Agricultural Uses in Prime Agricultural Areas 2.3.6.1 Planning authorities may only permit non-agricultural uses in prime agricultural areas for: a) extraction of minerals, petroleum resources and mineral aggregate resources, in accordance with policies 2.4 and 2.5; or PROVINCIAL POLICY STATEMENT 26 b) limited non-residential uses, provided that all of the following are demonstrated: 1. the land does not comprise a specialty crop area; 2. the proposed use complies with the minimum distance separation formulae; 3. there is an identified need within the planning horizon provided for in policy 1.1.2 for additional land to be designated to accommodate the proposed use; and 4. alternative locations have been evaluated, and i. there are no reasonable alternative locations which avoid prime agricultural areas; and ii. there are no reasonable alternative locations in prime agricultural areas with lower priority agricultural lands. 2.3.6.2 Impacts from any new or expanding non-agricultural uses on surrounding agricultural operations and lands are to be mitigated to the extent feasible.
2.5.2 Protection of Long-Term Resource Supply 2.5.2.1 As much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible. Demonstration of need for mineral aggregate resources, including any type of supply/demand analysis, shall not be required, notwithstanding the availability, designation or licensing for extraction of mineral aggregate resources locally or elsewhere.

When you read the whole thing, it pretty well leaves it up to the discretion of the Corporation, doing the extraction as to what is reasonable and feasible.

The older style family farm or large lot suburban and rural communities, actual did sustain a much greater diversity of wild life, including those tiny creatures. There was no vast mono-culture, that striped the land of almost everything. People are creatures, living things and part of nature. We belong to the land. When we understand and respect that, then we are also the best stewards of the land.

While we 'chew' on those thoughts here are a couple of articles well worth having a good look at!

How the Growth of Monoculture Crops Is Destroying our Planet and Still Leaving us Hungry

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/monoculture-crops-environment/

Half of Canada's wildlife species are in decline, WWF finds

https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/wwf-living-planet-index-1.4288173

Are we back to Condo dreams already?

A post about the future of Wasaga yesterday, was an “I’m throwing in the towel” rant. It seemed to support the notion that our tourism industry is no longer important and condo development is the future of our town. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/wasagabeach/?ref=group_header) Wed 2;52

“The slightly sleazy, ‘party-on’ beachfront must die. Nobody will retire to the area as it is now. The area must be gentrified.” was a quote from that post.

So here's my rant....

To start with, there have been condo dreams for the beach for over 20 years, and all they did directly or indirectly lead to the destruction and neglect of existing buildings a facilities. Do not bull doze any thing else, till we build something new first or we will end up with nothing.

Secondly, the term “Gentrification” while it has been whitewashed by it’s proponents, is deeply rooted in the classist and racist ideology of the Gentry or so called Noble class of the wealthy aristocrats. It would of course preclude the Government mandate for the urbanization to include low income housing and facilities for the less fortunate. When the Park was created, the statement was made by the government that the Beaches are being preserved for the recreation uses of all of Ontario, so we have to get over the notion that it belongs to us! It does not. It belongs to the whole population of Canada.

I think we need a dose of realism.

First many of the residences here are secondary homes for empty nesters or retirement homes for snowbirds.

No amount of growth will help support year round business if in continues on this path.

So that leaves us with summer tourism.

Big problem is, as many say, they are day trippers and don’t spend any money.

Why is that?

We did it. Since the late 60’s there has been a steady decline in the amount of overnight accommodation along our beaches.

We had a real estate boom all across Canada then. More and more people saw an opportunity to make a fast profit in that game. Wasaga had cheap land and became a target.

We also had the bad habit of electing real estate agents and brokers to our council that had an obvious bias in favour of redevelopment.

They intern, for some strange reason invited the province to come in and take over control of the beach fronts.

Ontario Parks then set about to expropriate and tear down another estimated 30% of our overnight accommodations.

But then we had a little boom in our cottage industry, and land was carved up and sold to build weekend cottages.

That helped turn around our tourism. People came up, often stayed for a week or 2 and spent money.

They also invited family and friends to do the same.

So much so, that the remaining cottage courts and motels were starting to feel the competition. Some took the easy road and sold out to wealthy people to build big waterfront homes. Others quietly chewed on the ears of our local politicians and they used the nuisance complaints as an excuse to regulate private weekend rentals.

That only lead to a further decline in our overnight or week long visitations of tourist.

Now we want our complaint of “day trippers” to become a full reality by allowing the conversion of all of our remaining tourism accommodation to town house and condos.

It is a downward spiral that is getting faster everyday.

In a short 10 years we will have killed almost all of our tourism in favour of retirement homes.

This will kill most of our remaining retail industry. People downsizing need to get rid of stuff not buy more. That demographic does not dine out much, nor do they go to bars till the wee hours of the morning for entertainment. And once again, just look around your own neighbourhood to see, that most of those go south for the winter.

As the person who did the other post said, “commercial lease rates can not be supported with the kind of retail we have”.

So that leaves us with the only choice of relaxing restrictions on zoning, and allowing Mom & Pops to open up a little shop attached to their home.

We had lot’s of these all over the area back in the 50’s & 60’s.

Somehow we fell under the spell of “urban planning” and the need for order and structure, zoning vast areas as “residential only” or “commercial only”.

Can you just imagine how the 2 or 3 immediate neighbours would scream and stomp their feet, if a little variety store was allowed to open along Shore Lane near the entrance to Park 4 or Park 5. God forbid our “day trippers” should be encouraged to buy an ice cream or bag of potato chips.

Now I fully agree that a lot of our full time citizens and many neigbourhoods have been ignored for years. We are a small town (by any standards) so ditches and culverts are common here. They are also problematic, but the solution is not to go into huge expense by replacing them with buried service, but rather just do the required regular maintenance that part of our tax dollars is supposed to pay for.

And then let’s use some of the money the town collects for parkland dedication from builders and developers, to actually build a few parks and playgrounds.

Yes a big brand new library would be very nice. But for the near future what is needed more is a small second library in the west end of town. Doesn’t need to be fancy, just functional and more accessible to residents living out there.

We are fast becoming another Elliot Lake, in a time when many other towns are making the same mistake. It is quite possible that we may never attract a young demographic to live here, but at least we should make it easy for them to come and stay for a while.

Change the zoning back to tourism accommodation for all the areas still operating as such.

Encourage and assist those businesses to improve and upgrade.

When approving new development, ensure that corner stores and small retail is allowed every 2 blocks so things are “walkable”.

To bring back overnight visitors that do spend money, make allowance for B&B’s all over town, not just in one little corner. This would also help ensure that a good deal of the money stays with-in the local population and wealth pool!

Make our Town affordable for young people by encouraging secondary residences and lower the minimum square footage requirements on new builds.

We may never be able to afford and/or support the expense of a large modern double pad  arena, but we can afford to do major repair on out existing one, build a second outdoor ice pad, and put a roof over the existing outdoor pad.

Ask yourselves, is building concrete curbs and sidewalks on every street in Wasaga really that much more important that building up our public transport service?

I agree with the person that wrote that post, the Town had no business buying up land with tax payer money and a lot of mortgage debt, to facilitate our condo dreams.

If we want to see rapid redevelopment of our Beach 1 and Main St. area, the best way of doing that is to bust up the holdings into smaller more affordable parcels and putting them on the open market. Let’s not fall prey a 4^th time to a single persons grandiose vision and sales pitch.

If we really want to buy into the former Liberal Government’s dream of intensive urbanization, then read the “Places To Grow” act and preamble carefully. When you do that you’ll see that the area along Mosely from Schoonertown to 45^th St. is clearly the most ideal and suitable location for such urbanization. Leave our tourist area as a tourist area.

Now it seems, our newly elected council is enamored with the prospect of a local Casino. It will provide entertainment and recreation for our ‘ignored’ retired population. It will also kill what’s left of our tourist orientated hospitality business. They need the support of locals to carry them through the winter months. How will the compete against a subsidized Casino restaurant that sells a fish & chips dinner for $5.95 or has an all you can eat buffet for $10.95.

Next summer when the tourist come up and ask “were can we get something to eat?” we can just send them all to the casino I guess.

Finally go to the planning department website and have a look at our “active development” map and you’ll see that growth in our town is still exponential and does not need further encouragement. We do not have the infrastructure nor the funds to increase services to facilitate much more. We need to stop and do a little catch up.

Last Act of Defiance.

I admire this man greatly. Take the time to listen to "The Current" interview. I hope he gets better. I also hope he has inspired many to "wake up" as he says, and many more to pick up the torch.


Harry Leslie Smith, 95-year-old activist and podcaster, critically ill in hospital

We share similar view points, but Harry has the years and live experience to say he has lived on the other side. The world is fast returning to a time when less than 1% controlled over 905 of the wealth.
My fight against intensive urbanization of Wasaga's Beach area 1, is in part a fight against this return to serfdom. The "plan" also removes the historical ability of millions of Ontario citizens from their traditional and historic use of this natural wonder. (It belongs to the people!)

The Ontario Government "Places to Grow Act" which seeks to force urbanization on us, is as much about preserving vast lands for resource and mineral extraction, as indicated in their own verbiage.
"2.4 Minerals and Petroleum
2.4.1 Minerals and petroleum resources shall be protected for long-term use.
2.4.2 Protection of Long-Term Resource Supply
2.4.2.1 Mineral mining operations and petroleum resource operations shall be identified and protected from development and activities that would preclude or hinder their expansion or continued use or which would be incompatible for reasons of public health, public safety or environmental impact. 2.4.2.2 Known mineral deposits, known petroleum resources and significant areas of mineral potential shall be identified and development and activities in these resources or on adjacent lands which would preclude or hinder the establishment of new operations or access to the resources shall only be permitted if:
a) resource use would not be feasible; or
b) the proposed land use or development serves a greater long-term public interest; and
c) issues of public health, public safety and environmental impact are addressed.
2.4.4 Extraction in Prime Agricultural Areas
2.4.4.1 Extraction of minerals and petroleum resources is permitted in prime agricultural areas provided that the site will be rehabilitated.
2.5 Mineral Aggregate Resources
2.5.1 Mineral aggregate resources shall be protected for long-term use and, where provincial information is available, deposits of mineral aggregate resources shall be identified.
2.5.2 Protection of Long-Term Resource Supply

2.5.2.1 As much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible shall be made available as close to markets as possible. Demonstration of need for mineral aggregate resources, including any type of supply/demand analysis, shall not be required, notwithstanding the availability, designation or licensing for extraction of mineral aggregate resources locally or elsewhere. 2.5.2.2 Extraction shall be undertaken in a manner which minimizes social, economic and environmental impacts. 
I was in a small way, involved in the fight against the Mega Quarry. If it was not for the people that lived on the land, took care of it and called it home, surely the quarry would have come to be. Removing people from the land is the best and easiest way to remove the obstacles of objection and protest....if no-one lived there almost no one would be greatly concerned.
As witnessed by the GM announcement, good jobs are becoming rare in Canada. The seek to "reorganize to take advantage of new manufacturing technologies", (aka, robots).
The only thing that can protect the populace from this massive change, is a return to self sufficiency. This can only be accomplished if the humble citizen has good access to land and resources. With a few acres, you can grow your own food, cut a few tree branches to craft a chair, build your own home, raise a few animals. 
This may not be everyone's ideal, but there are enough people who do like the idea, enough that a return to a "sharing economy" can sustain us!
If you have Twitter, read Harry's comments over the years. Think hard about your own future too, and that of your children and grandchildren. Where will today's actions land us in 20 or 50 years? 

 

A new Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council.

The election is over.

I did not win a seat on Council. I hope I did make a difference of some kind though. Hopefully people will continue to read various articles in this blog to get another perspective. Thanks to everyone.

What I hope to Achieve.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

George Santayana (16 December 1863 in Madrid, Spain – 26 September 1952 in Rome, Italy) was a philosopher, essayist, poet and novelist

Wasaga Beach was scratched out of the bush and dirt by people who rolled up their sleeves, got to work and made things happen.

Somehow in the last 20 years we have lost a lot of that energy, and are more often than not, looking for a "Rainmaker" to get us going again.

We looked for a "big developer" to re-build a downtown. 

Now we are looking to a Casino to bring jobs and new visitors.

It has been my opinion  that we have all we need here, in people, talent and resources. A few years ago I created a Facebook group to encourage that ! ....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/289267904937624/?source_id=1990330817958897

Collingwood is doing a good job of this. Years back I offered my time to help mentor young business upstarts in the South Greorgian Bay area.

I tried to highlight the true leaders in our community, those that are the pioneer spirit and make a good example and inspire us:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Game-Changers-1311340038969204/

I have also tried to share ideas of how we can improve our town and many aspects of it.
https://www.facebook.com/wasagasbest/

On a green note, I have made use of grey water systems and low energy compositing toilets. http://www.separett.ca/   I was one of their very first customers.

To save energy costs, at another property I installed "Time Of Use Technology".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTizD0R2mh0

It is my belief we have what we need to make Wasaga Beach a better place to live. We just need to get creative, energized and roll up our sleeves, just like those that built this town. That is what I hope to achieve.

Have a peek.....

https://robertbortlisz.blogspot.com/2018/07/robert-bortlisz-candidate-for-wasaga.htmlhttps://robertbortlisz.blogspot.com/2018/07/robert-bortlisz-candidate-for-wasaga.html

   Statement of Principles.