• Protecting Water and Farmland in Simcoe County

After federal changes to waterways rules, 90 per cent of protected lakes lap on Conservative shores

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In Water
Oct 31st, 2012
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Almost one third contained in Ontario cottage country ridings held by Tories Clement and Devolin
By GLEN MCGREGOR, Ottawa Citizen October 29, 2012
OTTAWA — The vast majority of lakes that retain federal protection under the government’s proposed changes to waterway rules lap up against ridings held by Conservative MPs.
While revisions to the Navigable Waters Protection Act has stripped federal oversight from thousands of Canadian waterways, 90 per cent of the lakes that will still be designated as protected are in Tory territory, a Citizen analysis shows.
By contrast, only 20 per cent of the designated lakes, itemized in the second omnibus budget bill, are in ridings held by New Democrats. Only six per cent splash on Liberal shores.
The list of lakes includes those surrounded by wealthy cottagers north of Toronto, in the Muskoka district of the riding held by Treasury Board President Tony Clement.
The Conservatives’ budget bill introduced earlier this month overhauls the Navigable Waters Protection Act, which currently requires federal approval for development on the thousands of bodies of water across the country that are big enough to float a canoe.
Under the new legislation, this protection will be limited to only 97 lakes and 62 creeks, rivers and canals, as well as Canada’s three oceans.
The Conservatives contend that the changes have no relation to environmental protection and are intended only to slice through the bureaucratic red tape that delays even small, inconsequential projects, such as modifications to bridges or wharves.
Critics claim the rewritten law, in concert with revisions of other regulations, further strips away environmental protection once provided by the mandatory federal review.
But the small number of lakes itemized will still enjoy scrutiny from federal law, and most of these — 87 of 97 — are within or next to ridings won by Conservatives in 2011.
In Clement’s riding of Parry Sound–Muskoka, for example, a dozen lakes retain the protection that government has lifted from thousands of other bodies of water across the country.
Among them is Lake Rosseau, where Hollywood celebrities, business moguls and NHL stars perch on its banks.
Empty lots on Lake Rosseau and its equally affluent neighbours, Lake Muskoka and Joseph Lake, start around $1 million. “Cottages” on their winding shores — typically luxury homes — routinely sell for between $2.5 million and $5 million.
Actress Goldie Hawn has a place there. So does former Detroit Red Wing Steve Yzerman and the family of late cable baron Ted Rogers.
Actor Tom Hanks, director Steven Spielberg and many Toronto Maple Leafs players are regular visitors to three lakes, according to the New York Times.
As Conservative MPs tend to hold a greater share of rural seats, it’s natural that their ridings will contain more designated lakes than those represented by New Democrats or Liberals, whose seats are more often urban or suburban and less often near water.
But the specific designation of certain lakes in cottage country under the government’s omnibus budget implementation bill will ensure Clement doesn’t face angry Muskoka cottagers.
Sixty-eight protected lakes are in Ontario and 15 are in B.C. Only four of the designated 97 lakes have shoreline in Quebec, slighting ridings held by the NDP, with a majority of its caucus from Quebec.
Transport Canada says it chose the designated waterways by looking at Statistics Canada’s freight movement data and other sources to determine which were the busiest.
To qualify, protected bodies of water must be “accessible by ports and marinas in proximity to heavily populated areas,” and support “heavy commercial and/or recreational navigation activity,” the department says.
But the department also said it did a further “qualitative analysis” that considered the historical importance of each waterway, its proximity to heavily-populated areas and other factors.
The department did not say who made the final determination or why so few lakes in Quebec cottage country were included.
The number of lakes abutting NDP or Liberal ridings would be even lower were it not for the inclusion of the massive Great Lakes on the protected list. Lake Ontario alone borders 22 electoral districts, including six urban seats in Toronto and Hamilton held by the NDP.
Many of Ontario’s protected lakes are clustered in Clement’s riding and the adjacent Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes–Brock, represented by Conservative MP Barry Devolin. Between them, their ridings contain 29 protected lakes.
Another 27 designated lakes are split between the Eastern Ontario ridings of Leeds–Grenville, held by Conservative Gord Brown, and Lanark–Frontenac–Lennox and Addington, represented by Conservative Scott Reid.
In British Columbia, most of the designated lakes are in the interior, in the Okanagan valley or the Kootenays.
The Citizen used mapping software called ArcGIS to determine which federal electoral district the shoreline of each lake named in the budget bill overlaps. This data was combined with election results from 2011 to calculate breakdowns by MPs’ parties.
Conservatives defend new waterways rules against opposition accusations of favouritism
By GLEN MCGREGOR, Ottawa Citizen October 30, 2012
OTTAWA — The opposition New Democrats say the Conservative government is creating a special class of environmental rules that protects a small number of lakes circled by affluent cottagers and leaves out thousands of others lakes across the country.
“They’re saying there’s going to be an exclusive club for environmental protection and the rest of Canadians, well, you know, you boat users, you lake users, well, you can just buzz off,” said NDP MP Charlie Angus on Tuesday.
A Citizen investigation, published Monday, found that 90 per cent of all the lakes that are earmarked for continuing federal waterways protection have shoreline in Conservative ridings. Just 27 per cent of the lakes are contiguous with NDP or Liberal ridings. (The totals add up to more than 100 per cent because some lakes overlap more than one riding.)
Among the protected lakes are twelve in the Ontario riding held by Treasury Board President Tony Clement, including several with expensive property frequented by Hollywood celebrities and NHL players.
“Are you telling me that 12 lakes in the small riding of Muskoka are worthy of that much protection when the rest of Canada is getting nothing?” Angus said.
In Question Period, Angus accused the government of creating a “Goldie Hawn Property Protection Act,” a reference to the American actress who lives on one of the designated Muskoka lakes.
Clement told reporters that he has 8,000 lakes in his riding and said he had no role in choosing which would be protected.
The Conservatives contend their changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act will free communities from the red tape that is required for federal approval for even minor projects such as bridges and docks.
“The act has created a bureaucratic black hole, holding up simple projects that do not impede navigation,” Transport Minister Denis Lebel told the House of Commons
The government’s second omnibus budget bill, introduced earlier this month, would strip back the requirement for federal approval for development on most of the thousands of lakes and rivers across the country.
Instead, the renamed Navigation Protection Act specifies a much shorter list of 97 lakes, 62 rivers and three oceans that would retain the protection.
While the ocean and river shorelines are adjacent to many ridings and provinces across the country, the protected lakes are unevenly distributed, with most falling in Ontario cottage country and the B.C interior — areas of mostly Conservative representation.
The budget bill names 68 protected lakes in Ontario but only four in Quebec.
Lebel read out statements from various groups supportive of the revised law, such as the Canadian Construction Association, which said it would help builders predict requirements for new projects.
He also cited statements of support from Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
In a letter sent to the Citizen on Tuesday, Lebel said that the selection of lakes and other bodies of water was based on an analysis of Canadian Hydrographic Service nautical charts and Statistics Canada freight data.
“A new streamlined approach to navigation law will cut red tape while resources are focused on Canada’s busiest waterways,” he wrote.
But Lebel’s department also said it did a “qualitative analysis” that considered the historical importance of each waterway, its proximity to heavily-populated areas and other unexplained factors.
Lebel also claimed the data used in the Citizen story was “cherry picked” because it looked only at lakes and not the oceans and rivers which will also be protected, such as the St. Lawrence Seaway, which cuts through dozens ridings.
“Any analysis that deliberately excludes these waters can only be used to create a dramatic headline and concoct a conspiracy theory,” he wrote.
Lebel did not explain the disproportionate number of lakes designated for protection in Ontario compared to other provinces, or why Conservative ridings seem to be the big winners.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said the distribution was totally absurd and said the government appeared to have no objective criterion to justify the choice of the lakes they will protect.
Tory lake protection favours millionaires on Seados: Why Special Treatment For Lakes In Tory Ridings?
News release from Charlie Angus, NDP MP for Temiskaming  October 30 2012 
Charlie Angus wants to know why the Conservative omnibus bill is declaring open season onCanada’s lakes and rivers while protecting lakes in Conservative ridings. OfCanada’s 30,000 lakes only 97 are being given environmental protection and almost all are in Conservative ridings. 
Angus says he was shocked to learn that 12 of these lakes are in the riding of Treasury Board President Tony Clement.
“The Conservatives protected Lake Rosseau, home to Hollywood millionaires. The Conservatives protected Lake Joseph where a “cottage” will set you back a cool five million. Do they really think the exclusive lakes of millionaires are more worthy than lakes in the rest of Canada?”
Speaking in Question Period today, Angus says this isn’t just about environment it’s a question of ethics. 
“No wonder this government wants to ram this omnibus bill through. So guys like the Muskoka minister can give special environmental deals to his millionaire friends while telling other Canadian lake users to hit the road.”
Angus emphasizes that clearly this is an abuse of the public trust.
“So how about we pull out the clauses from the omnibus bill and create a Goldie Hawn Cottage Preservation Act? Or the Protecting Millionaire Buddies of the Muskoka Minister So He Can Get Re-Elected Act?

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