Environment

One of FOCA’s most important goals is to encourage stewardship on the part of every waterfront property owner. Rural waterfront residents have an immediate relationship with their lakes, rivers and wild surroundings. Stewardship looks to the future – it protects the natural environment for future generations. FOCA encourages all cottage associations to take an active role in stewardship. This requires a willingness to work as partners in ensuring prosperity and environmental health at the lake and in our communities, and is a tangible contribution to sustainable waterfronts in Ontario.

Stewardship Network of Ontario

FOCA, and the members of the Stewardship Network of Ontario, are pleased to release a discussion document about sustainable landscape-level planning. In addition to discussing the need for collaboration amongst stakeholders and the variety of interests present on the landscape, the report discusses climate change as a common discussion point, and the role of setting targets for long-term results. You can download the report at LEFT or by clicking the following link: Collaborating for Sustainable Community Planning - Stewardship Network of Ontario .

Available for Purchase
Take the Plunge- A Guide to Stewardship of Ontario's Waters

The original (1998) Take the Plunge resource book has been updated and now includes new topics such as green cottage design, air, light and noise pollution, and new information about today's waterfront issues and solutions. A must-have for the interested waterfront property owner or lake steward. Volume discount available for FOCA members (call the office to order).
Available NOW - order yours, today.

Ontario's Biodiversity

FOCA is a member of the Ontario Biodiversity Council.

On December 3, 2012, Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources released the Province's response to the Ontario Biodiversity Council entitled Biodiversity - It's in our Nature. This is the implementation plan describing what the Ontario Government is doing to halt biodiversity loss.

June 2012 - The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Government response to the recent reports of the Council. Visit the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario pages for information and links.

In January 2011, the Ontario Biodiversity Council brought together a diverse group, including environmental, conservation, industry and Aboriginal organizations, as well as government agencies, to discuss how Ontario will build upon and renew Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy, 2005. With their enthusiastic support, Council launched the process of developing the renewed strategy.

To learn more about our incredible natural legacy, you can watch the video below:

FOCA at Camp Kawartha Outdoor Ed for web_2
Camp Kawartha Executive Director Jacob Rodenburg (R) meets with FOCA's Terry Rees to accept FOCA's contribution to the new Environment Centre at Trent University (Spring 2010).

FOCA represents waterfront interests through the Trent Conservation Coalition, Source Water Protection Committee

Safe Well Water on the Canadian Shield - Uranium

Property owners with deeper drilled wells on uranium-bearing bedrock may be at increased health risk from uranium in their drinking water.
Elevated levels of uranium are found when groundwater dissolves minerals that contain uranium. The amount of uranium in wells varies throughout the Province, depending on the concentration of uranium in the bedrock.
Uranium exploration and mining has been happening across (mostly eastern) Ontario since the 1940's and has been the subject of numerous recent land-use conflicts, many related to concerns over water and other environmental impacts.

While most uranium from drinking water is eliminated from the body, a small amount is absorbed and carried through the bloodstream, where they can cause damage to the kidney cells. The potential health effects from uranium in drinking water come from its heavy metal characteristics and not its radioactivity, which is very low. Bathing or showering with water that contains uranium is not a health concern. To learn more about the potential health effects from uranium in drinking water, and what you can do about it, visit the Health Canada website.

Click on the links below to view helpful resources:

April 2013 - 2013 RBC Canadian Water Attitudes Study

December 2012 - Minister of Environment announces final Great Lake Strategy. See the full document here.

- Changes proposed to MNR waterfront permits.

Sept 27 2012 - Province discontinues Stewardship Council model. Read the letter to FOCA, here . According to MNR, this is part of “Modernizing the way the ministry supports community-based stewardship activities to ensure a clearer focus on ministry priorities”.

FEDERAL BUDGET

June 19, 2012 - This week the Federal government's passed the omnibus budget Bill C-38, and the Senate is poised to approve it ASAP. Despite the input from FOCA and our members, and many others from across the country, freshwater habitats are now at risk as the government steps away from responsible management of our resources, and the science to support sound decisions.

”Potentially disastrous changes are being contemplated to the Federal Fisheries Act that will significantly hamper the protection available to Canada’s aquatic resources. FOCA urges our members to speak up and to contact their MP , to voice their concern for this most unfortunate policy decision that are part of the 2012 Federal Budget.

Click here for more background, and for FOCA's perspective and commentary see our letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

News: Four former federal fisheries ministers are questioning the government's motives behind the Fisheries Act in the Budget Implementation Act.

Canada’s Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) is an important resource involved in understanding water and lake systems in Canada – there is no other water research facility like it in the world. The Federal government has proposed to close the ELA and end its important science. Voice your support for the reinstatement of the funding for this vital work.

PROVINCIAL BUDGET 2012

May 19, 2012 -Letter sent to Premier McGuinty, calling on the Province to withdraw all amendments in the bill that impact Ontario’s environmental legislation, signed by FOCA and more than 50 Ontario-based environmental and other non-profit organizations.

The changes to Ontario's environmental legislative framework are outlined in the CELA/Ecojustice Report on Bill 55

FOCA urges our members to speak up and to contact their MPP immediately about the shortcuts being taken to radically change Ontario's environmental underpinnings.

Summer 2012 - Read the recent article about water by Terry Rees, FOCA's Executive Director, in Water Canada magazine. Click here...

April 2012 - What do Canadians think about water in 2012? Read the 2012 RBC Canadian Water Attitudes Study

January 11, 2012, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario released his special report on biodiversity, and a call to action for the Province of Ontario.

November 29, 2011, Ontario's Environment Commission (ECO) released his annual report, "Engaging Solutions" citing a lack of action on pressing environmental issues in Ontario.

Fishing? Make sure you read the 2011/2012 Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish. Check out the new online interactive map & guide where you can search by location or type of fish. The link will tell you what is considered safe to eat, and in what quantity.

Solutions for Shoreline Erosion: A Basic Guide to Bioengineering - prepared by the MNR and several Conservation Authorities across Ontario.

FOCA represented the shoreline community as a panel member at a Trent University event regarding the Future of Ontario’s Water
- view the Video

FOCA's Healthy Waterfronts Handbook (2011 edition)