Happy Canada Day

Edition #49 30 June 2022 View this email in your browser

Canada Day on Mississippi Lake is
A great place to be!

Wishing you all a most happy and safe Canada Day as we celebrate the unofficial start of summer.

New Date for MLA Annual General Meeting
10 AM - 16 July 2022 - Generations Market & Kitchen
717 Lake Park Rd

We have all been recovering from the storm that hit us on the 21st May. Thankfully no lives were lost around the lake despite the property damage many incurred including our AGM hosts, Glenn and Brenda from Generations. We are pleased to learn that the folks at Generations are back and are still able to host us, with the caveat that lunch is not an option as our chef will be busy cooking for an evening event. Their dock is out however so you can attend the meeting by boat.

The date has changed but the details are the same. Please join us on Generations' porch for a traditional in-person AGM. At this time you will be able to renew your $10 membership and visit with other members. For MLA members who are happy to meet in person the doors will be open for registration at 9:30 AM.

If you would rather not attend in person the meeting will be linked via Zoom. Simply send an email to the MLA as soon as possible to request a Zoom meeting invitation. An official invitation to join will be sent.

Members' input can also be represented via the submission of a proxy that indicates your position on the items requiring a vote.

All necessary background documents including agenda, financial statements and proxy forms are available on the MLA web site.

Interested in becoming a member of the MLA Board of Directors?

Contact Graham Whitelaw at nominations@mlakes.org

News From Our Partners

Though Cute as Pets, Goldfish Are Highly Invasive Once in the Wild

READ MORE

Source - Invasive Species Centre

Why confronting invasive species is one of the best ways to prepare for climate change

READ MORE

Source - Invasive Species Centre

Here’s everything you need to know about compostable plastics.

Wetlands - Nature's Clean Water Solution.

Wetlands are powerful for protecting the health of our lakes and our ability to enjoy them. Do you know how they help?
READ MORE
Source - Ducks Unlimited

5 Reasons natural resources should have its own Ministry in Ontario again

Thoughts from our friends from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH)

READ MORE

Gardening for Birds

For all you gardeners, check out this site from Birds Canada that helps you plan a garden to attract and support birds.

Decibel Coalition Update

The Decibel Coalition has been working for almost 2.5 years to make our lakes quieter by getting the regulations enhanced to include decibel limits for boat motor noise. Great strides have been made. The Coalition has over 55 lake and environmental association members and 9 municipal governments from BC to Quebec. Together the associations represent over 95,000 Canadians.

The Transport Canada Let’s Talk consultation closed on May 13 and thanks to many of you there were almost 2000 responses with more than 98% in favour of decibel limits. This has sent a very loud and direct message to Transport Canada that action must be taken.

The Coalition has also been asking people to write to their politicians and again there has been great response from across the country. To date over 380 letters have been sent to over 70 MPs. Thank you to all those who have sent letters.

Q & A with the OPP

Following up from last summer's Water Safety Initiative the MLA had a dialog with our local OPP SAVE Team. The following are excerpts from these discussions.

How was this past summer on our lake WRT water safety compared to previous years?

The SAVE Team did not notice any significant change or concerns with water safety on Mississippi Lake this year compared to previous year.

Do you have any stats yet for this past summer?

12 Provincial offences where issued last year
The previous three year average was 16 offence notices

Were your patrols on Mississippi Lake more or less frequent this past summer?

The OPP tracks marine patrol based on Municipality as opposed to specific lakes. Based on the 4 municipalities that the Mississippi encompasses patrol was down approximately 39%. That said this year the goal of the Marine patrol was to target dates when high volume was expected. This included Canada day and various dates where bands or large parties were known to be scheduled.

Do complaints about dangerous boating help you in enforcing water safety regulations and if so is there anything we can do to improve this reporting?

Yes, these complaints definitely help us in directing our patrols and targeting high risk offenders and activities. The more detail that is provided about the boat, person, area, date, and time of day the better
Direct the complaints through the Provincial Communication Centre and they will assign a Lanark County officer who will advise the marine officer and SAVE Team.

Other than continuing to highlight the importance of wearing PFDs is there any other messaging we should focus on?

PFD, Alcohol and Drugs, Impaired/Over 80, Having their safety equipment readily available, navigation lights and operating at a safe speed at night and during the day so that they may react and respond to hazards effectively to avoid collisions.

Do you have a concern with witnessed unsafe boating?

Some of the most dangerous behaviors are:

Failure to have a spotter when towing
Power boats too close to shore at fast speeds
Overloaded boats (particularly pontoons)
Failure to keep a safe distance from swimmers, canoes or boats that are towing a tube or skier.
Boating and alcohol consumption.

If you have concerns make a report to the OPP Provincial Communications Centre. Remember, the more detail you can provide the better.

Be #WakeAware and welcome Marine Ambassadors

The MLA joins FOCA in encouraging you to join the campaign to Be #WakeAware this long weekend, and throughout the boating season. FOCA is pleased to welcome Marine Ambassadors - marinas located from Lake Erie to Sudbury to the Thousand Islands, that have pledged to help spread the word this season about the impacts of wake (hint: it is loon nesting time right now), and how to manage wake.

Your roles:

read and share wake information with neighbours and friends, using the hashtag #WakeAware on social media posts;
check to see if YOUR local marina has signed on as a Marine Ambassador yet; if not, please speak with them about why they should!

Get links to the campaign, and related wake and boating information, from our webpage: https://foca.on.ca/boating-overview/

From your Roads Team

Your MLA Roads Team would like to remind you of some of the programs we are currently running for the many road associations (RA's) on our lake.

PREP program.

Our most successful program is called the Private Road Equity Program (PREP) that is currently in place with Beckwith Township. We are working to get a grant rate increase from Beckwith since they have not increased the rate since inception.

Please note that any private road association in Beckwith that has not applied for a road grant, needs to make an application before the deadline, which is normally early October. This is an annual process. Contact Beckwith Township office for the latest details. You are missing out on possible funding to support your private road if you do not look into this revenue source.

Recently, Drummond - North Elmsley (DNE) has agreed to consider the PREP program for the 2023 tax year. Contact Chris Winters at roads@mlakes.org if your road association wants to be included in the grant consideration.

With the upcoming municipal elections on October 24, 2022, the road associations could use this opportunity to raise these issues with their relevant candidate for council.

Forward

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Canada Day on Mississippi Lake is A great place to be! Wishing you all a most happy and safe Canada Day as we celebrate the unofficial start of summer.

New Date for MLA Annual General Meeting 10 AM - 16 July 2022 - Generations Market & Kitchen 717 Lake Park Rd