[0:34] Just I wanted to
[0:37] the next council to pay attention.
[0:41] Yeah. Are you doing the equaliz?
[0:44] Yeah. Yeah. I want to
[0:51] Good morning everyone. I'd like to call
[0:53] the meeting to order. We'll begin with
[0:54] our land acknowledgement. At the
[0:57] township of Severn, we recognize the
[0:58] following land acknowledgement. We'd
[1:00] like to begin by acknowledging that the
[1:02] land on which we gather in which the
[1:03] township of Severn operates is part of
[1:05] the traditional
[1:07] territory of the Ashabave. For thousands
[1:09] of years, indigenous peoples have been
[1:11] inhabiting and caring for this land. In
[1:14] particular, we acknowledge the territory
[1:15] of the Ojiway or Chipua peoples. This
[1:18] territory is covered by the Lake Simco
[1:20] Treaty 16 and the J Collins Land
[1:22] Purchase. We are grateful to have the
[1:23] opportunity to work on this land and by
[1:26] doing so give our respect to its first
[1:28] inhabitants. I'll sing our national
[1:29] anthem, please.
[1:34] Oh [singing]
[1:35] Canada, [music]
[1:38] our home [singing] and native [music]
[1:41] land.
[1:44] True [singing] patron love
[1:48] in all [music]
[1:49] of us.
[1:53] With [singing] glowing [chanting] hearts
[1:56] we see the rise, the [music] true north
[2:01] and free.
[2:04] From far [singing]
[2:05] and [chanting] wide, oh
[2:09] we stand [singing] on God for thee.
[2:15] God keep [singing]
[2:17] our land.
[2:20] Glorious
[2:22] and free.
[2:25] Oh [music]
[2:26] Canada,
[2:28] we stand [singing]
[2:30] on God
[2:31] for thee. [music]
[2:35] Oh [singing] Canada,
[2:38] we stand on God
[2:42] for thee.
[2:47] » Thank you. Approval of the agenda.
[2:50] Madame clerk, please.
[2:52] » Thank you. The motion reads that the
[2:53] agenda be adopted as circulated.
[2:55] » Move in a second, please. Move by
[2:57] councelor Jansen. Second by councelor
[2:58] Brennan. All in favor? That's carried.
[3:00] Thank you. Any uh disclosure of
[3:03] pecuniary interest. Seeing none, we do
[3:06] have one presentation this morning. I
[3:09] just the presenter. It is a a 10minut uh
[3:12] time on the presentation. And uh like to
[3:15] welcome Katie Church, aquatic invasive
[3:18] plan coordinator, and Rebecca,
[3:24] I hope I said that properly, aquatic
[3:26] invasive species specialist, invasious
[3:28] species center, Lake Simco Water Soldier
[3:32] Working Group. Welcome.
[3:36] » Thank you so much. Um okay, presentation
[3:39] is up. Okay. Um so thank you for the
[3:42] opportunity to speak with you today. Um
[3:44] we've already done our introductions. Um
[3:47] we are here uh representing the in uh on
[3:50] behalf of the lakesco water soldier
[3:51] working group. Um next slide.
[3:59] So just before I dive in, um I want to
[4:03] talk about uh the great work that the
[4:05] Severn Sound Environmental Association
[4:08] um is doing uh coordinating invasive
[4:10] species monitoring, management and
[4:11] education init initiatives with
[4:14] municipalities and partners. Uh the work
[4:16] being done by the SSEA demonstrates the
[4:19] importance of regional collaboration
[4:22] when responding to invasive species
[4:24] threats and protecting our shared
[4:25] aquatic ecosystems. Next slide.
[4:31] Okay. Um, so this is a timeline of water
[4:35] soldier in Ontario. Um, so it was first
[4:38] detected detected in the Trent River in
[4:41] 2008 and management has been underway
[4:44] since uh, I believe 2014. Um, but what I
[4:48] really want to highlight on this slide
[4:49] is uh, in 201 uh 15 it was listed as a
[4:54] prohibited species in Ontario. Um, so
[4:57] that means it's illegal to possess,
[4:59] transport, deposit, or release water
[5:01] soldier under the Invasive Species Act.
[5:04] Uh, we'd like to say this is a a turn
[5:06] off the tap in water sales in Ontario.
[5:08] Um, and then also want to highlight that
[5:11] 2024 detection within Cooks Bay. I will
[5:14] send the other slides to Becca.
[5:21] Thanks, Katie. Uh, next slide. Oh,
[5:23] actually, you know, we're good. Sorry.
[5:25] Um, so water soldier, just a little bit
[5:26] of background, is an invasive perennial
[5:28] aquatic plant. It's a submerged plant
[5:31] and it will become buoyant in the summer
[5:33] um during peak growing season. It has
[5:35] sword-shaped leaves and they're they're
[5:37] pretty serrated and then they can
[5:38] sometimes form large white rosettes. Um,
[5:42] we often tell people it looks like the
[5:43] top of a pineapple. And it was first
[5:45] reported in Lake Simco in 2024. Next
[5:47] slide, please.
[5:50] Um so this detection we knew that we
[5:52] needed to take some action and there was
[5:54] already an established water soldier
[5:56] working group um proper for Ontariwide.
[5:58] So it was pretty easy to make the
[6:00] transition to establish a subcommittee
[6:02] for Lake Simco. Um but we knew that we
[6:04] needed more members and local partner
[6:06] engagement. So the purpose of the water
[6:08] soldier working group for Lake Simco is
[6:10] to be a collaborative effort to support
[6:12] water soldier surveillance, monitoring
[6:14] and response in Lake Simco and to
[6:16] explore any options that we can to
[6:18] mitigate the impacts associated with the
[6:20] new detection in such an ecologically
[6:22] important area. So we focus a lot on
[6:24] communications and outreach developing a
[6:26] moni monitoring plan and implementing it
[6:29] and then um our integrated management
[6:30] plan development which the goal of it is
[6:33] to prevent the spread and support
[6:34] management. Next slide.
[6:40] These are just some monitoring findings
[6:41] from 2025. Um, we had an inter agency
[6:44] monitoring team from Chipoas of Rama
[6:47] First Nation, the Chipoas of Georgina
[6:48] Island First Nation, and the OFAH
[6:50] Foundation. Over 5,000 hectares of Lake
[6:53] Simco were monitored. You can see those
[6:54] green dots there to show just um the
[6:57] scale of what was monitored and how far
[6:59] and and why they really did go. Uh they
[7:01] completed over 3,000 point intercepts.
[7:03] They found no plants in the Holland
[7:05] River, which is good news. But they did
[7:06] find about 450 hectares of water soldier
[7:09] in Cooks Bay, which is the largest um
[7:14] establishment in I think North America,
[7:16] honestly. Uh these yellow dots and red
[7:18] dots just kind of show the density. So
[7:20] the red are the most dense and then the
[7:22] yellow um have water soldier present but
[7:24] aren't as dense. Next slide.
[7:30] And then this is kind of a better visual
[7:31] to just illustrate the um impact really
[7:36] of of water soldier in Lake Simco. You
[7:38] can see uh where this boat is over on
[7:40] this larger drone image. That's some
[7:42] submerged vegetation. And then um just
[7:44] to the top left of the image, there's
[7:46] the emergent form colony of it. Um and
[7:50] yeah, you can really just see how much
[7:52] area can be occupied by water soldier
[7:54] and what the imp impacts could be to
[7:56] recreation and all kinds of things. And
[7:58] with that, I'll pass it back to Katie on
[8:00] the next slide.
[8:02] » Thanks, Becca. Um, so what does this
[8:05] mean for Lake Simco? Uh, water cell has
[8:07] the ability to impact kind of all
[8:09] aspects. Uh, so in terms of lake health,
[8:12] um, as you can see in that drone photo,
[8:14] um, it has the potential to, uh, reduce
[8:17] native aquatic plant biodiversity and
[8:20] alter, uh, aquatic habitat. Um and then
[8:24] water soldier has the potential to also
[8:26] threaten the progress that has already
[8:27] been made to improve the health of Lake
[8:29] Simco. In terms of recreation,
[8:32] those dense mats can restrict uh
[8:34] swimming, boating, angling, um really
[8:37] any recreational activity. Um and the
[8:39] plant also has those sharp serrated
[8:41] leaves which can make na navigating and
[8:44] handling those uh dense infestations
[8:46] really difficult.
[8:48] Um there's also impacts to shoreline
[8:50] access and waterfront use for residents
[8:53] and visitors. Um water shelter can
[8:55] create challenges for activities such as
[8:58] irrigation um and can interfere
[9:00] interfere that shoreline the shorelines
[9:03] and waterways.
[9:05] Um for the township of Severn this is uh
[9:07] particularly important because the
[9:09] community is connected to to Lake Kiting
[9:12] which is connected to Lake Simco um with
[9:15] significant recreational ecological and
[9:18] economic value tied to these waterways.
[9:21] Um so while water soldier has not been
[9:23] uh detected in Lake Fuching, you can see
[9:25] in the previous slide those green dots,
[9:27] the monitoring we did, we did not find
[9:29] any last year. Um waiting for data on
[9:32] this year. um uh residents, anglers and
[9:35] others, users of the lake move between
[9:37] those connected waterways and that
[9:39] movement creates an opportunity for
[9:41] invasive species to spread. Uh but it
[9:43] also gives us an opportunity to prevent
[9:45] that spread.
[9:47] Next slide.
[9:50] So we are at a critical juncture here as
[9:52] we know as of 2025 monitoring data um it
[9:56] is uh located just in Cooks Bay, the
[9:59] southernmost part of Cooks Bay. Um but
[10:01] action is essential to prevent further
[10:04] expansion. And what I really want to
[10:05] highlight is that no single agency can
[10:08] manage this alone. This is a 450 hectare
[10:11] infestation, the largest in North
[10:13] America. Um it really requires that
[10:16] cross agency coordination. Um the
[10:18] working group's combined expertise and
[10:20] shared responsibility um are the key to
[10:23] success. Next slide.
[10:28] Um, so the risk of what is the risk of
[10:31] doing nothing. I think this photo really
[10:33] shows uh the impact that it can have for
[10:36] recreational boers. Um, you can see
[10:39] those uh canoes and kayaks, they're not
[10:41] getting through that dense uh mat, those
[10:43] floating plants at the top, that very
[10:45] light green. Um, there is a high
[10:48] probability of sub uh of spread within
[10:50] and outside Lake Simco. um increased
[10:53] pressures on shoreline residents and
[10:55] businesses over time. This uh mat is
[10:58] only going to continue to grow if uh we
[11:01] do nothing. Um and it also can uh
[11:04] inhibit the viability of alternative
[11:07] future management options. Next slide.
[11:14] Um so what is the working group doing
[11:15] this year? So, an integrated management
[11:17] plan has been drafted uh and finalized
[11:20] which showcases integrated pest
[11:22] management. Uh we're engaging with
[11:24] municipalities like yourselves. Um we're
[11:26] hoping to secure consistent funding uh
[11:29] which is estimated a treatment cost of
[11:32] $5 million over 5 years, which will help
[11:34] us establish clear timelines, goals, and
[11:37] milestones. Um detection and monitoring,
[11:40] uh we're increasing it uh this year. uh
[11:42] they're out there right now monitoring
[11:44] uh the parts of Lake Simco
[11:47] and we're also uh doing a proposed man
[11:50] management implementation. So with the
[11:52] collective agency support we're
[11:54] implementing phase one of management
[11:56] which is uh kind of like a pilot
[11:58] management. It is 450 hectares. Uh so we
[12:02] have to really uh pay attention and and
[12:04] really study when we are doing those
[12:06] management. um and then monitoring the
[12:08] results of management to establish
[12:10] coordinated action for the coming years.
[12:13] Uh next slide.
[12:18] Uh so what is a path to success here? Um
[12:22] it is through collaborative action. It
[12:24] requires strong federal and provincial
[12:26] partnerships combined with uh support
[12:28] for key management and monitoring
[12:30] activities and um local municipalities
[12:34] also have an important role to play.
[12:36] While water soldier has not been
[12:38] detected within Georgian Bay uh the lake
[12:40] the Georgian sorry the southern township
[12:44] Lake Simco is connected a connected
[12:46] water body and preventing the spread of
[12:49] this invasive species uh will require
[12:51] collaboration among uh municipalities
[12:54] and your municipality can play an
[12:56] important role by way raising a
[12:58] awareness promoting prevention and
[13:01] supporting early detection by reporting
[13:03] any new water soldier detections.
[13:05] Uh next slide.
[13:09] Okay. So as we wrap up here, I just want
[13:11] to highlight this uh municipal
[13:13] expenditure survey. Um so this is a go
[13:17] the goal of this survey is to assess the
[13:19] direct costs of municipalities are
[13:22] currently investing in invasive species
[13:24] monitoring, detection, prevention, and
[13:26] management and to better understand the
[13:29] priority species and challenges across
[13:31] Ontario. Uh I think this uh survey was
[13:34] done around eight years ago. So I think
[13:36] it's time for an update. Uh we encourage
[13:39] municipalities to participate as the
[13:41] information collective will help future
[13:43] planning resources and support invasive
[13:46] species management across the province.
[13:48] Um next slide.
[14:00] Okay. And with that, I'm going to just
[14:02] wrap it up and say thank you for your
[14:04] time and consideration. Uh we appreciate
[14:06] the opportunity to speak with you today
[14:08] and happy to do our best to answer any
[14:10] questions.
[14:11] » Thank you very much for the
[14:12] presentation. Well done. These invasive
[14:16] uh species, are they coming uh like by
[14:20] boat like underneath the boat? Like
[14:22] where where exactly how are they
[14:24] reaching uh our waterways?
[14:27] Yeah. So, it was originally detected in
[14:29] the Trent Severn waterway. Uh it is
[14:32] connected to Lake Simco. Uh there's no
[14:35] correlation between that those uh
[14:37] detections and the one in Cooks Bay as
[14:40] it's quite far from where it's detected
[14:43] in the Trent Sever waterway. Um so we
[14:45] believe it's being moved by a boat by
[14:48] boats. Um so these uh water soldier
[14:51] plants they spread through turions or
[14:53] offsets. If you imagine like a a house
[14:56] spider plant, they have the little
[14:57] offsets or little babies as we like to
[14:59] call uh can attach to a boat and be
[15:02] moved uh to another water body if the
[15:04] boats are not decontaminated.
[15:07] » Thank you. Any members of council have
[15:09] councelor Taylor?
[15:10] » Uh thanks for the uh alarming report. Uh
[15:15] it um you can't do it alone and I'm I'm
[15:18] very glad to hear that uh SSEA is
[15:21] involved here. And further to what the
[15:23] mayor was asking, uh, so where did it
[15:25] come from and then how do you mitigate
[15:27] it is my my two questions there.
[15:31] » Yeah. So like I said, we believe that
[15:33] it's uh being moved throughout the
[15:35] waterways on boats or uh it could also
[15:39] it it was an ornamental water garden bit
[15:42] plant originally introduced in North
[15:43] America. Um so that's how it got to
[15:46] North America and as we see in 2015 we
[15:49] we've regulated it. Um, and in terms of
[15:52] mitigation management, uh, we have been
[15:55] managing this plant since 2015. So,
[15:58] we've learned a couple things along the
[16:00] way, but in terms of management, we
[16:02] have, uh, uh, we do something called
[16:04] integrated pest management. So, uh, we
[16:07] kind of go through the different types
[16:09] of management including hand pulling,
[16:12] manual removal, uh, uh, mechanical
[16:15] removal using like mechanical harvesters
[16:17] and herbicide.
[16:20] Thank you very much, Councelor Mannings.
[16:23] » Thank you through the chair and thank
[16:24] you for your presentation. Um, you had
[16:29] said that it was detected in Cooks Bay
[16:32] in 2024, I believe. Okay. It's only 2026
[16:37] now, so a couple years later, and that
[16:40] was an alarming photo that you showed
[16:42] us. So, is that sort of what we can
[16:47] expect to see as far as quick growth or
[16:49] was it not was it already large but not
[16:52] detected before in Cooks Bay? I'm trying
[16:54] to get a sense of that because we do
[16:57] have waterways uh throughout the
[16:59] township and it is very alarming.
[17:02] » Yes, I I I agree. It is a very alarming
[17:04] photo. Um so, we believe we don't know
[17:07] how long this plant has been established
[17:09] within Cooks Bay. can see it's a very
[17:12] wellestablished population. Um I believe
[17:15] uh when it was detected in 2024 uh we
[17:18] were only looking we did a really um u
[17:22] small uh monitoring. It was kind of
[17:24] detected midsummer and there's tons of
[17:26] other invasive aquatic plants that we
[17:28] were working on. So we dedicated a
[17:30] couple weeks to monitoring and we only
[17:32] found it in kind of the the Jordan
[17:35] Harbor really really southern part of
[17:37] Cooks Bay. when we did that um formal
[17:41] monitoring in 2025, those were our
[17:43] findings, that 450 hectares. Um so, uh
[17:47] I'm waiting for the results for for
[17:49] 2026. We'll see what that looks like. Um
[17:52] but I can only assume it's it's growing.
[17:55] Um but it's really important that we're
[17:57] out there monitoring and we know that
[17:59] it's uh in within the southernmost parts
[18:01] of Cooks Bay. What we're doing is
[18:03] monitoring outside of Cooks Bay to see
[18:06] if there's any established populations
[18:08] within the main lake, Lake Cuchaching.
[18:10] Those are really our priority areas, the
[18:12] Holland River as well.
[18:15] » Thank you. And just a further question,
[18:17] when you say one of the mitigating
[18:20] things, one of the things that your
[18:21] group really wants to establish in
[18:23] coming to our council today is education
[18:27] also. So what what would that entail?
[18:32] » Um I would uh I would say what's great
[18:34] for for the municipality to do is to uh
[18:38] uh education through uh outreach. Um, so
[18:42] social media, any any way to get uh uh
[18:46] the members of the communities involved
[18:49] and also um uh
[18:53] detailing how to report new water
[18:55] soldier detections through uh invasive
[18:57] species uh apps such as ED maps. Uh and
[19:01] if you'd like, I can send more
[19:02] information on on how we can uh how you
[19:04] guys can do some outreach on that.
[19:07] Councelor
[19:08] Jansen,
[19:10] » Thank you very much for your
[19:12] presentation. Um, I I see that uh your
[19:15] ask here is for municipalities to fill
[19:17] out the survey. Um, and we have a couple
[19:19] of options we're allowed to do as a as a
[19:21] council. I guess I just want to ask
[19:23] staff is are we going to be
[19:24] participating in that survey
[19:29] [clears throat]
[19:30] » Through the chair? Um, I'm sure we will.
[19:32] I haven't seen it come out, but uh
[19:34] typically our efforts are through SSEA,
[19:38] so we would probably get them to do it
[19:39] on our behalf.
[19:41] » Georgian Bay
[19:42] » And Georgian Bay Forever.
[19:44] » Any further comments?
[19:45] » Thank you.
[19:46] » Okay, thank you very much. Oh, Deputy
[19:48] Mayor Cox. Yeah, just a quick um so will
[19:52] that go to our communication person and
[19:54] be put on our social media because I
[19:55] noted here that they have that uh QR
[19:58] code for people to be able to to zoom in
[20:00] on just following up on what council
[20:02] Jansson said. We can do that. We will do
[20:06] that.
[20:07] » Okay. Any further comments? Thank you
[20:09] very much. Have a great day.
[20:11] » Thank you. Have
[20:12] » A presentation or presentation a motion.
[20:15] Sorry.
[20:19] Yes, thank you. Uh the motion reads that
[20:20] the delegation from Katie Church,
[20:22] aquatic invasive plan coordinator and
[20:24] Rebecca Dazzio, aquatic invasive species
[20:26] specialist for the invasive species
[20:28] center, uh Lake Synical Water Soldier
[20:30] working group be received for
[20:31] information.
[20:31] » Moving in a second, please move by
[20:33] councelor McIntyre, second by councelor
[20:34] Jansen. All in favor? That's carried.
[20:36] Thank you.
[20:38] Moving on. Uh any of the consent list,
[20:41] any members of council like to pull?
[20:44] Councelor Taylor.
[20:45] » Uh yes, through the mayor. I'd like to
[20:47] pull E4.2.
[20:50] Councelor Brandon,
[20:51] » I would just like to speak for a minute
[20:54] to E4.4.
[20:56] » E4.4.
[20:58] » Go ahead if you'd like to speak to it.
[21:01] » Sure.
[21:02] » Yes. Um
[21:06] I should will come as no surprise to
[21:08] anyone here that I uh support rapid and
[21:12] robust transition to carbon intensive
[21:14] energy uh renewables. And at AMO, we did
[21:18] some of us had the opportunity to have a
[21:20] presentation by by the group uh the
[21:22] Canada North Vehicles Initiative which
[21:24] was uh started by um the mayor and uh
[21:28] Mayor Norcross in New. Anyway, uh, at
[21:32] that presentation there, I had some
[21:34] concerns with some of the comments
[21:36] regarding EVs and I spoke to the
[21:38] organizers about it and I said, you
[21:41] know, basically, I love what you're
[21:42] doing to try to defend jobs in Allison,
[21:44] but um, I don't like what you're saying
[21:46] about EVs. I could never support this.
[21:48] Now, it's interesting because this
[21:49] resolution doesn't doesn't deal with
[21:51] that issue, but I just felt that I would
[21:54] love to see a presentation by this group
[21:56] to us. Um just a couple of points that I
[22:00] want to make. So we've had the mandate
[22:03] for EVs repealed at the request of a lot
[22:06] of companies. Um and uh they say it's
[22:09] because there's no demand. Well, that's
[22:11] simply not the case for EVs. And um uh
[22:15] and to make my point, I'll just state
[22:17] that uh in Europe, where apparently we
[22:20] want to sell these things because we
[22:21] won't be selling them to Trump and this
[22:23] gang, 20.7% of the market share is in
[22:28] 2026 is EVs. And Australia, Brazil,
[22:31] India, South Korea, and Vietnam, some
[22:33] countries of which we've already had
[22:34] deals, more than doubled their EV sales
[22:37] in the first half of 2026.
[22:41] So, uh, it should not come as no
[22:43] surprise to us here that manufacturing
[22:47] in Ontario has dropped below 10%.
[22:51] Um, although we keep saying we have a
[22:53] robust management thing, that's a fight
[22:56] we've been losing for years and the
[22:59] decline in automotive jobs is
[23:00] significant,
[23:02] but we don't want to build something
[23:03] that people want.
[23:06] Also, I would be concerned with the
[23:07] mandate down there that says uh um uh we
[23:12] don't support changes in emission
[23:14] standards which are the driving point to
[23:16] get to EVs, right? You know, the mandate
[23:18] was loosened up for 2035. So, if you
[23:21] loosen up emission standards, there's no
[23:23] incentive
[23:24] to uh to build EVs. And yet, the biggest
[23:28] investment inputs that the current
[23:30] government has announced in recent times
[23:32] has all been related to EVs and
[23:34] batteries. That's where it is. That's
[23:36] where the future is. So, uh, you know,
[23:39] to say there's no demand and then say,
[23:41] well, don't let the Chinese sell cars
[23:43] here to me is quite contradictory. And
[23:45] that was part of kind of the tone of
[23:47] that presentation. So, I would like to
[23:49] see I really do want to support this. We
[23:52] do need that Honda plant's fabulous. I
[23:54] know people that work there, but I would
[23:56] love to understand better what their
[23:59] more detailed philosophy is. and I would
[24:01] love to see a presentation that would
[24:03] allow me to wholeheartedly support it or
[24:06] in fact, you know, ask them to make
[24:08] changes. That's all.
[24:10] » Thank you. Any uh other deps? No, I just
[24:15] wanted to speak to it because I
[24:17] understand where uh councelor Brennan's
[24:19] coming from, but my take on it is more
[24:22] on the overall effect of the tariffs and
[24:27] Trump on the automotive industry and
[24:30] Simco County being a large uh automotive
[24:34] supplier plus training at Georgian
[24:36] College, we are considered one of the
[24:39] biggest areas for automotive supply and
[24:42] the fact that um Honda is one of the
[24:45] largest manufacturing employers in Simco
[24:49] County and the fear of it leaving
[24:52] because they could possibly leave and go
[24:54] to the states. And I think this is the
[24:56] biggest rationale on the beginning of
[24:58] this right now is we need to support our
[25:02] industries and our automotive industries
[25:04] in Canada while this whole war trade war
[25:07] between uh the US and Canada is
[25:10] happening because Simco County is
[25:12] definitely an automotive uh maker
[25:15] supplier uh educator and and this is
[25:18] what I think the new tech was trying to
[25:20] get across is that we need to stand
[25:22] together on this and get the federal
[25:24] government to help uh these companies
[25:27] stay in Canada and continue to supply
[25:30] jobs.
[25:32] » Councelor Jans.
[25:34] » Yeah, I know we're not uh not debating
[25:37] the the topic, but uh you know, I I
[25:40] definitely support this uh resolution
[25:42] that's been put forward. You know, these
[25:43] are workers. They're very uh good paying
[25:46] jobs. Uh my neighbors work in the in the
[25:49] auto industry and they they commute uh
[25:51] to this area. um and I'm sure lots of
[25:54] other residents in our communities do
[25:56] too. Councelor Min,
[25:59] » Uh thank you through the chair and for
[26:01] this um item, I would support as as
[26:06] presented in the agenda that the
[26:07] township respond uh with all the
[26:10] resolutions. But further, just to your
[26:12] point, um, member Brennan, if there is
[26:15] something specific that you want tweaked
[26:18] because there are a number of, uh,
[26:20] resolutions that that are listed there,
[26:22] but overall, I was at the presentation
[26:24] too in Ottawa and they've done a lot of
[26:27] work and I but I, I think there's more
[26:30] to be done. This is just an initial
[26:33] support and I think it's an absolutely
[26:35] excellent idea to get them on an agenda
[26:38] um obviously for the next council. Thank
[26:41] you.
[26:42] » Thank you. Any further comments? Okay.
[26:44] Any other items to be pulled? So just
[26:47] 4.2 by councelor Taylor. Okay. Madame
[26:50] clerk, do you have a motion, please?
[26:52] » Thank you. The motion reads that the
[26:54] consent list for September 2nd, 2026 and
[26:56] the recommendations contained therein be
[26:58] adopted as resolutions of council with
[26:59] the exception of E4.2.
[27:01] » Move in a seconder. Moved by councelor
[27:03] Mcdar, second by Deputy Mayor Cox. All
[27:05] in favor? That's carried.
[27:08] » Now we have to resolve into uh committee
[27:10] of the whole. Madam clerk.
[27:11] » Yes. Thank you. Motion to resolve into
[27:12] committee of the whole.
[27:13] » Move in a second, please. Councelor
[27:15] Taylor, Councelor Brennan. All in favor?
[27:17] That's carried. Thank you.
[27:20] » Uh thank you. Um I'm the chair for the
[27:23] committee of the whole for September and
[27:26] we are at agenda item F1.
[27:30] We don't have any public meetings. So
[27:32] we'll go uh to continue our discussion
[27:34] that we just had for the items pulled
[27:36] under uh F2 business items pulled from
[27:40] the consent list. So I'll go to you
[27:42] member Taylor E.4.2
[27:45] SSEA E.coli and DNA marker testing.
[27:51] Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I
[27:53] thought I'd pull this uh E4.2
[27:56] uh the review and proposal from Dr.
[27:58] Volic from SSCA. And just to refresh
[28:00] council's memory, um, at the August 5th
[28:04] meeting, uh, the SSEA was requested to
[28:07] review and comment on the data provided
[28:09] by the Glosserool Cottage Association.
[28:11] And that was data up until July the
[28:13] 13th, which showed uh, uh, bacteria
[28:16] readings and and colform readings
[28:18] throughout various points both in
[28:20] Georgia Bay and on our side. And uh
[28:24] since we asked SSA for their comments in
[28:27] the meantime,
[28:29] glo the glosser pool people conducted
[28:32] another survey on August the 10th. And
[28:34] so that they was it was forwarded to
[28:36] SSCA for their comments as well. And
[28:38] that's we've got the report from Dr.
[28:40] Volic that has everything up until
[28:43] August the 10th. And uh basically the
[28:46] the report is an excellent report, but
[28:48] it's something to really think about.
[28:50] And I the reason why I pulled it today
[28:52] is that this will come up on the next
[28:53] council. I just want to make sure you
[28:55] don't forget this is very important and
[28:58] the report has six points but one of
[29:01] them is uh what do you do with the data
[29:03] and that's something that council and
[29:05] staff will have to determine that uh if
[29:07] it if the ecoli is from the geese what
[29:10] do you do with the geese if if it's uh
[29:14] human ecoli you have to find the source
[29:18] and a couple of uh testing here and
[29:21] there isn't good enough you need a
[29:23] scientific data data to
[29:26] track these, identify them, and and come
[29:28] up with a seasonality to see where
[29:30] they're at. And so this is what uh the
[29:33] report says. So basically, it's going to
[29:34] be a cost implication and a budget item,
[29:37] but it's very important. We can't ne
[29:39] neglect that. I think that the the
[29:41] warning signs are there, and I want to
[29:44] thank the Gloucester pool people for
[29:45] doing this testing there, but we have to
[29:47] work with our SSAA group. They're the
[29:50] professionals, and they've given us
[29:52] options there. something for the next
[29:54] council to think about that. Uh uh uh
[29:57] but in my in my view, a few thousand
[30:00] dollars is nothing in in the grand
[30:03] scheme of things with the budget, but
[30:04] let's do a a scientific
[30:06] uh approach to this and and a plan of
[30:09] attack how to correct it. So, I'm
[30:12] opening up for any discussion would be
[30:13] great. Thanks,
[30:14] » Deputy May Cox.
[30:15] » Yeah, I spoke with uh Julie Kay from
[30:18] SSEA yesterday because I wanted to get
[30:20] and there she is. [laughter]
[30:24] Hi. Uh, I wanted to get a a better
[30:26] understanding sort of in a layman's term
[30:28] on this because my dilemma is if it's
[30:32] animal or if it's human. So, what do we
[30:35] do? Is there a cure? Is can you do
[30:37] something? And and the um some of the
[30:41] background on it is you go and you you
[30:44] test your water and making sure you know
[30:46] your hands or anything don't touch it
[30:47] because you can contaminate. So, you
[30:49] test and it says yes, there's E.coli.
[30:51] lie. 5 minutes later, you may be able to
[30:54] test that same same spot and there won't
[30:58] be anything because it could have been a
[31:00] bird going by. It could have been a boat
[31:03] that went by with gray water. It could
[31:05] have been a human swimming and going to
[31:10] the washroom. It there's so many things
[31:12] it could be and with the water moving
[31:13] the way it does, it's very hard to
[31:16] source find. And we did find out from
[31:19] our um building department that the
[31:22] septics along there had no major issues.
[31:25] And the only way you can find out is if
[31:28] you do a die test. If you if it's a
[31:30] consistent but unfortunately being
[31:32] consistent when you think about how that
[31:33] water is always moving, how how
[31:36] consistent is it? Is it from a source
[31:38] way up or is it one that just went by or
[31:41] is it whatever's going on? So,
[31:44] [clears throat] my concern and and I'll
[31:46] post the question to Julie is even if
[31:49] you have all the scientific data and if
[31:53] you had a pond in your backyard and you
[31:55] had an issue, I'm sure you could figure
[31:57] it out and contain it and find something
[32:00] to do. My concern is we're doing all
[32:03] this testing and the water's moving and
[32:04] in the end, is there a way or has there
[32:07] ever been a way to correct this ecoli
[32:10] issue? I understand phosphorus and I
[32:12] understand you can, you know, septic
[32:14] systems and it comes from uh fertilizers
[32:17] and all these things, but the E.coli to
[32:19] me is an enigma that I'm not sure I can
[32:22] figure it out and I probably shouldn't
[32:24] even think about it because that's what
[32:25] scientists do. Anyway, I'd like to pose
[32:27] that question to Julie.
[32:30] » Welcome, Julie. Thank you.
[32:33] » Thank you through the chair to the
[32:34] deputy mayor. Um, first of all, thank
[32:36] you. That was an excellent summary of uh
[32:39] really the challenges of uh this kind of
[32:41] work. Um in terms of the question,
[32:46] uh
[32:47] uh not really. I mean, as long as
[32:50] there's people and wildlife and birds
[32:53] and livestock and rainstorms and um it's
[32:59] it's there's always going to be ecoli
[33:01] present. um you know what uh what the
[33:04] Glaester cottagers type work is showing
[33:06] is you know times where that might spike
[33:09] or there might be higher levels um and
[33:12] you know we see that after rainfall
[33:14] events because it's running off the land
[33:17] um like you mentioned we see it if you
[33:19] know if there's been a bunch of boats in
[33:20] a bay over a weekend you often see some
[33:23] spikes in in levels um and it's I think
[33:27] it's the overall picture piece so uh
[33:30] doing a bit everything to make sure
[33:33] we're doing the best we can to reduce
[33:34] those levels. You're never going to get
[33:36] rid of it. Um, but being able to reduce
[33:39] them. So, things like you've already
[33:40] done, right? doing septic inspections,
[33:42] making sure those septics are
[33:43] functioning properly, making sure
[33:45] shorelines are as natural as possible,
[33:47] so they're buffering, uh, making sure
[33:49] stuff doesn't get to the water in the
[33:51] first place, making sure Boers are aware
[33:53] of proper management of gray water, and
[33:56] making sure there's no Y valves, so
[33:57] there's no black water going out, you
[33:59] know, making sure people are aware of
[34:01] their own impact and trying to reduce
[34:03] that. But no, there's no way of getting
[34:05] rid of E.coli.
[34:06] » Okay, just supplemental then. Thank you
[34:08] for that, Julie. So I guess what I'm
[34:10] trying to to find out and you've said it
[34:12] is education is the biggest thing we can
[34:15] do to help and we could probably work
[34:17] with FOCA on that. I'm sure they
[34:19] probably do a lot of that. the
[34:20] Federation of Ontario Cottage
[34:22] Association and I and I believe that
[34:25] that is and we also have to understand
[34:27] that there's more people more people are
[34:28] on water now more you know our
[34:30] population is increasing more people are
[34:33] going to the lake to swim there's more
[34:35] people with boats pulling in and out of
[34:37] of uh you know boat ramps and and out
[34:40] there fishing and doing things and then
[34:41] we get the water soldier. So it's just I
[34:45] agree totally with what um councelor
[34:47] Taylor said, member Taylor said. Um, but
[34:49] I also want to make sure that the next
[34:52] council understands that this is just
[34:54] one more step in trying to protect our
[34:56] water and education is one of the best
[34:58] things we can do and we're very lucky to
[35:00] have the SSEA. Thank you.
[35:02] » Thank you.
[35:03] » Any further comments?
[35:06] Councelor Taylor, did you
[35:08] » I would just support the motion that was
[35:11] presented by staff that did this go to
[35:12] the mayor for budget in 2027. Thank you.
[35:17] » Council remains. Sorry, I'm chair.
[35:19] » I'm sorry. What the Christ member?
[35:23] Sorry, chair. Sorry. Sorry through the
[35:25] to the chair. I
[35:26] » That's okay. That's perfectly okay.
[35:30] » Yeah, just
[35:32] to the chair. Just to confirm, I I'd
[35:33] like to the the motion as written if we
[35:36] could do that. Thank you.
[35:37] » Thank you. Over to the CEO.
[35:38] » Yep. I just wanted to thank Julie for
[35:40] rearranging her schedule when councelor
[35:42] Taylor pulled this to to Sorry. Thank
[35:46] you.
[35:49] And I I want to thank Julie as well. My
[35:51] term is running out, but uh a great
[35:54] resource for me as well. So, thank you.
[35:56] » Welcome.
[35:57] » Uh thank you very member Cox.
[36:00] » Yeah. And and I think that um the next
[36:02] council who's ever here comes back, they
[36:05] need to really rely on on the SSEA for
[36:08] many things. And I and I would just like
[36:10] to put a little tweak in that maybe when
[36:12] the next council is looking at septic
[36:14] reinspection program, they could
[36:16] probably uh confer with the SSEA for
[36:19] help in that.
[36:23] » Okay. Thank you very much. So I'm
[36:25] looking at our clerk for a motion,
[36:28] please.
[36:30] » Thank you. The motion reads that the
[36:31] correspondence and proposal from SSCA
[36:33] regarding E.coli coli and DNA marker
[36:35] testing and a proposal for the Tunchpa7
[36:37] integrated water monitoring program be
[36:39] received and referred to the mayor for
[36:40] consideration in the 2027 budget. Thank
[36:43] you. Moved by member Taylor, seconded by
[36:46] member Brennan. All in favor and
[36:49] carried. Thank you very
[36:58] Okay. Uh, next motion is is that
[37:00] committee rise and return back to formal
[37:02] council session to receive a report on
[37:03] the proceedings of the committee the
[37:04] whole.
[37:05] » Thank you. Do I have a mover? Moved by
[37:08] member Jansen, seconded by member
[37:10] McIntyre. All in favor and carried.
[37:13] Thank you.
[37:14] » Okay. And then the next motion is that
[37:16] the recommendations of the committee
[37:17] hold for the meeting of September 2nd,
[37:19] 2026 be adopted as resolutions of
[37:21] council.
[37:24] » And do I have a mover, please?
[37:26] Moved by member Brennan, seconded by
[37:28] member Taylor. All in favor and carried.
[37:31] Thank
[37:37] » My apologies. Uh member Minn, uh
[37:41] anyways, we move on to G1. Uh councelor
[37:43] Minn Westshore Recreation Grant Funding.
[37:46] Madame Clerk,
[37:47] » Thank you. I just want to make it clear
[37:49] that today is just to receive the notice
[37:50] um as was done with uh councelor
[37:52] Jansen's item a couple like last month.
[37:54] So, this will come forward to the
[37:56] September 16th meeting for discussion
[37:57] and debate.
[37:58] » Okay. Thank you. Uh, do we need a motion
[38:01] for it, madame clerk? Okay. Thank you.
[38:04] So, moving on. Uh, county council boards
[38:06] association committee summaries.
[38:08] Councelor Taylor.
[38:10] » Uh, thank you. Uh, just a quick one, two
[38:12] quick ones. Uh, the AGM for the quarter
[38:14] mill is on September the 17th at 6:30
[38:17] p.m. Everyone's welcome, but if if you
[38:20] are wanting to come, let me know. We
[38:22] have to arrange some food and drink. And
[38:25] uh I found out yesterday Severn Falls is
[38:28] having their end of summer celebration
[38:29] on Saturday, October the 17th
[38:33] in in downtown Severron Falls. Thank
[38:36] you.
[38:41] Thank you very much. I'm very happy to
[38:43] report that the Seg Bay Chamber of
[38:45] Commerce, they had their golf tournament
[38:47] uh uh last month at for the Georgian Bay
[38:51] Hospital, uh they raised a lot of funds,
[38:53] including one single donation of
[38:55] $150,000.
[38:57] Um you know, congratulations to the
[39:00] event organizers. Um it was a huge
[39:03] success. Um in Cold Water, the steampunk
[39:06] festival, I know it's not part of the
[39:08] BIA, but it was a it was also a big
[39:10] success. Uh the streets were extremely
[39:12] busy. Lots of people dressed up and
[39:14] taking part and using uh their
[39:16] imaginations. The costume contest went
[39:19] really well. Uh thank you to the
[39:21] organizers and all the volunteers that
[39:22] put that event on. Uh for the BIA, I'd
[39:25] like to report that our next meeting is
[39:27] on September the 15th followed by their
[39:30] annual general meeting which will take
[39:32] place on September the 29th at M's Cafe.
[39:36] Um that's my report. Thank you.
[39:38] » Thank you, Councelor Brennan.
[39:39] » Yes. Thank you, mayor. Um, with regard
[39:41] to the um, uh, Otis and Otis Park, um, I
[39:46] just want to say that the event that we
[39:48] had, the national coh cornhole event,
[39:50] was a smashing success and, uh, they
[39:53] wrote a letter to, um, to uh, the board
[39:58] um, saying that they would really
[40:00] encourage anyone to hold their event
[40:02] there of this nature. So unfortunately
[40:05] the nationals moves across Canada so
[40:07] it's a 10-year thing but uh we do hope
[40:09] to secure the regionals again next year
[40:12] and um people are very happy u and
[40:15] there's a reason first of all um there's
[40:17] been significant renovations done at the
[40:20] rink um due in no small part to uh
[40:23] provincial grants and to the incredible
[40:27] work of a local uh developer um uh Wes
[40:31] Brennan's company no relation Everybody,
[40:35] this is not a promo. Don't I have
[40:37] nothing to gain. Um, they have just, if
[40:39] you're over, they have just done a major
[40:40] renovations on the bathrooms there
[40:42] alone. And I know that's kind of a weird
[40:43] thing to talk about, but what an amazing
[40:46] job they did. It's just a whole
[40:48] different place. So, we're really happy
[40:49] with that. And things are going quite
[40:51] well. Uh, the facility there is booked
[40:53] from November to June. We're turning
[40:55] people away. We just can't accommodate
[40:58] all the requests. and except for
[41:01] Thanksgiving, the hall is booked solid
[41:03] until the middle of Jan of December.
[41:06] So, uh we we've been promoting it
[41:08] heavily at the new with our council and
[41:10] it is paying off in big dividends. So,
[41:12] it's just such good news for Otis Park
[41:14] because they do have challenges with
[41:16] some old facilities. Um for the uh
[41:20] chamber uh you all should have sent from
[41:23] me the notice that there is an economic
[41:26] summit on September 24th held guess
[41:28] where in Sever Township at the golf
[41:31] course and uh there happens to be I
[41:34] think a debate with the Aurelia
[41:35] potential mayors there too we'll have to
[41:37] put up with but between that there is a
[41:38] fantastic economic summit and the
[41:41] details have been sent to you so I won't
[41:42] elaborate and I have no report on the
[41:45] physician recruitment at this particular
[41:46] time. Thank you. Thank you very much,
[41:48] Deputy Mayor Cars.
[41:50] » I have no [clears throat] uh committee
[41:52] updates, but I would like to uh speak to
[41:54] the uh paddle auction, nogo art paddle
[41:58] auction that we went to, I went to and
[42:00] some of the members went to on Saturday.
[42:03] Um 26 paddles were auctioned and they
[42:07] raised 7,000 almost $7,000 which will go
[42:10] back to the art club for uh their
[42:12] continued uh
[42:15] help and u donations to the community up
[42:18] there. They do help our uh events
[42:20] committee uh with cake and and crafts
[42:23] for the children. Other than that, thank
[42:25] you
[42:26] » Councelor Min.
[42:28] » Thank you. Um,
[42:31] one upcoming event that I want to just
[42:33] promote for the township, it's a
[42:35] township event at Timberline Park. It's
[42:38] uh, Southern Connects on September 15th.
[42:42] And, uh, I expect a huge crowd and I
[42:44] want to thank the township for coming
[42:46] and bringing um, all of the the events,
[42:51] the swag, the firefighters, the music.
[42:54] um as I know you've seen on Facebook
[42:56] over 250 people um have been
[43:00] participating in that and I really hope
[43:02] that this is a real um showcase
[43:04] [clears throat] of an event. So let's
[43:05] pray for the weather this time because
[43:07] it was cancelled because of rain last
[43:10] time. Um just a couple past events that
[43:14] were worth mentioning. On August 22nd,
[43:17] the Bayu Park rate pairs had their
[43:19] annual uh pig roast family fun day. It
[43:23] was a little uh less well attended
[43:26] because of weather again, but I want to
[43:28] thank the council members who did uh
[43:30] come out. So, it was very well attended
[43:33] on our our side. Uh August 19th, there
[43:36] was a classic car show at Webbers and it
[43:40] was my first time going. And in speaking
[43:43] to people um as my husband was looking
[43:46] at all the cars. They um they come from
[43:50] all over, but there's also a lot of
[43:52] sever people. There was a great display
[43:54] from Soldiers Hospital and that was a
[43:56] fundraiser. I'm wondering if we could
[43:58] also maybe at least for that last one of
[44:01] the year where there was several
[44:03] thousand people if we could have a
[44:05] display maybe a Severn Connects type
[44:08] display next year at their end of year
[44:10] one and just have a presence because uh
[44:12] I think that would be a good place to um
[44:15] give out some swag and really promote
[44:17] our township. Um that's all I have right
[44:20] now. Oh, and just a shout out to the
[44:22] groups who are watching uh to get your
[44:26] grant applications in before the end of
[44:28] this month. Thank you very much,
[44:30] » Councilor McIntyre.
[44:33] » Thanks to the chair. What you to say?
[44:36] The auction was great. Um 72 people in
[44:40] attendance,
[44:41] 7,000 raised. Was very, very well
[44:44] attended event. And the Wednesday coffee
[44:47] uh club was meeting is back in the
[44:49] chambers. I think beginning today
[44:54] they're no longer at the pavilion. So
[44:57] 1:00 till 2:33 whenever um you're
[45:00] welcome to come out center and have
[45:02] coffee. That's all I have.
[45:05] » Thank you. And I have nothing to report.
[45:08] Thank you very much. So we're moving on
[45:10] to uh no closed session. Madam clerk,
[45:12] bylaws.
[45:14] » Okay. Uh motion reads that bylaws number
[45:16] 202662 to 202663 inclusive are hereby
[45:20] passed.
[45:20] » Move in a second or please move by
[45:22] councelor Ming. Second by deputy mayor
[45:23] Cox. All in favor that's carried.
[45:26] Confirmation bylaw and adjournment.
[45:28] Please madam clerk.
[45:29] » Motion read that bylaw number 202664
[45:31] is hereby passed and we're adjourned.
[45:33] » Move in a second please. Moved by
[45:35] councelor Brennon. Second by councelor
[45:36] Jansen. All in favor? That's carried.
[45:38] Thank you very much everyone. Enjoy your
[45:40] day.