[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.

Council - 02 Sep 2026

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