HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-07-23, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015.
Examples show trail’s potential says Procter
Continued from page 6
here: http://www.huronhealth
unit.ca/health-topics/physical-
activity/active-transportation/.
• July 11, 2014: Goderich to
Guelph Rail Trail Inc. (G2G)
became a registered charitable
organization.
• Sept. 10, 2014: Huron County
Committee of the Whole passed a
motion to establish a G2G Working
Committee to “work through the
identified issues, develop a
stewardship model, develop a cost
and phasing model, convene a public
open house, and report back to
Council, be approved; and further
that consideration be given in the
2015 budget for a temporary staff
position to resource the G2G
Working Committee.”
• Huron and Perth County
Councils created the Huron Perth
G2G Working Committee and
tasked it to guide county council
decision-making on trail related
issues. The G2G Trail Advisory
Committee has been invited to, and
participated in, all meetings. This
has included arranging for testimony
from adjoining landowners,
stewardship groups and municipal
administrators on the active portions
of the trail as well as Ontario Trails
Association and Regional Tourism
Organization (RTO) 4 to provide
experienced, independent insight.
• Feb. 2015: G2G has support in
both Wellington and Waterloo
counties. Both of these counties
agreed to sign the lease with the
province so that the trail could be
maintained and taken care of. The
Region of Waterloo pledged $40,000
to support G2G in its efforts to
rebuild bridges so that the trail can
continue uninterrupted.
• July 1, 2015: the Province of
Ontario, after considerable
deliberation, signed the lease with
G2G as an interim measure to open
all the unleased gaps for
development and use. This gives
G2G permission and responsibility
to maintain these portions of the trail
for everyone to use and enjoy.
Now that some of the facts are out
of the way, I have a few thoughts.
First, the elephant in the room with
all of this is that the ownership of the
land and its intended use was never
up for discussion. The Province of
Ontario made that decision way
back in 1988. That decision has
always been out of the hands of the
county, the volunteers and G2G Inc.
The Province of Ontario, which
owns the land, has never wavered
from the intent of keeping the land
public for the purpose of a trail.
Second, Huron County has been
working with G2G for over two
years. People have provided input.
Reports have been written. Motions
have been passed. Yet, I keep hearing
that “issues have not been addressed
by G2G”. The Huron Perth Working
Committee painstakingly dealt with
the issues landowners identified and
have discussed solutions to each
issue. G2G is committed to working
positively with landowners to solve
any issues that might arise, but as
yet, not one individual landowner
has approached G2G with an actual
problem to solve. G2G volunteers
recognize, however, there is fear of
the unknown. Opponents of the trail
have lists of concerns that they take
to news reporters, county and lower
tier councils: anyone but the people
who actually want to solve the
problem. This is unfortunate because
problems can only be solved by
working together for the good of all
stakeholders.
Third, it seems a bit strange to me
that people who claim to be
concerned about trespassing issues
think it is OK to vandalize the trail
and threaten volunteers. Our
stewardship group had planned to
walk the trail and see what work was
required – but was warned off
because of threats by one or two
landowners who are neighbours to
the trail. Perhaps the notion of
property rights only applies to a few
people, not to all of us. G2G seems
to be in harmony with the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture’s policy
statement on Abandoned Railway
Rights of Way: “The OFA
encourages the short, intermediate
and long-term retention of
abandoned rights-of-way by the
province as an integral part of a rural
redevelopment and revitalization
strategy.” G2G also supports OFA’s
call to put more teeth in the Trespass
Act during the current provincial
legislative review of Bill 100.
Fourth. I have read that
landowners are concerned about
their liability insurance rates going
up, however, there has been no
documentation provided to
substantiate the claim that managed
usage will incur increased costs for
insurance to adjoining landowners
over the current state of unmanaged
use by trespassers. I am a farmer and
the Maitland River runs through our
farmland. It is a navigable waterway,
the riverbed is property of the crown,
and as such, everyone can use it. We
have farmed here for over 60 years.
Our insurance company has never
once said… “hey – the river runs
through your property, which gives
multiple access points – cough up an
additional premium for liability.”
What my insurance agent did say
when I asked him was, “I sell insur-
ance. If you want to purchase more
liability insurance because you feel
more at risk, I am happy to sell it to
you.” Maybe he would also be happy
to sell it to people who live beside a
managed and maintained trail.
Fifth, and perhaps most important,
we have countless examples of
railways being converted to
trailways. This happens around the
world. Stewards of Alberta’s Iron
Horse Trail told me that developing
the trail actually “protects farmers’
fields, joins small communities with
common interests and it is
economically beneficial to these
communities.” We can just look in
our own backyard. The GART,
which runs from Goderich to Auburn
and has for 17 years, is part of G2G.
It works. People love it and are
respectful of the land they are
travelling through. The Maitland
Trail actually uses private land, with
landowner permission, and has done
so for 40 years. It is also a much
loved trail – so much so that our
annual Camino hike, only in its third
year, now is sponsored by local
businesses because they can see the
value that it brings to our area.
With all the great examples of
trails that exist in every part of the
world, should we accept that the
small portion located east of the
Maitland River in Huron County is
the only place on earth where people
can’t figure out how to make it
work?
As you can probably tell, I could
go on. But let’s go back to my
opening thought. Now that the
province has signed the lease with
G2G, the Huron Perth Working
Group Committee meetings have
become confrontational and
disruptive. Discussions about
resolving landowner issues have
regressed to the point where it is
clear that the landowners’ only
interest is in stopping the trail
completely.
Who, as a volunteer, wants to
continually face an angry mob that
has no intention to move forward or
find solutions? Huron County is
planning to hire a professional
facilitator and the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture has at least
one staff member, possibly two,
working on this issue. After years of
discussion and reports, some people
publicly complain that things are
moving too fast regarding a decision
that was made over 25 years ago.
Really, the only decision that was
ever in our hands is whether we, as
Huron County, choose to be the
stewards of the trail, or whether we
continue to let G2G carry the torch.
How much time, energy, and
emotion will be spent trying to
decide that? As rural communities –
we simply cannot afford this. It is
time for everyone to take a breath,
look around, and decide if we can
have respectful discussions, sort out
our differences, stop talking and
get something done – or whether
we will continue to depend on
big daddy government to step in
and settle our squabbles like
unruly children.
Kate Procter holds a Bachelor of
Science in Agriculture (OAC ’93)
and a Masters of Science in
Planning (OAC ’12), both from the
University of Guelph. She was part
of a team that researched and wrote
the Active Transportation Plan for
Huron County, led by Dr. Wayne
Caldwell.
Kate currently farms in Huron
County, works as a consultant,
editor and author, and has worked
as a freelance journalist for almost
20 years. She has covered
agricultural topics for Ontario
Farmer, Better Farming, Rural
Voice, National Hog Farmer, and the
Stratford Beacon Herald.
Kate volunteers as a board
member and treasurer with the
Maitland Trail Association and as
Chair of the Maitland Conservation
Foundation. Her past volunteer
involvement includes Wingham
Minor Soccer, Scouts Canada,
Ontario Swine Health Advisory
Board and the Blyth Festival. As of
2015, she volunteers as a liaison
between the Maitland Trail
Association and G2G.
Kate may be contacted at
kjprocter@gmail.com.
Continued from page 12
bigger ripple effect when you
consider the impact on issues like
biosecurity.
It can be hard to know where
to begin to think about protecting
your property. Now there is a new
online resource to guide Ontario
farmers and rural landowners
through some simple steps for
stronger on-farm security. A
practical guide to on-farm security
was developed in partnership with
the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture (OFA) and Farm & Food
Care Ontario. This project was
funded in part through Growing
Forward 2, a federal-provincial-
territorial initiative. The Agricultural
Adaptation Council assists in the
delivery of Growing Forward 2 in
Ontario. The new guide to on-farm
security is now available on the
issues section of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture (OFA)
website at www.ofa.on.ca.
There are three main parts to the
guide: securing your assets, visitors
on the farm and when to call police.
There are lots of simple tips like
posting “No Trespassing” signs on
every entrance to your farm, keeping
a visitor’s log of anyone who visits
your farm property, developing a
rapport with local law enforcement
and keeping buildings, vehicles and
other facilities locked. The OFA is
encouraging all members to
access the tips in this new resource
to strengthen their on-farm
security.
To deter unwanted visitors even
more, the OFA has been advocating
on behalf of farmers and rural
landowners to update the Trespass to
Property Act. The OFA is asking the
government to impose a minimum
$500 fine for trespassing and
broader police enforcement of
trespassing to address farm safety
and biosecurity concerns. The
current act has damage awards, or
compensation for vandalism and
property damage, set at only $1,000,
far too low for the types of damage
farmers and rural landowners are
already dealing with. The OFA
would like to increase the ceiling on
damage awards to $25,000 to match
the ceiling for small claims court,
$25,000.
The bottom line is to always be
alert and aware of what is happening
around your farm. Take a read
through the new on-farm security
resource for practical tips to put in
place that will protect your farm
assets and your family.
OFA, FFCO create
farm security guide
And... time!
As part of Townsend Tire’s 20th anniversary, which was
held in Londesborough on Saturday, children were invited
to participate in a pit crew challenge, where they were given
the opportunity to try to fasten a race tire to a car and see
how their time compared to those of professional racing
teams. Here, Braidon Abell-Rinn takes on the challenge
under the watchful eye of Dan Hoggart. (Vicky Bremner photo)
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