Shore Report
November 2024
Shore Report acknowledges the North Shore of Lake Huron is the traditional land of the Anishinabek and the Métis Nation. This is Treaty 61 (Robinson-Huron) territory. Anishinabek have lived in the Great Lakes region for thousands of years. Shore Report is very grateful to live and work here.
All written content in this issue is © Shore Report 2024
Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Huron Shores. © John Degen, Shore Report 2024
Editorial
Province Fumbles Important Clean-up
Public domain radiation warning
One of this month’s special editions concerns a scandalous lack of consultation around the provincial transport and storage of radioactive waste at the former Agnew Lake Uranium Mine site north of Nairn Centre. At an emergency Special Town Hall Meeting on September 11th, local residents were assured by a Ministry of Transportation (MTO) representative that haulage of niobium tailings from Nipissing First Nation along Highway 17 and up into the Agnew Lake area had “not yet begun.”
Imagine the surprise of everyone living along Highway 17 who hadn’t before known there was going to be any such haulage.
The expert information provided at the meeting was, on its face, reassuring. It looks like the Ministry of Mines is monitoring and maintaining uranium waste at the Agnew Lake site, under licence from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, and that the MTO has a careful plan in place for hauling the niobium waste material, placing it as part of a new radiation cover, decontaminating the worksite and machinery, and handling any potential radiation leakage or spread during transport.
So, why are local governments and residents only learning of this hugely impactful project now? What’s more, why haven’t longstanding concerns about a degraded radiation cover at the Agnew Lake Tailings management Area (ALTMA) been more publicly discussed?
Is this a case of begging for forgiveness instead of asking for permission? If so, it’s a wildly irresponsible tack to take with something as impactful and worrying as radioactive waste. We can’t even imagine the provincial government meetings in which it was decided that affected communities and First Nations need not be notified. This is, in our opinion, unforgivable mismanagement by the ministers involved.
Local trapper, Sam Gilchrist, spoke of how unexplained changes near the Agnew Lake site raised questions about what was happening. Roads were being quietly upgraded to accommodate important cargo with no explanation or announcement. Living in the north, near radioactive waste that will not stop being a concern for many, many lifetimes beyond our own, generates a level of background anxiety that must be respected and considered by decision-makers down south.
Yes, the recent Special Town Hall constitutes a consultation of sorts, but it came far too late for a population already reeling from local health care funding crises exacerbated by the 2020 pandemic and rolling ER closures. The townships of Baldwin, and Nairn and Hyman have called on government to halt work on the waste transfer until proper consultations and local buy-in can be secured, if that’s even possible after such shoddy treatment. Government must respectfully heed the call.
And let’s not forget Nipissing First Nation, who have been waiting 67 years for their lands to be cleared of dangerous material that should never have been left there. That the government’s “solution” was to haul radioactive waste from one victimized northern community and dump it on unsuspecting others shows a disdain we wish we hadn’t come to expect. If this waste is really as harmless as we’re being asked to believe, one wonders why it isn’t being shipped south to be used in the many new southern highway projects proposed by the government.
Robinson Huron Legal Fees Under Judicial Review
Two North Shore First Nations Await Ruling
In her October newsletter, Ogimaa Kwe (Chief) Karen Bell of Garden River First Nation reports that a legal fees dispute around the Robinson Huron Treaty settlement is currently under judicial review in the Superior Court of Justice for Ontario. Garden River and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation (represented by Gimaa (Chief) Craig Nootchtai) have challenged the $510 million legal bill, and believe much more of that money should be added to the settlement going to 21 First Nations. The Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund (RHTLF) filed a concurrent action, insisting the legal bill need not be reassessed.
Michael Rosenberg from Toronto law firm McCarthy Tétrault has argued on behalf of GRFN and AAFN that the law for class action cases like this carries a set formula for legal fees, and that the proposed $510 million is far outside what that formula would allow. His own calculation puts the fee at $44 million. Back in 2012, the RHTLF agreed to a calculation of 5% of the settlement in return for reduced billable-hour fees. With the landmark settlement reaching $10 billion, that percentage presumably puts the resulting fee package far past any reasonable billable-hour calculation. The settlement’s legal team has indicated they will donate half their amount ($255 million) back to causes supporting Anishinaabe rights.
While this question is being contested in court, the disagreement appears from the outside to be brought with mutual respect and a desire to see settlement amounts expedited with speed. After a July 30th hearing that was livestreamed from the Toronto courthouse to any interested settlement recipient, the evidence now rests with Justice Jana Steele, who is expected to make a ruling soon.
Meanwhile, the chiefs and trustees of the RHTLF are urging provincial and federal governments to go forward with the process of negotiating the treaty’s new annuity going forward. Until that process is complete, FN residents will receive only the $4 per annum that was in dispute before the settlement.
UPDATE: In early November, Justice Steele ruled in favour of Garden River and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nations, and ordered a court review of the legal fees in question to determine a fair outcome. Shore Report will continue to follow this story.
Huron Shores Dump Sites Are Watching You
Security Installed to Combat Illicit Dumping
Don’t even think about it. Image courtesy Tom Tom Earthstar Graphics, 2024
The Municipality of Huron Shores Council has voted to install surveillance systems at the area’s four waste disposal sites. Minutes of Huron Shores’ August Council meeting suggest a systemic problem at local dumpsites where “multiple instances of individuals utilizing the waste sites during non-business hours, leaving messes and improperly disposing their garbage” have left the municipality little alternative but to install cameras and crack down on illegal dumpers.
Surveillance systems have been approved for the sites at 200 Highway 129, 473 Cullis Road, 41 Red Rock Road, and 1035 Dean Lake Road.
Sault Ste. Marie to Implement Vacant Home Tax
Attempt to Increase Affordable Housing Availability
Sault Ste. Marie coat of arms courtesy saultstemarie.ca
In late April, Sault Ste. Marie Council approved in principle a Vacant Home Tax (VHT) for the municipality, and directed city staff to implement. The city’s Manager of Taxation and Junior Planner delivered a report to the October 21st City Council meeting recommending a specific 3% per-assessed-value design for the tax.
Vacant Home Taxes are adopted by many municipalities as an effort to combat the squeeze on affordable rentals and housing that occurs when many livable buildings are left vacant for long periods of time. Taxes and fines are seen as incentive for property owners to make rental space available where there are vacancies, and if they do not then to sell the properties to someone who will. Sault Ste. Marie looked in particular at VHT designs from the cities of Toronto and Windsor as examples for their proposal.
Sault Ste. Marie has suffered a blight of vacant properties caused by absentee investment owners not actually making their spaces available to the rental market. Before implementation of a VHT, the city was forced to pursue offending property-owners through provincial courts, a process involving delays and legals expenses to the municipality.
A recent report from CTV Northern Ontario notes that 33 of the 73 properties recently convicted in court and fined for vacancy by the city are owned by a single investment firm currently engaged in insolvency. The fines range from $2000 to the court maximum of $50,000.
The Soo’s VHT design was proposed with exceptions for consideration of good-faith owners who spend their winters in the south away from their principal northern residence, are in long-term care or otherwise unable to maintain upkeep or tenants in their properties. The process is intended as complaint-based, meaning the city will depend on reports from residents concerned about vacant structures near them. Sault Ste. Marie itself can also act as a complainant, which means properties of which the city has been aware for some time can be immediately targeted. A rate of 3% was proposed, and planners suggested data collection during 2025 with the first VHT bills going out in 2026.
After much discussion and praise by Council, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker proposed amending the recommendation to 4% (a record for municipalities in the province), and immediate implementation in January 2025 based on data collected this year. The amended motion will be voted on formally at the November Council meeting, but given Council’s enthusiasm for the measure, it seems certain to pass.
Bruce Mines Triathlon Runs (and Swims, and Bikes) Again
Council Votes to Bring Race Back in 2025
Logo courtesy Copper Town Triathlon
The second annual Copper Town Triathlon was held July 21st, 2024, and according to a report submitted to Bruce Mines Town Council, it brought in over 100 athletes plus increased exposure and sales for local businesses. The Copper Town Triathlon includes a swim in Bruce Bay, a bike race along Copper Bay Road and a run along Taylor Street.
Three separate races were conducted — an Adult Triathlon, a Sprint Duathlon, and a Kids Triathlon. Winners were Jasper Tchir (Adult Tri, 39:26.8), Brad Gerhart (Duathlon, 1:15:15.2), and Valerie Langelier (Kids Tri, 7:00.8).
Bruce Mine Council has authorized a third annual triathlon event for July 20, 2025.
Start training.
North Shore Staff Have Right to Disconnect
Township Council Passes Motion Confirming Policy
Logo courtesy townshipofthenorthshore.ca
A 2021 change to the Ontario Employment Standards Act requires employers with more than 25 employees to have a written “disconnecting from work” policy on their books. The right to disconnect is an increasingly popular employment standard responding to the hyper-connectedness of most workplaces, especially since the growth of work-from-home arrangements resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Provincial direction defines disconnecting from work as “not engaging in work-related communications, including emails, telephone calls, video calls or sending or reviewing other messages;” in other words “to be free from the performance of work” outside of work hours. At its September 4 meeting, Council for the Township of the North Shore agreed to go forward with a disconnecting from work policy after it was clarified that workers who choose to engage with work-related communications in their off hours are not entitled to overtime pay. North Shore By-Law 24-48 was then carried at the September 18th meeting.
Navigating Through Seven North Shore Municipalities
“Discover Huron North” First of Its Kind Geocaching Challenge
Image courtesy huronshores.ca
An October geocaching challenge spanned seven North Shore communities after being approved by their local Councils earlier in the year. Launched October 12th, Discover Huron North, ran simultaneously in Elliot Lake, Thessalon, Bruce Mines, the Municipality of Huron Shores, the Township of Plummer Additional, the Township of Macdonald Meredith and Aberdeen Additional, and Johnson Township.
New and interesting caches were hidden throughout these seven communities to attract geocaching enthusiasts, encourage everyone to learn more about the local landscape, and enjoy the wonders of the shore.
SPECIAL REPORTS
The following reports were published as individual bulletins during the month. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any special reports.
Sudbury Council Votes to Limit Anonymous Complaints
Shore Report special edition
“Unsubstantiated” Complaints to City’s Integrity Commissioner Cited
Image © John Degen, Shore Report 2024
A motion carried by Greater Sudbury City Council at its October 8 meeting will amend the city’s Code of Conduct and Complaint Protocol. Brought by Councillors Mike Parent, Natalie Labbée, Pauline Fortin, and Mark Signoretti, the motion aims to limit the ability of City Code of Conduct complainants to be shielded by anonymity.
Councillor Mike Parent introduces the motion. Image Courtesy GreaterSudbury.ca
In our September 2024 issue, we reported Sudbury Integrity Commissioner recommendations following complaints against two of the Motion’s moving Councillors, Labbée and Parent. Neither Councillor received a financial penalty resulting from the complaints.
“Speaking with our Integrity Commissioner,” said Parent, “he mentioned that we receive more vexatious, frivolous complaints than any other municipality he works with. Anyone can put in a complaint, and you don’t even have to prove you’re a real person.”
Councillor Labbée noted how vulnerable the current system is to abuse. “One person could change their email and have fifteen different emails,” she said, “and it seems like fifteen different people at fifteen different times. How is the Integrity Commissioner supposed to know that it’s an actual legitimate complaint?”
Councillor Natalie Labbée speaks to perceived flaws in the current system. Image Courtesy GreaterSudbury.ca
According to Labbée, the complaints process can be costly, though City Solicitor and Clerk, Eric Labelle noted billing rarely reaches the full $90,000 budgeted for the IC process. Billing to June 30th was $37,000.
Coverage of this motion by local journalist Tyler Clarke in Sudbury.com suggested altering the complaints process for complete removal of anonymity might not be possible under the current Municipal Act. The Accountability and Transparency section of the Act governs the powers of Ontario’s Integrity Commissioners, and grants broad discretion to ICs concerning confidentiality.
Sudbury’s Integrity Commissioner, David Boghosian, indicated to Sudbury.com that anonymity of complaints is not always necessary. At the October 8 meeting, Councillor Parent said that through his own discussion with Boghosian he understood anonymity is meant to be the exception for complainants rather than the rule.
Two Councillors, René Lapierre and Deb McIntosh, expressed discomfort with the idea that complainants might face public exposure, thus chilling the complaints process for legitimate whistleblowers. City Solicitor and Clerk, Eric Labelle, addressed those worries, noting the proposed changes would comply with the Municipal Act, and the Integrity Commissioner maintains the power to provide anonymity to a complainant should the situation warrant. No Councillor indicated any disagreement in principle with the Code of Conduct.
The motion was carried unanimously during a roll call vote. Shore Report will follow up on the amended Code of Conduct.
Image courtesy fonom.org
In a related report through Village Media, the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM), an umbrella group for 110 northern cities, towns and municipalities has called on the province to produce a “universal code of conduct” for elected municipal council members to bring a level of standardization to the process of investigation and response by integrity commissioners. At the moment, it seems Ontario’s municipal codes of conduct are a patchwork of local statutes that can have wide variances. A universal code would benefit North Shore communities who share IC services but not necessarily codes of conduct.
Surprise!... Radioactive Transport Planned for North Shore
Shore Report special edition
Residents Object to Lack of Consultation
Image courtesy Tom Tom Earthstar Graphics, 2024
North Shore communities near Nairn Centre, Ontario were surprised to learn only late this summer of advanced provincial plans to transport approximately 34,000 tonnes of radioactive niobium mine tailings over 150 kilometers from Nipissing First Nation to the Agnew Lake Tailings Management Area (ALTMA). The material will be used as fill to cover existing radioactive tailings waste at the former Agnew Lake Uranium Mine site, decommissioned between 1983 and ’88, and under provincial responsibility since the early 1990s. The radiation cover at Agnew Lake is distressed and degraded after many decades, and in need of repair — a fact many local residents did not know until this September.
At an often emotional Special Town Hall Meeting of the Township of Nairn and Hyman and the Corporation of the Township of Baldwin, local MPP Michael Mantha (Independent, Algoma-Manitoulin) rose to speak, saying that rumours about recent unexplained road upgrade projects had led to a “swell of panic” from local residents. He characterized the provincial activity as “going on for almost a decade” without proper consultation in the communities and First Nations affected.
“No-one was brought into a room and told, ‘hey, this is what’s going on; this is what we’re going to be doing,’” Mantha insisted. He also suggested the ministries involved responded to his office’s complaints about lack of notice by saying “well, we don’t have to.”
Dr. Andréane Chenier, an occupational health and safety specialist at the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), speaking on behalf of local MP Carol Hughes (NDP, Algoma–Manitoulin–Kapuskasing), noted “the idea that First Nations communities have not been properly consulted about things that may impact their Nations is not really in line with Truth and Reconciliation.”
Dr. Andréane Chenier speaking at the Special Town Hall Meeting. Image courtesy Township of Nairn and Hyman.
In a September newsletter to his community, Whitefish River Gimaa (Chief) Rodney Nahwegahbow, noted that the affected area is “within our Whitefish River Traditional Territory,” and that his Council was “disturbed to learn of the lack of consultation.” It would seem, despite being engaged in the clean-up of a historically unjust contamination on First Nation land, the province made no directly related approach to Whitefish River FN or other affected FNs on this project.
Image courtesy WRFN.
Niobium is used to create various alloys employed in construction, heat resistance, jet engines, and medical equipment such as MRI machines. A defunct niobium ore processing facility from the 1950s near Nipissing First Nation left thousand of tonnes of contaminant, which the province has only recently been working to clean up. Permanent storage of some of that waste material at ALTMA is part of the project, which involves the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and the Ministry of Mines.
Though niobium itself is considered a low-risk material, the mine tailings in question may contain elements said to release radium and radon gas as they deteriorate over time. A recent, deeply researched article by Aya Dufour at CBC.ca uncovers the 67-year history of the Nipissing contamination, including a legacy of official silence from the provincial and federal governments. Dufour spoke with former Nipissing FN Land Manager, Joan McLeod Shabogesic, learning that while Health Canada distributed radon detectors in the community back in the day, no-one there was ever informed of what the detectors found.
Representatives of the Ministry of Mines, MTO, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) attended the recent Town Hall, and made presentations that brought much-needed, solid information to the community; though expressions of gratitude in the room were muted (to say the least) given both the timing and nature of the disclosures.
From what was shared, it appears the radiation cover at the ALTMA site has significantly degraded over time and might even be considered to be in emergency need of repair. CNSC described a site worn down by ATV and other motorized traffic, and improperly identified because of missing signage. The Ministry of Mines showed maps indicating significant “hot spots” of radioactive leakage with potential for exposure 8 times the recommended annual limit for a member of the general public. Despite all that, residents were continually assured the site was safe for foot traffic and hunting.
Image courtesy Northwatch.
Speaking after the presentations, local environmental and nuclear safety advocate, Brennain Lloyd from Northwatch, asked “why was the degraded cover allowed to persist from 2016?” when it was apparently first identified by inspectors. In other words, why is the province only getting to this longstanding problem now? As well, Lloyd expressed a need for reassurance that radioactive niobium tailings would actually be an effective and safe cover material on the degraded site.
During public comments, Sam Gilchrist, executive director at Gwekwaadziwin Miikan, and the licensed trapper for the section of Crown Land including the Agnew Lake tailings site, called the news “super scary,” and described his experience of learning about the project by observing increased activity without explanation.
“All of a sudden there was a highway — out of nowhere — going up into the bush.”
Following the Town Hall, a Joint Emergency Meeting of the two Councils was held on October 2 to pass an emergency resolution, which was then sent by letter to Premier Doug Ford. The letter reads, in part:
During our deliberations, it became evident that the materials slated for transport are not correctly categorized as NORM [naturally occurring radioactive material], but rather as mine tailings containing not only radioactive substances like niobium and uranium but also other hazardous heavy metals.
The townships call for an immediate halt to all activity on the project, and answers to local questions before any more work is done. Their letter was copied to concerned provincial ministers and all affected local leaders.
Shore Report will continue to follow this story.
Beyond Huron
Batchewana First Nation Farming the Wind off Superior
First Nation Acquires 100% Stake in Bow Lake Wind Facility
Bow Lake Wind Facility, near Montreal River Harbour, Lake Superior. Image courtesy Tom Tom Earthstar Graphics, 2024
Having partnered with BluEarth Renewables to launch the Bow Lake Wind Farm in 2015, Batchewana First Nation has recently announced it is taking over 100% ownership of the facility. In its October newsletter, BFN announced an agreement to have BluEarth continue with operation and management support at the wind farm, while ownership transfers entirely to the community.
“It is paramount that BFN manages all of the lands and resources in our vast territory,” said Chief Mark McCoy.
Bow Lake Wind Farm was designed for 36 turbines, with a generating capacity of 58.32 megawatts, enough to power over 50,000 homes.