Zebra mussels threaten Island's commercial fishery

Regulations so far fail in halting ballast-borne invading species

by Michael Erskine

OTTAWA-The economic devastation to be wreaked upon North America by invasive species was tagged by at least one research institute at $167 billion dollars. To put that into perspective, consider that the insurance payment inflated cost of the devastation visited upon the US by hurricane Katrina will barely top the $100 billion mark. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission reported that sea lamprey control, assessment and research in 2001 alone cost $13.5 million.

While much attention has been focused on the impact of such relatively recent invaders such as zebra mussels, there are apparently a host of other nasty visitors whose presence will be felt during the coming decades.

By 2004, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River basin ecosystem had been infested more than 160 non-indigenous fish, invertebrates, plants, parasites, algae and pathogens, but researchers readily admit that many introduced species have likely gone unnoticed.

Despite wide recognition of the threat by international and national agencies, little has actually been done to stem the tide, and what has been done remains largely ineffective. The number of recorded introductions of alien invasive species increased throughout the 20th century, from 40 in the first half of the century to 76 during the latter half.

In the 1990s, the number of recorded alien species that found their way into the Great Lakes ecosystem stood at 15, a number of introductions essentially unchanged from the 1980s, which also saw 15; the 1970s, which saw 17 enter the ecosystem; and the 1960s, where 15 new species came to these shores.

Recent visitors include critters with such arcane names as Heteropsyllus, first recorded as arriving from its North Atlantic home in 1999 and Schizopera borutzkyi, which migrated from the Danube River around the same time, to 1995's blueback herring, 1991's New Zealand mudsnail which came in through a global merry-go-round from the Baltic Sea, and 1990's contributions of two species of goby from the Black Sea.

One of the key culprits fingered as providing rides to these global hitchhikers are vessels with the innocuous label of 'no ballast on board' or NOBOBS. These vessels are exempt from what little regulation currently exists and make up 70 percent of the traffic on the Great Lakes system.

While to qualify as NOBOBS these vessels must contain less than three percent of non-indigenous water ballast, that has proven to be more than enough to bring a plethora of unwelcome visitors into the lakes each and every year.

While it would seem to be relatively simple to ban non-indigenous water from the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes, it is not. Balancing sea-going cargo vessels is a delicate tightrope act, as the process must be carried out while maintaining the balance of a vessel weighing hundreds of tons to not dangerously strain the ship's structural integrity. Add to that the fact that some transoceanic ships may carry up to 150 million litres of ballast water, and the scale of the problem becomes gargantuan-three percent of 150 million litres of water still weighs in at more than 4.5 million litres of contaminates per ship.

A study of 26 ship types by Lloyd's of London indicated no easily quantifiable way to standardize ballast cleansing procedures, but the potential impact of the liability generated by the issue may well prove to be the eventual economic incentive needed to address the problem. Nothing motivates corporations, and through them governments, quite like the bottom line.

Still, even insurance companies seem to be slow off the mark on this issue. recent advances in DNA testing which may make it possible to tag the offending vessel in a species transference may well speed up the process.

Industry lobbyists are touting the need for government incentives and tax credits as a means of encouraging the seafaring entrepreneur to ensure better safeguards are in place-but judging from the pace so far of governments on both sides of the St. Lawrence River, the prognosis for that happening soon is not very encouraging.

In the exponential pace of global trade, government bodies are rapidly proving to be glacial in their response to what everyone seems to agree is an urgent problem. The only viable solution in the industry's view is the immediate imposition of mandatory regulations with sufficient funds to enforce the rules.

In the end, as always, the consumer will end up paying, but perhaps that cost will prove to be more desirable than the cost of trying to repair the damage caused by invasive species-a case of short-term pain for long-term gain.

Mussels clarify Lake Huron water, sun spurs growth of net-fouling algae

by Margo Little

MANITOULIN-George Purvis has weathered many crises in the Manitoulin fishing industry, including the tenacious lamprey eel, but he has never witnessed anything as lethal as the zebra mussel invasion. The striped creatures, originally from the Balkans and Russia, are now firmly entrenched throughout the Great Lakes. And there is no government strategy in place to combat the menace.

Since commercial fishing has been a livelihood for the Purvis family for five generations, Mr. Purvis has observed many threats to the fishery over the years. But the past 10 years have brought overwhelming changes. He confirms that the catch has been reduced by millions of pounds as a direct result of zebra mussel infestation.

"They are getting thicker and thicker," Mr. Purvis says. "They are more widespread than ever before. In fact, there isn't a rock in the lake where they aren't visible. In some places you can see the bottom 50 feet down and in some areas it's possible to see 100 feet down. Sure, it looks beautiful, just like the Caribbean, but clean does not mean the ecosystem is healthy."

The ominous clarity of the water is a powerful warning sign that all is not well. The 50 millimetre-long organisms (dreissena polymorpha) function as filter feeders. As they filter the water, they remove every particle in the water and either eat it or wrap it in mucus and spit it out. The process appears to improve water clarity, but in reality untold damage has been done.

"The fish don't like it real bright; they like it dark," Mr. Purvis emphasizes. "When there's too much sun, they are driven deeper and deeper. And since they have to get out of the area where they naturally feed, they get thin and lean. Often they don't survive."

He notes that perch in particular have been adversely affected by the loss of their shallow water habitat. The zebra mussel activity has forced them to retreat to the 50- and 60-foot levels in Lake Huron.

Lake trout have been hit hard as well because the mussel colonies cover their spawning shoals.

The other visible and ugly evidence of zebra mussel impact comes in the form of toxic blue-green algae, according to Mr. Purvis.

"The algae drifts like green goo on the water. It looks like angel hair and it coats everything. It causes a real mess," he says.

Rough weather frequently spells trouble for Purvis Bros. fishing vessels. "They get in the nets so bad it's impossible to get them out," he explains. "When you pull up the nets you get tons of rocks and mussels; they cut your hands and plug up the gear."

Although he serves as a member of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) advisory committee on fish and wildlife issues, he does not anticipate any relief for the Island's native species. In his view, the cutbacks and staff reductions at the MNR have rendered the ministry ineffectual.

"The government is crying poverty," he says. "They've closed a lot of MNR offices and kept fewer and fewer biologists. It's a ministry in name only now. The Great Lakes have been neglected and public education has been abandoned."

The commercial fishing industry has lost millions as the Great Lakes continue to decline, he reiterates. And the negative ripple effect has been felt by a variety of tourist operators throughout the Manitoulin-North Shore area.

Ordinary citizens are encountering the stubborn creatures in clogged water intake pipes, on deteriorating dock pilings and in damaged boat engines. Municipalities have been forced to design water treatment systems to deter the rapidly reproducing pests. But the battle has clearly been lost at beaches where they leave a foul smell and sink navigational buoys. Swimmers often complain of cuts from the razor sharp shells.

Ducks, loons and gulls are also getting sick. Waterfowl absorb contaminants and botulism from feeding on the mussels. In addition, the native clams of local waters are being eliminated by the newcomers.

The next phase of the destruction will be felt in the inland waters, Mr. Purvis predicts. Since recreational boaters are neglecting to clean their vessels before moving from the Great Lakes to the inland lakes, the problem is spreading rapidly.

In essence, the zebra mussel has proven itself to be a highly successful colonizer. In 1988 it was documented in Lake St. Clair, the water body connecting Lake Huron and Lake Erie. As an invisible stowaway in the ballast of a ship, it began its inexorable march to supremacy in the new world. In an age of indifference, shifting priorities and global travel, it has been allowed to establish a firm foothold.

Zhiibaahaasing tire hazard outrages rubber industry's stewardship group

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-For those in the scrap rubber trade who have been trying to bring a level of environmental stewardship to the industry, the tire situation on Manitoulin Island serves as an embarrassing black mark.

"It makes me angry when I think about it," says Glenn Maidment, chairman of Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS), an industry board whose mission is to clean up the scrap tire confusion in the province and create a regulated system that will prevent such stockpiles from occurring. "It's very unfortunate what has transpired there, and that it was allowed to continue for so long."

The Zhiibaahaasing First Nation presently has over one million tires stockpiled on its territory-more than exist at any other single site in the province-as a result of continuing to collect tires after the breakdown of equipment at its recycling plant. Some steps have been taken to mitigate the fire risks at the site, and discussions continue with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) regarding a strategy for reducing the size of the hazardous heap (or "excess inventory," as Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MPP Brent St. Denis prefers to call it), but as of Monday there had still not been any clear solution proposed.

Zhiibaahaasing Chief Irene Kells indicated last month that the community still wants to explore the potential of reviving its recycling facility, as well as determine whether there is a market for the old rubber. Deputy-Chief Kevin Mossip has similarly told the Expositor that, while the First Nation is agreeable to having the tires removed, it wants to reap some revenue from the material.

Mr. Maidment's response to that is blunt: "They already have reaped revenue! Not only that, they were undercutting others in the business."

The way the scrap tire business works, Mr. Maidment explains, is that a tire retailer will charge an individual a fee (somewhere around $3) to take an old tire off their hands. Retailers then pay tire haulers in the neighbourhood of $1.50 to $2 per tire to truck them away. The haulers, in turn, pay a processor 75 cents to $1 per tire when they deposit their truckloads at the processing plant.

"So, in the end, everybody has made a little bit of money," says Mr. Maidment. "But what happens up in your neck of the woods is that they can charge less per tire because they're not paying a fee to any processor. So a hauler might arrive at Joe's tire shop, only to be told they just missed out, because a guy from the First Nation came by and only wanted 50 cents per tire."

Mr. Maidment said most retailers prefer to develop relationships with established tire-hauling companies, but he can understand why some may opt to do business with outfits that charge less. "From a retailer's point of view, they just want to get rid of the tires, and the lowest tipping fee tends to be with First Nations."

The problem in Ontario, Mr. Maidment says, is that "there's nobody policing or monitoring the collection of tires right now, which is how you get illegal dumping." Ontario, in fact, is the only province that doesn't have a managed scrap tire program, he notes.

It was that very deficiency that prompted the province to create the Ontario Tire Stewardship board. "It was created a couple of years ago under the Waste Diversion Act," Mr. Maidment relates. "The Environment minister at the time (Chris Stockwell) issued a request letter to Waste Diversion Ontario to create a scrap tire program, and they came to the industry and said the government required us to take responsibility and put in place a stewardship plan."

Among the measures that OTS is advocating to regulate and harmonize the way tires are collected in Ontario is what Mr. Maidment terms a 'manifest system,' where "haulers and retailers have to fill out paperwork that documents where the tires are picked up, and more importantly, which processors they are going to. I don't want to slam the retailers, but for some, all they care about is getting the damn things off their property."

A tracking system, he says, would ensure that the tires are being delivered to legitimate processing plants, and not ending up in problematic heaps. "The whole impetus for this board," Mr. Maidment points out, "was that some municipalities were complaining about illegal dumping."

The Zhiibaahaasing tire dump would certainly qualify as illegal under the terms of the provincial legislation that restricts the size of tire stockpiles to 5,000 at any one site, but since First Nations fall under federal jurisdiction, that rule apparently can't be enforced. The First Nation also appears, however, to be in violation of a federal policy, since it never received a permit for the storage of waste from Indian and Northern Affairs.

But regardless of the legal and jurisdictional grey areas, Mr. Maidment believes something has to be done, simply from an environmental point of view, to rectify the situation on Manitoulin. "A lot of people are nervous about that situation, and somebody's going to have to come up the money to deal with it," he says.

Tire processors aren't apt to collect the tires free of charge, he says, particularly since the value of the material decreases over time in such conditions. "We've always said that tires in stockpiles tend not to be desirable for processing, because they will oxidize and lose elasticity," Mr. Maidment points out. "Those tires have been there for a long time, and that makes them less suitable for processors, who prefer fresh take-offs."

Tires can be turned into crumb rubber, which has a variety of applications, including as aggregate in asphalt, but if the tires sit for too long, "it comes out more like sand than an elastic product" after being run through a machine, Mr. Maidment says. "And the other issue," he adds, "is the dirt and rocks that get inside, which are hard on the equipment when you go to chop them up. Rocks and knives don't go together."

This doesn't mean the tires couldn't be put to some purpose, he hastens to add. "I don't want to say they couldn't be processed, just that it would be more expensive to do so. Probably the easiest, and just as viable use, would be to take them to a cement kiln for tire-derived fuel."

But again, even though a few super-scuttle-loads of scrap tires would cut down significantly on a cement company's coal costs, there would still, Mr. Maidment warns, be a price tag for sending the tires off to such a destination.

"This has always been the problem with scrap tires," he says. "They still have a negative value, because it does cost something to get them to legitimate processors. There's just not enough value in the scrap rubber material itself to sustain itself without some additional fees to encourage people to take them."

Mr. Maidment concedes that this situation is gradually changing, noting that "some operations in the US are now paying a modest amount for tires because it reduces their overall costs, but generally, a tire still has a negative value."

Partly that's because tires are, by their very nature, designed to be extremely durable, so any processing plant that is set up to shred, crumb, or otherwise tear them apart, needs to invest in costly, heavy-duty equipment to accomplish the task.

To truck a raw tire from any depot in Ontario to a place that converts it to another purpose (be it a cement kiln, or a plant that manufactures blasting or fatigue mats, or one that shreds the rubber for use as a gravel replacement in landfill leachate systems) will cost about "$2 per tire, minimum," Mr. Maidment indicates. "And with that," he qualifies, "we're just talking about once the tire is on the truck and going somewhere. If there's a lot of work involved in handling the tire and getting it on the truck to begin with, it would be more like $3 to $4 per tire all in."

The mandate of the Ontario Tire Stewardship board is to maximize the number of tires processed in the province, with a goal of 90 percent diversion from landfills and depots by the year 2008. The tracking program it is proposing would, according to the organization's website, provide "accountability through a regular reporting and audit process (and) ensure that stockpiles are completely eliminated and that no new stockpiles are created."

Unfortunately, that tracking process is not yet in place, and may not be implemented for some time yet. Mr. Maidment notes that current Environment Minister Lauren Broten "has put the tire program in limbo, saying she wishes it to be deferred."

Deferring-also defined as delaying, postponing, and putting off until some other time-is a concept that Islanders with concerns about the Zhiibaahaasing tire pile are well acquainted with by this point. Last month, Peter Sero, a spokesperson for INAC, assured that negotiations to deal with the issue are taking place, while adding that, "out of respect for the integrity of the negotiations, we'd rather defer comments about the details until an agreement with the First Nation is reached."

Angry N.E. Town mayor wonders where police are

by Michael Erskine

NORTHEAST TOWN-Mayor Joe Chapman was making no secret of his displeasure with the administration of the OPP Northeast Region Monday, after vandals set fire to a paper dispenser at the Low Island park building.

"This is totally unacceptable," said Mayor Chapman after his investigation into the matter revealed that it had apparently taken two hours for officers to respond to a complaint by a British couple who had witnessed the vandalism. "We are paying a huge bill for police services in this community and they basically did nothing."

According to Mayor Chapman, the British couple waited for two hours for the police to come and take their statement, and then, when town managers showed what appeared to be a piece of drug paraphernalia to the officers: "They just shrugged and turned away."

Recreation manager Greg Wright retrieved a plastic pop bottle with a bread bag tapped to the bottom that showed obvious signs of being used for 'bottle tokes.'

Town managers Randy Burnett, Glen Case and Mr. Wright had most of the smoke and fire damage cleaned up by the time the Expositor was on the scene, but the extent of the smoke and soot in the women's washrooms was still clearly evident at the top of the walls.

Mr. Wright pulled the burnt paper dispenser/garbage can from the back of a town truck to illustrate the extent of the damage.

Mayor Chapman was adamant that his complaint lay not with the local police officers themselves, or even with the detachment command, but rather with those who schedule and dictate manpower draws from across the province.

"They tell me there are only two officers for the whole Island-the rest are down in Caledonia," he said. "We should not be dealing with Caledonia's problem. That is not our problem and we should not be paying for it. It is inexcusable."

Community Services Officer Al Boyd disputed the mayor's numbers when it came to staffing.

"No, no that's not at all right," he said. "We do not have only two officers on duty."

Constable Boyd admitted that local officers are rotated into the Caledonian situation, but he pointed out that there are only two officers sent on that assignment every three weeks-and that this was not one of those weeks. But the OPP has a duty to serve and protect communities across the entire province.

"We are mandated to serve the province of Ontario," he said. "It is beyond the control of the OPP that the province downloaded paying for those services onto the municipalities."

The situation in Caledonia, or any area of the province that finds itself the centre of a major community safety issue, does strain manpower resources, but there are positive things to note about the system asserted Constable Boyd.

"The flip side of that coin is that should a major incident occur on Manitoulin Island or in NEMI, we could have 200 to 300 officers on-site within 24 hours," he said. When it comes to that kind of deployment, individual municipalities do not foot the bill. "The Town of Caledonia is not paying for the kind of increased police presence there is in that community at the moment."

Were the Northeast Town to have its own police service of six officers, there is no way they could provide anything close to the service currently being provided by the OPP, he said.

The Northeast Town currently budgets in the neighbourhood of $641,000 for police services, according to clerk Janet Moore.

"I don't think that bill is going to go down because they have sent officers off to deal with Caledonia," said Mayor Chapman.

Mayor Chapman suggested that the town may have to hire a private security firm to provide surveillance to the area after a rash of incidents at Low Island Park and Spider Bay Marina over the past week.

"We will do whatever is required to ensure the safety of the public," he said. "I do not want people to think that they cannot allow their children to come down here because of any safety issue. We are not going to allow that to happen."

When it comes to the level of police presence in the community, Mayor Chapman was equally succinct.

"We are not about to accept that level of service," he said. "They have got to pick up the level."

EDITORIAL

It is long past time to solve the ballast issue

One of our greatest natural resources, the Great Lakes, are being invaded by hosts of alien invaders which are wreaking havoc-largely unchecked-and federal government inaction has exacerbated the situation beyond all tolerance.

While the question of controlling ballast from ships arriving from foreign seas is not an easy one, the issue is only going to get worse with each passing season. Great Lakes officials readily admit they have no idea how many potential biological disasters are ticking away in the mud of any of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, or drifting about in the water.

Scientific studies have often been the sop with which the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) or Oceans and Fisheries have used to delay action while nature balances itself to a new reality, but in the case of invasive species, that approach will patently prove catastrophic.

While the efforts of entrepreneurs like Don Morphet of Little Current to create zebra mussel-repelling water intakes may help deal with the symptoms of the problem of one invader, and the efforts of the MNR to enlist school children in building goby-proof bass fortresses may help to save the bass fishery from extinction, such laudable efforts will do little in the face of an ever-growing invasion of species, some invisible to the naked eye.

The International Joint Commission governing the St. Lawrence Seaway must be empowered to enforce a ballast sterilization program to protect the Great Lakes from further assault. The challenges already facing the Great Lakes eco-system from already established invaders will prove to be more than enough challenge for the coming generation to face.

On the micro level, it is vitally important that each of us take steps to prevent the transference of those invaders already in the Great Lakes into the inland fishery.

Most fishermen's boats are relatively tiny things, 16-to 20-feet in length. Surely we can take the time to scrub down boat and trailer with javex-laced water before moving from the big water to a smaller lake. Perhaps it is even time to look at coin-operated pressure washers at each boat launch.

The MNR seems to be the poor child of government ministries today, with its relative budget shrinking with each passing year. Unless serious attention is given to bringing better resources to bear, even draconian legislation would fail when the resources to enforce such laws are missing. But it is moot, because, like the canals and lock systems servicing the great inland trade routes of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes systems, no such legislative protection exists.

It is time to recognize the devastating economic impact that further complacency will bring and to take concrete legislative and budgetary action to deal with the issue.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Parent disagrees with teen dance letter

Mislabelled perhaps, but still a postive self-esteem building exercise

To the Expositor:

In last week's Expositor was a letter written by a young woman expressing her opinion regarding a 'teen dance' recently held in Mindemoya as part of Homecoming Weekend ("'Teen dance' for preteens ill-conceived," July 5). I would like to commend Ms. Bock for being forthright enough to express her opinion in such a public manner.

When I first read Ms. Bock's letter I got the feeling that she was upset because the event was referred to as a 'teen dance' when it was really for children ages 6-10. I agree that the event may have been improperly advertised as a 'teen' event and next year this is something that can easily be remedied.

Since last Wednesday I have read Ms. Bock's letter several more times and it is clear that she is upset about more than the improper label that was attached to this event. She states clearly that she feels it is not necessary for children 6-10 to be attending dances, where they "dress themselves up in clothing that hardly covers their body, and dance suggestively."  Yikes, who wouldn't be upset at this possibility!

But, I have to ask Ms. Bock if she was in Mindemoya on the night of this event and if so did she take a look at the children coming to and from the dance?  Because if so, then she and I surely saw things differently. I happened to be in Mindemoya on this night and my daughter, who is eight-years-old and who has stubbornly dressed herself since the time she was strong enough to pull upon her dresser drawers, attended this dance. What was she wearing, you may wonder? Well, much to my dismay she had on her favourite pair of basketball shorts (which ended somewhere closer to her ankles than her knees) and a T-shirt that, colour-wise, had no business being paired up with the shorts she had on.  Provocative?  Hardly covered? These two terms do not even come close to describing how she and the other children I observed were dressed. Not even close.

It is ironic that Ms. Bock talks of other, more 'proper' activities that these children should be involved in, such as sporting events. The children who attended this dance are into a ton of other activities; in fact the entire event was put on as a fundraiser so that one day Mindemoya might have a skateboarding park for all those interested to enjoy. The children at this event play hockey in the winter, run track in the spring and cross-country in the fall, and play soccer and basketball during the school year. More active children I don't think you could find. 

I do agree with Ms. Bock that children should be allowed to be children and as adults we need to ensure that our children have ample opportunity to develop positive self-esteem and a healthy self-respect for themselves. But I disagree that an event such as the recent dance held in Mindemoya for 6-10 year olds is at odds with developing such esteem and respect.

If my daughter's apple-red cheeks and non-stop chatter about how much fun she had were any indication, then events like this, which provide an opportunity for children to be active in a supervised environment, are appreciated by both children and parents alike.

Sue Lanktree-Van Horn

Mindemoya

Manitoulin property buyers beware

Trailer complaints can prevent even temporary habitation

To the Expositor:

Manitoulin is a great place to retire. For all those future retirees wishing to buy property or those that have already bought, and can't afford to build right away, beware! Placing a travel trailer or mobile home on a lot for temporary use is in violation of some municipality's zoning bylaws. But don't worry, this bylaw is only enforced if you are unfortunate enough to have someone complain. It doesn't matter if you have every intention to build your retirement home there, whether it be two, three or four years away or even longer. It doesn't matter if you are only using the trailer for four or five weeks out of the year. It doesn't matter if you are using your time there to clear trees, do landscaping or just general development planning. You must obtain your building permits and show continuous progress towards building to be able to use your trailer. And, all it takes is one complaint.

Such is our story. We were unfortunate enough to receive a complaint, unfounded as it may have been, and we are no longer able to use our trailer. For us, living over seven hours away, this means we can no longer come to our retirement lot for which we scraped and saved for a very long time. What a disappointment! And what a welcome to the Island!

Because of this one complaint, we were forced to apply to Central Manitoulin Township for an amendment to the zoning bylaw, at a cost of $300. When that proposed amendment was rejected by council, we were given the option to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board, at a cost of $125. We went through the whole appeal process, which consisted of consulting legal counsel, preparing a formal affidavit of service to the board, sending out notices to all concerned parties, and ultimately attending a formal hearing on Manitoulin to plead our case to an OMB official.

This was a very time-consuming and stressful process and it was all in vain. The OMB dismissed our appeal even though we were able to document our progress and intentions and show proof that there were several other property owners with trailers being used for the same purpose as ours within a 10-mile radius of our property. As we're sure most residents are aware, there are numerous others all over the Island. This is clear discrimination. One would think that if they enforce the bylaw for one trailer owner they should do so for all the others.  Either that, or pass our proposed amendment. Isn't that the democratic way?

Maybe it's time for a change in the zoning bylaws to allow temporary use of trailers if only for a certain number of years or certain number of weeks out of the year. We have written to the Manitoulin Living retirement initiative voicing our concerns. Manitoulin Living is a partnership of municipalities and businesses in the area co-operating in order to encourage people to consider coming to live on beautiful Manitoulin Island. According to them, in the most recent census, Manitoulin Island is the only region in Northern Ontario with a growing population due largely in part to retirees. We are very disappointed in a system that has unjustly taken away our enjoyment of planning for retirement. This has certainly soured our view of retirement living on Manitoulin and we are seriously considering selling and buying elsewhere.

We feel we should have some rights as property owners and taxpayers. There must be some way of enjoying our lot prior to building. We are open for suggestions.

Hubert and Wendy Flinsenberg

Beachville, Ont.

Bears have right to berries

Nuisance humans are in the berry patch

To the Expositor:

If a bear descends on our community and starts eating our garbage, our birdseed, our garden or even our cat, he is labeled a nuisance bear. The bear is considered free game and can get shot without much hesitation.

So, when we as humans go out in the bush, pillage through the blueberry bushes, a main staple for the bear in the wild, what are we?

I was thinking of that the other day while picking blueberries with my kids up on the Willisville mountain. Should I be surprised if I met up with a bear and he/she got upset? Should we be surprised if he/she has to head for our communities to fulfill his/her need for food because the bushes are stripped clean?

Steve Blouin

Little Current

Letters can also be dropped through the slot on the front door of the Expositor office.Send your Dear Dave letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0,