Lake Huron water level up eight inches over last July

International Joint Commission (IJC) hearing Island concerns on August 9

by Jim Moodie

LAKE HURON-After dipping towards a record low in January of this year, a spate of spring rain has pushed the level of Lake Huron back towards its norm, and cottagers, recreational boaters and freight captains are lapping it up.

"It's quite a bit higher even than a year ago now due to the precipitation we've had," remarked Ralph Moulton, a water levels scientist with Environment Canada. "It started last fall with Lake Superior, where conditions became quite wet, and continued through the spring."

Mr. Moulton noted that Lake Superior had previously (in the fall of 2007) plunged to its lowest level since 1926, but the big lake rebounded dramatically this past autumn. "It went up 20 centimetres in six weeks," he marvelled. "That was certainly surprising, especially for the time of year, because the lake usually peaks in August or early September. It's almost back to normal on Superior now-up 40 centimetres from where it was a year ago and just 10 centimetres below average."

Superior's resurgence, combined with an unusually damp spring and summer (so far) in Ontario, has made for a significant improvement on Lake Huron. "With the increased outflow from Lake Superior and increased precipitation, Georgian Bay is now 20 centimetres higher than it was at this time last year," pointed out Mr. Moulton.

The Great Lakes actually started to swell back in January, when parts of the basin were walloped with unusually large dollops of white stuff, and "it's been a continuing pattern since then," said the Environment Canada scientist.

In June, Lakes Superior and Huron-Michigan-which technically function as one lake, since there's no drop between them-jumped by 14 centimetres, according to Environment Canada data. That's twice the average increase for Superior in June, and almost three times the amount that would normally accrue on Huron-Michigan in that month.

Still, the gains should be kept in perspective. Even with this welcome boost, Lake Huron remains 33 centimetres below its long-term average.

"Just because it's up a bit, it's not time to open the champagne," reasoned Jib Turner, port captain for Little Current with the Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) and a member of the Georgian Bay Association (GBA). "We go up six inches and people are jumping for joy, but we're still five feet from where we were in 1986."

Levels were the talk of the dock when over 90 yachts converged this month for the annual GLCC Rendezvous in Little Current. "Everyone is very happy to see the trend moving upward and obviously we hope it will continue," said Mr. Turner. "But I think we definitely still need to consider controls for Lake Huron and Michigan."

Water coming into Lake Huron can be regulated through the control gates at Sault Ste. Marie, he noted, but there is nothing to constrict the lake's outflow through the St. Clair River. And this channel, according to research undertaken on behalf of the GBA, has been deepened and widened over time due to dredging and erosion, with the result that it acts as an unstoppered drainage hole.

Mr. Moulton noted that a five-year study of the upper Great Lakes is currently under way to address issues of water levels on Huron-Michigan and Superior. Commissioned by the International Joint Commission (IJC), a quasi-judicial body that oversees the regulation of the Great Lakes, this multi-year investigation was launched in March of last year.

"There are two parts to it," said Mr. Moulton. "One is the St. Clair River and the potential for changes there, which are vaguely worded in the mandate but could include mitigation. The second part concerns the regulation of the Lake Superior outflow and whether improvements can be made in that plan."

While the study won't wrap up until 2012, the St. Clair issue has been front-loaded into the agenda, with a draft report due to be delivered in late winter or early spring of next year, said Mr. Moulton. In the meantime, the International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) board is holding a series of public meetings, with one to occur in at the Legion hall in Little Current on August 9, from 9 am to 11 am.

The GBA has been quite vocal about the need for immediate action at the St. Clair River to staunch the outflow from Lake Huron. One scenario proposed by the group would involve the installation of rocks on the floor of the river to reduce the amount of water slipping between its eroded banks, while implementing a system of weirs is another option.

Mr. Turner supports both concepts, while adding that there could be an additional solution. "As we speak there's an application for power generation to go in there (on the US side of the St. Clair River) which could accomplish two things at once-provide power, and slow down the river."

The proposal calls for an "open-source" form of hydro generation, meaning power is harnessed from the current without the need for an obstruction like a dam. Mr. Turner believes it is an appealing type of technology that could even be applied in the harbour at Little Current, where the flow of water isn't quite as minor as the location's name suggests.

As a longtime denizen of the North Channel and proprietor of a family business that has dealt in charts for decades, Mr. Turner is somewhat philosophical about the ups and downs of the Great Lakes. "We definitely have a 'tide' here; we're used to fluctuations," he said.

At the same time, however, he feels that the general paucity of precipitation (and increase in evaporation) that has occurred over the past decade (minus a brief rebound in water levels in 2004 and this summer's modest recovery) should act as "wakeup call" that something more needs to be done than merely hope for rain. "This low has existed for too long, and my concern is that it isn't correcting itself fast enough," he said.

He is heartened, on the other hand, that legislation is now before the US congress that would place strict limitations on the amount of water that landlocked states could siphon from the Great Lakes via diversions. "They're looking at an act to protect the lakes from places down the line, like Missouri and Ohio, that could take the lion's share of what we just gained in precipitation," he said.

All of the Great Lakes states have now signed on to the so-called Great Lakes Compact, which would set guidelines for economic development in the region and ban water from being diverted except in rare circumstances, and lawmakers are confident that the deal could be ratified by congress within the year.

As for the immediate future, Mr. Moulton said it's impossible to firmly predict what will happen to lake levels, as Mother Nature is herself unpredictable. "Historically we've seen levels go up and down a fair bit, but whether they're going up now for a longer term, it's difficult to say."

That said, his hunch is that Huron has probably peaked for the year, as its level rarely inches upwards through late summer and fall. "It could go up another three or four centimetres, but I don't expect it would go up much more," he said. "It usually levels off by September."

Some corners of Lake Huron, such as southern Georgian Bay, are more vulnerable to low water, noted Mr. Turner, so even the present "surge" is likely seen, by such folks, as a proverbial drop in the bucket. "There are a lot of places outside of Little Current that could still use a lot of water," he said.

Little Current could use more, too. While Spider Bay Marina is no longer in imminent need of dredging-money for which is nearly impossible to come by anyway-and props aren't busting off rocks in record numbers this sailing season, the case remains that there's not enough depth in the channel to accommodate the Coast Guard's buoy tender the Samuel Risley, let alone the Columbus cruise ship, noted Mr. Turner.

Still, most boaters and marine enterprises are enjoying the relative boost in blue stuff, while bracing themselves for another probable round of desiccation and doom.

Even Enviro Canada's Mr. Moulton, who seems to have more faith in the basin's ability to refill itself than some critics, sounds a note of fatalism in characterizing the current situation. "It's good to see the levels coming back up because we were certainly concerned about how low they had become and the negative impacts this has on the environment and the economy," he said. "So we're glad for the good news-as long as it lasts."

Northeast Town ponders proposals for new hotel

beside tourist info. Centre

by Jim Moodie

LITTLE CURRENT-Talk of a hotel being developed on property adjacent to the Welcome Centre in Little Current has been in the air for at least a couple of years now, but the first tangible sign of activity came earlier this month when a work crew was spotted conducting soil samples at the site.

The municipality, which owns the property in question, is reluctant to say too much at this point, as the process to select a developer and ink a deal for the land is not yet complete. But there is a good chance that a project will get the green light in the near future, said Northeast Town Mayor Jim Stringer.

"We do have a proposal that council has looked at in camera," said Mayor Stringer, adding that the town has actually fielded two proposals for a hotel development in this location, but "one is more active than the other."

Mr. Stringer wouldn't name the proponents, other than to say that "one is local and the other is not," but sources indicate that one bid is being made by three area First Nations in conjunction with an off-Island developer.

The town property near the swing bridge comprises 3.5 acres in total, said Mayor Stringer, but "without the part that includes the Welcome Centre proper and the parkette, it would be two acres."

The municipality could theoretically part with the entire parcel and allow the tourist info facility to become a component of the hotel development, but the mayor suggested this isn't a likely scenario. "I'd be surprised if that were to happen," he said. "I doubt it is something that council would sign onto."

And while the vacant area west of the Welcome Centre has frontage on the channel, the town could still opt to "maintain control of the waterfront" even if a development goes ahead here, said the mayor.

The recent negotiations on the hotel front are just the latest in a lengthy and often acrimonious saga that began with a bid to establish a Comfort Inn at Low Island. That plan, which was spearheaded by the Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK) First Nation in partnership with developer Jim McBain, was delayed by an Ontario Municipal Board hearing and ultimately dropped when the developer brought forward new conditions that the First Nation couldn't countenance.

Prior to this final straw, the municipality had made overtures to AOK to shift its focus from Low Island to the Welcome Centre property, but by then the First Nation felt it could not veer from its original plan. "At this stage, we're at the 11th hour," said Chief Patrick Madahbee at the time. "It's not feasible to change our course at this stage in the game."

Contacted last week, Chief Madahbee was reluctant to speak about the latest plans for a hotel other than to say that "there's activity in the works," and that he's optimistic that the outcome will be positive.

Mayor Stringer was similarly upbeat, if nearly as vague. "At this point we're just waiting for the proponent to finalize their business plan," he said. "But we're hopeful we might have something good to announce in a month or two."

The earlier plan for lodgings at Low Island seems unlikely to be revived at this point. "We've heard nothing in relation to Low Island since the time it died," said Mayor Stringer.

That said, the municipality would welcome something of a similar type and scope at its Highway 6 location. "We'd be very pleased to have something in the nature of a 40- to 60-room hotel with possibly a conference centre involved," said Mayor Stringer.

And while the facility wouldn't necessarily be part of the Comfort Inn chain, the mayor said it would still be preferable to host a franchise hotel at the Welcome Centre site, as "a name brand is easier to sell."

The hotel envisioned for Low Island would not have included a restaurant, per se, but rather a mechanism for meals to be catered in. Mayor Stringer couldn't say whether or not that would also be the preferred option under the newest proposal. "I'm not sure if there would be a restaurant," he said.

He is certain, however, that a hotel would be a welcome and needed addition to the Little Current landscape and economy. Not to mention, should it be created on municipally owned land, a boost to town coffers.

"It's something we've identified for economic development and expanding the taxation base," said the mayor.

M'Chigeeng crow found to be infected with West Nile

M'CHIGEENG-Tests confirms that a dead crow found on the M'Chigeeng First Nation has tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). The crow was collected on July 15, 2008.

The bird was reported to the M'Chigeeng Health Centre and the bird was picked up and sent for testing by First Nations and Inuit Health.

There have been other cases in the Sudbury area but this would be the first crow that tested positive this year from Manitoulin Island. There have been no cases of West Nile virus in humans reported from M'Chigeeng First Nation.

Mosquito season is not yet over and people need to continue to be vigilant. The best way to minimize chances of human infection is to protect yourself from mosquito bites. Use mosquito repellants that contain DEET, cover exposed skin, minimize exposure from dusk to dawn to reduce the risk of mosquito bites. Other measures include wearing light coloured clothing, disposing of water holding containers in your yard, turning over wheelbarrows, wading pools and boats when not in use, particularly after rainfall.

West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne illness that normally causes mild illness in humans. As of today, there are some mosquito trapping stations set up in M'Chigeeng for surveillance of the mosquito population for the next four weeks.

MNR_Minister Cansfield impressed by Island streams facelift

by Margo Little

ASSIGINACK-Motorists travelling the Bidwell Road last Tuesday would have noted the demonstration of some genuine pioneer spirit. On a sweltering July day an army of workers was visible hauling cedar rails, toting large rocks and wading through a once sluggish creek.

This was the scene that greeted Ontario's minister of natural resources, Donna Cansfield. Surrounded by members of the Lake Manitou Area Association, the Manitoulin Streams group, the Stewardship Rangers and local landowners, she made her way to the banks of Norton's Creek. The minister received a firsthand glimpse into the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate the historical cold water Brook Trout stream.

Seija Deschenes, Manitoulin Streams co-ordinator, was on hand to make sure the itinerary flowed smoothly. "Manitoulin Streams wants to rehabilitate the upper creek to help benefit the productivity of native brook trout and to increase the available spawning habitat for the wild Lake Nipigon strain brook trout that have been stocked by the MNR into Lake Manitou," she explained. "It is our intent to improve bank stability by installing fencing that will inhibit cattle access to the river."

The minister was also accompanied by MNR representative Bob Florean.

"In 2007 College BorŽal students conducted stream surveys on behalf of Manitoulin Streams," he said. "This stream (Norton's Creek) is the most impacted because of cattle erosion over the past 50 years. Just picture the damage caused by a 500-pound steer stepping into the stream for a drink."

He showed the minister where volunteers were busy building cedar rail fencing approximately 75 feet back from the creek. "Cedar is a sustainable harvest," he noted. "It's cost-effective to use local cedar and, of course, it will last for a hundred years."

Mr. Florean also introduced the minister to the local Stewardship Rangers and Ontario Rangers from Killarney. The group of 17-year-olds was immersed in carrying boulders, creating pool and riffle areas and placing woody material along the shoreline for cover.

"Fifty years ago this stream was only two metres wide," Mr. Florean added. "It kept eroding and falling in. But with the help of the rangers, it has been cleaned up quite a bit. They even found a gravel pit nearby to use to improve brook trout habitat."

Assiginack Reeve Leslie Fields also joined the tour of the site. She reaffirmed her township's commitment to the Manitoulin Streams project.

"Our generation made some mistakes so we are trying to bring it back," she said. "We know we have a responsibility to return things to as natural a state as possible. When the cattle were first placed on this land, there may have been 10 head or so. But as time went on, the herd grew to a hundred so they changed the natural course of things. It's up to us to take action for future generations."

For Minister Cansfield, the visit to Manitoulin confirmed that the MNR's funding is producing positive results. She praised the volunteers and the rangers for working together to improve water quality and fish habitat.

"They genuinely care about the land and want to make it better than they found it," she observed. "The MNR has contributed $60,000 to the stewardship and ranger programs in the Manitoulin area. The more the MNR can do to support this work the better."

In her view, the unique resources of Manitoulin are worthy of preservation. "Preservation of the trout and the coldwater streams is a priority with the MNR," she said. "It is important to do a good restoration job because it will bring in a lot of tourist dollars for the local economy."

During her visit the Expositor asked her about the potential of a wild turkey release on the Island in the future. She stressed that an environmental assessment process is underway to determine the feasibility of such a project.

"They have experienced extraordinary success elsewhere in southern Ontario," she said. "If wild turkeys were to be released on Manitoulin, it would be necessary to keep it controlled. Hunters would have to be educated and well versed in the turkey shoot. The assessment study is going to show us if it is appropriate for this area. We know there are successful pheasant hunts here so it is not dissimilar to that."

Her visit to Manitoulin reinforced the necessity of not only protecting the vulnerable coldwater streams, but the Great Lakes as well. She noted that increases in rain and snowfall this past autumn and winter have helped somewhat.

"As we continue to monitor water levels, the provincial government is also participating in the International Joint Commission's five-year study to better understand the cause of low water levels in the Upper Great Lakes," she said.

EDITORIAL

Children are too important_for CAS to escape scrutiny

Children's Aid Societies (CAS) in districts all around Ontario have in recent years come under increasing pressure to make themselves available to a higher degree of civilian, outside scrutiny and, in the process, make their programs and procedures increasingly transparent.

This Friday, the Manitoulin offices of the Children's Aid Society for the Districts of Manitoulin and Sudbury will be the focus of a peaceful demonstration, organized by two boys from Little Current, brothers who have concerns about how a friend of theirs fared while in care in another home. They say they want answers to their concerns and an explanation of why concerns about the placement of their young friend appear, to them, to have been ignored.

Perhaps these concerns weren't ignored, but CAS organizations like the one that serves Manitoulin are under no obligation whatever to explain the rationale behind decisions made about the placements of the young people in their care.

It's clear that the intention of the legislation that granted CAS groups this veil of secrecy was benign: it was to protect the child from the people whose thoughtless actions caused the child to be brought into CAS care in the first place.

But being able to defer to secrecy in all things also serves CAS organizations well.

The Children's Aid Society, perhaps more than any other public organization, cannot afford to make mistakes, for their sole mandate is the welfare of children-particularly vulnerable children.

They can't afford to be seen to make mistakes because the public simply won't tolerate public errors in children's welfare issues.

But things happen. People misjudge things sometimes and mistakes are made. This happens in police organizations. It happens in government. It happens in hospitals and all areas of medical treatment.

For all of these other groups, however, there are avenues to pursue where the public can express concern. Public enquiries can be held and public explanations can be offered, together with any recommendations that may help ensure that a particular situation does not recur.

But not so with the CAS.

And while we must be mindful of the necessary secrecy that must shield any particular child's identity from public scrutiny, it is finally time that the CAS, like the police services with which these organizations work so closely, has its decision-making processes scrutinized by civilian, non-partisan groups.

A recent letter to the editor in these pages strongly recommended that the CAS should come under scrutiny of the Ontario Ombudsman, which it presently is not.

This is certainly worth consideration because the Ombudsman's office is already in place and its mandate is clearly to investigate public complaints about the actions of Ontario government agencies-with the exception of the Children's Aid Societies of Ontario and a few other arm's length, quasi-government agencies.

Granted, each regional CAS is overseen by a local volunteer board of directors, chosen from the community.

But at present, the job of these boards of directors is to ensure that their particular agency works within the guidelines of the provincial act that governs the CAS, so it is unfair, under existing circumstances, to expect these volunteers to do any more.

The directions for change must come, arising from public concern, from the government of Ontario, and it is time that a public oversight process-one that factors in the need to protect the identities and circumstances of children in care-is initiated for CAS groups in the province.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Mogentaler a giant fighting for the working classes

Dr. Henry Morgentaler has saved Canada and the world billions of social welfare dollars

To the Expositor:

With regards to Patricia Paulsen's July 16 Manitoulin Expositor letter regarding abortion, may I say when I was but a boy of 14 before I went to sea, a 14-year-old girlfriend wanted me to go for a bicycle ride. Had I done so I'd have been like most progenitors: a 14-year-old father.

The right not to be a father or mother was a hard fight to win. Giants like Dr. Henry Morgentaler have saved Canada and the world billions of social welfare dollars.

May I suggest, Patricia, you examine Canada's Heroes monument to see the need for Giants v. Little People (Gulliver's Travels).

Of the many Order of Canada recipients, few have elevated the working class of Canada and the world.

We need more giants and a few teachers to care for and save a much battered baby by child-adults, i.e. Earth, albeit a baby only 500 million years or so old that we cannot, Patricia, pass on to somebody else in hopes they'll be less capitalist controlled and will look after the planet Earth.

The film The Corporation is also a must as it deals with USA capitalist control of Bolivian water and now the Great Lakes.

Captain D.K. Campbell

Honora Bay

Children's Aid Society needs to answer to public criticism

Hats off to children planning Haweater Weekend protest

To the Expositor:

The complaints continue to mount against the Children's Aid Society (CAS) of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin. Traditionally CAS is the target of much criticism from adults, especially from fathers who only have visitation rights to their children. Now CAS has, again, become the target of such criticism, not from adults, but from the very people CAS is suppose to protect: the children.

In the July 22, 2008 article in the Manitoulin Expositor entitled "Kids plan protest on friend's behalf at CAS office on Haweater weekend," children themselves have targeted CAS as the main cause of emotional grief and stress to children being placed in a foster home unsuitable for children. The article goes on to explain that foster children were being placed in a home known by CAS to abuse drugs and alcohol. Yet CAS has done nothing to help these foster children. Such a situation is absurd and unbecoming of a child welfare agency designed to protect the "best interest" of all children. I say shame on the society!

Sometimes we as community members place too much confidence in social institutions such as the Children's Aid Society. We assume that they are professionals and as such they should always act in the best interest of the people they serve. When such publicly funded social institutions fail to meet this minimum standard, the public-yes, even children-have every right to protest and speak out against such vile and treasonous behaviour. Unfortunately, no individual can bring legal action against the CAS while they carry out their "mandate." Thus, the CAS seems to be legally licensed to perpetrate violence, emotional distress, community and spousal dissention and individual hardship against the vulnerable-is this the true mandate of the CAS? Ironically, a warrant to apprehend our children would be levelled against you or I for even being suspected of perpetrating such chaos and violence against our families. Again, shame on the society.

Individuals make up the Children's Aid Society. Some of the CAS workers have their own problems and biases. Many are strong feminists and some are not. Some have their own set of mental health problems, while some are passionate at what they do and they do it well-unfortunately these people seem to few and far between. Some like to just collect a paycheque and still others feel that doing administration is just too much work. Perhaps, because of the administration and because they are individuals, it is easy to leave out the elements of  "care" and "compassion" when it comes to administering services to you and I-this is called apathy and complacency. Unfortunately, and in some cases, these are the very people who carry out social welfare policy at your local CAS agency.

I wholeheartedly support the children in the Manitoulin Expositor article who are brave enough to stand up for what they believe in. Hats off to Mason Dugas and Marshall Maciuk for taking this stand. It shows their commitment to other children who are in a less fortunate situation than you or I. Indeed, as young people, their voices combined, in the court of public opinion, will carry much weight in their pursuit of justice and happiness for all children. It is hoped that their voice, and others, will significantly influence legislation that is in need of serious review, namely the Child and Family Services Act, including what is otherwise known as the Differential Response Model which governs the work of CAS front-line workers.

Finally, I would like to call upon the senior administrators of the Children's Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin to listen to the concerns of Mason Dugas and his brother Marshall Maciuk. Indeed they have serious and legitimate concerns regarding the treatment of the foster children mentioned in the Manitoulin Expositor article. What does CAS do when they approve foster families and then later find such families unsuitable for fostering children? Does the society have a policy on this?  Failing to respond is unacceptable and would be seen is a reflection on your agency and on your position as a senior administrator. The community is aware that CAS front-line workers carry out policy set by senior CAS administrators. Thus, the onus is on you to respond publicly! We patiently look forward to your response!

Patrick Corbiere

Birch Island