Paving Paradise

As many readers know from a previous post, Lake Ontario is very special to me. I have spent most of my life on its shores: as a child in Niagara, a teenager in Rochester, a university student in Kingston, and an adult in Toronto. Now that Peter and I live so close, we walk along the shores in all weather, we kayak there in the spring and fall, and we even try to swim there when it’s warm. So, although this is not a political blog, when Doug Ford announced he was going to pave over MY Lake, I got a little bit angry.

This man has done no end of wrong to us and our province. He created new blue licence plates that quickly faded, and then he gave us back our plate fees so he could demand more in other taxes. Before he was caught, he intended to sell part of our green belt to developers. He plans to destroy Raymond Moriyama’s beautiful Science Centre and move the contents into a tiny space somewhere else. He is trying to construct a highway that we don’t need, on valuable farmland that we do. Isn’t that enough?

Now Ford intends to pour dubiously-sourced landfill into a freshwater lake to create 25 acres of new property – so he can build a casino or spa for his wealthy buddies. Too much of our Toronto lakefront has already been stolen by condo developers and industries. Other world-class cities treat their waterfront as a gem, a place to attract visitors from around the world. Think of Halifax and Pier 21, Vancouver’s English Bay, or San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, to name a few. Travel a little farther and discover Stockholm’s harbourfront canal system, Australia’s Great Ocean Road, or Italy’s stunning Amalfi Coast:

While Toronto has lost out on much tourist business, Lake Ontario is still crucial in the fight against climate change. We need the breezes from the lake to moderate summer and winter temperatures. Fish, birds and small mammals find their homes in the lake and on the Islands. People drink the water! In anticipation of Ford’s plan to destroy Ontario Place’s West Island by paving over Brigantine Cove, absolutely NO environmental assessment has been done.

Our lake and its sisters in the Great Lakes are the envy of the world. Together they contain over 20% of the world’s fresh water. There is no bigger source of drinking water anywhere else on earth. Compared to life in drought-plagued locations like Africa or the Middle East, we live in paradise. Kind of makes you want to hum that Joni Mitchell song, doesn’t it?

Sue

Lake Ontario on March 25, 2024