Further to my previous…

Further to my previous submissions I would like to tell you a personal story. I am an American and purchased a cottage in Rondeau in 1999 because it was the most fabulous place I could find within a two hour drive of Detroit. Since purchasing the cottage, it has become the center of my life. The physical landscape and the outdoor activities and the people I have met there are all fantastic. I wouldn’t trade my cottage at Rondeau for anything, not even a mansion somewhere else.

In the 23 years I’ve been cottaging at Rondeau, there have been many changes in my life. My children have grown up and made their own lives. Some of them still choose to spend time at Rondeau. My first marriage ended in divorce, but I remarried to a fantastic Canadian I made at Rondeau! We were neighbors for 14 years. Then we became lovers, and finally married during Covid. Besides my wife, my other best friends are all buddies I made at Rondeau, sailing with them, kitesurfing with them, and just walking on the beach with them. We even vacation together in other places besides Rondeau. Now I am getting ready to file for permanent residency in Canada, and ultimately for Canadian citizenship!

Based on the agreement from Minister Yurok to sell the land to the cottagers, I requested a building permit rove my cottage. That renovation is now complete and I can’t wait to start enjoying the new cottage in earnest.

My love for Rondeau is so intense that I have built a new persona around a combination of my family name and Rondeau. I don’t have a Rondeau tattoo yet, but that could be in my future!

The Ontario Parks bureaucrats and others who are against cottagers have no real insight into who we are and what we believe. They have it all wrong. We love the park and want to take best possible care of it. The tension created by Ontario Parks, the bad behavior of past superintendents, and the lack of security of tenure get in the way of building a strong partnership. Ontario Parks should think of the cottagers as their best resource. We could be a vast army put to work for the benefit of the Park. I have been encouraging that behavior during my two plus decades here, to no avail. The park staff seems to prefer to treat the cottagers as interlopers who need disciplining rather than partners in the health of the park. It’s sad, inefficient and stupid.

Let’s use this ERO as the final step. No more questions. Just finish the paperwork of selling the lots to the cottagers and getting on with the good stuff.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you my story.