I am an American who came to…

I am an American who came to love Canada while living and going to
school there in my adolescent years. I thought of Chatham Ontario as my
home until the end of WW2, when I settled in the US. Some of my
happiest days were spent at my parents' cottage in Rondeau Park. It is
also the place where my Mother and Sister both died. So, I believe I
have enough history to allow myself a modest statement about the current
situation involving Ontario Parks, the cottagers, and Chatham-Kent.

It seems to me that we have here two sets of aesthetic sentiments at
odds with each other. I understand the feelings of the many petitioners
who would like to see a pristine tract of pure Mother Nature. But I
also understand the feelings shared by the cottagers, whose connection
goes back to the 19th century, when Rondeau welcomed cottagers. It is
this long-held tradition which, along with my personal experience,
accounts for my sympathy with the cottagers.

And there is, of course, a financial element in this, along with
considerations of maintenance and services.

At present, my country's population is painfully divided but there are
thinking people who are recommending, yea, demanding, compromise,
probably the best solution nine times out of ten. Now, I understand
that, before the pandemic hit us all, the level-headed Canadians of
Ontario all agreed to a deal that entailed a considerable degree of
compromise, to wit: Ontario Parks would sell the land under each
cottage to the city of Chatham-Kent, which, in turn, would sell those
lots back to the cottagers and provide the necessary maintenance and
services. I'm not sure of my information on which entity would receive
the yearly tax (assessment, if you like) but it seems reasonable in
light of superior authority that the province would get it and
generously pay the city for its work. This agreement apparently fell
apart after Covid-19 reared its ugly head, but as a permanent solution
it still seems feasible and equitable: Ontario Parks is relieved of a
headache and receives sizeable sums from the sales and a yearly tax;
the cottagers are relieved of a chronic headache; and the activists get
to enjoy the assurance that development of Rondeau Park will never
exceed the .56% at which it now stands.

By the way, I have toured a lot of Canada in my RV and have found its
provincial parks superior to the US state parks . Keep up the good work!