I am writing in response to…

I am writing in response to notice 019-6142 regarding the status of leaseholders in Rondeau Provencial Park. I have been a lifelong visitor to Rondeau, and current leaseholder, surprised and disappointed at the recent notice that was received, as prior communications with the Ministry indicated that they were in favor of an working toward leaseholders being property owners. Minister Jeff Yurek recently directed that a sale under Section 9(3) of the Provincial Parks & Conservation Reserves Act of 2006 would be the best way to find a solution for the permanent occupancy of the cottage lots. After years of uncertainty for the leaseholders, the towns of Ridgetown, Blenheim, and Chatham, as well as those people that visit the leaseholders, a permanent solution for leaseholders permanent occupancy of their cottages must be found. We have ridden an emotional and financial roller coaster for far too long, and this is not in the best interest of Rondeau Park!

In the early 1900’s, my grandparents’ family began coming to Rondeau to enjoy the quaint cottage life here. Extended family members made them aware of Rondeau, a park Chartered in 1894 speifically for the purpose of cottaging. After renting a cottage for over 20 years in the park, they saved their money until they finally could build a place of their own. They lived and worked in Detroit, renting a home for their family so that they could save enough money to build a cottage in Rondeau, as they couldn’t afford to have two houses and Rondeau was their dream. Our original lease requires that my grandparents had to build a “substantial dwelling” as part of the lease agreement. My grandfather was one of the first presidents of the leaseholders association and was instrumental in getting the Catholic Church to be built at Rondeau. Over the years, five of my grandparent’s family members, on both sides, either bought their own or entered into leases and built their own cottages. Today we still have 3 cottages that originated and still are owned by our family members. While we all live and work elsewhere, we all consider Rondeau to be our home!

Over the years of summering at Rondeau, we learned and saw firsthand the magic that Rondeau offered, from seeing doe swim in the lake to escape amorous buck, to the amazing blue tailed skink that lived under our wooden porch, to seeing sandpipers cleverly protecting their nests during walks on the beach. All of this is possible only as we had a summer cottage at Rondeau.

I urge the ministry to review the previous EROs, specifically ERO 011-1300 from 2010, which states that will be “a different option for long-term occupancy of cottage lots in Rondeau”, as well as ERO 019-0907 posted in 2019, which states there will be “an alternative option for long-term occupation of cottage lots in Rondeau”. Why do the bureaucrats today choose to disregard previous decisions, including the PP&CRA Regulations that confirm leaseholders are here until 2038? Why does Ontario Parks not follow the Minister’s orders to talk with the leaseholders about long term solutions, the reason for the previous short term lease renewals was to talk to us about this! Ontario Parks must know the benefits of the cottagers at Rondeau! Certainly our presence in the park, with our well maintained, century old (in some cases) cottages, benefit many people and businesses in the surrounding communities, as well as the park itself. I’ve heard many day visitors walking past our cottages commenting favorably on the cottages, admiring the well maintained and attractive cottages. Bird watchers gather in front of cottages to watch the birds on the wires and roofs of the cottages. Not once has anybody mentioned that cottages were not welcome in the park. Instead they seem to enjoy our company, our polite conversation about what they are looking for, our input as to what we’ve seen and where, and our genuine love for the park. This is something that is unique to the cottagers; we are repeat visitors that know a lot about the nature of the park and welcoming share this knowledge with day users.

We were very excited to look forward to the purchase of our lots, knowing that the prices paid seemed high for a tiny footprint with strict restrictions, even though they were deemed to be fair to the province. It gave us hope that our future generations could enjoy and love Rondeau for years to come, without the fear of the Parks pulling the opportunity to perpetually enjoy the park right out from under us. Our original leases REQUIRED that we build a substantial dwelling, which we have done and continue to maintain, it seems disingenuous to now threaten to make us vacate these historic and interesting additions to Rondeau that you one time required! Why does the public, the very people that you encourage to comment on this ERO, not know all of these facts? Why are people that comment on this ERO not asked if they have ever visited Rondeau, or how often they have visited Rondeau. Why have those in Ontario Parks that are stalling forward progress on our lease issues not visited the Park? I think it is important to understand the role of the cottages, the cottagers, and their contribution to Rondeau before being asked to opine on our existence in the Park.

On a final note, I spend a great deal of time when I am not at Rondeau in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. I mention this as it is a positive example of public/private cooperation WITHIN a public park. We find that those living within the park have a greater respect for the park than day visitors or campers. They have a vested interest in maintaining the beauty of the park for all to enjoy. Similarly, I strongly believe that the cottagers in Rondeau are an overall POSITIVE for the park, the park day users, the communities surrounding the park, and the campers within the park. There is a reason that many day users walk or ride along Lakeshore Road, admiring the quaint cottages, all unique, all well maintained. Certainly it is more interesting to walk past the cottages, enjoying either the beach on one side or the woods on the other, than it is to walk through the campgrounds, regardless of the quality of the camping equipment, or past the playground structures. As additive as they may be for the day users, they are not a net plus to the aesthetics of Rondeau.

Cottages are.