Threatened

Leaseholders face imminent eviction from Point Traverse

Apart of the County’s fishing heritage is under threat of erasure as the leaseholders at Point Traverse have been ordered to vacate their premises by August 31. The Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) purchased what is now the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area from a private seller in 1978. At the time, the then Minister of the Environment, Len Marchand, assured leaseholders that their leases would be renewed and pledged to “not interfere with the dayto- day activities of fishermen”. In addition, he stated that the dock and harbour would be maintained by the CWS. Last year, leaseholders received a notification of the termination of their leases on May 1, 2023. That was extended to August 31, and despite the entreaties of current leaseholders, CWS remains committed to that date.

Roxy Lancaster has been fishing these waters for decades, and before him it was his father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He is now retired, but remembers well the negotiations in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. “We made a verbal deal with the Canadian government that we would be able to retain our lots around the harbour and have our net houses and cottages and be able to work at the Point,” he said. “But once the bureaucracy and Civil Service got at it, the contract was full of big loopholes. I had a big problem, seeing that contract. And now they want us gone. That’s the bottom line,” he said. Linda McCormack is an other leaseholder. She has no intention of giving up without a fight. She has kept a detailed history of communications with CWS and other federal agencies and is adamant that she and her family be allowed to remain at the Point.

(L-R): Roxy Lancaster, Linda McCormack and her grandson Jordan stand at the edge of a leasehold property at Point Traverse.

Her son’s boat, the Leanic, is based at the harbour, and her grandson, Jordan McCormack, intends to make his living as a fisherman.

The lease problem stems from an old practice where a landowner with a port or dock facilities would be paid a commission by commercial fishers who used them. This made it a valuable commodity for the landowner, and they offered leases to the fishers and space to build a small cottage. Part of the deal was that the landowner would provide a roll of tar paper each year to keep the cottage waterproof. Typically, the leases would be maintained if the land changed hands, and the stated intent of the Canadian government was that it would be the same after it assumed ownership. Now, however, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change is terminating the leases. The Ministry says it will maintain the dock and the harbour, but based on past experience both Linda and Jordan say that is highly unlikely. In recent years, all of the maintenance has been done by Tim McCormack, Linda’s son. Last October, a sandbar blocked the entrance to the harbour, rendering it unusable. Commercial fishers instead used Cressy, a two-hour or more boat ride away. It wasn’t until Tim cleared the sandbar and dredged the harbour that it returned to service. It is not only commercial fishers that use the harbour—it is also well used by sport fishers.

Mr. Lancaster says that the harbour at Point Traverse is the epicentre for the best fisheries in Lake Ontario. He has fished under five different licences, and says that the catch now is the best it has been in decades. The invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels, together with the round goby, have created a new ecological environment in which species like whitefish, trout and lake perch thrive. Jordan added that typical summer whitefish catches are around 3,000 pounds, and last year he and his father had a record catch in the fall of 11,000 pounds for the same species. He is keenly interested in keeping the harbour at Point Traverse open. “My fear is that if the buildings get torn down, then you know where it’s headed next. The dock. And for me, that’s my livelihood; this is my bread and butter. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Without that harbour, I’m screwed, and the whole fishery is dead. For two hundred years this was a way of life and now they want it gone.”