FOCA Elert - January/February 2018
Skating Banner with FOCA logo
Winter in Cottage Country
Welcome to Winter + Ice Safety, from FOCA's Terry Rees
Welcome to Winter + Ice Safety, 
f rom FOCA's Terry Rees (click to view)
FOCA Event - Hold the date!
2018 FOCA A.G.M. & Spring Seminar is on March 3, 2018

Plan to join your fellow association volunteers from across Ontario, at the FOCA Annual General Meeting and Spring Seminar on Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 at the Boulevard Club in Toronto.

Highlights of this year's seminar Agenda: septic systems, cottage roads, renting responsibly, first aid safety, on-the-ground invasive species projects and presentation of the FOCA Achievement Award. Get details & registration link, here.

Please note : Official notice of the business to be conducted at the Annual General Meeting will be sent to members on Friday, February 2nd. 


FOCA's Gold-level Sponsors


HydroOne



OPG
CottageLINK Rental Management
Cottage Life
Sponsors support our work. Please, support them!
Recent Events

FOCA Speaks at 'ROMA Speaks'
FOCA's Executive Director joined more than 1,000 rural municipal officials from across the province at the 2018 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference in Toronto from January 21-23. This conference is a key opportunity for rural officials to raise local priorities with the provincial government, foster partnerships and learn about new opportunities. Funding for municipal services and infrastructure continues to be a recurring theme, and will be key as we head into the provincial election. Municipal governments and property taxpayers need to see a plan that helps reduce, in a meaningful way, the forecast $4.9-billion annual funding gap for the next ten years.

FOCA participated as part of a panel discussion, ' The Scoop on Poop - The Challenges of Onsite Wastewater.' Many FOCA members rely upon septic systems at their waterfront properties. 

Download FOCA's presentation, which provides historical context for water quality concerns, including economic impacts: (PDF, 25 pages)
Conference news releases, fact sheets and presentations from key speakers are all posted on ROMA's website: www.roma.on.ca  

Policy & Advocacy Updates 

Elections
Welcome to 2018: "election year" for Ontario. We will have a  Provincial  election by  June, as well as  Municipal  elections in October.  FOCA will be providing updates throughout the coming year to inform waterfront property owners about the issues that matter.
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Goodbye OMB; Hello new Conservation Authorities Act
In December 2017, Ontario passed the "Building Better Communities and Conserving Watersheds Act 2017." Bill 139 dealt with two separate matters. First, it overhauled the province's land use planning appeals system, eliminating the OMB. Read more here:  

The Bill also included a new Conservation Authorities Act. The modernizing of the 1946 legislation provides the foundation for Conservation Authorities to strengthen their watershed management role and also develop a more defined role around climate change adaptation. 
Read more on this subject, from our partners at Conservation Ontario: 

FOCA's Silver-level Sponsors


AVIVA











Funding Opportunity for Lake Associations 

Small Grants for Biodiversity Projects
The Biodiversity Education and Awareness Network (BEAN) is excited to offer small grants to organizations holding events to celebrate the International Day of Biodiversity (May 22nd). In the past, BEAN has supported events such as invasive plant pulls, native plantings, educational workshops, as well as conferences, nature hikes and BioBlitzes. 

This year, BEAN will offer up to $500.00 for eligible events that take place between May 1, 2018 and June 29, 2018. 

Applications may be submitted now, until Friday March 23, 2018.  For information about funding, eligibility, and to submit your application online, visit the BEAN website .  

Lake Environments

image IJC.org (Credit US Fish & Wildlife Service/Katie Steiger-Meister)
Invasive Species are changing 
Lake Trout Diets
The International Joint Commission (IJC) has reported interesting developments in lake trout diets, via the "Great Lakes Connection." 

Read the update, which was published in December 2017: 
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Interested in trout lakes? Plan to attend the 2018 FOCA Spring Seminar (see above) on March 3rd to get a brief update about the recently-completed NSERC Strategic Project that FOCA partnered on: " Predicting dissolved oxygen concentrations in Lake Trout Lakes: Developing new tools for a multiple-stressor world." The three themes of this project: undertanding the past; modeling the present; forecasting the future.

Upcoming Events & Regional Notices

The Ripple Effect - Forests Ontario event
February 9, 2018 - Alliston. Tree enthusiasts may wish to attend the Forests Ontario annual conference, where the challenges and opportunities of climate change and forests will be discussed. A draft agenda and preliminary speaker details are available online: 
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Muskoka Summit on the Environment
May 24-25, 2018 - Bracebridge. Save the date for the next Muskoka Summit on the Environment, " Restoring our relationship with the natural world." FOCA is pleased to be sponsoring this event, once again. Details are here: 

Association Tools

You Asked ~ FOCA Answers!
FOCA recently received this message from a member:

I have a quick question: T o be compliant with anti-spam legislation (CASL), d o member associations need to collect express consent from all members to receive email? Or is it sufficient just to record 'unsubscribes'?

Good question! Members can read FOCA's response, here:

Note: to access this and other "Members-only" materials, you will need your FOCA Member Login. Don't have one, or forgot yours? Email us and we will send you the details by email reply, during business hours.

FOCA's Bronze-level Sponsors



OOWA
Sunspace


Dock in a Box
EORN

Cottage Dreams



Canadian Canoe Museum

Nature Clean New Logo 2013
Partner Profile

Cottagers as Rural Entrepreneurs - New Research
FOCA is wrapping up the final stages of this important look into the cottage country economy. Look for an update at the 2018 FOCA Spring Seminar on March 3rd (see above), with a Final Report to be issued in Spring 2018. Project partners include Workforce Development Board, Ontario East Economic Development and Eastern Ontario Regional Network.

Pictured (clockwise from bottom left):  
Katherine Howes (head researcher), Frances Wilbur and Terry Rees of FOCA, Dr. Wayne Caldwell of the University of Guelph.

Waterfront Living

For the love of Lake Associations: a video worth sharing! 
Why do lake Associations matter? What can they do for YOU? Find out:

Please share this video with others! Here's the handy YouTube link: 

FOCA is the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations, 
the voice of the waterfront for over 50 years

  info@foca.on.ca     |    705-749-3622    |     https://foca.on.ca  
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