Transparency is a principle that is supposed to be at the core of all policies and actions of government. Unfortunately, in actuality these core principles of democracy are not always an action, only hollow words.
Hidden letters, correspondence, closed meetings, denial of freedom of information requests, are all examples of government denying the public access to information, all of which is public information, with the keyword being “public”.
Every government, including municipal governments, operates under statements, codes of conduct and documents that are littered with phrases such as transparency and accountability.
When the public is denied access to public documents or materials that may be damaging to the image of the government and information is intentionally hidden, this creates distrust in public institutions, government and those members who are elected to represent all people.
The Township of Lake of Bays, and its mayor, appears to be on the wrong side of its own policies on government transparency. With the ongoing saga of the unnecessary Road License Agreement (RLA) policy, taxpayers have continued to attempt to voice their objections to the policy. Of great concern is the response to individuals that have publicly documented calls to completely repeal RLA’s; however, the Township has taken a path of censorship and hiding correspondence on the subject. The last council meeting, December 10, 2024, should have included four (4) open letters from affected constituents against RLA’s, but these were summarily removed from the meeting agenda and hidden in “Item 7 Communication Items, Council Information File”. This seems a deliberate act to obfuscate; as many members of the public would not know what this heading is for.
Additional letters were sent to the Township to protest what seems deliberate attempts to hide these letters that meet Township requirements for publishing, but these protestations were also further buried deeper.
These are not the actions of a Township and mayor committed to open, transparent, government, based in democracy. While the mayor may not agree with those rallying against RLA’s, it is not a fair, open and honest practice to pick and choose what is published openly and what is hidden from sight.
To remedy the situation, correcting the failings of the Township, we are stepping in and making public those letters excluded from the agenda by the Township. The letters may be found here:
https://lakeofbays.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/102078/ https://lakeofbays.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/102233/
The public has a right to all information, and it is not for the government to block, hide or decide what information may be disseminated. This government can right this wrong, adhering to their own transparency and accountability statements, alleviating taxpayers concerns by truly making local government transparent.
A copy of one of the hidden letters, titled “Repeal of Road License Agreement” written by Linda Housser is given below:
November 30, 2024
Dear Mayor and Council
It is with great disappointment that further requests to Mayor and Council is still needed to restate the request that the Road License Agreement policy be removed.
What is still currently in place, should be removed immediately.
Unanimous comments have been provided by a multitude of concerned individuals within the Township and experts such as former mayors and lawyers, all in agreement that Road License Agreement policy needs to be removed immediately. The continued preservation of the widely denounced policy is causing much anger and consternation, with the burden of the policy still around the necks of taxpayers.
Beyond immediate removal of the policy, it has been frustrating in the lack of communication or action on the contentious issue from the Mayor and Council.
Comments of a policy review, carried out in secrecy from the public is a continued concern, with no updates or communication.
The complete inaction and reluctance to alter the by-laws indicates that removal of RLA’s or significant modifications will not be forthcoming. It has been verified that the policy was enacted without any factual information or evidence of an issue with these roads, with the RLA policy being pushed forward regardless of a glaring lack of information.
It should be restated that there has never been a problem with these roads, there still are no problems, and based on this alone without the deluge of facts detracting the ill-conceived policy, RLA’s need to be removed.
Please demonstrate to the taxpayers in the Township of an open, transparent, good governance policy for all.
Remove RLA’s and move on to working for the taxpayers on issues that actually need to be addressed.
Sincerely
Permanent taxpayer and lifelong resident.
Linda Housser
Mansell Road
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ne should hope that those people in Lake of Bays are able to think for themselves and make decisions on their own without the Township. An informed opinion, that is against the RLA policy, is not gossip, but is a statement and it is not for elected officials to decide what public opinion is. It is also not for one individual, the mayor, to try and impose a policy that has been proven by a deluge of facts that it is completely unnecessary.
There has been unequivocal, unanimous agreement by all, including those experienced in this issue, being Lake of Bays Association (LOBA), former mayors of Lake of Bays, legal and real estate experts, that RLA’s are wrong and should not be used in the manner that the mayor is trying to do. Speaking of experienced Lake of Bays politicians, Nancy Tapley courageously advised of major problems with the policy and confirmed what was known all along, that there never was, and there is not a liability issue with no legal action as a consequence of these roads in the long history of the Township.
Further, fact has shown that RLA’s are not needed in other municipalities, with recent examples of Tay Valley and Kearney clearly illustrating this. The RLA needs to go and peoples voices, whether for or against, cannot be silenced.
CEvans
Not sure where the previous writer is coming from when she says the Mayor and Council are possibly shielding the public from gossip when our letters were hidden. I would say more likely they are trying to censor their taxpaying citizens. An opinion is not gossip. I can only assume this person has no first hand understanding of the punitive RLA agreement and is not affected by it.
What usually happens in society is if it does not affect you then you must be a complainer. Right?
I suggest that the way this By-Law was enacted, not all at once, quietly with no warning or public consultation could be considered as crafty, and not open and transparent.
Out of the blue, eight pages of legalese were mailed to us in the spring with demands to sign within a short timeline or be penalized. This does not seem fair open or transparent to me. Withholding building permits until the RLA is signed also I would hazard to say is coercive.
Making a statement that the reason behind the RLA was for Insurance liability, when there is incontrovertible evidence that this was not so.
Our Council should be working for and standing up for all their taxpayers. Doing the right thing, being fair and just.
Folks, 2026 elections are now on the horizon. Make your choice wisely and vote.
I wonder if the elected offiials are trying to shield people from gossip because of the letters. Possibly all of them do not endorse the popular opinion that the road allowances are okay the way they are operating now.
Even though I should know better I am constantly surprised by LOB and their methods. Why hide letters they received from their constituents? If LOB is acting in good faith why all of the cover up?
I couldn’t be more disappointed in our officials who claim transparency and working for their taxpayers.
I will add to this topic today to reiterate that to my knowledge, there has never been a demonstrated problem or need with regard to these Road Allowances.
The Township did not create these allowances, they were created in the original survey of Ontario and with the purpose of allowing access to the land without need to cross another person’s land.
Like Lake shore Road Allowances, these parcels of land seem to have been usurped by the local municipalities and are being used as a cash cow when this was never the original intention of their creation.
We all, especially so our local governments, seem to have fallen under the spell of lawyers who, seeing a set of deep pockets, will somewhat sleazily attempt to tap into these funds for their clients benefit, no matter the logic, history or morality (if that still exists in government) of the situation.
This is a sad state of affairs as I am sure there are many, much more necessary and beneficial items that could occupy our leaders time and effort. So far as I can see, things like this RLA effort do nothing to solve any real problem, merely confusing the situation with a lot of verbiage and costing a lot of tax dollars to support what is essentially a non-necessary, non issue for a reason not fully understood.
This has been an ongoing issue with this mayor and council. I’ve sent letters in regards to other matters before council and at most they may get an honourable mention on the back pages of some report if lucky enough to even be knowledge let alone addressed