GEORGIAN BAY–Stop the Drop’s online community reports that it has exceeded its objective of 20,000 members by Labour Day, and that it had done so in a significant fashion. By midnight on Labour Day, more than 20,900 members had registered to express their concern for the future of water levels on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, and their desire to see government take leadership to address the issue.
“All of us who’ve been involved in setting up this online community are deeply moved by the overwhelming show of support”, said Colin Dobell, executive director of Stop the Drop. “On May 1 there was no community, and no one was sure what kind of grass roots support was out there. There is no longer any question that users of Georgian Bay, young and old, resident, cottager, boater, visitor, and from all around the bay, feel deeply concerned by what they see happening and want to see action to do something about it. Our petition is very straightforward, and our members were not ambivalent. This really matters.”
Stop the Drop will now tally up the total number of its members that fall in each of the federal and provincial ridings around Ontario. It will then publish an overview of who its members are, broken down by age, where and how members use the waters, and where they live and vote. Stop the Drop will then send a copy of the petition, along with the number of community members that live and vote in that riding, to each federal and provincial elected representative that represents any of the community’s members.
“I want to congratulate Stop the Drop on having made its membership objective,” says Ellen Anderson, mayor of Town of the Blue Mountains. “Given my knowledge of how strongly my constituents feel about the water level issue, I suspected that they wouldn’t have any trouble. We’re also seeing growing interest from Stop the Drop members in our Mayors’ Challenge, in which mayors from around the Georgian Bay have asked our citizens to show and tell their stories about how low water levels have affected them. It’s a great example of how this online community can help our citizens to make their opinions and feelings clear to all of us who represent their interests.”
If any lake user has not already registered with Stop the Drop but cares about how low water levels may affect their experience of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, they should visit www.stopthedrop.ca to sign up and make their position known. This online community is also designed to enable members to get informed, get heard and get involved.
For more information, contact info@stopthedrop.ca.
