MICHAEL’S BAY—Two representatives of the Friends of Michael’s Bay want the townsite to be protected and for cemeteries contained within these lands protected and maintained. They will be asking for Tehkummah council to pass a by municipal bylaw under the Ontario Heritage Act; if not they have indicated they will apply to the provincial government to have the cemeteries declared abandoned.
Meanwhile, Tehkummah council is not walking away from the Michael’s Bay townsite and definitely would like to see something positive happen to it, says Reeve Eric Russell.
“If council for Tehkummah would cooperate we wouldn’t have a problem,” said Doug Tracy, who along with fellow committee member Bill Wilson will be meeting with council early in the new year. “All council has to do is pass a bylaw under the Municipal Act.”
Mr. Tracy explained that, under the Municipal Act, agreements with the federal government (which currently owns the Michael’s Bay townsite), under Municipal Act section 3.1, the province acknowledges that a municipality has the authority to enter into agreements with the Crown in right of Canada with respect to matters within the municipality’s jurisdiction. If council passed this and had an agreement in place with the government then the townsite and cemeteries would be protected, maintains Mr. Tracy.
“All we want is for the townsite of Michael’s Bay to be protected and the cemeteries maintained,” said Mr. Wilson.
Mr. Tracy said that he will be meeting with council in January. “We will refer to all the bylaws under the Ontario Heritage Act. If council doesn’t agree to move forward, we have already started the paper work with the province to have the cemeteries declared abandoned.”
“The paper work has been filed with the licensing and registration Office Cemeteries and Crematoriums Regulation Unit licensing, under the Inspections and Investigations Branch of the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. Under the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO), the BAO will regulate funeral establishments, transfer services, cemeteries and crematoriums in Ontario in 2016,” said Mr. Tracy. “The BAO will be delegated with the authority to administer provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services act, 2002. Responsibility for cemeteries and crematoriums being delegated to the BAO on January 16, 2016 will speed up the process of declaring Michael’s Bay cemeteries abandoned,” he indicated.
“If the cemeteries are declared abandoned, the municipality has to look after them and maintain them,” said Mr. Wilson. “They haven’t been looked after for over 100 years. If they are declared abandoned, which is close to happening because Ontario is looking to have them declared abandoned, the township will then have to take action.”
“But if council passed a bylaw to have a heritage committee formed, we wouldn’t have to go through this process,” said Mr. Tracy.
“I talked to one of our councillors, Paul Bowerman, who is the deputy-reeve and on the Michael’s Bay Historical Society, as I am and Ben Lentir,” said Mr. Russell. He explained, “there is currently a board number on the property, meaning it has been red flagged, so no one can do anything on the property. The property is under federal government control, but this property was red flagged before this, and no one can do anything on them at the present time. This is probably why a gentleman who was looking at purchasing and developing the property walked away from it a couple of years ago.”
Mr. Russell further explained, “there is currently only one cemetery registered in the townsite. There are other burial sites, but they would have to be dug up to find out who’s they are and who is going to do that. Not to mention the costs that would be involved.”
“It would be nice if the township or the Michael’s Bay Historical Society had control over the property,” said Mr. Russell. “We might consider contacting the government on this in the new year.”
Mr. Russell noted he has long-time family connections to the property as well, one being a grandfather who was on council in the 1800s. “I know Doug (Tracy) is interested in a park being developed and Ontario Parks has 100 acres of property there and this would be good. It would be nice for instance to see a pavilion constructed at the site and hopefully someone will buy the restaurant there and reopen it in the future.”
“130 years ago the Michael’s Bay townsite was a happening spot,” said Mr. Russell. “We as council haven’t turned out backs on the townsite, absolutely not,” continued Mr. Russell. “We have tried to get funding to do something with it and maybe we would consider it again in the new year. It would be nice to see something developed on the property, but our hands are tied right now.”
“Oh no, we are not giving up, not walking away from it,” said Mr. Russell. “Paul (Bowerman) and I have a lot of family connections tied to Michael’s Bay. We appreciate what Doug is trying to do. We are not turning a blind eye to anything. Hopefully, something can eventually be done with the property and maybe we will approach the government again in the new year.”
“To completely ignore these cemeteries and property is shameful,” agreed Mr. Wilson. “Currently, the federal department of public works will not allow the men to go in and fix up any of the cemeteries or any of the grave sites within them. It would help if the township did own the property. Will Kershaw of Ontario Parks realizes there are cemeteries on the property and is willing to work with us. This townsite would be a tremendous tourist attraction for Manitoulin Island; people are attracted to ghost towns such as this.”
