If the township had not withdrawn their support the Norisle would be in Purvis’s shipyard
To the Expositor:
The legal case between the Township of Assignack and the S.S. Norisle Steamship Society never did go to court for a ruling. Two weeks prior to going to court, the Township of Assiginack approached the Society offering to settle, drop their counter claims and provide a cash reimbursement to the Society. Just prior to the Township’s offer to settle, the Society learned of a ruling by the Supreme Court that courts cannot challenge the policy decisions or actions of a municipal council regardless of its resulting impact. Based on the Supreme Court decision, the Society agreed to accept the Township’s offer to settle. Regrettably, the Township’s mayor and supporting council members’ actions of November 2015 to withdraw their support and not sign any grant applications resulted in the termination of the Norisle’s restorations project. The Society had been invited to apply for a number of multi-million dollar heritage grants that were made available by both federal and provincial governments to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017. If the Township had not withdrawn their support, the Norisle would be in Purvis’s shipyard in Sault Ste. Marie and over half of the restoration work would have been completed by now. Also, the Township would not have needed to spend $250,000 in Toronto lawyer’s fees to defend their November 2015 decision to withdraw their support for the Norisle restoration project.
Thanks,
Wayne Fischer, chair, restoration committee
S.S. Norisle Steamship Society
