Top 5 This Week

More articles

Manitoulin Municipal Association wants more details on Island’s participation in Georgian Bay Geopark

MINDEMOYA—Members of the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) raised concerns about work being carried out by a group based in southern Ontario to designate all of Georgian Bay, including Manitoulin Island, as part of a Georgian Bay UNESCO Global Geopark. While the initial impressions of a UNESCO designation seem favourable, the geopark is not being executed in a manner consistent with UNESCO’s mandate nor in the spirit of Manitoulin Island’s best interests, the meeting was told.

“Thank you for bringing this forward. I never knew that this was going on,” said Bruce Wood, a councillor with NEMI.

Margaret Hastings of the Georgian Bay Guardians and Adjunct Professor, Schulich School of Business, York University, who has visited Manitoulin many times, told the meeting, “I would first like to congratulate Manitoulin Island on being one of the top 10 on CBC’s Oh Canada! Destination bucket list. This reaffirms Manitoulin Island as a genuine treasure.”

Read our related story:
• Aspiring UNESCO Georgian Bay Global Geopark could include Manitoulin Island (2023)

She mentioned that a Unesco Global Geopark includes single, unified geographical areas, where sites and landscapes of international geological significance are managed with a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development.

Typical activities in a geopark includes organizing stimulating activities within its communities which are related to its geological theme; encouraging the promotion of local agriculture and traditional craft products; developing and providing informational material on geology and nature, printing leaflets and other material and creating and maintaining websites; developing walking and cycling trails and training local people to act as guides and develop education courses and guided tours; providing information, interpretation and research activities; and providing signage and developing modern museums and visitor centres.

Ms. Hastings said under a geopark designation, local community involvement is essential, with having a community informed and involved in the project, willing to work on it, including regional and/or local governments, economic actors, education stakeholders, schools and inhabitants and to promote sustainable tourism and development.

While the geopark received aspiring status in 2022, the geopark leadership team is just now in July planning a presentation to businesses on Manitoulin.

The geopark is not a Georgian Bay initiative, said Ms. Hastings. “It is a Simcoe County initiative dominated by people from southern Ontario attempting to ‘claim’ all of Georgian Bay.” She said Tony Pigott, geopark executive director and retired advertising executive, was initially hired by the Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation to undertake a feasibility study to designate Georgian Bay as a UNESCO geopark to attract developers to build a UNESCO discovery centre in Midland. She provided a tape of a deputation he made to Midland council in September 2021 that the geopark is a viable and valuable opportunity. It was also noted that North Simcoe is the top priority for the project.

“They (proponents) have received government funding (of approximately $680,0000 in 2024) that they have used in southern Ontario (spent in Simcoe County and Bruce County), but they cannot designate a geopark without letters of support from every municipality and First Nation within the proposed area. But they haven’t approached anyone outside of southern Ontario except for Killarney, but they are making decisions that will affect Manitoulin Island,” said Ms. Hastings. She said the Georgian Bay Geopark is not a single geographically unified area, and that the geopark would be based out of southern Ontario. She said that the true intention of the geopark is to leverage Georgian Bay assets for the benefit of one county in southern Ontario (North Simcoe) that would absorb areas like Manitoulin. 

“At 2,7656 kilometres, Manitoulin Island is more typical of a geopark’s size. The proposed Georgian Bay geopark is 17 times larger than Manitoulin,” said Ms. Hastings.

Ms. Hastings said that one of the initiatives the group is putting on is an eight-day Georgian Bay South Coast cycling adventure tour this year, beginning in southern Ontario, which will get as close to the Island as Tobermory, but then the route returns to southern Ontario.

Ms. Hastings said that the Georgian Bay Geopark, including Manitoulin, is already being marketed and branded, and even has the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI) logo on their website. 

“This will be based out of Midland, but the group looking at this has no intention of helping to manage any of the sites in the Georgian Bay Geopark,” said Ms. Hastings, who said that “this would have to be carried out by municipalities who would pay the costs of overtourism, and any affects this causes, but you would not reap the economic benefits.”

Dale Scott noted Manitoulin Island being recently named as one of the top 10 favourite tourist destination places in Canada is positive, but it will also probably mean more tourism. “In our municipality there are already trailers all over the place (of people being in areas they are not supposed to use for accommodation).

“Manitoulin Island has been given a wonderful gift of being named one of the top 10 places in Canada, and you will want control on how the Island is being presented to the rest of the world, but you have not been involved or consulted thus far,” said Ms. Hastings. 

Mr. Wood said the amount of tourists on Manitoulin already goes up substantially in the summer, and although this is encouraged, it puts more pressure on services and infrastructure on communities. “I can see that this is something that we need to keep an eye on.” 

Ms. Hastings explained that, “as one of eight zones, and very far away from the launching point, if this project proceeds Manitoulin Island will be lost in the clutter of designations to the south.”

“I think Manitoulin Island would be a perfect place for a geopark, but if it is absorbed into the Georgian Bay geopark you would never have your own designation,” said Ms. Hastings. “For Manitoulin Island this group’s focus is southern Ontario—the Island is not being represented the way it deserves,” said Ms. Hastings. She said she would meet with individual municipal and First Nation communities on the Island and suggested that the MMA should contact Frances Heydeman, chair of the Canadian Geopark Network, and request a delegation from the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark.

“A letter to the Canadian Geopark Network, expressing concern or opposition would help to have the aspiring Georgian Bay geopark status revoked, which would remove this threat and open the door to a future opportunity for Manitoulin Island,” said Ms. Hastings.

“First of all, from a marketing perspective, by being included in this Georgian Bay Geopark proposal, it takes away (government) funding and our ability to gain this funding for the Island,” said Al MacNevin. “I will be going back to our council (NEMI) at our next meeting and recommending that we have our (town) logo taken off their website, and the fact that we have not been consulted on anything being proposed.”

“Thank you for bringing this forward,” MMA Chair Bryan Barker told Ms. Hastings. “This is something that we need to be well aware of, and we will be having further discussions on this issue.”

Article written by

Tom Sasvari
Tom Sasvarihttps://www.manitoulin.com
Tom Sasvari serves as the West Manitoulin news editor for The Expositor. Mr. Sasvari is a graduate of North Bay’s Canadore College School of Journalism and has been employed on Manitoulin Island, at the Manitoulin West Recorder, and now the Manitoulin Expositor, for more than a quarter-century. Mr. Sasvari is also an active community volunteer. His office is in Gore Bay.