midland – BIG

If you’re a resident around south Georgian Bay, keep an eye out for the red hull of an icebreaker.

Last weekend, the Canadian Coast Guard’s CCGS Samuel Risley carried out icebreaking operations in Midland Harbour, opening a passageway for the CSL Frontenac to depart.

Earlier in the month, the CCGS Samuel Risley and the CCGS Judy LaMarsh were spotted around the North Channel on Lake Huron conducting icebreaking exercises to simulate close-quarter vessel escorting. The CCGS Judy LaMarsh is a light icebreaker that the Canadian Coast Guard purchased in November 2021, bringing its fleet up to 19. The exercises were intended to train the crew of the new vessel for when it engages in joint Canadian-United States Coast Guard icebreaking operations on the Great Lakes.

According to Jeremy Hennessy, a spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard, it’s common to see icebreakers on Georgian Bay at this time of year. They provide ice escorts for commercial vessels and conduct harbour breakouts for commercial ports.

“CCG icebreakers operate on the Great Lakes between western Lake Erie and Sault Ste. Marie (including interconnecting waterways/rivers) between December to March annually, and on Lake Superior once the Soo Locks re-open, typically around mid-March,” he said in an email.

Icebreakers use their bows, which are curved like the back of a spoon, to slide on top of the ice, breaking it with their weight. They create passageways for other ships, free trapped vessels, and help prevent flooding by breaking the ice into smaller pieces. This allows the wind and currents to clear the ice out of the way, preventing ice jams and ensuring good water flow.

From Midland, the CCGS Samuel Risley is headed to Lake Superior to conduct the initial spring breakout for the Port of Thunder Bay. While the CCGS Judy LaMarsh is headed towards Chaleur Bay in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to continue its training exercises in shallower ports, such as Shippagan and Caraquet, Hennessy said.

The Canadian Coast Guard advises that people stop all ice activities while icebreaking operations are happening in the area, including walking on the ice, fishing, and snowmobiling. Even after the icebreakers have left, the public should remain cautious. “The ice may move, creating a real danger for anyone on it,” the Canadian Coast Guard said in a statement.

Need more news?

Find your cottage state of mind all year round with our weekly newsletter, Dockside

Planning on booking a cottage rental in Midland? The price of your stay may be going up. On June 15, the Midland town council passed a motion to work on the municipal accommodation tax (MAT) but did not yet enact it.

The provincial government introduced the tax in 2017, allowing municipalities to levy a hotel tax and share revenue with not-for-profit tourist organizations. Each community decides the rate, design, administration, and collection system. Orillia, Barrie, Toronto, and Thunder Bay have implemented the MAT and their own bylaw.

If Midland enacts the MAT, short-term renters, such as those who use Airbnb, may have to pay an additional four per cent of their total costs. The decision will be up to the working group and town council.

Midland town staff estimate that the tax could bring in $118,844 in revenue if enacted. This calculation is based on an annual 40 per cent occupancy and a minimum daily hotel rate of $100.

In the first staff report, “based on the average summer nightly rate of $276, with rates ranging from $187 to $401 a night, implementing this tax should have little to no impact on the ability for local accommodations to book rooms.”

Tax discussion with the councillors

Councillors Jim Downer, Beth Prost, Bill Gordon, and deputy mayor Mike Ross voted against the motion. “We are still coming out of this pandemic and flopping like a dead fish trying to revive the economy,” said Gordan. The opposing councillors don’t believe that the hotel and motel community will favour the higher costs, noting that the tax could waste town staff’s time and affect tourism recovery efforts. “If it deters one person from visiting Midland, then we harm our industry,” Ross said.

Councillors Jonathan Main, Carole McGinn, Cher Cunningham, mayor Stewart Strathearn, and chief administrative officer David Denault are in favour of the motion. They want to speak with stakeholders and consider the potential benefits, implications, associated costs, and successes of other municipalities. “This could be an opportunity for our local businesses to make money,” Campbell said.

The next steps include Midland town staff preparing a second report outlining their bylaw recommendations and presenting it to the future MAT working group.

Featured Video