THUNDER BAY – Plans to improve water quality at Chippewa Park have taken a blow, after the province rejected a $1 million funding application to support the removal of its breakwall.
Friends of Chippewa Park spokesperson Iain Angus broke news of the rejection to city councillors at a budget meeting Thursday, even while outlining significant progress on other planned improvements at the park.
Removing the breakwater would improve water circulation at the main public beach, which has often been closed in recent years due to high E. coli bacteria counts.
A wooden boardwalk on the breakwater has already been closed by the city after it was damaged in a severe 2019 storm.
The Friends group had been left with the impression the project would receive full funding from Ontario’s Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks, Angus said. The ministry provided $75,000 for engineering design work last year.
Angus believes a loosening of provincial environmental standards could be to blame for the reversal.
In 2018, the province changed its standard for E. coli at public beaches, allowing up to 200 E. coli per 100 millilitres – twice the previous limit.
“To quote the ministry, ‘The monitoring of beach quality indicates beach water quality now meets the established criteria,’ so they were not prepared to fund it,” Angus told councillors Thursday.
“Just so you are clear, there has been no change to the quality of water in the bay – only that the province has raised the threshold.”
Even under the weaker standard, public health data indicates the beach would have been closed over 30 times since 2008.
The group would continue working with the ministry and looking for other sources of funding, Angus said, but added he was “not optimistic.”
While the Friends group often assists with funding applications and other volunteer work, responsibility for the city-owned park, including the breakwall, sits with the municipal government.
Several city councillors have expressed hesitance to continue investing in the park, citing an unresolved land claim with Fort William First Nation, and perceived decline in public interest.
The group had better news to share on other fronts, as it prepares major plans and improvements ahead of Chippewa Park’s 100th anniversary this year.
Four workers hired over the summer through the Ontario Job Creation Partnership (OJCP) program have repaired, power washed, and re-stained seven cabins at the park, and will help restore its carousel, build furniture, and refinish floors going forward.
The volunteer group is also hard at work preparing celebrations for the park’s 100th anniversary, which it hopes will culminate in a free five-day festival from July 29 to Aug. 2.
The event has a tentative budget of $550,000, including the advance work performed through OJCP funding, which would be worth more than $300,000.
The Friends of Chippewa Park has also secured funding from the city ($3,000) and CEDC (up to $10,000), is applying to other sources including sponsorships.
The group has developed a detailed plan to modify the event depending on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health restrictions, Angus said. In a worst case scenario, that could mean delaying it entirely to 2022.
