Friends of La Vase Portages
Address Highway 17 Proposal
28 December, 2011
B. of D. Executive Directors
Chair: Fred McNutt Chris Mayne
Vice Chair Gerald Laronde Glenn Tunnock
Secretary: Bernie Stockermans Bruce Roberts
Treasurer: John Wipprecht Bill Silver
Cliff Moulder Roy Summers
www.lavaseportages.com
Mr. Marek Trzaski, P.Eng.
McCormick Rankin Corporation
2655 North Sheridan Way
Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2P8
December 28, 2011
Dear Sir:
Re: Highway 17 Route Planning Study
Friends of La Vase Portages Inc. (“FOLVP”) was incorporated on July 21, 2006. It is a not-for-profit corporation created to promote the protection and use of the land, trails and waterways associated with the La Vase Portages from Trout Lake to Lake Nipissing.
Canoes and the La Vase Portages (the “Portages”) are a part of Canada’s cultural heritage. Maps and documents, provided to you at the Public Information Centre by Roy Summers, as well as numerous historical records and journals kept by travelers and explorers from days gone by, leave no doubt as to the existence and location of the historical Portages. The northern portion of the Portages and waterways is relatively untouched and is the only portion left that can be protected in close to its original condition.
We believe that the portage route qualifies as a cultural heritage landscape within the meaning of the Provincial Policy Statement and the Ontario Heritage Act and accordingly, the onus rests with the Ministry to ensure that the integrity of the portage corridor is maintained for its heritage value.
Since incorporation, FOLVP, with the co-operation of landowners, the City of North Bay, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority has been successful in restoring the portages to public use. A number of groups and individuals re-tracing the route of the voyageurs or famous Canadian explorers have completed the crossing, including Transcaneauda, the David Thompson Brigade, and Expedition Champlain. This past summer, over 50 individuals made the trek. It is important to keep the Portages as an important link on the original “Trans-Canada Highway”. Visit our website at www.lavaseportages.com.
With respect to the alternative routes presented for Highway 17, our preferred route is the most southerly “blue route” - that is the one with the intersection at SP4 as denoted on the planning map at www.highway17routeplanning.ca. We prefer this route because it does not cross the Portages.
If any of the other routes are ultimately chosen, the Portages will be crossed. This will lead to requirements for:
· a mandatory archeological study,
· the inclusion of suitable means to permit the safe passage of people and their packs and canoes underneath the highway, and
· no reduction in the waterway portions between individual portages.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our input. We would appreciate being kept informed of further opportunities for input as the decision-making process unfolds.
Yours truly,
J. Fred McNutt - Chairman
Friends of La Vase Portages
715 Durril St.
705 476-1958
fmcnutt@acn.net
Chair: Fred McNutt Chris Mayne
Vice Chair Gerald Laronde Glenn Tunnock
Secretary: Bernie Stockermans Bruce Roberts
Treasurer: John Wipprecht Bill Silver
Cliff Moulder Roy Summers
www.lavaseportages.com
Mr. Marek Trzaski, P.Eng.
McCormick Rankin Corporation
2655 North Sheridan Way
Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2P8
December 28, 2011
Dear Sir:
Re: Highway 17 Route Planning Study
Friends of La Vase Portages Inc. (“FOLVP”) was incorporated on July 21, 2006. It is a not-for-profit corporation created to promote the protection and use of the land, trails and waterways associated with the La Vase Portages from Trout Lake to Lake Nipissing.
Canoes and the La Vase Portages (the “Portages”) are a part of Canada’s cultural heritage. Maps and documents, provided to you at the Public Information Centre by Roy Summers, as well as numerous historical records and journals kept by travelers and explorers from days gone by, leave no doubt as to the existence and location of the historical Portages. The northern portion of the Portages and waterways is relatively untouched and is the only portion left that can be protected in close to its original condition.
We believe that the portage route qualifies as a cultural heritage landscape within the meaning of the Provincial Policy Statement and the Ontario Heritage Act and accordingly, the onus rests with the Ministry to ensure that the integrity of the portage corridor is maintained for its heritage value.
Since incorporation, FOLVP, with the co-operation of landowners, the City of North Bay, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority has been successful in restoring the portages to public use. A number of groups and individuals re-tracing the route of the voyageurs or famous Canadian explorers have completed the crossing, including Transcaneauda, the David Thompson Brigade, and Expedition Champlain. This past summer, over 50 individuals made the trek. It is important to keep the Portages as an important link on the original “Trans-Canada Highway”. Visit our website at www.lavaseportages.com.
With respect to the alternative routes presented for Highway 17, our preferred route is the most southerly “blue route” - that is the one with the intersection at SP4 as denoted on the planning map at www.highway17routeplanning.ca. We prefer this route because it does not cross the Portages.
If any of the other routes are ultimately chosen, the Portages will be crossed. This will lead to requirements for:
· a mandatory archeological study,
· the inclusion of suitable means to permit the safe passage of people and their packs and canoes underneath the highway, and
· no reduction in the waterway portions between individual portages.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide our input. We would appreciate being kept informed of further opportunities for input as the decision-making process unfolds.
Yours truly,
J. Fred McNutt - Chairman
Friends of La Vase Portages
715 Durril St.
705 476-1958
fmcnutt@acn.net
