| As promised, the LPOA President (Tanis Trotman) and Vice-President (Karl Wockner) attended the most recent council meeting on May 2nd to speak with the Mayor, councilors and administration about Caron Bay environmental concerns and outreach/notification to property owners and residents. You can find the draft minutes of this meeting and the questions that were asked on the Wentworth.ca The LLPOA has been advised by the Ministry of the Environment that they will require an additional 10 days to provide a response to our request for information. Therefore we’re expecting a follow-up to our request for copies of the following by the end of May: ● The inspection report(s); ● The report of the call to the emergency line; ● The contaminated land management data sheet, if applicable. In the interim, we’ve been notified by our municipal office that decontamination and refurbishment work in the Caron Bay area will continue during the next 3 weeks. As mentioned this work is mandated and supervised by the Ministry of the Environment, and we ask that the Caron Bay area be avoided to reduce the risk of further complications until further notice. The weekend of May 21-23rd the LLPOA President and Vice-President will be canvassing LLPOA members and property owners in the Caron Bay area to discuss and determine next steps in our efforts to protect our community. LLPOA Board of Directors Here is the message posted on the Wentworth website: UPDATE Thursday, May 12, 2022 – The Municipality of the Township of Wentworth has been informed that decontamination and redevelopment work in the Baie Caron sector will continue over the next 3 weeks. To do so, the equipment used will have the least possible impact on the natural environment, but will be noisy. However, the work will be carried out in such a way as to preserve the tranquility and tranquility of the neighborhood as much as possible. This work is mandated and supervised by the Ministry of the Environment. Thank you for your continued cooperation. The Urban Planning and Environment Department |
Letter to the Ministry of the Environment
April 20, 2022
Direction régionale du Centre de contrôle environnemental
de Montréal, de Laval, de Lanaudière et des Laurentides
Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte aux
Changements climatiques du Québec
260, rue Sicard, suite 200
Sainte-Thérèse, Québec
Subject: Request for access to documents – hazardous materials spill at 42 Robinson Road, Wentworth, Quebec
File: 301596933
Dear Sir/Madam,
The Lake Louisa Property Owners Association (LLPOA) has been informed of a significant spill of heating oil into the Lake Louisa watershed located in the Township of Wentworth.
Pursuant to section 9 of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information, as well as section 188.4 of the Environment Quality Act, we wish to obtain copies of the following documents:
- The inspection report(s);
- The report of the call to the emergency line;
- The contaminated land management data sheet, if applicable.
In addition, we also ask to be informed of the measures that will be taken to decontaminate the affected area.
The Lake Louisa Property Owners Association’s (LLPOA) goal is to preserve the water quality of Lake Louisa, its shoreline and the integrity of the large watershed that supports our lake.
Thank you in advance.
Tanis Trotman
President of the Board of Directors
Lake Louisa Property Owners Association
Lake Louisa Environmental Update
The Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change remains on site at Lake Louisa in Caron’s Bay, overseeing the oil contamination clean up. According to the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change registry, potentially 1 600 liters of heating oil was accidentally discharged into the soil and the surrounding waterways. The LLPOA has made a formal request to the Ministry for more information as well as the specific decontamination measures that will be taken. Any questions should be directed to the Urban Planning and Environment Department at the Municipal office.
The LLPOA requested, and received, an electronic copy of the Wentworth Civil Protection Plan that outlines steps and protocols for communications in situations of risk or emergency. The LLPOA will be attending the council meeting this Monday, May 2nd to seek clarification and follow up with questions raised by our members.
Lake Louisa Environmental Advisory
Please be advised that the Ministry of the Environment is currently on site at Lake Louisa in Caron’s Bay, exploring the possibility of oil contamination. Consumption of lake water should be avoided. Any questions should be directed to the Urban Planning and Environment Department at the Municipal office. The LLPOA will continue to be in contact with Wentworth Urban Planning and Environment on this dossier.
Happy New Year!
Update on Wentworth North
The Board of Directors of the LLPOA would like to acknowledge and thank all of the property owners who called, wrote and e-mailed the Municipality of Wentworth North, concerning their desire to change zoning for roadways. Due to the overwhelming response from constituents, the Municipality decided to maintain the existing by-laws, and no changes will be made to zoning. Thank you again for your continued support and for your concern for the health and safety of Lake Louisa.
Lawrence Irany
2021 “Virtual” Annual General Meeting
This year, in order to mitigate any risks to the health of our members, we have recorded a shortened version of our Annual General Meeting, which is now online and accessible through the link below. You will learn about the status of various projects, our financial report (which is posted below as well) and a very interesting summary on fishing and restocking fish in Lake Louisa.
We encourage questions and comments from you which can be easily posted onto our website through the Comments section below or more privately through the Contact Us section.
The Treasurer’s Report is also posted here for our membership.
The Commemorative Newsletter is here!
Here is the Commemorative newsletter highlighting all the changes that have taken place in the last few months.
2021 President’s Letter
Dear members,
I hope that this message finds you and your loved ones healthy and safe. It has been a year that none of us will soon forget. However, despite pandemic lockdowns and closures, the LLPOA has been active and involved, albeit remotely, ensuring that our environmental voices are heard, and our concerns addressed.
Great News: “The major concerns that galvanized our community and inspired civic action over a year ago have been addressed!”
Early in the new year the LLPOA was invited by our municipality of Wentworth to submit a summary of recommendations for by-law modifications. I am pleased to say that our feedback was taken into consideration, and the LLPOA supports the environmentally focused bylaw modifications (number), which received final approval from our Mayor and Wentworth Council June 7th, 2021.
The new bylaws offer increased environmental protection on all fronts, and the LLPOA will be highlighting these positive changes in our annual newsletter which you will receive in a few weeks. In the interim, I will take the opportunity to share the following key points:
- The new bylaws do not allow for large-scale developments to be built within our watershed,
- The new bylaws offer increased protections to maintain the “country” feel of our community, while providing for more consistent zoning surrounding Lake Louisa, and
- The possibility of golf, marinas, amusement parks and firing ranges have now been removed from the vast majority of Wentworth territory.
So please check out the upcoming newsletter to hear about the path the LLPOA has taken over the past six months. I am pleased to say that through our recent engagement with the municipality we have experienced an increased openness and spirit of collaboration, and we are on a better path, as we continue to strive to work together to protect our great lake. Therefore, while the focus of our newsletter will be on the bylaw modifications, we will also be sharing some good news about protections for Heron Pond, highlighting some of the ongoing work with environmental organizations and community associations that our directors have been involved with over the fall/winter months, and recognizing a significant new contribution to the protection and preservation of our natural resources and watershed, thanks to a forward-thinking initiative by our municipality.
Finally, I hope it goes without saying that we really miss seeing you all in person. We hope that this summer, we may begin to get together safely, perhaps outdoors and socially distanced. Since we will not likely be canvassing again this year, we would appreciate if you would renew your membership on-line or via regular mail, so we can continue our work to protect and support the environment of our beautiful lake community.
Tanis Trotman
President, LLPOA
Welcome to 2021
Dear LLPOA Members,
We hope this update finds you and your families well and safe during this seemingly endless pandemic. Despite all of the inherent obstacles, we have been working diligently to ensure our community continues to thrive and that our voices continue to be heard.
This year has provided us with many opportunities to contribute to the direction that our municipality Wentworth, the municipality of Wentworth North, as well as the MRC of Argenteuil are planning with respect to environmental protections and by-law changes. Board members of the LLPOA have either contributed to or assisted in meetings with officials and members of other lake and environmental organizations. We are encouraged by this new openness and spirit of collaboration.
Of particular interest is the fact that mid-January, the Township of Wentworth invited the LLPOA and other community organizations, to provide recommendations for by-law changes before the end of the month. View a summary of the LLPOA Board of Directors’ recommendations to the township posted on our website. Also, in response to two questions we submitted for the February 1 Council meeting, our Mayor confirmed that there will be a meeting/s with all community groups once our Councilors have had a chance to review the submissions. Again, this spirit of collaboration and openness is very encouraging.
LLPOA Board of Directors Updates
The LLPOA has also undergone some changes in the last several months. Our dedicated leader, Mary-Anne Armstrong, has, after 3 years, stepped down as President to focus on family responsibilities. We are eternally grateful to Mary-Anne for her courage and dedication in leading us through possibly the most difficult period in Lake Louisa’s history, as we combatted the development of a mega complex of hotels, golf course and then some.
Fortunate as we are, Tanis Trotman has graciously agreed to step up to the presidency from her role of vice-president. Tanis provides us with a wealth of expertise and resources and will lead us further towards our goal of ensuring our lake and rural community continues to thrive.
Subsequently, Isabel Rut has agreed to take on the role of vice-president, as well as maintaining her role as communications director.
Additionally, Karen Ott, who has been volunteering with the LLPOA to manage our website, has joined the LLPOA board as an interim director.
On behalf of the LLPOA board and our valuable members, we would like to congratulate and welcome those who have taken on their new roles.
We look forward to keeping you informed, and of course seeing you all in person before too long.
LLPOA Board of Directors
Newsletter/Bulletin 2021-01
Please click on the following to view a document summarizing the recommendations of the LLPOA in response to the Municipality of Wentworth on January 31st, 2021.