La Vase Portages headed for the rock pile?

photo courtesy of Roy Summers

At Monday night's City Council meeting Community Services Chair Mike Anthony, with support of Councillors David Mendicino, Tom Graham and Mayor Vic Fedeli, felt that the 120 metre setback as proposed by City planning staff, the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Culture & Recreation was too generous and instead opted to recommend a 60 metre setback for the proposed Tarmagon Construction aggregate pit rezoning request adjacent to the historic La Vase Portages.

The old voyageur canoe route was granted Canadian Heritage River System status in 2002 but there is no defined minimum development setback required under the designation, instead the protection values are left to be determined by the community.

While much of the southern sections of the portage have been lost to aggregate extraction and residential encroachment over the years, the last remaining undeveloped section became the target of a zoning change
from Rural to Rural Extractive in November 2006 by Tarmagon Construction.

It was referred back to committee at the time for further discussion and study by City staff.

While no public discussions were held other than the last Council meting in November 2006, Planning staff, in consultation with the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Culture, Citizenship & Recreation eventually brought forward the 120 metre buffer recommendation.

Friends of La Vase Portages, a volunteer group set up after the original rezoning application to restore and protect the Nationally recognized Voyageur heritage corridor, had been looking for a setback of as much as 200 metres, especially at the north end of the Coopers Lake shoreline, to protect the shoreline view or "viewscape" as recognized under the planning Provincial Policy Statement and similar to what has been one in the Lake Temagami area

Councilor Chris Mayne, a member of the Friends of La Vase
Portages, commented "After so much work has been done over the last several years towards re-brushing the trails and promoting public access, it is disappointing to see such little support for protection of the route corridor by Council. Long term this area has excellent potential to be part of a waterway park linking the Mattawa and French River Parks but the potential destruction of almost two thirds of the skyline at the north end will reduce the route to a paddle through a construction site."

In Thunder Bay similar disinterest by the community in portage protection led to the then City of Ft William gradually expanding over the historical Voyageur route while on the American side of the border the "Grande Portage" was protected as a National Park.

This years La Vase Portages Heritage Canoe Day will be held on Saturday, July 18 and may be one of the last times to paddle the historic route before aggregate extraction permanently changes the natural setting and unspoiled character of the area. For details see www.lavaseportages.com