Ontario Trails News - easements are contracted documents, all other agreements aren't easements, and they are valid for trails, and only the landowner can decide of they want one.

Ontario Trails Council continues to engage on Bill 100 - send our letter to your MPP

• The OTC remains committed to the passing of Bill 100
• Our members are going to engage their members to work with landowners locally to correct the anxiety caused by misreporting of impacts
• We gained greater insight into the working relationships some media have with the advocates against Bill 100
• We have invited the Ontario Landowners Association to speak at Trailhead Ontario in Calabogie June 19-21, 2016
• Ontario Federation of Agriculture has agreed to present at Trailhead Ontario June 19-21, 2016
• The OTC Board passed a motion in support of trails safety, trespass deterrence, and in support of OFA. "The OTC supports the increase in trespass fines to a minimum penalty of 250.00." March 9, 2016.
• The OTC had its Executive Director attend the House of Commons on March 24 to hear the debate on Bill 100
• For a copy of the OTC letter go to: 
  23.3.16 OTC MPP Letter of Support Bill 100 - pdf
  For a copy of the letter you can use to send on your letterhead please go to: 
  23.3.16 MPP Generic Letter of Support Bill 100 - word
• Next public meeting on lands April 9, 2016 - Orillia
• OTC Meets Minister Coteau April 13, 2016

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MTCS Talks Trails - Thanks!Ontario is home to some of the most historic and longest trails in Canada which provide affordable, accessible venues for many activities. Each year, millions of Ontarians and visitors from outside the province, expe-
rience Ontario’s urban, suburban, rural and remote land and water trails.

In May 2015 , Minister Coteau introduced the Supporting Ontario’s Trails Act in the legislature. If passed, this
legislation would help the trails community more effectively develop, operate and promote trails while en-
hancing the experience for all trail users.

The proposed act would strengthen Ontario’s trails system by enabling the government to:
 better manage trail activity and protect public land and property by modernizing stewardship, compliance and enforcement tools
 clarify land owner responsibilities for trails running  through their land
 strengthen the consequences of trespassing on private and agricultural land
 increase the amount that landowners could recover for damages caused by trespassers
 set out a mechanism for voluntary trail easements
 establish a voluntary trails classification system to provide trail users with the consistent information
they need to select the most appropriate trail
 recognize Ontario trails of distinction to increase trail awareness and local tourism.

On February 18, 2015, the act was tabled for second reading and will continue through the legislative process in the coming months.

Research
Trails encourage explorers of all ages and abilities to visit our unique communities and support local econo-
mies. Did you know that in 2014, hiking was a source of close to $1.4 billion in economic benefit to our prov-
ince, also add in $259 million in total provincial taxes? This was all because of significant spending by Ontario
hikers.

More>>>>>

Ontario Trails News - landowners may have issues, but the fears being spread about Bill passage impacts unfounded

Bill 100

LANDOWNER CONCERNS IN RESPECT OF BILL 100

Recently there has been discussion in the media regarding the use of easements to secure trails. The Ontario Federation of ATV Clubs does not have any intention of utilizing easements we prefer rather to use the traditional Land Use Agreement process which has, and continues to serve landowners and clubs well. These Land Use Permission Agreements define land use parameters, including landowner cancellation authority and notice, and ensure that the OFATV’s General Liability Insurance protects the landowner. For more information regarding the Bill, we have provided several links bellow, including a link to Bill 100.

If you wish to read Bill 100, Supporting Ontario’s Trails Act, 2015 please follow this link: Bill 100

Press Release from Patrick Connor, Executive Director of the Ontario Trails Council:

To be clear, Bill 100 only affects landowners who want to negotiate an easement for trail access. It in no way makes trails on private or public land nor does it take negotiation rights away from landowners. What it does is make the process clearer. To read the full Press Release click on the following link:

Press Release from Ontario Trails Council and link to the Ontario Trails Council’s paper on bill 100.

Statements released by Minister Michael Coteau to clarify the misconception around Bill 100:

“The province introduced Bill 100, the Supporting Ontario’s Trails Act, 2015, to improve access to Ontario’s trails, building both a healthier, and more prosperous Ontario. Our ministry held consultations with over 250 organizations, including municipalities, Aboriginal groups, trail organizations and not-for-profit organizations. The feedback the ministry heard during these consultations was integral to shaping the proposed legislation. 

To be clear, an easement pursuant to Bill 100, if passed, would be a voluntary agreement between a landowner and an eligible body or bodies. No property owner would be compelled to provide an easement unless they agreed to do so. – Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport”

Ontario Trails News - Bill 100 protects landowner rights, provides transparency and due process: fears spread unfounded.

Ontario Trails Council - writes letters for you to use With Your MPP
 

The Ontario Trails Council continues to attend Landowners meetings to reinforce our positions on the Bill and correct the misrepresentations that keep appearing in the media regarding the Bill. We continue to meet to discuss Bill 100, and to get our message out to the public to defense Bill 100 and reduce closure of trails.




For a copy of the OTC letter go to:
23.3.16 OTC MPP Letter of Support Bill 100 - pdf

For a copy of the letter you can use to send on your letterhead please go to:
23.3.16 MPP Generic Letter of Support Bill 100 - word

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Ontario Trails Council continues to engage on the Bill

• The OTC remains committed to the passing of Bill 100
• Our members are going to engage their members to work with landowners locally to correct the anxiety caused by misreporting of impacts
• We gained greater insight into the working relationships some media have with the advocates against Bill 100
• A Public Bill 100 education plan is being developed.
• We have invited the Ontario Landowners Association and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to speak at Trailhead Ontario in Calabogie June 19-21, 2016
• the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has agreed to present at Trailhead Ontario in Calabogie June 19-21, 2016
• The OTC Board passed a motion in support of trails safety, trespass deterrence, and in support of OFA. "The OTC supports the increase in trespass fines to a minimum penalty of 250.00." March 9, 2016.
• The OTC had its Executive Director attend the House of Commons on March 24 to hear the debate on Bill 100

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Ontario Trails News - Ontario Trails Council introduces first in a series of landowner and Bill 100 educational posters

Download our Educational Poster on Bill 100 and Landowner Issues

Ontario Trails News - London Free Press gets it closest to the mark in reporting on Bill 100

http://goo.gl/EsQKxz

Concerns about Ontario’s proposed Trails Act are, like the trails themselves during spring thaw, “a mess right now.”

That’s the word from farmers and trail advocates who say a provincial bill that would draw together a disparate tangle of rules into one law has received widespread misinterpretation.

The Ontario Trails Act is intended to codify for the first time how public trails are proposed and approved on private land.

But some have said the bill encroaches on landowners’ freedoms — something Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Don McCabe says just isn’t the right interpretation.

“The reality is if you own a farm and somebody wants to go through it (with a trail), you have to sign off on it,” McCabe said.

It’s purely voluntary, he said, and he dismissed as false some claims that farmers risk having their land expropriated for trails.

Patrick Connor, executive director of the Ontario Trails Council, said it could take years to recover from the rhetoric.

“It’s not bad legislation for landowners. It’s not. It’s actually an improvement for landowners,” Connor said.

He said the proposed legislation, Bill 100, draws provisions now under 48 different pieces of legislation into one coherent set of rules.

The intent, he said, is to help build trails that offer recreation for users and legal safeguards for landowners. “This isn’t an us-versus-them agenda,” he said.

There are more than 30,000 kilometres of year-round trails in Ontario, plus tens of thousands of seasonal snowmobile trails.

Many of them run through or adjacent to private land, where farmers have allowed easements.

It says any landowner may agree to an easement, but doesn’t insist that such permission be given, said Neil Currie, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

“It’s a bit of a confused mess right now,” he said.

Connor said when landowners designate an area for trails, it can lead to less land damage because trail-walkers and -riders will know where the parameters are.

Farmers are often vexed by people in four-wheelers driving through their fields. There are also concerns that people entering a property without permission will jeopardize biosecuruity measures on famrs.

Currie said he has seen photos of someone ripping through a field of soybeans, in summer, with a snowmobile.

He said that exemplefies the lack of respect some people have for private property and the damage that can be done.

OFA says trespassing penalties should be toughened beyond the current maximum $50 fine, perhaps re-defining the maximum penalty as $20,000, the maximum amount that can be collected under small-claims legislation.

“Offering land for a trail to the public is a courtesy that the public has to return,” Currie said.

The bill has passed second reading in the legislature and will go to committees before a final reading.