Waterfront property owners represent a major customer group for rural utilities and services, with over 250,000 properties across the province.
Advocacy Win: Support for Rural Water Infrastructure
May 2025 – FOCA is pleased to see provincial action that reflects long-standing advocacy priorities for waterfront Ontario. The launch of the new Health and Safety Water Stream on April 17, 2025 marks a critical step forward in addressing aging water infrastructure in small and rural communities.
$175 million in funding will help municipalities and First Nations protect communities from extreme weather events through stormwater, flood, and erosion infrastructure. This targeted funding responds to calls from FOCA and partners like the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) to stop the downloading of responsibilities to municipalities without adequate support.
While this is an encouraging development, more must be done to ensure predictable, long-term infrastructure funding. For Ontario’s 250,000 waterfront property owners, reliable local services and sound infrastructure are essential to protecting property values, community health, and our shared natural environment.
Learn about various priority rural services on these FOCA webpages:
Cottage country areas tend to be remote, rocky, and difficult to service. Uneven coverage affects many FOCA members. Despite paying municipal property taxes, some municipal services are unavailable to seasonal properties.
And what if you don’t live in a region served by a Municipality? A local services board (LSB) is a volunteer organization that has the authority to deliver approved services to residents in rural areas of Northern Ontario where there is no municipal government. Learn more: https://www.ontario.ca/page/local-service-boards. Also, read a summary about LSBs (PDF, 1 page; 2022) from our member group, the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association.
Earlier News:
April 20, 2023 – Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) announced the Minden hospital emergency department will close on June 1, citing “serious staffing shortages” and the inability to retain health care workers. A group called Save Minden ER has formed to protest the closure. Read more from CTV News coverage. Access to primary care and emergency services should not depend on one’s postal code. FOCA contacted the Mayor of Minden, and wrote to the Ministers of Health and of Infrastructure, and to the local MPP to express our concern about the planned closure; click to download FOCA’s letter (PDF, 1 page). We received a response from MPP Laurie Scott; click to download the MPP’s comments (PDF, 1 page).
June 20, 2023 – Ford government to open clinic at site of shuttered cottage-country ER — but without doctors (Toronto Star)
June 12, 2023 – Minden ER clousre already putting residents at risk (Cottage Life)
June 3, 2023 – The death of an Ontario ER: Anger, tears — and worries for what a cottage-country closure means for the future of emergency care (Toronto Star)
May 29, 2023 – Rural Ontario hospitals brace for possible ER summer closures (CTV News Barrie)
Powerline Safety: an important notice from the ESA
Since 2019, Ontario has seen a staggering 310% increase in powerline contacts by the general public. To help educate Ontarians and keep them safe, the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) is bringing awareness to the deadly hazards of powerlines.
While many powerline contacts can be attributed to weather-related events that cause tree branches and limbs to fall on powerlines, almost a third involve accidental powerline contacts from recreational activities like tree pruning, high reach equipment and outdoor home renos with the potential for many of these activities occurring while people are attending to their cottages. For more information, including other electrical safety tips for cottage owners, visit ESAsafe.com/cottagesafety
For more, visit additional FOCA webpages on related topics: