The Ontario Superior Court Judge who is considering the Sauble Beach boundary claim has released a delayed portion of her decision.
Back on April 3rd, Justice Susan Vella of the Ontario Supreme Court ruled about 1.4-miles of beach does not belong to the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, and that it is Saugeen First Nation land that was never surrendered by Saugeen.
On June 30th, Vella ruled on a portion of the claim regarding a few non-First Nation landowners, Lemon, Twining and Dobson, and whether or not they were to be granted life interest in what was considered their existing property.
Vella ruled June 30th there would not be any life interest for those properties.
On Friday, July 7th, Saugeen First Nation released a statement saying Vella agreed with Saugeen’s and Canada’s submissions that the court does not have the authority to grant third-party interests in Saugeen’s reserve and that the Town of South Bruce Peninsula does not have any authority on reserve land.
Meanwhile, the Town says its appeal of the land claim decision is progressing and it believes that the appeal will be heard in the late spring of 2024.
Saugeen First Nation’s June 30th statement says it has updated its existing bylaws with regard to some health and safety measures on the beach.
The First Nation says they, “continue to engage in productive discussions with our neighbours, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula and our treaty partner the Government of Canada to ensure ongoing capacity to provide security, emergency, waste management and other services that are essential to keeping the beach open,” adding, “We are looking forward to seeing everybody on the beach this summer.”
At the moment, the Town continues to oversee parking, garbage collection and portable washrooms along Lakeshore Blvd North.
Saugeen First Nation is providing beach maintenance from Main St to 7th Street North as well as at the 6th Street washrooms and the washrooms at 152 Lakeshore Blvd. North (Just north of Chesley Lane).
The Town of South Bruce Peninsula says its staff and Saugeen First Nation staff “Continue to have dialogue regarding beach related operational issues in an effort to make sure that the beach remains a viable and desirable tourist attraction for everyone to enjoy.”
