July 18, 2005

The Honourable Jim Watson
Minister of Health Promotion
Province of Ontario
35th Floor, 250 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 2N5

Dear Sir:

Congratulations on your recent appointment as Minister of Health Promotion.
The purpose of this letter is to introduce you to the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail – a 650 km trail (tip to tip) that follows the Canadian shores of Lake Ontario and the Ontario shore’s of the St. Lawrence River.

Our organization, the Waterfront Regeneration Trust is a not for profit charity whose goal is to work cooperatively with the Lake Ontario waterfront communities, municipalities and conservation authorities to complete, market and promote the Trail and Greenway.

The Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail passes through all 40 of Ontario’s Lake Ontario & St Lawrence River waterfront communities, right from Niagara on the Lake to the Quebec border. The Trail is a unique experiment in urban and natural regeneration that has captured the public’s enthusiasm and support. Our recent survey confirms the public’s strong desire (95%) for the completion of the Trail, as well as their high ratings for existing amenities and quality of experience. The survey also provides evidence of the significant increase in the use of the Trail, both by local residents as well as visitors from outside the community. The Trail is easily accessible to over 59% of Ontario’s population and 22% of the national population. With 6 border crossings into the United States, the Trail will play a key role in attracting visitors from the United States and abroad.

In addition, our surveys also indicate that fitness and getting close to nature are the top two reasons cited by survey respondents for using the Trail. Also, people using the Trail to commute increased from 14% in 1996 to over 24% in 2002, and we know from our partners and our use of the Trail that this % is constantly increasing.

One of our current major initiatives is the coordination of a $32M public infrastructure investment on the Trail and Greenway. The federal (COIP) and provincial (SuperBuild) governments are contributing $9.2M, which will lever an additional $23M from waterfront municipalities, conservation authorities and community groups and private donors. In fact, CIBC is a founding partner of the Waterfront Trail – they have donated more than $1 million since 1996 towards trail completion, marketing and promotion. The most recent public and private sector money will fund 51 projects along 740 km Trail. The investment will result in l25 kms of new trail and trail connections; 6 major waterfront promenades; 2 bridges; improvement to over 20 waterfront parks; 5 new cultural heritage facilities; interpretation of over 20 waterfront habitats; 4 major brownfield rehabilitation projects; 6 significant waterfront habitat restoration projects and 3 harbour/marina revitalization projects.

Another recent initiative of the Trust is the extension of the Trail eastwards from Brockville to the Quebec border. The idea for extending the Trail eastwards came from the eastern Ontario communities and the Trust’s close association with Velo Quebec.

In conjunction with improving the Trail and waterfront regeneration, we are also actively marketing and promoting the Trail as a place for recreation, fitness, calm and retreat, nostalgia, and nature. The secret of the Trail ‘is out of the bag’ and our role now is to increase awareness and provide Trail users and potential users with information and assurances of a quality experience. To assist Trail users in accessing information regarding the Trail, we have updated our website www.waterfronttrail.org. It is one of the most complete and user friendly Trail websites in the country.

For you quick reference, I am enclosing a copy of our Mapbook . This Mapbook provides the Trail alignment from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Quinte West (Trenton), which was the original scope of the Trail. Also enclosed are hard copies of the maps that are available on our website – they cover the Trail from Niagara on the Lake to Brockville. We are now working on developing the maps for the final section from Brockville to the Quebec border.

The Provincial government has been a key partner in the success of the Trail. Right from the days of the Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront to the most recent Canada-Ontario Infrastructure Program contribution, the Province has been a supporter and contributor to the work of the Trust and the Trail. This support is extremely important to gaining and keeping local investment and interest in the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail and Greenway.

As you can see from the above, our Trail and the goals and objectives of your Ministry are closely aligned. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your staff to discuss potential joint ventures and collaborations.

Once again, congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Health Promotion. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you and your provincial colleagues to complete and enhance the Lake Ontario Waterfront Trail and Greenway. Collectively we can make Ontario’s lake great!

Best Wishes,


Vicki Barron, CGA
Executive Director

Cc: Mr. Peter Fonseca, Parliamentary Assistant
to the Minister of Health Promotion

Waterfront Regeneration Trust
372 Richmond Street West, Suite 308
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1X6
Phone: 416-943-8080
Email: info@wrtrust.com
Website: www.waterfronttrail.org