Muskoka Lakes files lawsuit against Ministry of Natural Resources (April 24, 2013 Cottage Country Now)

Below are the headline and opening paragraphs of an April 24, 2013 Cottage Country Now article about North Bala Falls that you can access here.

Muskoka Lakes files lawsuit against MNR

Muskoka Lakes has filed a lawsuit against the province in an effort to protect a portage route that would be affected by a contested hydroelectric plant.

The portage is located beside the North Bala Falls where the proposed hydroelectric station is planned to be built.

The municipality filed a notice of application for a judicial review of the Ministry of Natural Resources issued on March 27 regarding the ministry’s decision to proceed with permits for the water energy project.

Muskoka Lakes Mayor Alice Murphy said the effect of the hydroelectric project on the portage has been a concern for a long time. Recently she has been tweeting Premier Kathleen Wynne and others about what she is calling the “illegal” Bala Falls hydro plant.
“Within the Public Lands Act is a specific protection for portaging, and portaging is a right across navigable waters and the point at which one portages needs to be protected,” she said, “so consideration for the portage route does not appear to have been given by MNR to date.”

[End of excerpt. Click here to access the article.]