FOCA

Thanks for posting, Watersheds Canada!

This is going to be a great, and important, session! All members of FOCA Member Associations, as well as our Individual Supporters, can attend this lunch-and-learn event on April 21st. Find out about emergencies in remote (cottage country) locations, the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest, and when to use an AED (automated external defibrilator). The webinar is offered at no charge, thanks to our partners at Action First Aid! But you must pre-register with FOCA, here: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_QCh10BgPSI-szuvSmtt9zA

We're excited for the Virtual Cottage Life & Outdoor Living Show! FOCA will be there and our Executive Director will speak on the Main Stage each day (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) at 11am. See you there this weekend. If you haven't registered to attend yet, do it now - it's free! https://reg.unityeventsolutions.com//C/ATT/EN/Process.aspx

The latest FOCA Elert is out! Read it here: https://conta.cc/3rdp7zR We've got an upcoming webinar about the difference between sudden cardiac arrest and heart attack, and when to use an AED. Also, the Elert has a link to sign up for free attendance at this weekend's Cottage Life Show, an update on the elimination of the seasonal rate class, and more. If you're not receiving the news in your Inbox as soon as it hits, join 12,000 fellow subscribers by signing up here: https://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp

Just noticed, and registered for, this event on flood preparedness and safety, happening this evening (March 18) - you don't have to be in the Kawarthas to tune in for the webinar. Register here: https://www.kawarthaconservation.com//virtual-flood-prepar

FOCA's new "Fair Electricity Pricing" campaign has already delivered hundreds of messages to rural MPPs, protesting the elimination of the Seasonal Rate class of Hydro One customers. *Northern or northwestern Ontario seasonal properties: we need you!* You are especially likely to be impacted by the shift to the R2 category which will result in electricity prices DOUBLING, under the Ontario Energy Board's current proposal. Add your voice now: https://foca.good.do/fair_electricity_pricing/ and please spread the word.

Join FOCA's campaign for Fair Electricity Pricing, and help us take steps to prevent the Ontario Energy Board from eliminating the Seasonal Rate Class for electricity pricing. Write your MPP - details are here: https://foca.good.do/fair_electricity_pricing/

A January winter wonderland in Ontario cottage country! Happy New Year to all from FOCA, the voice of the (frozen) waterfront.

Who supports FOCA? People like you! FOCA encourages everyone to be a member of their local Association; in turn, we encourage those groups to be members of FOCA. We ALSO appreciate the additional personal support of individuals and families who make annual contributions to FOCA. Thank you to our hundreds of Individual Supporters, Family Supporters, Friends of FOCA, and Waterfront Champions! You make FOCA's ongoing work possible. Please share your extra support if you are able. Visit https://foca.on.ca/foca-supporters/ today.

FOCA often receives regional notices of interest to our members. This one is an invitation from the province for public input about your transportation needs along the northeastern Ontario rail corridor between Toronto, North Bay and Cochrane/Timmins. Participate in the survey by November 20th. Details and the survey link are here: https://www.ontario.ca//consultation-transportation-opport (map image is reproduced from http://ontarionorthland.ca/)

Have you registered yet, for FOCA's Fall Seminar for lake associations? Join us by webinar on Saturday, November 21st for updates from Hydro One about electricity pricing, a discussion about broadband across rural Ontario, and stories from your fellow associations about how they kept up local engagement this year. Get details and the link to register, here: https://foca.on.ca/fall-seminar-2020/ (registration includes access to the event recording, that you can review at your leisure)

TIME TO "FALL BACK" this weekend. Reminder: the time change is this Sunday, November 1st at 2:00AM - fall back an hour on the clock. While you're changing your clock, change the batteries in your smoke and CO alarms as well. November 1-7 is Carbon Monoxide (CO) Awareness Week - CO is known as the silent killer because it is invisible, tasteless and odourless, but can be deadly to you and your family. Find out more here: https://foca.on.ca/beat-the-silent-killer-co-safety/

FOCA often receives regional notices of interest to our members. This one is a "last call" from the Township of Muskoka Lakes, seeking resident input on the update of their Strategic Plan. Provide your feedback in the survey until October 30th. Please alert your fellow members in the Township. www.engagemuskokalakes.ca

For those who live and play along the Trent Severn Waterway or Rideau Canal, each of which is managed by Parks Canada, your input is invited in the 2020 Minister's Round Table. Public input can be submitted by October 30th: https://www.letstalkparkscanada.ca/

FOCA is enjoying Lake Links today, where we'll be speaking about ways lake associations are keeping engaged during this unusual year!

There are only a few days to go for FOCA’s survey about cottage usage in 2020 (survey closes Oct.30). If you don’t see your Township name on the image, or it is in a very small size, we don’t have many responses from your region yet. Please add your voice! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FOCAsurveyUsage2020 Thanks to the hundreds of you who have already answered the questions in FOCA’s survey about whether the pandemic changed how often you visited the cottage this summer, and whether you plan to spend time there in the off-season.

It's time to register for the FOCA Fall Seminar for Lake Associations! Join us by webinar on Saturday, November 21st for discussions about rural broadband, association engagement during a pandemic, electricity pricing and boating updates, and more: https://foca.on.ca/fall-seminar-2020/

Thanks to everyone who has been circulating the link to FOCA's survey, about how much the pandemic has affected the time you spent at your cottage this summer, and whether you'll spend more time than usual there, in the "off-season". Here's the link again: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FOCAsurveyUsage2020 We notice some areas are still under-represented in the responses, but the survey stays open until October 30, 2020. (The biggest size names in the 'word cloud' below have the most responses to date.)

Do you have questions about Asian carps? Are you concerned about how they could impact the Great Lakes if they were to establish in Canadian waters? If so, then register for the FREE virtual information session with Asian Carp Canada and the Invasive Species Centre happening on Oct. 21st! This information session will focus on Grass Carp, one of the four species of Asian carps, and the one that poses the most immediate threat to the Great Lakes. Register at the link below. https://asiancarp.ca/information-session/

We need your input! FOCA is conducting a province-wide survey, "Tracking Trends: A survey about off-season cottage usage," to determine whether the ongoing pandemic is shifting patterns of waterfront property usage. Click below, or use this link to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FOCAsurveyUsage2020... Please share this link widely with your Facebook community, so all regions are included in the results. The survey is open until October 30, 2020. We are interested to know if people have spent, or may be planning to spend, more time at their waterfront properties in Ontario because of travel restrictions and physical distancing protocols, including work-from-home options. We know that the amount of time spent in our waterfront communities can have a direct impact on the local economy, and the provision of important public services. Help FOCA to quantify the impact of our waterfront community across Ontario.

As FOCA reported in our Elert earlier this week, the Ontario Energy Board has ordered Hydro One to eliminate the Seasonal Rate Class of customers. FOCA has lobbied against this development for the past half decade, as it will result in large bill increases for tens-of-thousands of families in low-density rural areas. See more in the Global News article: https://globalnews.ca//ontario-cottagers-seasonal-hydro-i/ and stay in-the-know by subscribing to FOCA's free monthly Elert (e-news): http://bit.ly/FOCAElertSubscribe

FOCA will be speaking at this event, about how volunteer associations are using technology to stay connected and engage members. Join us!

The August edition of the FOCA Elert (monthly cottage country e-news) is about to go out! Be among the first to get it. Are you subscribed to receive the Elert in your Inbox? Get on the list here: https://bit.ly/FOCAelert50K

Did you know Grass Carp could change the composition of your shoreline plants? Grass Carp feed voraciously on native shoreline plants and once these plants disappear they are often replaced by toxic and nuisance aquatic plants. Learn more here: https://foca.on.ca/asian-carp/ Asian Carp Canada Invading Species Awareness Program

Pulling up a Yellow Perch is often a child's first memory of fishing in Ontario waters. This beautifully striped and tasty fish is a staple in Ontario's fishery... and a species that is sought after, almost year-round. But, did you know that this species is at risk of being out-competed by the invasive Grass Carp? A study by Gertzen et al. (2017) showed that Yellow Perch populations would experience declines if Grass Carp were to become established. To protect Ontario's fishery, if you suspect you've seen or captured a Grass Carp, take a photo, note your location, and call the Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711, or report online at www.EDDMapS.org/Ontario

Did you know even though Grass Carp feed on aquatic plants they are unlikely to remove invasive Phragmites? Grass Carp prefer the soft and tender plant tissue of native filamentous plants and will only consume Phragmites when nothing else is left. Learn more here: https://foca.on.ca/asian-carp/ Invading Species Awareness Program Asian Carp Canada

There is still time to register for this Tuesday webinar about water quality, from LOWDSA and IISD ELA: https://www.lowdsa.com//iisd-experimental-lakes-area-lakes