A federal application is currently under review that would approve a so-called “temporary” construction access causeway at Ontario Place. If approved, it would block the north channel of Lake Ontario for nearly four years (2026–2030).
The application openly acknowledges that this structure would obstruct navigable water and relies on the assumption that the area will already be closed to the public due to other construction.
For swimmers, paddlers, and lake users, this matters.
Navigation rights are public rights. When long-term closures are treated as temporary or inevitable, those rights quietly disappear.
A public comment period is now open, and SwimOP members have already begun submitting comments. Below are excerpts from comments that have already been sent (shared with permission). They show that you don’t need legal language, just clear, honest concerns.
Here are some comments submitted...
I am one of many who swim and paddleboard in the lake nearby, e.g. along and behind the breakwall.
I have a disability and use the water as part of my daily therapy and medically-necessary physical exercise not merely for recreation.
The proposed work involves chopping off four sewer safety pipes that carry sewage safely away from the mainland way out into the lake. This sewer pipe should be extended before the project begins, otherwise it will be very difficult to extend with the expanded island. Simply chopping off the pipe endangers the public with sewage outfall.
This project including the chopping off of the pipe and building a causeway in this area will make the area dangerous and impede my ability to navigate these otherwise navigable waters.
This project should be done safely or not at all.
If a causeway is to be constructed, it must be done after the sewer pipe is properly extended, rather than just chopping it off to build the causeway recklessly in a way that endangers the public and renders the water behind the breakwall non-navigable safety to paddlers and rowers like myself as well as others at the rowing clubs.
-Steve Mann
I am submitting this comment in opposition to this application. I already oppose the Ontario Place redevelopment, and this proposal reinforces many of the concerns raised by the public.
The application seeks approval for a so-called “temporary” rock causeway that would obstruct navigable waters in the north channel for nearly four years (2026–2030). A multi-year obstruction cannot reasonably be considered temporary. For members of the public who use Lake Ontario for paddling, swimming, and small-craft navigation, this represents a long-term loss of access.
The application explicitly acknowledges that the causeway will act as a barrier to navigable water. It attempts to justify this by stating that the channel will “already be closed” due to other Ontario Place construction. This is deeply concerning. Federal approval under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act should not rely on the assumption that public navigation rights have already been removed elsewhere. Each obstruction must be independently justified.
The proposal does not meaningfully consider alternatives that could avoid blocking navigation, such as barge-based access or construction methods that preserve a navigable corridor. It also fails to assess cumulative impacts when combined with the broader, ongoing closure of Ontario Place and the destruction of public shoreline and access.
Finally, fisheries and environmental impacts are deferred to a separate authorization process. This does not eliminate concern, particularly given the scale and duration of in-water quarry stone placement.
This application normalizes the long-term obstruction of navigable waters and further entrenches the loss of public access to Lake Ontario. I respectfully urge that this application be rejected, or at minimum subjected to significantly greater scrutiny, including a full assessment of alternatives and cumulative impacts.
-Perry Toone