In reading the article “Reporter’s Notebook: Cape Chin South Residents Want Their Privacy Back” by John Francis (February 9 to March 9 Edition), I was reminded once again of the words of Pearl Strachan Hurd, “Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.”
In attempting to cast light on the concerns of residents of Cape Chin South, John was not as careful as he could have been in representing the very careful attempt by Carter Road residents to represent their concerns to the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula on February 8th with respect to the use of the municipally owned public access at Cape Chin South.
The title of the article is a misrepresentation. Nowhere have the residents who compiled the petition said “We want our privacy back”. We share our privacy with area residents and visitors who visit the municipal access and are happy to do so. That is not the problem. The problem, as the petition says very clearly, is area residents and visitors who want to use the municipal access without observing any sense of responsibility for the property, our water, our shoreline and our woodland and without any attempt to observe local by-laws and land use entitlements.
The article says that the council “will begin with a delegation/petition from Barry and Sue Robinson of Cape Chin South”. That is a misrepresentation. The petition was the result of a careful collaboration of 23 residents of Carter Road. Yes, we were asked to present the petition but, in beginning our presentation, we were careful to point out to council “this is the result of a collaborative effort of 23 residents, all of whom have contributed to this petition and who have attached their signatures to it.”
The articles says “that MNBP” would be asked “to do something (ANYTHING) to resolve the constant inappropriate activity at the municipal property at 60 Carter Road”. That is a misrepresentation. The petitioners were very careful to request specific changes to the property that would allow it to be a welcoming place for visitors and “guarantee protection of our shoreline, our water and our woodlands”.
While we appreciate mention of specific concerns with actual quotations from the petition regarding illegal activities such as overnight camping and the removal of shore stone, the most serious activities that represent an ongoing danger to area residents, the property and the peninsula are not mentioned at all: the growing incidents of fires being set and left burning on the property and the growing incidents of toxic waste from recreational and agricultural holding tanks being dumped into the water at the access shoreline.
John, we know that you were trying to help by bringing our concerns to the attention of your readers. We thank you and the Bruce Peninsula Press for doing that. It is often a difficult and thankless task to represent what others have said and intend even when we are trying our best to be helpful. And I have surely made my own fair share of mistakes in that regard as I suspect most of us have. No one is in a position to judge.
But, the concerns that area residents of Cape Chin South and residents of other communities across the peninsula in regard to the use of public and park properties are serious concerns that can stir up deep emotions in people on both sides of an issue. It is incumbent on all of us to be as careful as we can be in using the words that we do – lest some of those words go off like “an atom bomb”.
We would ask you to correct your remarks to reflect more accurately the intent of Carter Road residents.
Barry & Sue Robinson
