I'm sending along my latest email to the city regarding our request to deny Toronto Humber Yacht Club's 20 year lease extension/renewal. 

THYCs current lease expires on July 31, 2025. This is the only chance we will have for another 20 years to have our voices heard by City Council and city staff so please take a moment to call or email the stakeholders to express your concerns as well as sharing this petition with anyone you feel might support our efforts.

You can reach out to me directly at jts1968@gmail.com 

Thank you all for taking the time to show your support!!!

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To all concerned,

The more I learn about the operations/behavior of the Toronto Humber Yacht Club over the better part of the last decade the more dismayed I become.

It's very obvious why the Toronto Parks Department and the City of Toronto refuse to hold public consultations seeking input into the decision to renew THYC's lease for another 20 years. And that reason is they know the local community does not support the lease being renewed.

I paddle the Humber River 3-5 times weekly and every time I go paddling I mention our petition on Change.org to others I meet on the water and at the public boat launch. Invariably  each paddler I speak to has had negative experiences with members of THYC.

The latest involves a woman who has lived on Riverwood Parkway for close to 10 years. She recounted an instance when club members were partying through the night creating significant noise, to the point of keeping her children awake. Her husband called the police to report the issue but as no action seemed to be taken to quiet the raucous by 2am he finally went to the club himself. Upon arriving far from being civic minded and turning down the music as requested, club members threatened to beat him up and throw him off of the property. This is consistent with the way club members treat the public in pretty much every interaction that takes place.

I also learned over the winter two years ago a resident on Riverwood Parkway heard club members clearing the woodland abbutting the property and called 311 to report the issues. Needless to say, the City of Toronto took no action to address the clubs illegal activity.

It's also clear someone within the city operations or city government is feeding THYC information about the lease renewal process. Last Thursday for the first time ever I saw a grounds work crew on the property sprucing it up. At first I was hopeful but then on Friday morning there was a city truck on the property. This clearly indicates to me the club was "tipped" off regarding city staff visiting the property.

Yesterday (Tuesday June 3) I was showing a photographer from the Toronto Star around the property to document the many verifiable violations of City & TRCA regulations committed with impunity by THYC and we saw a general contractors van enter the property. Again, it's clear the club is trying to polish its image.

Unfortunately, THYCs efforts amount to little more than putting lipstick on a pig before entering it into the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant.

To my understanding it is the job of the city government to listen to their constituents and try to do what is in the best of the public's interest vs catering to private entities' demands.

I was also under the impression it was the job of the city bureaucracy to follow the guidelines the city government lays out to protect the rights of the general public vs ignoring all public input when it is counter to the wishes of those in the bureaucracy.

I'm not sure if it's apathy or complete corruption on the part of the City Council and/or the city bureaucracy which has led to the complete lack of public input and total secrecy surrounding the review process for extending THYC's lease for another 20 years but whichever it may be, it's completely unacceptable.

If the THYC lease is extended City Council, the city bureaucracy and TRCA will be complicit in degradation of the Humber River, the continued harassment of the general public by THYC members and worse yet they will be directly responsible for the unsafe/dangerous manor which THYC members operate their JetSkis on the water.

I'm imploring each of you to demand this secret, unethical process be thrown open to public inspection before there is a decision made to renew THYC's 20 year lease.

Regards,
Jason Sills