Hello petition supporters,

In their efforts to discredit me and my efforts to encourage the City to hold firm on it's decision not to new Toronto Humber Yacht Club's lease, responses from their supporters has gotten out of hand.

I'm once again asking for your support by sharing our petition far and wide to let the City know their decision to end THYC's lease is widely supported and the best course of action for the community as a whole.

This individual contacted me via our FB group ostensibly to argue the club's use of hardscape to cover almost the entirety of the property it occupies was the environmentally friendly action to take. It did not take her long to inform me she knew where I lived and suggest club members should work to have the lease to my apartment terminated. Then she left this offensive message. I have reported her message to FB and banned her from our group. I'm hopeful FB will terminate her account and ban her from the site.

I do believe her and the club members I've heard from that she is not a member of the club but I do believe she is either associated with club members (how else did she end up on our FB page) or that she felt emboldened by reading THYC members' comments smearing me and trying to discredit my position.

It's unfortunate but not unexpected as the club's leadership team is looking for a villain outside of the club to cast blame on to distract members from understanding the decision to issue the notice of non-renewal was made by city staff after a thorough review of the club's management of the property they had the privilege of occupying and the club's relationship with the broader community during its current lease. If/when club members truly understand this fact, they will realize it's the THYC's leadership team that is responsible for creating the environment which led city staff to issue the notice of non-renewal.

I want to close with the response I sent to a club member who was engaging with our FB group as I think it addresses the majority of the concerns I and many others in the community have with the way the THYC has operated on the property for the past 7-8 years. It's clear from the club's PR blitz they do not want to accept any culpability for the actions carried out by the previous leadership team or remediate any of those issues those actions created but instead want the club wants to focus on the fact a new Club Commodore was appointed in June of this year.

"Sorry missed this as well. It's been a long day at work and I've been feeling a little concerned after my exchanges yesterday. If as you say, you want to start a constructive dialogue give the following a read. If not, that's fine too, this will be the last time I respond to your club members' messages either way.

Fact: When I mention 7-8 years, I’m not talking about a singular event which happened 7-8 years ago. I’m referring to a consistent disregard for the public during the entirety of the 7-8 year period. This attitude only started to change this spring when it became clear to club members the animosity generated by your club’s approach to the public on club property, at the public boat launch in Kingsmill Park and on the water were leading to your lease not being renewed. Only when it became clear the lease was likely going to come to an end did the club change its leadership team (which club members voted in just this past January). I should also note the public (and I) are skeptical that this change in leadership is anything but cosmetic as the previous leadership team is still very active in the club and from what it looks like from the outside is still held in high regard by the majority of club members.

Fact: You say you’ve changed many things about the club, but those “things” are not visible from the outside. I know you and your fellow club members seem to think the club is beautiful. I think that is because when you’re at the club you’re looking away from the property so your view is of the eastern shore of the Humber in all its natural beauty. When members of the public view your club, it’s from the outside looking in, and let me tell you the view isn’t so beautiful from that perspective. (an aside from the FB message here, the club has done a good job of regulating their members speed on the water, I want to give them credit for that)

Fact: I do believe you that Erika is not a member, but I do think she is a friend or associate of a member who was brought in to bolster the club’s argument that everything you do is good for the environment. I can think of no other reason for a random individual to join the group and then become so hostile that she would a/ throw around homophobic rhetoric b/ threaten me in my home after acknowledging she knows where I live. Forgive me for saying this but that approach to the public is very reminiscent of your previous leadership’s team approach to the public, abusive and threatening. And I will grant you that you did say her comments were inappropriate but you also thanked her for her support (that was weird).

Fact: My original idea was to have the club turned into an Indigenous Reconciliation Center but we couldn't get traction on that. My second idea was to have the club's infrastructure removed and turn the land back over to TRCA to be rehabilitated (it's clear from my Instagram feed that I'm an avid if amateur wildlife photographer) but that too failed to get traction. My third option which is the one that got the most traction was the paddle center. I settled on working toward this in the end because it would allow for the removal of much of the hardscape the THYC needs for parking and give us a chance to make the space more welcoming so there wouldn’t be need for gazebos on the shoreline etc. I've explained over and over again that the paddle center is not my first option but your club prefers to put out the idea that I somehow want to take over the space to start my own private business rather than hearing this.

Fact: I'm one of many who signed the petition. Your club keeps wanting to direct 100% of the blame for it receiving the notice of non-renewal toward me when it was city staff that conducted the review process which led to your lease coming to an end. I'll share what I've been told about the major reasons your lease was rejected: a/ when the city approached your club about issues with non-compliance or community concerns (you guessed it for the duration of the past 7-8 years), your club chose to litigate vs working in collaboration with the city to come back into compliance and or address community concerns (you can verify this by either asking the club leaders or checking to see if there have been excessive legal fees paid by the club through the last 7-8 years) b/ there is a long history of community members raising concerns: via 311 calls (long before I can on the seen) many of which had to do with acts of aggression towards the public both on land and on the water (I've actually seen videos of some of the confrontations on the water and they were scary to behold); via letters/emails and phone calls to city bureaucrats and representatives. These communications with the city preceded my coming onboard by a few years. I will acknowledge that my coming onboard and communicating with the different groups who use the Humber allowed for a more streamlined message to be delivered to the city regarding our concerns but that’s about it. My first experience calling 311 had to do with the docks you had moored at the base of the ravine north of your club’s property last spring/early summer. When I called and told them I was calling about the club I was told they receive a significant number of calls regarding the club on a regular basis. It should also be noted that the club seemed to fight removing those docks for an excessive period of time. I share this information with you so that you might understand I’m not the reason your club lost its lease, at the very most, our efforts bolstered the city’s decision, it did not dictate that decision. That being said, I will continue to work diligently to keep the public's concerns with your club front and center just as you have engaged a PR professional to craft your petition and social media campaign to polish up your club’s reputation and apparently orchestrate and manage your club member’s engagement with me (I could be wrong about this but it does seem odd all your members comments follow a very similar pattern which leads me to believe Vanessa is guiding the conversation).

Fact: The club not only covered over the section of grass in front of the club house, it also covered over the area to the south to allow each yacht member to have a private gazebo on the shoreline. I understand why members would want this but you must understand that when paddling down the river and seeing a shoreline crammed full of gazebos side by side, it’s not a very appealing picture. And although the club lease may allow for those gazebos, putting them in place against public objection and then acting aggressively toward the public when they objected, your club did a lot of damage to the good relationship it might have had with the community.

Fact: You added more than just a few docks, you went from 20 to 30 docks in front of your property and extended the gas dock a good amount along the base of the ravine north of the club. You also added a significant number of JetSki docks. So although there may be nothing in the lease that says you can’t have those docks in place, by putting them in place against public objection and then acting aggressively toward the public when they objected, your club did a lot of damage to the good relationship it might have had with the community.

Fact: Pictures don’t lie, facts can be manipulated and misconstrued."

Thank you all once again for your support and dedication to helping us in our efforts.

Jason Sills