Dear Friends,   

While I realise that the state of windsurfing in Canada may for many of you not be a hugely important topic, I am posting this e-mail with the hope that the potential loss of a major windsurfing club along with its prime  windsurfing spot may have greater importance to you. As our world population increases in leaps and bounds it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect our favourite windsurfing spots from the hands of greedy developers and I suspect that this is a worldwide problem and not just a problem in North America.   In Canada (specifically Toronto) the situation is as follows. The City of Toronto has entered a bid to be selected as the city for the 2008 Olympics.  If Toronto wins the bid (and there is a very good possibility that they will), then the plans are to completely redevelop the Port Lands that lie along the outer part of Toronto Harbour (see maps in attachments). This development would most likely completely cut off any public access to the waterfront and require the relocation not only of Toronto Windsurfing Club but also of several other sailing clubs as well. Since Olympic villages often get turned into high priced condos after an Olympics is over, it is then very unlikely that the public will be able to regain access the not only to the very popular Cherry Beach (at the foot of Cherry Street - see maps in attachments) but also the waterfront to go sailing or windsurfing.   Perhaps the main reason why I am posting this message is because it is a well-known fact that when windsurfers band together in an attempt to save favourite locations then the results are very positive. A recent success that comes to mind would be the lobbying by the California windsurfing community to get the "Ponds" reopened to windsurfers.   Toronto Windsurfing Club has a strong racing program and has produced many windsurfers who have competed at the national and world levels, so if the development goes ahead as planned then the City of Toronto will be not only destroying the only windsurfing location within Metropolitan Toronto but also the only windsurfing club in the country that has produced a windsurfing Olympic Gold Medal.   If this issue is at all important to you I would encourage you to write to one of the people who's e-mail l addresses are listed below and express your dissatisfaction at the loss of such a valuable windsurfing club, without any hint of the possibility of relocation. Please feel free to visit the Toronto Windsurfing Club web site at http://reality.sgi.com/csp/twc/index1.html, to express your encouragement.

 Thanks for your support,

Cheers,

Nick Cox (CAN 32)    

 

 The following e-mail addresses can be used to express your opinion:  

Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman - mel_lastman@city.toronto.on.ca  <mailto:mel_lastman@city.toronto.on.ca  

Canadian Prime Minister Chretien - Chretien.J@parl.gc.ca  <mailto:Chretien.J@parl.gc.ca  

Transport Minister David Collenette - Collenette.D@parl.gc.ca  <mailto:Collenette.D@parl.gc.ca  

Ontario Premier Mike Harris - webprem@gov.on.ca <mailto:webprem@gov.on.ca  

Minister of Finance Ernie Eves - ernie_eves@ontla.ola.org  <mailto:ernie_eves@ontla.ola.org