“THE FEDERATION”
Since we last addressed cottagers in the pages of the Summer/Fall 1992 edition of The Tiny Cottager, many things have happened. As you can see by the articles in this edition, not many of the happenings are such that they will bring much joy to cottagers!
But that is the sad fact of life. Our cottage lifestyle is under severe pressures, seemingly from all sides: from the Federal government and their changes to capital gains rules; from the Provincial government who are 1) forcing the pace of restructuring of Tiny, a move sure to cost us dearly in the long run, 2) not supporting local school boards, who thus take 70% of our taxes for themselves, and 3) charging forward with a “test case” lawsuit that claims some 17 miles of the western shore, up to 1000′ inland, has always been crown land (despite hundreds of registered deeds that say otherwise). The real estate market is soft, and the recession doesn’t help. Even our Tiny Township Council is heaping on the pressure, with its forthcoming Recreation Master Plan that sees parking lots and washrooms as “good things” next to cottagers at eleven locations along the shore.
This edition of The Tiny Cottager has articles and news items about all of these and more. We regret that the news is not always good, but then the sun doesn’t always shine either!
We feel it is necessary for all Tiny cottagers to get the straight facts on what is facing them, and to get them from a source that has their interests in mind.
That is why the Federation of Tiny Township Shoreline Associations was formed in 1989, and why it exists today.
Hopefully, if all Tiny cottagers get together in support of our common interests, future editions of The Tiny Cottager will contain much fewer depressing news items than this one! At least that’s what we hope. But if Tiny cottagers stay asleep, as Paul Masterson notes in his editorial, we risk losing it all.
Truly, Tiny is now at a turning point, and we cottagers must stick together to ensure that it does not turn on us! Membership in the Federation is open to associations of property owners in the “seasonal residential” areas of Tiny. Contact your local association executive to encourage membership and support.
Individuals do not join the Federation directly, but you can show your support by filling in the coupon found below. Send a donation. Even a small investment in supporting Tiny’s cottage communities at this critical time can help!
Thanks for reading The Tiny Cottager! Please support our advertisers and let them know you appreciate their support of information for cottagers. Enjoy the glorious summer in Tiny Township, but let the grass, not complacency, grow under your feet!
