The Town of South Bruce Peninsula has issued a statement in response to the Supreme Court’s Decision not to grant leave to appeal a lower court decision on the Sauble Beach boundary case.
Mayor Jay Kirkland says in a statement, “Council’s main goal now is to build and strengthen our relationship with our neighbours of Saugeen First Nation,” adding, “By doing so, we can work together to bring even greater prosperity to our area.”
On August 28th, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the applications filed by the Province of Ontario and the Town of South Bruce Peninsula for leave to appeal the Ontario Court of Appeal decision regarding Saugeen First Nation’s claim to the sand beach between Main Street and 7th Street North.
The Town says the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the appeal means that phase one of the land claim is now complete with Saugeen First Nation being declared as the owner of the sand beach between Main Street and 7th Street North.
The Town says in a statement, “We anticipate that the federal government will complete a land survey to formally set the Reserve’s eastern and northern boundary. Based upon the Ontario Court of Appeal decision at paragraph 165, the Town is confident that Lakeshore Blvd North and any lands east of Lakeshore Blvd North will not be included in any new Reserve boundary realignment.”
The Town’s release quotes the paragraph as saying, “Court of Appeal for Ontario decision, Paragraph [165]
the declaration only affects lands west of Lakeshore Boulevard, between a point in the road allowance between lots 25 and 26 and up to a point in Lot 31 to the north.”
According to the Town, phase two of the land claim will likely start in 2026 and will be focused on compensation.
It says, “On behalf of the residents and business owners in Sauble Beach, as well as for all ratepayers in South Bruce Peninsula, the Town will be seeking compensation from the Crown to address a multitude of issues created by the decision.”
They add, “Our community is still called Sauble Beach, and the Town remains the owner of the sand beach between 7th St North and Groves Point, which we call Sauble Beach. Sauble Beach continues to be a vibrant and bustling business, residential, and tourism friendly community.”
Back on July 1st, Saugeen First Nation took time to celebrate the conclusion of the decades-long court battle over the beach boundary. They held a beach barbecue to which all were invited and altered the letters on the existing Sauble Beach sign to read ‘Saugeen Beach,’ keeping the overall look of the sign the same.
As far as changes to the beach this past summer, there is a section where parking has returned to the beach by the former Crowd Inn, which the First Nation plans to use as an emergency / rescue station and parking revenue has continued to be collected by the Town, while the First Nation does not charge the public a fee for use of the beach.
