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Time running out for trailer park residents, park ownership

30 families face being uprooted from their homes, APH order to close the park for health reasons still stands
20170721 River Valley Park KA
River Valley Park is a trailer park situated just north of Sault Ste. Marie. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday

An Algoma Public Health (APH) order for a trailer park north of the Sault to close by Aug. 31, 2017 still stands.

As reported earlier by SooToday, APH ordered the closure of River Valley Park June 8, 2017 after repeated failure by the park’s owner to repair the park’s septic system.

The park’s owner, Toronto-based Harjeet Dusanjh, lost an appeal of the APH decision Aug. 10 at a hearing in Toronto.

“It still remains unfixed, sewage is still being discharged to the ground and into the ground,” said Jon Bouma, APH manager of environmental health and communicable disease control, speaking to SooToday Friday.

If the owner fails to address the problem and the park closes, approximately 30 families residing there will be uprooted.

“A few families have left. We’ve talked to them all twice now personally, we’ve gone door to door several times to let them know what’s going on, because we’re finding some conflicting information was given to the residents and we wanted them to hear it straight from us as to where we’re at,” Bouma said.

Service agencies have been helping residents facing the ordeal of leaving their homes, Bouma said.

“The Legal Clinic has been wonderful. They put them in touch with others like the United Way and the Red Cross which look for avenues of relocation and funding…we’re coming down to crunch time at the end of the month.”

The families could still stay, Bouma emphasized, if Dusanjh comes through with the required sewage system repair work.

“My focus has been on keeping these people in their homes, and the discussions I’ve had with APH and the Ministry of the Environment have been in regard to what is required to rescind the order,” said Michael Mantha, Algoma-Manitoulin MPP.

“The owner of the park has to complete a full Environmental Compliance Application (ECA), and once he’s done that, that will provide the Ministry a process and a timeline to come under compliance, and once there is some assurance that will happen, the order will be rescinded,” Mantha said.

“It is dire that the owner provides an ECA (before Aug. 31),” Mantha said. 

Meanwhile, Mantha said his staff has been working with the park’s residents facing the task of moving and finding new living space, if need be.

“My office has reached out to the city of Sault Ste. Marie, Goulais River, Prince Township, to see if there is an opportunity to find empty lots where trailers can be moved, contractors who may be available to make the move for those individuals,” Mantha said.

“But, would some of these people have the financial means to relocate their home? We’re trying to assist the owner, working with the Ministry and APH, ultimately hoping we can find the means of keeping this park open and that the owner steps up,” Mantha said.

The APH order was the latest in a series of work orders issued to the park ownership, Bouma said, the first in April 2016, another in February, then again in June.

In addition, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change has been working with the park’s ownership for three years.

“There’s a playground out there and a road, people have been driving through sewage,” Bouma said. 

 


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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