Tourism is our only industry! Really?

Our CAO and our Mayor, as well as several on Council have been known to say, “tourism is our only industry”. I have always disagreed with this statement. Sure some of those who still live in the 60’s and 70’s may feel that way. Actually, in the 60’s and 70’s it may have been true. However, today I would say that our number one “industry” is not an industry at all. Our primary segment of growth is our population base. It’s really that uncomplicated. Our PEOPLE are the future of Wasaga Beach. The service industry for all of our growth will rapidly unfold as the most predominant change in our history.

How do we have a population surge without “industry” to support it in jobs? That’s the simplest answer of all. It’s 2024! People don’t mind a commute, many work from home and MANY choose communities with natural features like Wasaga Beach to retire in. They bring with them a lifetime of savings and prosperity to spend in their new home.

Mr. Mayor, you and your two CAO’s have it all wrong. Tourism should be your secondary concern. The Tax Payers of Wasaga Beach should be your first priority.

To fully grasp the concept, one only needs to look at the most recent decision of COSTCO to locate here. COSTCO doesn’t invest in communities due to seasonal tourism surges. They study population trends and establish a presence where families are choosing to call an area home. I suspect that this surge in growth that started 7 or 8 years ago will continue and it will trigger the arrival of more retail, more restaurants, more household and vehicle related businesses. Most importantly, I suspect that our health services and other personal services will also grow with our population.

If you look east, west, and particularly south/ central (Sunnidale Trails), you can’t avoid seeing house after house pop up and our community is rapidly growing in population. That population will need groceries. (Thus the recent talks of a “Food Basics” store coming to Ramblewood and 45th) The population will need hotels (Hampton Group- Casino area). The population will need a proper full service high school (Sunnidale Trails) and all of those services will require lots of employees. I even suspect one day a properly funded medical facility will be announced and it will emerge from long term plans. (45th and Knox) Of course Health Care will be funded by the Province, as it should be.

So… what is wrong with this population based direction of growth? Nothing, absolutely NOTHING! There is a misguided thinking out there that taxation at an industrial level would offset any taxation at a residential level. Not true. Despite some making noise about this issue, I have NEVER heard one of them explain the financial details that support their contention.

So… stop listening to those who tell you all of our municipal decisions need to be about tourism. It’s simply not true. It actually seems that those who yell it the loudest have invested heavily in the areas that are traditionally used to support the tourism surges. Those in power right now are committed to spending our tax dollars to prove that tourism isn’t dead. Of course it’s not, it simply depends on the weather.

On the other hand, the same Council members are looking at selling out some of Wasaga Beaches prime tourism space and putting up no trespassing signs around all of the Condo’s at Beach One. I suspect Beach area two will be next.

Here we are in the second weekend of summer since schools have started their breaks. Guess what… no free major concert setup at taxpayers expense, but I went to the Towns official Beach One camera and guess what… it’s busy! Imagine that… no big free concert but people still flock to the beach.

Moving forward, we need a Council more focused on the needs of our permanent residents and property owners. However, as a community that has grown in conjunction with our surge of seasonal resident and the massive surge of sunny day, “day trippers”, we need to cater to THEIR needs as well.

What we need is a more efficient method of handling waste on the days they flock to the beach. We need better ways to manage the flow of people. We need appropriate facilities for them to look after their personal needs. We need to support businesses that will help to feed those who are hungry and shelter those who decide to stay the night. We need to recognize that no matter what part of town we live in, some of our neighbours will only be here on sunny weekends. We are WASAGA BEACH.

While looking after the tourism, our priority must remain our citizens. Parks in every neighborhood should have splash pads so that those of us who choose to enjoy the outdoors right here at home won’t be forced to find our 4’ patch on the beach on a nice Saturday.

STOP trying to reinvent our identity. I know recent efforts are underway to try and make us a concert capital or some bizarre idea. Really? How about more than 15-20 toilets for the hundreds of thousands who visit us daily without concerts. Remember, those same facilities are used by those of us who choose to head to Beach One for some of the “vibe” that comes with it. I can’t believe people are forced to use the overcrowded facilities at Beach One. It’s disgusting.

Tourism has always had and will always have a serious impact on our lives. We live on one of the greatest Freshwater Beaches in the World. People will flock to our shores on a sunny day in order to live a single day, experiencing what they figure life could be like in the tropics.

Tomorrow, I hope to discuss the wasteful ways our taxes are being thrown around to promote and support an area that should be supported using funds contributed by those who will benefit directly from those funds.

The basic rule of thumb is that if it is sunny, warm and dry, we will have great tourist related days. If it’s overcast, cold and wet, we will have a lot less visitors from the tourism side of commerce. On those days, EVERY business in town relies heavily on the people of Wasaga Beach to help keep their lights on.

Not one business owner loses sight of that. Obviously our elected officials have. Wasaga Beach Council needs to stop worrying about the parties and start respecting their fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers.