431-00070 (Culture and heritage)

We the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House to the following:

THAT, WHEREAS

• The Nine Mile Point Lighthouse, situated since 1833 on Simcoe Island near Kingston Ontario, has been declared surplus to its needs by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the land and building are to be divested;
• The said lighthouse is to remain the oldest operational Canadian lighthouse on the Great Lakes;
• Simcoe Island has no community or public space designated to attract tourism or to provide historical information related to it being deeded to Rene Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1675 as part of the first seigneury on Lake Ontario, in New France and later then deeded to François Dauphin, Sieur de La Forêt, his attorney and garrison adjutant at Fort Frontenac;
• This lighthouse has historical significance to Canadian maritime heritage and naval security, and marks the joining of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

THERFORE, your petitioners request that Parliament halt the divestiture of the Nine Mile Point Lighthouse on Simcoe Island to the currently proposed recipient, and call upon the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, to engage with the local Nine Mile Point Lighthouse Preservation Society to set up historical plaques, fencing and other minimal tourism amenities, so as to provide ongoing eco-tourism, educational and cultural celebration opportunities.