The following information is a Call to Action from FOCA, the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations. They are asking four our help to save the Lake Partner Program (LPP). The LPP is a province-wide, volunteer-based, water-quality monitoring program – the largest of its kind in Canada! OLLA has participated in this program, it is a unique and critical water quality monitoring tool in the province. We encourage each of you to read and take action!
It has been seven years since FOCA last called upon our members, supporters, and lake stewards to write the Province to save the Lake Partner Program (LPP). Our supporters delivered then, and we implore you to do so again, now!
Please read this update from FOCA and – using the template that follows – write a letter to save the LPP. Then, circulate this information widely to others and ask them to take action too, as quickly as possible.
In your letter, tell your elected officials how important water quality monitoring is to you and your community, and how the Province can continue to capitalize on this cost-effective program by continuing their support of the LPP through FOCA.
Help us to save the LPP and the important information it provides to understanding and protecting the health of Ontario’s inland waters.
Your Call To Action:
- Read FOCA’s letter (PDF, 1 page) to the Premier and Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks (MECP) and get more background about the LPP, below.
- Click to download a copy of a template letter that you can customize and save:
Template Letter – Download Now!
Contact FOCA for assistance during business hours if you cannot access the file format (MS Word)
- Address your letter to the Premier and the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks, using the email addresses in the template. Remember to copy FOCA and your local MPP(s) – search here for your MPP name/email.
- Send your email or mailed letter as soon as possible; the Ontario budget will be tabled next week!
- Circulate this call-to-action to fellow members and neighbours who love the waterfront, and ask them to write as well.
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BACKGROUND:
The 5-year agreement for the LPP ended in March 2025, amid turmoil due to a snap provincial election and the appointing of a new Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Despite repeated reassurances that a new agreement was on its way to FOCA, we have now reached a critical point in the sampling annual cycle, and the 2025 data is at risk unless an agreement with MECP is confirmed now.
The LPP provides immense value to the public and to Ontario as a whole. It is one of the largest long-term databases on water quality for freshwater lakes, and the data is essential for research and analysis conducted by universities, government, community groups, and scientists. The water sampling is conducted entirely by volunteers – 629 FOCA Lake Steward volunteers who monitored 546 lakes at 917 sites across the province in 2024, providing committed and invaluable assistance to this world-class program. For more about the program and links to past sampling data, visit: https://foca.on.ca/lake-partner-program/.
Although the sampling work is done by spectacular volunteers, the LPP is not possible without the Ministry’s involvement to conduct the lab analysis of the samples, and through financial support of the FOCA staff role of Assistant Lake Stewardship Coordinator to manage the hundreds of volunteers and coordinate requests for information and outreach about the program.
Don’t let nearly three decades of effort go to waste! Download the template letter and help us save the LPP today. If you have difficulties with the file format, contact the office for assistance during business hours.
Thank you.
