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Thank you all for what your doing. join www.watersheddebacle.ca TORT LAW SUIT

Our Family’s Story – How the Conservation Authorities Act took away our children’s future homes.

My name is John Tait. To help understand our story, here's a summary of the events over the past ten years regarding our family's property in Severn, Ontario. As we have learned, we aren’t alone in our experiences and many other landowners have faced similar challenges.

Ten years ago, we initially attempted to sever lots on our 160 acre property and have been navigating bureaucratic roadblocks and legislative barriers ever since. Amid this housing crisis, we wanted to help our two daughters and four grandchildren own homes on our expansive Severn, Ontario property. However, we have been told that outside of a tiny corner of property with an existing residential zoning, we are unable to severe any lots or provide homes for our children, as they are considered green space within the Conservation Act. This restriction on the use of our property significantly decreases the value and utility of our land.

Over the years we have learned more about the implications of the Conservation Authorities Act, and how it has prevented us from having the ability to use our private property to benefit the lives of our children and grandchildren as future homes. While we do believe in protecting the beauty of our natural Canadian landscape, the inflexible nature of labelling all this private land protected greenspace is not reasonable for the individual Canadian landowner who works to provide a future for their children. The Conservation Authorities Act can unilaterally decide that any land is protected and unavailable for development or building, including simple shed structures. This primarily impacts the small, individual landowners.

I am now in my mid-seventies and as a retired Toronto police officer I have been involved in investigations and case preparation for several private-sector legal matters. I also serve on the board of a junior mining company in Ontario. In my research, it has become apparent that as property owners, we do have the ability to advocate for our rights and there is a potential for a class action lawsuit for property owners in similar situations.

My intention is to act as the “representative plaintiff” for the property right infringement on behalf of all affected parties in this potential class action lawsuit. We have had preliminary legal consultations and the lawyers agree that this situation constitutes a “classic tort,” and our role is to inform all potential plaintiffs. If you are a property owner and are interested in following this issue, we encourage you to register on our website and spread the word to at least ten other landowners. Join us in protecting the value of our property and ability to use it freely.

The main focus of this investigation can be found at www.watersheddebacle.ca. Stand up, Canadians!

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