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Ontario is aiming to ban so-called floating accommodations from provincial waterways, with new regulations set to take effect July 1.
Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Graydon Smith said he has heard a number of concerns about the floating accommodations, such as rafts and barges that have buildings or structures on top intended for people to stay in overnight.
“A lot of people think it’s aesthetic, but it’s actually environmental,” he said.
“It’s a home on water, and as a home operates it generates waste, grey water, black water, garbage and there’s a concern that that could end up in the water.”
But Joe Nimens, who builds floating homes in Port Severn, Ont., said he doesn’t see the new rules as preventing him and his customers from using the homes.
“I do not see them changing anything,” he said. “We’re building them as fast as we can and we’ve got people ordering them faster than we can build them.”
He noted that the regulation defines floating accommodation as a floating building that can be used for overnight accommodation and “not primarily designed to be used for navigation.”
Nimens said his floating homes are designed for navigation and he is planning to continue filling orders — there are two that are complete and seven more under construction.
© 2023 The Canadian Press