H2O: Ideas & Action for Canada's Water

Last fall’s weather bomb that hit Lake Winnipeg has generated a storm of public emotions and opinions. The tremendous winds that tore across the lake wreaked havoc along some shorelines, causing  property owners to lose yards of land and bringing the water’s edge dangerously close to dwellings. The property owners are looking for ways to protect their houses but those measures will impact the public beaches, which is raising a storm of protest from other community members.

Extreme erosion after weather bomb on Lake Winnipeg

Bruce Owen, a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, and a cottage owner for many years at Victoria Beach has summed up the community turmoil very well in this blog.
I think that what is happening at Victoria Beach is an example of what we are likely to see happening in many situations as we move towards implementing policies and practices that are more respectful of the natural world and therefore, building a more sustainable future for coming  generations. Grappling with the notion that we cannot control Nature and accepting the idea that everything we do has an impact on the natural world, is going to be a very big challenge for us. Change is very often painful and I think we need to be prepared to deal with some of the painful human emotions and conflicts that are bound to arise. The cost of avoiding it are becoming very high.
In relation to the Victoria Beach situation it seems prudent to consider all known impacts and options before moving ahead with man-made solutions.