A hilly, aqueous and sparsely populated corner of Ontario cottage country, Armour Township boasts rural charm and an abundance of natural beauty. Each summer, holidaying city folk descend in the hundreds on Big Doe Lake, Middle Doe Lake and Little Doe Lake — a string of waterways known collectively as Doe Lake. They are dotted not by the million-dollar cottages of the adjacent Muskoka region, but by a less densely populated, more middle class kind of shoreline.
Today, the view from a dock on the lake 2-1/2 hours north of Toronto is one of happy, relaxed vacationers against a backdrop of green rolling hills and blue sky. If residents are to also enjoy high-speed Internet, a 300-foot tower, likely complete with blinking lights, will soon intrude on that view, perched at the peak of one of the tallest hills overlooking the lake.
Many of the residents — roughly half are cottagers, half are full-timers — badly want wireless Internet. But many want exactly what they’ve got now: a relatively pristine oasis.
A battle has erupted, between the right to the Aurora Borealis and the right to Google.
“The view from my dock is very picturesque, very rolling with different shades of green, different varieties of green, it’s a very peaceful and serene place to live,” said Debbie Plumstead, who has lived on Doe Lake for five years. “If that tower could go somewhere else, I just think it would be better for everyone.”
The proposed tower is part of the federal government’s initiative to boost rural Canada by establishing access to high-speed Internet through its Broadband Canada program. But every site selected as a possible one for the 300-foot tower has elicited horrified cries from both full- and part-time landowners, concerned the tower will diminish their enjoyment of their property, detract from the pristine environment and, with the possibility of some lights being set atop the tower, brighten an otherwise dark night sky.
“Where we live is one of the more impoverished parts of Ontario, so we’re always trying to attract tourists,” said town reeve Bob MacPhail. “We’ve tried to keep too much economic development away from the lakes, because that’s where the tourists go. But high-speed Internet is critical to our economic development; it’s the last missing piece. The location that’s been chosen for the tower was chosen because it hits all the criteria. Unfortunately, the people who live there want it somewhere else.”
Anne Moore, who has been coming to the Little Doe Lake cottage her grandfather built for 76 years, said family members have been building permanent residences on the lake in the hopes of retiring there. She sees the value and necessity of having high-speed Internet, but the idea of erecting a tower across the water from her home saddens her.
“I’m not against the high speed; it’s just the location of the tower,” she said. “My sons and daughters are crying for the Internet – my daughter-in-law says she can’t come up if we don’t have it, but is there no other location for the tower?”
Spectrum Telecom Group, which has been contracted to bring high-speed to areas of Northern Ontario, has considered more than six sites, said Spectrum president Eric Kannen. The Little Doe Lake site would service the highest number of people at the cheapest cost.
“The only economic way to provide high-speed over this area is by tower, and it needs to be in the centre of the proposed area. The tower needs to transmit 360 degrees, so we need to the highest hilltop; the higher it is, the larger the cast area,” Mr. Kannen said. “We also need roads; if the roads don’t exist and we have to build more than 100 metres of road, that requires a different environmental assessment.”
In the past five years, Mr. Kannen said Spectrum has helped build 60 to 70 high-speed towers in Northern Ontario, and he has never seen this kind of resistance. He has received 12 serious letters of objection from residents, two of which came from year-rounders. Residents have also sent letters of objection to Industry Canada, which governs the Broadband Canada program, and expressed their disapproval directly to town council, which will ultimately have the final say.
“This is the most opposition we’ve ever had to any project,” he said. “Look, the site of a tower is not chosen lightly. To move forward, we need to put these towers up. This tower would be a hub site, critical for the other local towers. Hundreds of local people are dying for this service.”
Among their issues is the fact Armour Township’s own land-use plan contains a dark-sky policy, one residents worry the tower will violate. According to Spectrum, standard rules for a 300-foot tower include an oscillating red beacon atop the tower and steady burning red lights at the halfway level.
A town implementing high-speed under Broadband Canada can follow either the town’s guidelines or Industry Canada’s, whichever are more expedient. Armour Township began by following its own, and switched in June to Industry Canada’s — which do not include specifications on a dark night sky.
“I hate to see this pristine lake spoiled with a tower that has lights on it,” Ms. Moore said. “High-speed Internet would be a blessing, but if we could just get it in another location, that would be great.”
National Post
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