Our vision is to sustain and enhance the cottage experience for generations. | | Registration is Open: 2026 FOCA Spring Seminar & AGM | | |
Secure your spot at the FOCA Spring Seminar and Annual General Meeting (AGM), taking place on Saturday, March 7, 2026 as an all-day hybrid event at the Bayview Golf & Country Club (Thornhill) and by Zoom webinar.
Come for community engagement tips before the 2026 municipal elections, get updates on rural source water protection and lake planning, First Nations relationship building, climate change readiness, highlights from FOCA's 2025 Road Issues Survey, and aquatic invasive plant identification tips.
Also: find out who receives the 2025 FOCA Achievement Award, participate in the AGM, pick up information and benefit offers from our sponsors, and meet your association peers and the FOCA Board and Staff.
In person attendance is limited to 100 spots and always sells out. Click below for 'more' details and to register now:
| | | | These first few weeks of 2026 have brought some exciting weather conditions across Ontario. Snow, freezing rain, and temperature changes bring additional risks to your property, and your own safety. | | On a cold winter day, tuck in with a warm drink and click 'more' to read our overview with practical tips to protect your property and help your household stay safe in emergencies like power outages. Wishing everyone a safe and fun winter! | |
| TC Implements Pleasure Craft License Changes | | |
As reported by FOCA to members last year, Transport Canada (TC) has made it effective January 6, 2026 that all boats’ Pleasure Craft Licenses (PCL) now have an expiry date, and a $24 fee applies to new, renewed, transferred, or replaced PLCs. See 'more' - including a renewal deadline chart by boat license date - in the Latest News section of FOCA's Boating webpage.
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| sponsors support our work - please support them | |
Invasive Species Awareness Week
FOCA is proud to be a partner of Invasive Species Awareness Week (ISAW) taking place February 23–March 1, 2026. ISAW brings communities together to raise awareness about the impacts of invasive species and how we can protect our natural spaces. Get ready to participate with a free ISAW toolkit featuring promotional graphics, social media content, free-use photos, and more to help your association spread the word. Click 'more' to access the toolkit. Together, our actions make a difference in protecting Canada's natural heritage.
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Southwestern Ontario Grass Carp Information Session
Join FOCA’s partners from the Invasive Species Centre for a Grass Carp information session on the evening of Tuesday, February 10 at the Sarnia Yacht Club. Learn about the ecological and economic impacts of this invasive species and how it affects our waterways. Click the image to enlarge the poster with event details and Yeti Cooler Bag Door Prize. Click 'more' to register.
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| sponsors support our work - please support them | |
Welcome!
Please join us in warmly welcoming Stephanie Saliba as she joins us as FOCA's Membership Coordinator. She is your main point of contact for membership inquiries, renewal assistance, member resources and benefits access. Click to learn 'more' about Stephanie, and the rest of the FOCA team.
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Celebrating Volunteers
2026 has been proclaimed the 'International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development' by the UN General Assembly. This launches a year-long effort to celebrate the vital volunteers who make our communities hum, and to renew Canada's culture of volunteering.
Today, we thank all the present and past FOCA Board Directors whose volunteer time and knowledge have supported our organization for over 60 years!
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Click 'more' for stories about FOCA's Board volunteers: | | |
Share A Volunteer Story with FOCA:
We're creating a member-driven spotlight for 2026: we want to feature your great volunteers on FOCA's social channels.
Please share a photo (with the volunteer's permission) and a short paragraph about the volunteer's contributions to your waterfront community. Accomplishments large and small are worth celebrating and have the power to inspire others to action.
Have a story to share? We'd love to hear from you! Email info@foca.on.ca
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Borrow This Idea: Sharing FOCA Member Benefits
We always enjoy seeing examples of member groups that share information about benefits for your member families, because of your association's membership in FOCA!
Thanks to the Wolfe Lake Association for sharing the benefits news on their webpage, including some images FOCA recently created for social media campaigns to encourage folks to subscribe to our e-newsletter, plus tips for those who are new to cottage country. Click to view 'more' on the WLA webpage.
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Ask the Expert: Passing the Torch | | |
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions during the inaugural year of FOCA and Peter Lillico’s Ask the Expert: Passing the Torch e-news features in 2025.
Members: login on the Cottage Succession webpage for answers to all of last year’s questions:
https://foca.on.ca/cottage-succession/#passing-torch
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We invite you to submit your question to: programs@foca.on.ca. Your answer could be featured in a quarterly edition of 'Passing the Torch' in the FOCA e-news in 2026!
Planning is also underway for the 2026 FOCA Cottage Succession Seminar Series with Peter Lillico. Watch future e-news editions for updates.
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Succession Strategy Series - Small Group Workshops for FOCA Members | We are excited to offer this exclusive opportunity for FOCA member families: small group cottage succession workshops led by our long-time colleague and estate lawyer Peter Lillico for $160+HST per family. | | |
These virtual sessions are limited to 4-6 families, providing a highly personalized and interactive experience with direct access to Peter's legal expertise. Participating families will:
- submit their top 3 succession questions in advance
- receive tailored advice during a dedicated segment in the session
- be eligible for a complimentary one-on-one follow-up with Peter if their question can't be fully addressed during the workshop.
Update: The first session is now scheduled for the third week of February and all families who have submitted their paperwork will be contacted shortly.
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There is one spot still available in this first session. Interested? Email programs@foca.on.ca for more.
This initiative is made possible through Peter's generosity, with proceeds supporting FOCA's programs and advocacy work.
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Digital Recordings: Cottage Succession Planning | | |
Want to start the conversation with your family in the off-season? Purchase digital access to recordings of Peter's talks. Choose the intro session or deeper dives into cottage sharing agreements, capital gains tax, trusts, timing, and the role of the kids. Click 'more' and login for the member discount code!
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| Your association renewal contact has a link (unique to your association) for you to use to set up your own Username and Password as a Sub-Account to see members-only material on the FOCA website - like discount codes. Please ask your contact to reach out to FOCA if they need assistance locating the association's link. | | sponsors support our work - please support them | |
ROMA Conference
FOCA participated in the annual Conference of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) earlier this week, representing our members across Ontario who are constituents in more than 100 rural municipalities. Check out the images on our social posts, using the buttons at the side.
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Extended: Invasive Phragmites Control Fund
The deadline to apply for the 2026/2027 Invasive Phragmites Control Fund has been extended by one week. Applications must now be submitted electronically by 11:50 p.m. on January 30, 2026. Click 'more' for eligibility details and to apply.
| | Thanks to an investment from Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ontario Phragmites Action (OPA) program - led by the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Invasive Species Centre - is delivering Ontario's largest habitat restoration initiative and tackling one of Canada's most damaging invasive species. | | |
Partner Series: How Lakes Work
January 20 - February 3, 2026 - Friends of the Muskoka Watershed in partnership with the Muskoka Discovery Centre have launched a three-part series on "How Lakes Work" with expert speakers discussing warming trends, lake physics, littoral zones, Daphnia, threats to lake health, and the important role of ice for Ontario's lakes. Click to learn 'more' and register for upcoming sessions.
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Erosion Impacts: Lake Erie
As reported recently by Water Canada (source of the image at the side), a new study from the University of Waterloo links shoreline erosion to nutrient pollution in Lake Erie, which in turn affects downstream Lake Ontario. Read 'more' on FOCA's Algae webpage.
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Nuclear Plan: Comment Period
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization's Initial Project Description for a radioactive waste transport and deep geological repository proposal in the Dryden/ Ignace/ Sioux Lookout region is open for public comment until February 4, 2026. Get a link to 'more' from FOCA's Nuclear webpage.
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Calling for Salt Pollution Action
The Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition reports there are now 29 municipalities, towns, regions and conservation authorities that have passed resolutions calling on the Provincial government to act on salt pollution. Is yours among them? Click for 'more' including a Model Resolution you can share with your municipal partners.
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Ontario Salt Shortage
There has been a flurry of related media coverage recently about a road salt shortage and how places like Barrie are coping with winter operations plans. Read 'more' from CTV News.
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Register Now: Invasive Species Forum
February 17-19, 2026 by free webinar. This year's theme is "Progress Through Partnerships" with an emphasis on collaboration and integration of diverse perspectives and knowledge systems to address the challenges of invasive species management. Click for preliminary session highlights, registration and 'more'.
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PFAS Research News
Researchers at New York's Clarkson University (source of the image at the side) have discovered a new way to destroy PFAS-activated carbon without added chemicals, heat, or solvents. Read 'more' about this and PFAS ("forever chemicals") on our Pollution webpage.
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LOWWSF Forum
The annual Forum of the Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation (LOWWSF) takes place March 11-12, 2026 in Minnesota. This event is a strategic incubator for cross-border research, management collaboration, networking and communication. Pay to register by January 31 to access the 'Early Bird' discount rate. Click for 'more'.
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Rideau Valley Phragmites Working Group
Our partners at Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) invite local stakeholders to join their phragmites management working group to share information and expertise in the fight against invasive phragmites. Click 'more' to download the invitation PDF with contact information.
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Trees & Winter Storm Damage
With all the wind and snow this winter, here is one online partner resource from Forests Ontario well worth reviewing: 'Caring for Trees After Ice Storms' (source of the image at the side) is available from a link in the Latest News section of FOCA's Emergency Preparedness webpage - click for 'more'.
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Great Lakes Ice Coverage
According to tracking by the NOAA - Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (source of the graph at the side), ice coverage on most of the Great Lakes is currently on track with historical averages for this point in January, but Lake Erie is off the charts! See current and historical ice coverage data from NOAA by clicking 'more'.
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| | | If reading the news lately has you peering anxiously between your fingers, allow us to share something else. Click 'more' to read BBC's "7 Quiet Wins for Climate and Nature in 2025" (source of the image at the side). | |
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A huge 'thank you' to everyone who stepped up last month to donate in support of FOCA.
If you haven't yet, we hope you will click below to support FOCA's ongoing work on behalf of waterfront Ontario.
| | Your contribution - whether $5 or $500 - supports FOCA's year-round work to engage everyone in learning how to care for Ontario's lakes, lands, and rivers. Help us to nurture the next generations of environmental stewards. Thank you! | |
| FOCA: Inform. Protect. Unite. | | FOCA believes everyone who loves waterfront Ontario has a right to stay up-to-date on the issues that matter. Those who have an existing relationship with FOCA may receive email from us, based on express or implied consent under Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation. We value your privacy and do not share your contact information with third parties. You can unsubscribe at any time, using the link below. | | | | |
