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Oshawa Harbour

The City is in the process of acquiring approximately 23 acres of land located near the Oshawa Harbour.The 23 acres are on the east side of Simcoe Street, south from Harbour Road to about 140 metres south of the Oshawa Creek.

In addition, the City has already acquired approximately 4 acres of land located on the north side of Harbour Road (please refer to map).

The land was part of a 2010 settlement agreement between the City, the federal government and the Oshawa Harbour Commission (OHC). The land acquired by the City does not include the former marina. The City will consider the acquisition of the former marina in summer/fall 2012. The City hopes to acquire 48 acres in total from the federal government and the OHC.

In addition, as part of the agreement, the federal government will transition the Oshawa Harbour Commission into a Canada Port Authority (CPA). The CPA will guide the development of a plan for the Oshawa Harbour and deep water port.

Oshawa submits a compelling case against a proposed ethanol refinery at the Harbour

Oshawa City Council thanks residents, the public and community and advocacy groups for voicing their strong opposition to the the proposed construction and operation of a 210-million-litre ethanol refinery at the Oshawa Harbour (registry reference number 08-01-42395).

The City of Oshawa has submitted to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada approximately 3,300 opposition letters. Along with the opposition letters, the City delivered its 300-page response. The comprehensive submission is based on an in-depth review of the Environmental Assessment (EA) Screening Report from a legal, land use planning and scientific perspective. The submission emphasizes that the Screening Report does not comply with the legal requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, fails to address serious land-use compatibility issues, and does not provide the data and analysis necessary to evaluate the environmental effects of the ethanol facility. For details, read the Overview of the City ’s Comment Submission.

Download the complete City of Oshawa Comment Response Submission:

More Information

The proposed ethanol refinery would include four grain silos, each standing 125 feet high (equivalent to four 12-storey buildings). In addition, the shipment of raw materials and end product into and out of the ethanol refinery would generate hundreds of daily truck trips near the harbour.

The refinery would be capable of producing 210 million litres of ethanol annually, which would require processing 525,000,000 kilograms of corn each year (approximately 10 per cent of Ontario’s annual corn crop) and would result in approximately 168,000,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) emitted annually as a byproduct of the fermentation process.
 
This would be the only ethanol refinery located along the Canadian shoreline of Lake Ontario. It would be adjacent to the Waterfront Trail and to the Second Marsh, a Provincially Significant Wetland. The proposed facility would be near the picturesque Lakeview Park, a 46-acre community hotspot with a sandy beach, boardwalk, playgrounds, picnic areas, sports fields and scenic trails.

Correspondence

Oshawa Harbour - Background

In 1966, the City of Oshawa transferred about 61 acres of land to the Government of Canada (“Crown”) specifically for harbour purposes and the growth of the local economy. For some time, the City felt that the 61 acres were underutilized and did not contribute to the growth of the local economy as intended.

In April 2006, the Oshawa Harbour Commission (OHC) and CN proposed a rail spur on a part of the 61 acres. In response, the City initiated a lawsuit in July 2006 against OHC, CN and the Crown to get the 61 acres back.

In September 2007, the Canadian Transportation Agency approved the construction of the rail spur over the City’s objection; however, the lawsuit continued with respect to the return of the 61 acres.

In June 2009 in response to an offer by the Crown, City Council authorized confidential negotiations with the Crown and OHC to try and settle the lawsuit and move the harbour forward in an appropriate manner. Negotiations took place between June 2009 and May 2010 and a proposed settlement was prepared.

In June 2010, the City, the Crown and OHC negotiated a settlement and two legal agreements implementing the settlement were signed by all three parties. For details about the Oshawa Harbour agreement announced in July 2010, please click on the links below.

In addition, the City held a public meeting on October 13, 2010. During the meeting, a presentation was made by City staff. Click here to download the presentation.

Additional Information

For additional information on the Oshawa Harbour, please email harbour@oshawa.ca.

For information on the Oshawa Waterfront Master Plan, visit the Oshawa Waterfront Master Plan webpage.