Will Sauble Beach be open to the public this summer?

Sauble Beach as seen on April 18, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

A recent court decision to return a popular stretch of Sauble Beach shoreline back to the Saugeen First Nation has created fear and uncertainty amongst residents, and sun worshippers, about the future of their beloved beach.

“We can walk on the beach after supper at night, and have a quick little walk down the beach with the dog, and enjoy the sunset. That might not happen in the future,” said Sauble Beach Residential Property Owner’s Association President Doug Jordan. “There’s no guarantees about what will happen.”

Two weeks after taking ownership of Sauble’s sand up to 6th street from the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, the Saugeen First Nation hired private security to patrol the beach. This has fuelled rumours public access might be coming to an end.

Chief Conrad Ritchie said they hired security for public safety, in response to people driving erratically on the beach.

“Everything is still open. There’s still going to be public access. I think people misinterpreted that message and came to their own conclusions,” said Ritchie.

Ritchie added visitors shouldn’t notice much difference if they visit Sauble Beach this summer.

However, Saugeen First Nation council is exploring some options when it comes to charging fees for beach access in the future.

Last summer, South Bruce Peninsula charged $30 a day to park along the disputed portion of Sauble Beach. On South Sauble Beach, owned and operated by the Saugeen First Nation for many years, it has historically cost $15-$20 a day to access the beach.

“From my understanding, everything would remain open to the public. The only difference would be Saugeen would be exercising their jurisdiction and maintaining the beach, and what not. I haven’t heard any objection to not opening it up to the public, as of yet. I think everything will just remain the same,” said Ritchie.

Which makes sense, according to Sauble property and business owner, Tom Laforme. With 400,000 tourists a year, bringing in nearly $1 million in parking revenue alone, Sauble Beach is a place to make money. He hopes the past owners at the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, and new ones at the Saugeen First Nation, can figure out how to share the beach bounty.

“They bring in a million dollars in parking fees. There should be some sort of shared revenue to make sure the public has access to the beach, because without public access all the businesses here are going to suffer, going forward,” said Laforme.

“We could have a really strong community built of both First Nations and members of the town here. A joint council would be just the best thing that could happen to this town,” said local resident, Laurie Garbutt.

While they expressed a commitment to “engage in a constructive conversation with Saugeen First Nation leadership to resolve these issues in the spirit of reconciliation,” the Town of South Bruce Peninsula council voted unanimously to appeal the April 4 ruling that removed them as the stewards of Sauble’s sandy shores.

The uncertainty of boundaries, and future beach management, drove their decision.

“[The court decision] could do nothing; it could dramatically affect taxation, property values. It may or may not diminish tourism. It’s totally unknown. We have to prepare for the worst case scenario, know we are all heavily invested in property and assets in this area,” said Sauble property owner and residents’ association leader Doug Jordan.