Letter to the Taxpayers - Point Park Settlement Costs
To the Taxpayers of Fort Frances,
As many of the residents of the Town of Fort Frances are aware, the litigation regarding Point Park between the Town, Agency One, the Province of Ontario, and the Federal Government of Canada (the Crown) reached its conclusion on June 17, 2025. The conclusion came upon the dismissal of the Town’s claim to the Point Park land. Further to the dismissal of the Town’s claim, the Town was ordered to pay the legal fees of Agency One, the Province, and the Crown.
The Town of Fort Frances and its Council would like to extend our sincere appreciation to MPP Greg Rickford, MP Marcus Powlowski, the Province of Ontario, and the Crown.
Thanks to the lobbying efforts of Mayor Andrew Hallikas, MPP Rickford and MP Powlowski stepped in to advocate on behalf of the Town. Mayor Hallikas worked closely with both the MPP, MP, and their respective staff to ensure that the least amount of financial burden would be placed upon the taxpayers of Fort Frances.
Through his efforts lobbying with the Province, MPP Rickford was able to get the Province to waive their legal fees from the Town. We would like to thank him for his attention and action on behalf of the Town, which saved the Town from shouldering the Province’s legal fees, amounting to a total of $740,000. MPP Rickford also reached out to his federal counterpart and lobbied on the Town’s behalf, which we thank him for.
In addition, we thank MP Powlowski who lobbied with the Crown to have them follow suit with the Province. Through many discussions with members of the federal government, he was successful in his endeavour. The commitment and effort of MP Powlowski and his staff towards assisting the Town concluded in the Crown waiving their fees, which totaled to $791,000.
In total due to lobbying efforts, $1,531,000 has been removed from the total legal fees owed by the Town. The remaining cost of $1,506,989 owed to Agency One to cover the legal fees spent by the organization on this litigation has already been paid and did not impact the taxes paid by the Fort Frances taxpayers.
The Town considers this to be one step closer toward improving our relationship with Agency One and the First Nations communities that comprise it: Couchiching, Mitaanjigamiing, Naicatchewenin, and Nigigoonsiminikaaning.
Sincerely,
Andrew Hallikas Marcel Michaels
Mayor of the Town of Fort Frances Chief Administrative Officer
© 2025 The Town of Fort Frances