Temiskaming

Province acts on 'medieval villages' in northern Ontario after months of 'limited response'

Province acts on 'medieval villages' in northern Ontario after months of 'limited response'

The provincial government is taking action against "medieval villages" being planned in the northern Ontario wilderness. It has ordered the developers working in unincorporated townships to show they are following the rules by the end of the year. More than a year after first hearing concerns about these off-grid communities popping up in the Temiskaming district, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing issued an information bulletin on Nov. 30. It lays out existing laws and policies around planning, building, sewage disposal and water use that need to be followed in unorganized areas outside of municipal boundaries. In a letter obtained by CBC, the ministry further requests specific information from the Boreal Forest Medieval Villages corporation that has so far developed four of these villages in the north, and gives the corporation until Dec. 30 to reply.