‘FLOODGATE: ONE IN A 100 FIGHT’ FRIDAY IN HUNTSVILLE

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

HUNTSVILLE — The time and date have been set, the venue chosen, the corners and contenders booked — and all those who were shouting and name-calling will be in the same ring together.

It’s Round 1 and the fight is on for Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. the Huntsville Town Hall.

The meeting was not open to the public or to the media.

Let’s call it “Floodgate: The One in a 100 Fight” for now.

And some local mayors will be loaded for bear, especially Muskoka Lakes Township Mayor Phil Harding who is emerging to be the best, most outspoken municipal spokesperson.

The one who is not taking the flooding lying down.

And while not all the heavyweight hitters will be there from the province — notably Premier Doug Ford, or MNRF Minister John Yakabuski — tomorrow, MPP Norm Miller, Deputy Premier Minister Vic Fedeli (MPP for Nipissing), Toby Barrett, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Jim McDonell, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, will host an engagement session with municipal and industry leaders to discuss the province’s resilience to flooding.

Justine Lewcowicz, Yakabuski’s commuications director, says they are are “seeking public input on the province’s resilience to flooding at Ontario.ca/floodsurvey.”

When in reality, everyone knows — or ought to know — that this is supposed to be a chance to find out what went wrong again on along the lakes and rivers in Muskoka.

Ford announced the quick meeting earlier this week in the legislature, even as record flood levels continue.

After more than a month of volunteer sandbaggers and the army reservists being mostly in control, it’s now in the hands of politicians (and their staff) now.

A media photo-op is planned for 12:45 p.m.