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2001 OFSC AGM and Convention report
Rodney and Sheila Pringle represented the Prince Edward Trail Riders at the
Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs’ convention in Timmins in
September. Their report is outlined below.
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We arrived in Timmins at noon on Friday. Rodney and I
registered. Lunch was held at the local curling club called the McIntyre Centre
(or Mac Centre) - the centre of the discussions and trade show.
After lunch, the Permit Tracking System (PTS) was
demonstrated. The PTS is a web-based system, accessed centrally over the
internet. This year, each club MUST record permit salesinformation into the PTS
on a weekly basis.
The main theme at the convention was, of course, Bill 101,
which was discussed at length on Friday afternoon and provided for some very
heated discussion. Under the new Bill, effective immediately:
 | The permits are owned by the government of Ontario and are administered by
the OFSC on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). |
| OPP, MNR, and emergency crews are not required to purchase permits. |
| Landowners Stickers cannot be issued to allow landowners to travel on club
trails. It is illegal to produce any other trail permit and they
will not be recognized by the enforcement agencies. |
| Permits will have an insurance surcharge of up to $30 per permit. Those
sold before Dec. 1, 2001 will be $120 (plus surcharge), or $150 (plus
surcharge) after December 1, 2001. As per the OFSC quantified matrix draft
2001/02, PETRSC pays the minimum $34.65 for each permit sold. |
| Replacement permits can be sold for $10, but each applicant must confirm
that a police report has been filed by supplying a report
number. PETRSC pays $2 per replacement permit. |
| 1 day permits are $30 and 7 day permits are $90. PETRSC
pays $2 deposit plus $16.90 or $34.65. |
| The permits are twice as wide - one side for MTO, one side for OFSC |
| No member benefits cards. Benefits will be listed on the web and in OSM
and will only be issued if the OFSC portion of the application is checked,
COMPLETED and signed. If this section is not completed, it is assumed that
the purchaser has "opted out" of becoming an OFSC or PETRSC
member. |
| Each permit issuer MUST sign a confidentiality agreement, which will be
kept on file for 8 years. These permit issuers will be listed on the PTS |
| The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN#) must be included on the
application, not the Registration Number (RN). |
| The purchaser must sign the form twice - once on each side. |
The trails program was discussed. Presenters Bert A. Grant (immediate
past president), Bill Small and Brenda Welsh described the background and
process leading up to Bill 101. In a nutshell:
- Mandatory Permits will ensure that all snowmobilers pay their fair share.
- The Quantified Matrix allows for equitable sharing of permit revenues for
clubs across Ontario.
- Trail Safety and Sustainability will provide new funding for trail
operations, trail safety and to fix weak links for tourism benefits.
We had dinner at the Ramada and, unfortunately, decided to get some sleep
rather than participate in the Western Meet and Greet at the McIntyre Center.
Saturday morning started with breakfast and a trip to the Shania Twain Centre/Timmins
Gold Mine Tour. Timmins is very proud of Twain and its mining industry.
The AGM continued in the afternoon. A number of motions were made and
carried:
| the Risk Management Subcommittee develop programs to reduce injury and
death on OFSC trails (to accompany survey results). |
| recognition of landowners should be considered highest priority. |
| there will be no changes to the trail funding proposal, including permit
fees, excepting the insurance surcharge introduction. Whereas the
insurance surcharge will be established by the board of governors. |
The following motion was made and lost:
| that the year end be extended to April 30 |
That night, President Dennis Burns hosted a reception and dinner at the
McIntyre Centre. The Awards Ceremony lasted two hours and ran to 11 p.m.
at which time the entertainment (a tribute to musicians from 1940 to today)
began. Rodney and I returned to the hospitality room at our hotel (Travelodge)
where the president of the Kirkland Lake Club was serving refreshments and a
couple from Tobermory were playing classic country tunes.
Sunday morning we left early in order to get home by 10 p.m. that night. We
missed the district volunteer awards and the operations council report.
Next year’s AGM and Convention will be held in North Bay.
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