SooToday received this letter about a judicial review application challenging Huron Shores council’s decision to permanently close and demolish the Dean Lake Bridge.

The Community Voices Committee has filed an application for judicial review with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to challenge the Municipality of Huron Shores council’s Nov. 12 decision to permanently close and demolish the historic Dean Lake Bridge.

The Dean Lake Bridge, one of Ontario’s oldest surviving Pratt through-truss bridges, is a treasured landmark and a vital gateway to Mississagi Delta Provincial Park. For decades, it has supported tourism, property values and local businesses, while providing the safest and most reliable access for residents and countless visitors.

Council’s decision favours an alternate road route requiring extensive upgrades — upgrades deemed “feasible” but which may prove impractical given existing constraints — while refusing to restore interim access to the bridge as council works through these uncertainties.

The CVC believes the decision to abandon the bridge fails to meet applicable legal and procedural standards, and its refusal to restore interim access disregards the significant impact on those most reliant on the bridge for safe, dependable access.

For approaching one year, residents have endured unsafe detour conditions, delays for emergency services, economic hardship and isolation for seniors and families. Reducing lives, livelihoods and heritage to a financial calculation is not governance — it is abandonment.

It is with profound sadness and disappointment that we have been left with no choice but to take this action. Our hope was for a collaborative path forward . . . one that prioritized community safety, well-being and fairness, and included a bankable commitment to raise significant funds for rehabilitation. Unfortunately, before we can pursue that vision, we must first prevent demolition.

The application for judicial review seeks to safeguard public interest and ensure that proper governance principles are upheld. No community should have to fight for its safety, dignity and future in this way. Nevertheless, we are committed to doing so.

Mary Johnson

Resident, Municipality of Huron Shores — Dean Lake/Iron Bridge

On behalf of Community Voices Committee Incorporated (not-for-profit entity)