Council for the City of Owen Sound will not be exploring any cost recovery for the rescue of 23 ice fisherman on Georgian Bay last month.
A notice of motion was brought forward by Deputy Mayor Scott Greig at a previous meeting, asking that staff prepare a report on the cost borne by the city and explore ways to issue a proportion of the invoicing.
The rescue involved multiple services including police, fire, paramedics and aviation units. While the total additional costs to the services was not known to Council, Owen Sound's Fire Chief Phil Eagleson said they had additional operating costs that day of $4,700.
Greig said the resulting rescue was foreseeable and predictable as ice conditions were dangerous on March 8. He said he's received a lot of feedback on the matter since then.
"There's been terrific response I think across the province in terms of emails I've been receiving," he told council. "I have more emails in support of, and I believe public attitude is much more in support of holding the fisherman financially responsible for the cost that day. Yes, it was a rescue, and that is what the services are there for. But there's only so many services."
Councillor Carol Merton said she knows there was a lot of public response to the incident and factors that led to it, but putting emotions aside, there was no reasonable way to carry this out.
"We need to consider the logisitic restrictions to any consideration of invoicing the anglers, or for that matter, any other agency or municipality," she said. "These include jurisdictional restrictions, privacy of information concerns, actual incurred cost and unintended consequences. These factors require a sober second thought to the motion and the intent behind it."
She added that community safety should come without the fear of financial retribution.
Councillor Brock Hamley said even having the discussion is a bad look for the city.
"This motion just sends the message that, if you come to Owen Sound and somehting happens, we're not going to show up or we're going to bill you for it," he said. "I honestly think even putting this motion on the table, the reputational damage that's been done to Owen Sound is pretty significant and I can almost bet people are thinking twice about coming here."
The motion was unanimously defeated, with Greig even voting against it.
He did however, make a point to share an email from a resident who suggested pushing for licences specific to ice fishing, which could include an embedded insurance component.
