Virtual meeting to update Toronto’s Personal Watercraft Safety Plan slated for March 16
By ALAN SHACKLETON
Local residents are invited to take part in a virtual meeting on the evening of Monday, March 16, to learn more about the City of Toronto’s plans to deal with safety concerns surrounding the use of personal motorized watercraft (and in particular jet skis) in Lake Ontario off Woodbine Beach and across the city.
The Closing the Loop – Personal Watercraft (PWC) Safety Plan meeting is being hosted by the city’s Parks and Recreation department, and will take place online from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Those at the meeting will hear an update on the development of the Safety Plan, discussion on how stakeholder input has helped shaped the plan, and information on final directions for the plan. There will also be an opportunity for questions and clarification from meeting participants and a “limited opportunity” for feedback and discussion.
The need for a more robust PWC Safety Plan for the lake waters off Woodbine Beach come as a result of numerous safety issues and public concerns that came to the forefront last summer.
On July 24 of 2025, Toronto Council passed a motion brought forward by Beaches-East York Councillor Brad Bradford to ban jet skis and motorized watercraft within 150 metres of the shore along the Eastern Beaches from Ashbridges Bay Park in the west to the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant in the east.
“In response to feedback from community members, I strengthened the motion to make it clear the zone should be a minimum 150 metres (an increase from the originally proposed 100-metre minimum), and to establish a Stakeholder Advisory Committee with representatives from the local swimming, paddling and boating community to help determine the exact dimensions of the no-go zone for jet skis and other motorized watercraft,” said Bradford in a statement sent to Beach Metro Community News after Toronto Council’s decision in July. “I also made it clear that this zone must be in place before next year’s beach season begins.”
Monday evening’s meeting is part of a stakeholder engagement process that has been taking place this year on the water safety issue across Toronto.
Led by the city’s Parks and Recreation department, a “Thought Exchange” on the issue included more than 1,100 participants providing input on safety concerns, key locations and perspectives. A Feb. 28 Stakeholder Forum also brought together representatives from stakeholder groups to discuss actions for the city’s Personal Watercraft Safety Plan.
However, Beach Metro Community News has been made aware of questions and concerns regarding who was invited to the Stakeholder Forum and how the city-wide approach could compromise safety requirements specific to the Eastern Beaches.
“The public was led to believe that a Motorized Watercraft Exclusion Zone (MWEZ) at Woodbine Beach would be implemented by June 2026 and shaped by input from local beach users,” a source told Beach Metro Community News. “However, it is now clear the City does not have the authority to establish such a zone.”
Jurisdiction belongs with Ports Toronto and it is “still considering” the MWEZ, the source said. More information on that will hopefully be available at the March 16 meeting.
To see the interactive Thought Exchange report of the safety plan prior to March 16 virtual meeting, please go to https://my.thoughtexchange.com/report/3911b6792d10012951ccf718640ef490
To register to take part in the March 16 virtual meeting, please go to https://toronto.webex.com/weblink/register/r725ce730f9a1070174318013fe765756
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