MORRISBURG – The Municipality of South Dundas holds a lease on a portion of parkland at the Iroquois Lock and the Seaway Management Corporation is looking for the municipality to start living up to the terms of that lease agreement.
First created in 1988 and re-signed in 2014 South Dundas leases 13,536 square meters of the viewing area park that contains the stage, gazebo and memorial.
“On April 9, 2025, a letter was sent to the Municipality of South Dundas, informing them that per the lease agreement, they are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the land,” David Jansen, director of parks, recreation and facilities, told council in his June 11 key information report.
Historically, this maintenance was performed by St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation since they own all the adjacent lands and maintained consistent upkeep across the property.
However, Transport Canada has since deemed that land surplus, intended for divestiture, leaving South Dundas council with some decisions to make.
Options include continuing the lease and starting to maintain the grounds, attempting to renegotiate the lease or terminating the lease. In addition, they must decide whether or not they want to pursue ownership of the surplus lands or not.
“It’s an important piece for tourism in South Dundas,” said South Dundas Mayor Jason Broad. “But do we want to take on another parking lot or more grass cutting?”
“I am not sure we want to inherit that land,” said South Dundas Deputy Mayor Marc St. Pierre.
Council agreed that they would like to renegotiate the lease with Transport Canada and explore an option for first right of refusal at the time of divestiture.
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