Boaters looking to launch their vessels into Lake Ontario in Mississauga will soon have to pay a fee to do so if a plan being considered by the city gets the go-ahead.

Currently one of the few municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area to not charge people to put their watercraft into the lake, the City of Mississauga is looking at a proposal that would introduce marina launch ramp fees starting in May in an effort to recover annual costs.

The city says it pays more than $70,000 a year to operate its three municipal boat launch ramps — two at Lakefront Promenade Park, the third located at Marina Park.

A recommendation from senior city staff to be dealt with at Wednesday’s general committee meeting suggests single-day launch fees of $10 for Mississauga residents and $15 for non-residents be introduced at the boat launch ramps.

A staff report noted the three ramps “experience high volumes of use, particularly during weekends and peak summer months, resulting in increased operational pressures including staffing and security requirements.”

Staff therefore recommend launch fees be implemented beginning this spring “to align with surrounding municipalities and partially alleviate financial pressures associated with managing high-use waterfront assets.”

The report from Mississauga’s community services commissioner Raj Sheth points out the city’s three boat launches are used around 8,000 times a year, mostly on summer weekends.

“While the city celebrates use of waterfront assets, this high-frequency usage increases the operational requirements associated with managing the launch ramp including additional staffing and, at times, security on site to ensure orderly conduct and organized use of the launch ramps,” the report states. “This has increased the operational costs associated with managing the launch ramps to over $70,000 annually for operations from May to Labour Day weekend in September.”

In his report, Sheth estimates the introduction of a fee system this year would generate around $65,000.

The report concludes that “introducing watercraft launch fees will align Mississauga with surrounding municipalities, support sustainable waterfront operations and establish a consistent user-pay model.”

In addition to the single-day launch fees ($10 for residents, $15 for non-residents), other proposed charges include:

$40 for Mississauga residents (seven-day charge).
$120 for Mississauga residents (seasonal charge).
$60 for non-residents (seven-day charge).
$180 for non-residents (seasonal charge).


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