SPECIAL LAND USES 



The vast rugged stretch from Kenora to the upper reaches of the Ottawa River 

 is very attractive to tourists as well as to commercial travellers. Highway 17, a 

 high-speed route, allows many miles to be travelled in a day, with a myriad of 

 picture post-card scenes. 



The demand for gasoline stations, motels, grocery stores and campsites has 

 opened many opportunities for those who are willing to set up business on our 

 northern highways. New highways are being opened through hitherto inaccessible 

 wilderness and this has opened new frontiers for the suppliers of goods and services. 

 The Department makes available the suitable commercial sites needed to satisfy 

 public demand. In many cases, locations are offered for lease by tender in order 

 that the best possible services will be provided in the shortest time, and with a 

 fair return to the Province. 



As the demand for services is being answered, communities which have here- 

 tofore been considered remote are themselves seeking more social amenities. One 

 of these is television, which is being piped via microwave relay systems. The trend 

 toward the use of microwave transmission has made some of the Department's 

 fire lookout tower sites extremely desirable because of their strategic locations. 

 Agreements are being made with the various communication companies which 

 allow them to construct towers on these sites. 



TOWNS ITES 



As a result of substantial increases in secondary road and highway construction 

 throughout the Province, the sale of townsite lots has shown an increase over those 

 of the previous year. It is expected that this trend will continue as more adequate 

 access facilities are driven deeper into the northern areas to reach hitherto inacces- 

 sible townsites. 



Working in close co-operation with this Department and other departments 

 of government, many municipalities are now procuring townsite lots from the 

 Crown to aid in their municipal improvement programs which include such projects 

 as the enlarging of municipal park areas and the relocation and expansion of 

 municipal buildings and recreational facilities. 



A number of communities where substandard water and sewage facilities exist 

 throughout the Province are being studied by both the Department of Lands and 

 Forests and the Department of Municipal Affairs. In an endeavour to clear up 

 areas which constitute a health hazard or serve to lower the standards of living 

 in these localities, many areas are being placed under restrictive orders which 

 control disposition of lots in these townsites. 



The most significant progress to date has been made in the former townsite 

 of Brunetville which was annexed to Kapuskasing. The residents of the townsite 

 have been issued Land Use Permits as a temporary measure authorizing their 

 occupancy pending provision of services such as roads, sewers and Hydro. 



After further studies are completed, it is expected that the situation in several 

 other townsites where similar problems exist can be greatly improved to the benefit 

 of the residents, the community and the Province. 



OLD CLAIMS (60 Years' Possession Adverse to the Crown) 



Thirty-three Quit Claim Patents issued to persons claiming through right of 

 60 years possession adverse to the Crown. Fifty-one cases are currently under 

 investigation. 



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