'I have used all the quills in my quiver and it would be really refreshing for everybody to have a different leader at this time,' says outgoing executive director After seven years steering the ship at Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition, Claire Malcolmson is ready to take a permanent furlough. Malcolmson first started with the local, independent non-profit organization — which provides education and leadership in efforts to save and protect Lake Simcoe — as a board member in 2004, eventually coming on as the organization’s first official executive director in 2018. Simply running the day-to-day operations was a feat in and of itself, she said on Monday, a few days after publicly announcing her plans to step down while MC’ing a fundraising event Friday night in support of the local organization. “The organization’s budget and activities were very low and really project-by-project. We almost never applied for grants. We barely had a website,” she said, adding since then, they have gone from being solely volunteer-run to now having three part time staff, 30 member groups as well as creating and providing free educational programs for school aged kids. All of that adds up to there being a much bigger presence for Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition now. “It’s hard to run a small NGO in today’s world because people’s expectations are very high. You have to be a jack of all trades. There is no IT department, no communications department,” she said. “It all comes with a cost and you’re constantly trying to balance just getting the work done and raising awareness of the importance of environmental protection, but then the administration of running an organization is quite a load.” During her time as a board member, Malcolmson and fellow volunteers started campaigning for the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, and is something she defines as being their “biggest accomplishment.” The Act, she said, was passed in 2008 and took countless volunteer hours while working with Environmental Defence and Ontario Nature in order to get the legislation passed. “We did that in part because they are organizations that have fancy things like offices, phones and printers … and really great strategic leadership of course,” she said. “That was how I really cut my teeth and learned the tools of the trade.” When she first joined the organization, it was a very different time politically in the province, she acknowledged, noting the Liberal government in power at that time was “interested in protecting the environment.” “That was the climate for the first 15 years of my work for environmental action in Ontario,” she said. “The reason I wanted to become the executive director is … I had been working in the sector for about 20 years by that point and people were encouraging me to take a bigger role. The change of provincial government worried a lot of people — and it turned out there was a lot of good reasons for us to be concerned.” Malcolmson credits the continuing efforts of the organization for “holding the line” as best they could on the Lake Simcoe Protection Act and Plan. “It’s not 100 per cent and we will still work on that as there’s still more to be done,” she said. “We have good policy, but you do need people to defend it.” She is proud of the work done by the organization during her tenure, including convincing the Ford government to fund and build a phosphorus removal plant on the Holland River. “That is moving very slowly ahead, but it is moving ahead. It is a very important thing to get done,” she said. “I hope that they actually build it.” Another significant accomplishment, she said, was helping dissuade the provincial government from building a new sewage plant on Lake Simcoe. “It’s a significant win for the lake that we don’t have another sewage treatment plant going in there. I am just hopeful that whoever takes on this role next … recognizes the importance of fighting really bad projects. It’s really important because these things get built, and once they’re built, they’re done.” Not everything was a win, she admitted, noting her biggest regret is that they were unable to make an impact in stopping the construction of the Bradford Bypass. “We worked really hard to raise awareness,” she said. “People like the idea … because they’ve been hearing about it for decades, not because it’s a well considered, good use of our money.” Lake Simcoe in Barrie. | Photo submitted Trying to navigate the political landscape in the province these last seven years has definitely been an "emotional rollercoaster," Malcolmson said, admitting watching so much of the hard work that’s been put in on various important environmental issues “fall apart” is one of the main reasons she has decided to step down. “I have used all the quills in my quiver and it would be really refreshing for everybody to have a different leader at this time. We have done a few strategic planning sessions … because we wanted to hear from our people what kind of organizational personality they thought would be helpful to have moving forward,” she said. While her replacement has yet to be decided, Malcolmson said a meeting was planned for Monday afternoon to discuss what the right candidate would need to bring to the table. “This organization has to continue to watchdog the Lake Simcoe Protection Act plan and implementation. Beyond that, what will happen with the organization will depend on the new executive director and board,” she said. As for what’s next, Malcolmson said she’s “voicing what she’d like to do” and hopes the universe helps her find a way to make it happen. “I’d like to do something that is a little bit more focused and less of a big picture. For my family and my mental health right, I’d like a smaller job where I get to work on a team and learn from other people again,” she said, noting she expects to stay on until the end of the summer. “I have no regrets and I am happy with the work that we’ve done, but it’s time for someone else to put on this hat.”