By Jacob Fehr
LAST Wednesday, residents noticed a new fence at the entrance to the pier in Port Dover. The fence was installed by Port Dover Harbour Authority (PDHA), the local organization responsible for managing federally owned land at the waterfront in Port Dover for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
PDHA president George Gibbons explained to the Maple Leaf that the barrier is intended to keep people off the pier during unsafe conditions, such as when it’s iced over.
“The thing is, there was a complaint about the icing of the pier a couple of winters ago… and we had no way of stopping people walking on the pier. So we put that fence up to stop people from doing that under those conditions,” Mr. Gibbons said.
“It was that big storm that happened right before Christmas… it covered everything down here in about two feet of ice. And the Polar Bear Dip went on, and people were on the pier watching it and slipping all over.”
He said the pier should have been closed under those conditions, but the ice inhibited them from using temporary fencing.
Rather than waiting to react to future unsafe conditions at the pier and hoping they can close it then, PDHA decided it was prudent to install a permanent fence, which enables them to limit access when necessary.
“We have to have the ability to close it down,” Mr. Gibbons said.
“This has been in the works for a couple of years… it wasn’t something that was decided on a whim.”
Mr. Gibbons emphasized that the fence’s purpose is to keep people from accessing the pier when it’s unsafe, and the area will only be closed in those circumstances. He didn’t want to speculate how often that might be due to the unpredictability of the weather.
“Mother Nature is going to dictate when that gate opens and closes.”
Some residents expressed concern about the fence preventing vehicles from accessing the pier. Mr. Gibbons said it shouldn’t pose any accessibility issues.
“It opens up wide enough to allow the county to do maintenance on their lighthouse… it’s accessible to EMS if they need to get out there.”
He added that it’s also accessible to those using wheelchairs and scooters.
“We made sure that it was all up to standards,” he said.
When asked if PDHA would open the fence wider during the tourist season, Mr. Gibbons said that was a possibility.
Confusion over pier ownership and fence purpose
As news spread about the fence, community members shared questions and concerns on social media regarding who owns and manages the pier, why the fence was put up, and how it would affect use of the pier, a place popular with locals and tourists alike.
Some called the fence an eyesore or an unnecessary expense and directed their ire at Norfolk County Council. While the municipality owns Port Dover’s lighthouse, the pier is owned by the federal government and managed by PDHA on its behalf, meaning the county had no say in the installation of the fence.
Others said that the fence was related to suicides at the pier, or that the federal government had it put up in retaliation for the municipality’s modifications to Harbour Street earlier this year. Ward 6 Councillor Adam Veri dismissed these hypotheses.
“Both of these claims are just more misinformation… aimed at undermining your confidence in local government. The list of tall tales keeps growing,” Coun. Veri said in a post on Facebook.
“Thank you so much to Sharie Edwards and George Gibbons for jumping in to clear things up. Thank you also to those of you who are still interested in finding out the truth about what’s happening in your community,” Coun. Veri posted.
For those who might not know what PDHA is or does, Mr. Gibbons described its role.
“The Harbour Authority is an organization that was basically set up to manage the harbour for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. It basically ensures that the commercial fishing industry continues to have a place to do business—that’s why the majority of board members are required to be in the fishing industry,” he said.
“I’m surprised people don’t know that because we’ve been operating for 25-plus years.”
He mentioned that while the federal government has an advisory role with PDHA, “at the end of the day, we have the final say.”
“When any decisions are made down at the harbour, they’re made by the Harbour Authority.”
Mr. Gibbons said PDHA is composed of people “who understand the dangers of the lake,” so when they think nobody should be on the pier, no one will want to be on it.
Mr. Gibbons is the organization’s president, and Rick Misner is vice president.
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Originally published September 17, 2025
