Ontario town could soon own former WWII-era POW camp, but cost a concern

The future of Camp 30 in Ontario, which housed prisoners of war during the Second World War, remains unclear despite an offer from the corporation that owns many of the heritage buildings on the site.

Camp 30 is located near Bowmanville, Ont., and was the only site of fighting in North America when POWs at the camp revolted against Canadian guards in 1942.

The site was later used as a boys’ training school and other academic uses until 2008. Since then the property has become derelict, with boarded up buildings and some damaged by fire.

Five of the heritage buildings and surrounding lands are currently are in possession of Kaitlin Corp., except for the former cafeteria building, which the municipality of Clarington took possession of in 2022.

Last month, Kaitlin Corp. made an offer for the remaining heritage buildings to go under the responsibility of the municipality and in exchange, the lands of Camp 30 would be deemed parkland.

“This settlement offer represents a significant ‘win’ for the Municipality and the members of the community that are desirous of preserving and/or commemorating the cultural heritage of the property,” Kaitlin Corp. said in the offer letter on behalf of Lambs Road School Property.

The corporation told Global News in an email that the offer was made Oct. 3 and it had requested a response to the offer by Oct. 31.

The offer was discussed on Oct. 27 at a Clarington council meeting, with testimonies from councillors and members of the public, including the Jury Lands Foundation, a volunteer organization which oversees the lands.

Marilyn Morawetz, chair of the foundation, said her organization backs the offer.

“We just feel that the entire designated area would make such an incredible parkland and the building would offer a better telling of the story,” said Morawetz. “When people can see and touch and be a part of something, it’s a lot more visceral than it is just reading a sign or reading about it in a book.”

Morawetz told Global News the organization has promised to help in assessing property, adding that they presented to council earlier in October that Manorville Homes of Ajax, Ont., would do a structural analysis and provide a quote regarding the cafeteria — a portion of the lands that has fallen into disrepair.

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The offer letter notes that if Clarington accepts the offer, the municipality would also receive an amount equal to what would have been spent to demolish the buildings.

Not everyone is in support of accepting the deal, however, with Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster citing costs associated with taking on the lands.

“Council really would like to save the Camp 30 building and preserve our heritage, so we’re making the effort to look at every option,” he said in an email to Global News.

“However, I fear greatly for the cost to the municipality. Even stabilizing the structure could be cost prohibitive. We are looking at the options, but this may not make any financial sense, and there may still be decisions ahead of us.”

While the offer is public, the corporation said it could not provide details on whether council voted to accept the offer.

“We have had a discussion on a ‘confidential and without prejudice’ basis and cannot comment beyond that,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Discussion on the offer on Oct. 27 was held in-camera as it is in relation to an appeal by Kaitlin Corp. to the Ontario Land Tribunal. That appeal was made after the municipality blocked the demolition of the camp’s former dormitory building in 2023, one of the buildings the corporation is trying to relinquish to Clarington.

Asked about if a decision had been made, a spokesperson for Foster said following the in-camera meeting, it was reported council had voted to give direction to staff, though did not say if a decision was made to accept or reject the offer.

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