‘We’re totally overlooked’: Northwestern Ontario fishing resorts hit hard by flooding
Vacation resort owners near Minaki, Ont., are drowning, both literally and financially, after flooding has left them operating below capacity or unable to open at all, and they feel helpless to do anything about it.
“We’re totally overlooked because of our location,” said Phil Reid, executive director of Reid’s Birch Island Resort. “We resort owners are pretty self-sufficient and don’t like asking for handouts, but we need help, now.”
Reid’s resort, a nearly three-hour drive from Winnipeg on Gunn Lake, is still partly underwater after massive spring flooding that saw nearby Kenora, Ont., evacuated in May. Heavy rains combined with a larger-than-usual snow thaw caused the Lake of the Woods and Winnipeg River systems to run at almost the highest levels on record.
Reid's Birch Island Resort before the flooding (top) and after (bottom). (Source: Phil Reid)“The water is up eight or nine feet from last year,” said Reid. “And there is no resort insurance for us, so the damage is all a loss.”
Eric Brown owns three fishing resorts on Lake of the Woods. Unlike Reid, he is currently open to guests, but is operating at about 75 per cent capacity.
He says the financial hit has still been significant, especially after the pandemic.
“The last two years have been awful, and to have this happen now is very difficult to take,” he said. “All of our docks have floated away, the damage is extensive.”
Brown says there is a federal financial assistance program in place, but the application process is not easy, and the deadline for this season has already passed.
“It’s just so cumbersome,” he said. “There are so many details, and I just don’t have the time.”
The resorts are located in the Unorganized Kenora District in Northwestern Ontario, and therefore do not have an MP, MLA, or any local government.
Brown says he has reached out to the office of the Kenora member of parliament, but was told there is nothing they can do.
CTV News Winnipeg has also reached out to the Kenora MP for comment, but have not heard back.
In the meantime, all Reid can do is wait for the water to go down and hope for no rain.
“We’re hoping to be open by August,” he said. "That's the frustrating part, not being able to do anything."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.