Callee wrote:
For sure that was a reasonable concern last year, but now we have real numbers on which to make a judgement: over the entire summer season last year as our population almost tripled with visitors from the city, yet our own local case rate was barely affected. Granted, that's only one season, but still, to me, highly suggestive that us locals don't have much reason to be concerned with transmission from the city. Especially when they are visitors coming up only to head out on their canoe.
It's just such a disappointment to me, the state of things: golfing is allowed but canoeing isn't? As Doug Ford would say, the Premier needs to give his head a shake!
RHaslam wrote:
In the fall, we had many thousands of moose hunters invade our area, causing quite bit of concern. However, there were zero cases as a result. Thunder Bay currently has one of the highest case loads in Canada, and it's not due to people camping in parks or on Crown Land. It is primarily due to the disregarding of Covid precautions and some other unique conditions.
On the other hand, the new variants might change the game, who knows.
The case load was also far, far lower over the summer of 2020. I remember coming out of Wabakimi the second week of August to reports of double digit caseloads for the entire province. We currently have thousands - and last summer was without new mutations.
And don't forget - it's not just canoeing. I'm itching to get up to the hunt camp early this year, especially with the early ice-out. That typically involves a few trips to a few local stores to fix a few things, stocking up on firewood and propane and a few dry goods, and a visit to Bancroft, at least in my case. Now while *I* will be careful and conscientious about it, not everyone will be.
Not everyone who heads out in a canoe has everything ready before they leave, either. Once a year or so I go up camping with a few old friends to catch up on life. Usually, for a three or four day weekend, we buy our food on the way up in Huntsville or Parry Sound. Maybe somebody needs a new PFD, or there's a last minute stove part we need. I doubt we're the only fellows who do that. The policy as implemented, while not fair to those who have their ducks in a row before they leave, is designed to prevent exactly such a trip.
But I still agree with people - OP is
massively mismanaging this, and that is in no small part Doug Ford's fault. The buck stops with him.