Now that the U.S. border gradually is being re-opened to shipments of Canadian beef, and hunters no longer need be concerned about bringing home deer and moose shot in Ontario, area tourist operators and outfitters should be a bunch of happy campers, right?
Well, apparently not.
According to the North Western Ontario Tourism Association (NWOTA), the biggest problem facing outfitters across the region always has been a combination of indifference and interference from the very people elected to help them.
NWOTA president Tom Pearson said he and his industry are being pummelled by a one-two punch from the governments—one federal and the other provincial.
Pearson, who owns and operates Camp Narrows Lodge on Rainy Lake, said the national firearms registry has proven to be such an irritant to American hunters, many no longer bother coming here.
“Our federal government must be working for North Dakota tourism,” Pearson lamented. “I used to get around 100 duck hunters every fall, but now they are going to North Dakota, where the hunting is almost as good and they aren’t being bothered.”
Pearson said all American hunters not only must fill out special forms before bringing their firearms across the border, they also are required to pay a $50 fee every year for each gun they bring.
“If it was a one-time deal, it probably wouldn’t be so bad, but who needs the hassle?” he reasoned.
Apparently many of his regular customers don’t need it. Since the legislation came into effect, Pearson has seen a dramatic drop in the number of waterfowl hunters he depends on to finish off the tourist season for him.
“I only have four duck hunters this year and one bear hunter,” he noted. “Last year I had none.”
Pearson said he used to be booked up to two years in advance for the fall hunting season, but he’s seen indications the word is out that Northern Ontario is no longer a hunter-friendly environment.
“The people who still come here for the fishing are the same ones who used to hunt here, so I know what I’m talking about,” he added.
The other punch came from Queen’s Park. Since the cancellation of the spring bear hunt several years ago, Pearson and others have seen up to eight weeks knocked off the front end of the tourist season.
And for many, those eight weeks can amount to the entire profit margin for the year.
“With Manitoba only four hours away, that’s where people are going now,” said Pearson. “Between the loss of the bear hunt and the gun registry, I’m down to a four-month season now.
“I might as well close up at the end of September.”
Pearson is not alone in his dilemma. Dale LaBelle, who owns Birch Point Lodge on Northwest Bay, said he’s also taken a hit from recent legislation—and added he’s not the only one.
“All of us are down a bit,” LaBelle said earlier this month from Sioux Narrows, where he was participating in a bass tournament. “There are a lot of reasons, but I think it’s mostly the gun regulations.”
Unlike Pearson, who relies heavily on the fall duck hunt to pay his bills, LaBelle has been hurt most by the closing of the spring bear hunt. Falling as it does at the front end of the tourist season, he used to count on it to kick-start his year.
He estimated it costs him up to $30,000 a year in lost revenue. Adding to the grief, LaBelle feels governments don’t seem to know or care about the damage they are causing to the northern economy.
“They [governments] just don’t listen,” he charged. “They hold these seminars and seek input, but they seem to have their minds made up ahead of time.”
LaBelle said it’s not just legislation like the firearms registry and the spring bear hunt that is hurting business. There are other, niggling issues that contribute to the general malaise—issues that easily could be addressed through better communication and public relations.
“We have these petty trade disputes and people being turned back at the border because of old convictions,” he noted.
Tannis Drysdale of Fort Frances, the outgoing president of the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce (NOACC), said tourist operators also are drowning in a sea of red tape, which contributes to the problem.
“Operators have as many as 20 different forms they have to fill out,” said Drysdale. “Apparently, they actually have to count all their minnows and leeches and keep a record of how many they buy and sell.”
But the biggest problem for most operators—even those who don’t depend on hunting for their livelihood—is the Clean Water Act.
Brought in by the provincial government to address the recommendations of the O’Connor inquiry into E. coli tragedy in Walkerton three years ago, the legislation imposes strict regulations on the handling of drinking water in all municipalities.
The problem, said Drysdale, is the act also applies to tourist operators.
“That’s outrageous,” she argued. “It doesn’t make any sense. Camp owners must now follow many of the same rules as municipalities.”
Drysdale estimated the cost of compliance could be as high as $26,000 per camp—some of which accommodate fewer than a dozen guests.
“That’s the biggest challenge on the horizon for the tourist industry,” she predicted.
These concerns are far from being merely the complaints of business people who are falling on hard times and looking for someone to blame. A quick visit across the river found ample proof of that.
Tim Shoff, who owns Sportsmen Service in International Falls, deals with many tourists—American and Canadian—on a regular basis. He said Ontario camp owners and outfitters are being hurt by what he sees as heavy-handed action Canada Customs, who sometimes arbitrarily deny entry to Americans who have minor criminal convictions such as impaired driving.
Shoff said these problems are particularly acute during the summer when Canada Customs employs young, temporary personnel. Of course, that also is the height of the tourist season here.
“The biggest issue seems to be the DWI [driving while impaired] question,” said Shoff.
“It leaves a pretty bad taste when six tourists come back because one person has an old conviction, especially when it isn’t even the driver or owner of the vehicle.
“You’re losing customers,” he warned.
Shoff said Canadian outfitters must become politically active like their American counterparts if they want to rescue their industry.
“Down here, we [outfitters] have considerable influence, at least at the state level,” he noted.
One of those with influence is Bob Neuenschwander.
Formerly a Minnesota state legislator for eight years, Neuenschwander now owns Border Bob’s—a tourist shop and taxidermy business just three blocks from the international bridge.
Neuenschwander was born and raised in Borderland and with family ties across the river, he is well-versed on events taking place in Canada. Like Shoff, he sees many hunters and anglers in his place—and some of them have had bad experiences at the border.
“The biggest thing impacting the industry right now is the DWI issue,” said Neuenschwander. “We’ve had other issues in the past, but they’ve been resolved.”
But he sees an out-of-touch government as the biggest long-term problem facing Northern Ontario outfitters.
“The bureaucrats [in Toronto] haven’t a clue about Northwestern Ontario,” Neuenschwander claimed, citing the axing of the spring bear hunt as a prime example of government shortsightedness.
“What your [former] premier [Mike Harris] has done is decimate the tourist economy,” he said. “That took away an entire income stream from Ontario.
“Instead, you now have a problem with nuisance bears in camps and towns, which landowners have to shoot and dispose of at their own expense.
“Americans were solving your bear problem for you and spending money in Canada, but the premier knuckled under to special-interest groups in the south instead of looking after you,” he concluded.
Neuenschwander said NDP leader and local MPP Howard Hampton was in a position to help, but he also listened to the media-savvy lobby groups instead of putting his influence to work for his constituents.
“He [Hampton] is no friend of the tourist operators,” Neuenschwander charged.
Neuenschwander also noted areas of conflict between tourists and local residents—a problem that exists on the U.S. side, as well.
“The guy who works in the mill goes out to his favourite fishing spot on his day off, finds a tourist there, and resents it,” he explained.
“For those people, tourism isn’t a big deal, but what they don’t realize is the big companies [Abitibi-Consolidated and Boise Cascade] may be paying their wages, but their profits go to the shareholders elsewhere.
“Furthermore, they buy most of their materials [except for pulpwood] elsewhere, too.
“Tourism dollars stay right here and as a small business person, I buy almost everything locally,” he stressed. “I even hire local contractors.”
Neuenschwander said there are so many other issues—such as a declining population base and the mass exodus of young people to larger population centres in the south—that if governments won’t help, they should at least stay out of the way.
“We’re all struggling big-time to counter all the forces that are destroying rural [North] America without government interference,” he concluded.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
