Troubling tactic

Rainy River District has been spared contentious disputes revolving around aboriginal grievances that have plagued other communities across our region, as well as elsewhere in Ontario and the rest of Canada.
That may change as early as next month.
Fed up with the slow pace of progress on resolving compensation claims for the land on which Highway 11 is built, and ongoing concerns over contaminated soil, the Couchiching band council has served notice of its intent to set up a toll booth near the west end of the Noden Causeway to coincide with the Victoria Day long weekend—the traditional start to the tourist season here.
As if this area needs yet another reason to induce visitors to stay away.
Of course, tourists won’t be the only ones affected if the band follows through on its plan. There’s everyone who lives out at Reef Point, Rocky Inlet, and beyond who travel Highway 11 daily to go to work here in Fort Frances, or to shop and visit with family and friends. There’s people who have to cross Couchiching to access their cottages on the lake or enjoy a fishing outing.
Still others routinely have to go to Thunder Bay, Atikokan, and Dryden for business purposes, sporting events, medical appointments, and a myriad of other reasons.
The band has pledged that emergency services won’t be affected, and insists they’re not being radical, dissident, or violent. Trouble is, with so many people being impacted, and at the height of our busiest traffic volume (not to mention construction delays on the Causeway), tempers are bound to flare—with potentially serious consequences despite the best of intentions.
One can sympathize with the band’s frustration over endless talks that seem to go nowhere. But everyone is equally exasperated, whether it’s over land claims stemming from treaties signed more than a century ago, when neither side could have known what the future would hold, or foot-dragging on the fate of Pither’s Point Park.
As for Couchiching’s legitimate desire to better reap the benefits of the district’s economy, and sound argument that people have no problem paying a toll to cross the international bridge here or a fee to launch their boat at the Sorting Gap Marina, surely there are other ways to tap the wallets of passing motorists than to set up a troubling toll booth that only may serve to poison relations between our communities for perhaps years.
Let’s not go down a road from which there is no turning back. Negotiation may not be perfect, but it’s far better than confrontation.