Negotiations have been ongoing for two years “Current low water levels in Lake Huron, are preventing the MS Chi-Cheemaun from safely docking at the wharves in Tobermory and South Baymouth. The operational challenge is caused by water levels that are lower than the fender units on the existing wharf structure. The wharves, owned and operated by Transport Canada, require immediate maintenance. Dialogue betwee ...

SOUTH BAYMOUTH—If the whole of Manitoulin Island thinks they won’t be affected by the Chi-Cheemaun’s delay in service, they had better think again. This is the message coming from the businesspeople of South Baymouth after an impromptu ferry dock rally last Friday afternoon. Under normal circumstances, driving into South Baymouth one week before the Chi-Cheemaun begins it course across Georgian Bay for anot ...

What a week! It’s a significant irony that just as the International Joint Commission (IJC) announced it was recommending man-made intervention in the St. Clair River in order to slow down the outflow from Lake Huron/Georgian Bay in an effort to begin to reduce the drastic drop in lake levels that has happened over the past few years, the Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC) determined that it could not ...

OWEN SOUND—It is official. The MS Chi-Cheemaun, Manitoulin Island’s vital ferry link to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, will not be starting its 2013 schedule this Friday, May 3. The Owen Sound Transportation Company, the Chi-Cheemaun’s operator, announced on Monday, April 29 that due to continued low water levels on Lake Huron the May 3 start to the ferry season has been postponed until at lea ...

TORONTO--Bargaining unit presidents of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have voted 96 percent in favour of an agreement with the Ontario government related to changes to imposed working conditions. This vote took place at a meeting of local leaders held today in Toronto. "This agreement is the result of a prolonged struggle by our members for their democratic collective bargai ...

Premier Kathleen Wynne released the following statement: "I'm happy to learn that the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario has suspended their advice to members regarding voluntary extracurricular activities. I hope that elementary school students, teachers and support staff across the province will once again enjoy the activities and programs that mean so much to them." "Today's news is a great indic ...

Ferry service will actively focus marketing on tourist sector but status quo not an option OWEN SOUND—The Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC) released its highly anticipated market feasibility study for the MS Chi-Cheemaun this past Tuesday (March 12), along with planned changes to ferry operations for the 2013 season and beyond during a media event held aboard the ferry at its Owen Sound berth. The ma ...

SOUTH BAYMOUTH—Low water levels in the Great Lakes are threatening the smooth passage of Manitoulin’s ferry link to southern Ontario, leading the Owen Sound Transportation Company (OSTC), operators of the Chi-Cheemaun, to engage an engineering company to survey the entrance to the ferry’s South Baymouth berth in order to lay the groundwork for deepening the channel, should it be required in the future. “We ...

LITTLE CURRENT—The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) sent a letter to the Northeast Town last week in response to a claim filed by a client of the 19A Water Street (methadone) Clinic sparked by the upcoming closure of the Little Current clinic this Friday, February 15. Last month, the clinic building owners, Robinson’s Pharmacy Group, were contacted by the Northeast Town, informing them that they must ...

OTTAWA—Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, along with MP colleagues and NDP critics presented petitions signed by 3,619 Manitoulin Island residents, visitors and friends indicating they are unhappy with the ongoing water loss from the Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, North Channel and Georgian Bay basin, in Parliament on Wednesday. The petition calls on the Canadian federal ministers of natural re ...