Northern fishing lodge, tour operator face sinking summer with tighter COVID-19 restrictions

With no guests on site andboats docked at Kenanow Lodge north of the 53rd parallel in Manitoba, Chris Matheson is praying that his businesswill stay afloat.

Before the pandemic,his fishing lodge would be packed with anglers from the United States, Europe and the rest of Canada, all hoping to catch a prize-winning lake trout, pike or pickerel. Now with the U.S. border still closed, and tighter restrictions that includeno interprovincial travel, Mathesonsays the industry is sinking.

"Right now it is a complete bust. We don't have a single client right now. Not a single booking,"said Matheson, who runsKenanow Lodge on Kississing Lake with his wife. The lodge isaccessible by road about 50 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon.

"We did have some, but we had to cancel them.If things don't change by mid-July, then people aren't going to book for the second part of our season, which is another busy part."

Matheson emphasizes that nowshould be his busiest time; this is when he makes the bulk of his income for the summer. His winter money is made during a three-week window at the end of September and early October. But he says that even looks murky at this point.

He can't understand why northern lodges are being penalized with tighter restrictions when the majority of people in his community havebeen fully vaccinated. Anyone who wants to travel to his lodge from another province would have to self-isolatefor 14 days in the south. Matheson questions who would do that fora one-week vacation at his lodge.

"We can't have anyone up here. Why? We are double vaccinated. What are they worried about spreading?" said Matheson.

"I thought we were able to get back to lifeagain with a double vaccination. But no. We are still under the biggest quarantine restrictions inall of Canada,"

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 60 percent of hisclientele wereAmerican.Matheson says he'slost allthose customers two years in a row now, along with anglers from Ontario and even as far away as Switzerland.

He estimates he lost 80 to 85 per cent of his business in 2020 when compared to 2019, all because of COVID-19. He says this year looks even more bleak.

"We have a little bit saved away that got us through last year. Now we are getting to the point where we aren't going to make it through this year. If we didn't have those savings, our business would be closed. We would be shutting our doors, no ifs, ands or buts" he said.

Challenges in Churchill

At Sea North Tours in Churchill, Dwight Allen is facing a similar dilemma. He's seen a75 per cent drop in tours for beluga whales and polarbears in 2020, compared to 2019. Previously, about half of his customers were Americans.

This year he's struggling to figure out where he will get the best bang for his buck with advertising dollars when he doesn't know who or where his target audience is.

"We don't know what interprovincial borders for travelling up to our community will be allowed. It's all up in the air, and we don't have a clear direction on what those allowances are going to be," said Allen.

Neverin his wildest dreamsdid he think his tour company, which has been in business for decades, would be ravaged by a pandemic fortwo years in a row.

"I never thought we would be in this position. Never,"said Allen"Never did we think we would have a second year like this, or a first year for that matter. We are all just coping day by day to make sure everyone is safe."

Normally he has 30 people on staff. Now Allenis down to five, with the remainder on stand by. He admits without secure employment, some of his team arelooking for workelsewhere.

That's something Mathesonhas already been forced to do.

"I am not working at my dream. I am working for somebody else wherever I can get work driving a truck.It's frustrating. Very frustrating until we can turn this around," said Matheson.

The current restrictions in Manitoba are set to expire onMay 26.