Provincial-run ferry suddenly shut down, 'stranding' dozens in northern Ontario
Province now says that after further consulting inspectors, ferry back in service
It's been an up and down week for people who live north of Cochrane and rely on a provincial cable ferry that carries people travelling Highway 579 across the Abitibi River.
Often referred to as the "Gardiner ferry," the free service has been the main way to access that part of northern Ontario for decades.
After being put in the water to start the season on Sunday, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) said this week the ferry failed an inspection by Transport Canada.
But then on Wednesday, the ministry provided an update to CBC:
"After further consultation with Transport Canada, ferry serviced has resumed. MTO is accelerating work to make Florence Lake Road available and improve transportation options for the community," the statement reads.
Harry Dingley retired to the area seven years ago and says he is one of a handful of permanent residents, plus several dozen camp owners, who were "stranded" by this decision.
"Well, it's drastically going to change my life if we don't have the ferry here," he said.
"I'd like to recuperate my money here, so would other people who invested lots of money, because we were allowed to develop here, because that was a highway. It was an official provincial highway."
Dingley says he also rents out a cottage on Airbnb and expects that business to dry up if the ferry doesn't run all season.
He says the ferry was down for about three weeks last summer, when people were forced to use the Florence Lake Road, which he describes as a 15-kilometre one-lane bush road and "not really a viable option."
"It's a very dangerous road to be traveling on, since it's only one-way with lots of blind spots. You can get into lots of trouble there, there's no cellphone coverage," Dingley said.
"We invested money in this property and now if they shut it down, my property is worthless and there goes my retirement planning and everything else."