Marinas in Norfolk County reopen in defiance of stay-at-home order

Marina owners in Norfolk County say if the province can open a boat launch, they can too.

We all collectively said, look, we have to stop the bleeding," said Ray Ferris of Old Cut Boat Livery.

Old Cut and Sandboy Marina in Long Point, as well as MacDonald Turkey Point Marina, publicly announced they were open for recreational boating and fishing as of Wednesday morning, defying the provincial stay-at-home order that forced them to cease operations last month.

Ferris said the straw that broke the camel's back" was learning the boat launch in Long Point Provincial Park would reopen Friday.

If the provincial park is able to open their boat launch, we're going to open ours as well," he said, decrying the hypocrisy" of a policy that penalizes small business owners.

The Ontario Parks website lists the boat launch at Long Point Provincial Park as available once the park opens for day use on Friday.

An email sent to Ferris by park staff and viewed by The Spectator confirms the boat launch will be open.

The province closed marinas last month to discourage people from gathering and keep out-of-town visitors away.

Well in actual fact, nobody congregates at a boat ramp," Ferris said.

Private marinas can operate just as safely as public boat launches, he argued, citing precautions such as reducing the boat ramp at Old Cut from two lanes to one to help customers keep their distance.

There's a lot of anxious boaters and anglers who just want to get out with their family on Long Point Bay," Ferris said.

So I would anticipate if the provincial park was the only boat launch allowing access to Long Point Bay, it will become very congested."

Haldimand-Norfolk Conservative MPP Toby Barrett declined to comment, with his office saying marinas are a Ministry of Transportation matter.

Ferris said he totally understands" why the government toughened restrictions to head off a dire third wave of COVID-19. Before choosing to flout the rules, he said marina owners wrote to numerous MPPs, pushing for the unfair" marina policy to be reversed.

We're hopeful that the premier will level the playing field," Ferris said.

I know the premier's dealing with a million things every day and boat launches may not be high on his radar."

Wednesday's announcement sparked dozens of supportive comments on social media, but no customers at Old Cut. Ferris blamed that on the weather.

We've had lots of people say they'll be down on the weekend to take their family fishing," he said.

Norfolk County's bylaw department and the OPP did not say whether officers would be ticketing the three businesses or any boaters who visit.

I don't know what to expect" regarding enforcement, Ferris said.

We respected the order until the provincial government defied their own order (and) opened up their own boat launch."

Municipal boat ramps in Port Rowan and Port Dover have been closed since April 17.

On Wednesday, Norfolk County announced that as of May 19, seasonal clients" can make appointments to launch and inspect their boats, and tie them to their slips.

As per provincial guidelines and current regulations, all other recreational boat launches are to remain closed for the duration of the stay-at-home order," the county said in a press release.

J.P. Antonacci's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about the regions of Haldimand and Norfolk.