As promised a month ago, we have been waiting and watching. Carefully. While the Covid news on the US side of the closed border has been a stream of good news with the return to normal life just around the corner, the news from the north is not so good. Canada is in the grip of a third wave of infection that has created their greatest health crisis of the pandemic. Ontario, the most populous province and politically the big dog of the country, is in a tight lock down with their highest positivity rates of the pandemic. Several other provinces are also locked down. There is nothing encouraging to report from the north.
EARLY SEASON CANCELLATIONS
We made a tough call this week. Weighing the best available evidence, we have cancelled Weeks 1-6, our June 14th to July 8th trips. We made that call by weighing the best evidence available on the prospects of the US/Canadian border opening. We are assuming that the current border closure currently in effect until May 21 will be extended to June 21. If the border does open then, we will need a couple of weeks to orchestrate the wide range of logistics required to offer a world class fishing trip. If it’s humanly possible, we will get it done. This has been a fluid, fast moving situation; we don’t want to sabotage your trip on a hunch. We will continue to press for more clarity from governmental officials and report back with any breaking news. Everyone wants to get back on northern waters.
CHARTER FLIGHT REVISION
In recent days there have been several fight time changes into the Saskatoon airport. To accommodate guests who are planning on flying into Saskatoon on the same day as the charter flight, we are changing our charter flight departure to Stony Rapids to from 3:30 PM until, 4:30 PM. To keep a margin of safety for our float flights from Stony Rapids to the lodge we cannot extend that time any longer. If you feel your connections are too tight consider arriving, as do roughly half our customers, the night prior to the charter flight. Obviously, there are a lot of balls in the air here. We will do our best to catch them all.
Can we be certain that the border will be open without restrictions by July 8? Absolutely not. We are dealing with uncertainties, but we’re trying to keep options open. Should you book your commercial flights now? Tough call, one we can’t make for you. Most airlines have been generous about offering credits for cancelled flights, but that could change; many of our customers are holding off. We’re short on crystal balls.
We will keep you in the loop whenever we have enough clarity to make decisions. We wish it were different. Our staff will be on salary and on call to arrive on our substantially refurbished island as soon as we get the green lift. All of the Scott Lake team will welcome you with open arms when the time is right.