Latest / Behind The Village Podcast / Insider Tips to Explore Ontario’s Waterways and Support Canadian Tourism | Karen Feeley

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Insider Tips to Explore Ontario’s Waterways and Support Canadian Tourism | Karen Feeley · Behind The Village Podcast

• 0:00
  Our LOC staff are just absolutely amazing folks.
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  They are the experts when it comes to their small
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  little park and the communities around them.
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  They'll know where the best fishing spots are.
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  They'll give you recommendations for dinner or
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  for lunch or the best ice cream cone or the best
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  burger or walking trails. They know their sites
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  inside and out. They know their communities inside
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  and out. And they just love to talk to people.
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  You're listening to the Behind the Village podcast.
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  Our guest today is Karen Feely, the PR and communications
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  officer for Ontario Waterways. Karen, thanks
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  so much for joining us today. We're very excited
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  to have you because maybe you can introduce yourself
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  and what you're here to chat with us about. Oh,
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  certainly. So I'm so glad to be able to join
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  you today and thank you for the opportunity.
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  So my name is Karen Feely and I am a public relations
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  and communications officer with Ontario Waterways,
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  which takes into its jurisdiction both the Trent
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  Southern Waterway and the Rideau Canal National
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  Historic Sites. Very cool, which is exciting
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  because where we are, we're based in Orillia
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  and obviously very closely tied to the Trent
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  Severn and a lot of people in the area use the
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  waterways and, you know, travel about and enjoy
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  the water this time of year. So I guess our first
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  question, and I'm not sure if this is something
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  you can speak to, is the Canada Strong Pass and
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  maybe the different programs. kind of related
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  to that or different things related to that that
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  people can take advantage of? Sure. So we're
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  very excited to be able to offer the Canada Strong
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  Pass to all of our land -based users and also
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  our boat -based users. So it's designed to encourage
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  more Canadians and visitors to get out on the
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  water, discover historic sites. explore their
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  waterfront communities such as, you know, Orillia
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  and surrounding areas along our historic canal.
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  Specifically for the Trent Severn Waterway, we're
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  offering free lockage and discounted camping
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  and accommodations and this initiative makes
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  boating trips, overnight stays and canal side
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  experiences more accessible and affordable. um
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  plus it helps to increase our visitor traffic
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  and visit traffic for those marinas those restaurants
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  ice cream shops attractions and towns and villages
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  all along the Trent Severn Waterway and also
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  the Rideau Canal. So we know that tourism is
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  a very vital part of our regional economy. It
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  supports local jobs and businesses and we are
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  pleased and proud to offer this and also work
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  alongside the communities and our tourism partners
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  and the media to help showcase these destinations
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  and create those long -lasting memories for visitors
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  because what could be better than being Being
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  outside in a Canadian summer, well, maybe when
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  it's not so hot. Maybe not this specific summer,
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  but usually. Usually everyone looks forward to
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  summer. So we're just, you know, trying to get
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  people to discover what's in their own backyard.
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  Yeah. Absolutely. That's huge because we love.
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  Again, maybe not this summer, but typically we
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  do enjoy camping and the use of things like trails
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  and, you know, trying to be out on the water
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  more and experience these different things with
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  our own family. So it makes a big difference
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  to have something like that, that we can take
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  advantage of and explore, like you said, that
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  backyard that maybe we don't as often. So for
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  the people that have never actually heard of
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  the Canada Strong Pass, because I believe, and
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  correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it's
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  relatively new. The Canada Strong Pass started
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  in June of this year. I can't remember. But can
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  you let us know just what it is? Yes. So started
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  June 20th and goes through to September the 2nd.
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  And depending on which site you are looking to
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  explore, because, you know, Parks Canada has
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  many sites and Ontario Waterways is a little
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  different than like a land -based park. So the
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  camping discounts and the lockage fees being
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  waived, it applies to lockage fees only for the
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  Trent Severn Waterway. Mooring fees also... do
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  remain in effect for our 2025 navigation season.
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  Those fees are associated to support ongoing,
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  you know, operation maintenance and preservation
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  of Canada's historic waterways. So it does apply
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  to lockage fees only and the 25 % discount for
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  camping and stays. That's cool. And then for
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  camping and stays, would that... I was going
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  to say, not necessarily limited, but would that
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  be national parks? It's not, as an example, provincial
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  parks. No, no. So this is federally based. So
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  it is a 25 % discount applies to all Parks Canada
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  administered camping and accommodations. So this
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  includes our reservable campsites, our authentics,
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  which are across between the... kind of a rustic
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  cabin and a tent. Our oasis accommodations, which
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  are kind of cool. They're like a, almost like
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  a spaceship pod kind of nestled through the trees.
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  Cool. Interesting. And yeah, and they can be
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  booked through the Parks Canada reservation sites.
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  So, you know, lots of different things to explore
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  that people may not know, have known about previously
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  about the Trent Summer Waterway. Yeah. That spaceship
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  in the trees sounds really cool. I know. Like
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  the pod in the trees. That would be super cool.
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  Like a tree house kind of. It is. They're kind
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  of smaller. You know, they're really good for
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  couples or also, you know, for small families.
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  They are kind of more suited to those that say
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  would be backpacking or arriving by bike or kayak,
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  that type of thing. Um, you know, they're, they're
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  not really roomy, uh, but, um, you know, there's
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  enough for to sleep two adults. Uh, and then
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  there's also this cool kind of hammock structure
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  where you can throw a couple of kids up there.
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  So they find it fun too. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome.
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  So now I'm phrasing this just because this is,
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  this is part of, uh, the, the email that we received
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  when we first kind of invited you, uh, to be.
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  part of the podcast, but like, how can voters
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  and campers take advantage of these savings?
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  Well, you can, you know, we did start the season
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  by, you know, selling our, our lockage passes
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  before this came in. So you can, you know, get
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  to basically, you know, a refund if you have
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  not been able to, if you've already purchased
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  your, your, your, your permit. or your reservation
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  for your camping site. But for the rest of those
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  folks that haven't purchased anything ahead of
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  time, basically you just show up and you are
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  able to lock through your vessel, through our
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  locks, and that takes into consideration folks
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  that are vessels under power, so anything with
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  a motor. But a lot of people don't know that
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  you can actually kayak and canoe through our
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  locks. lock stations as well so for those that
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  you know are human powered travel you can take
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  care of that or you can enjoy that experience
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  as well is what i should say I don't think I
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  realized that either until recently. I saw a
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  video online, and I don't know which lock specifically
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  it was, but it might have been Big Chute. But
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  it was just these two levels going, and it was
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  full of kayakers. It was just all kayakers in
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  these locks as they moved over into the water.
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  It was so cool. I had no idea that was a kitchen.
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  That was just this past weekend, and it's called
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  Lock and Paddle. And it is kind of our signature
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  event across Ontario waterways and also on the
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  canals in Quebec as well, which a lot of people
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  don't realize we have historic canals in Quebec.
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  And it is a day for paddlers. And we try to pack
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  as many as we can into the Peterborough lift
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  lock, but also on the Rideau Canal at Hartwells
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  and on the Lachine Canal as well. So that's where
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  you see those. Beautiful pictures of all those
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  cotton candy colors of kayaks and canoes. It's
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  one of my best days of the year. That's really
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  cool. Yeah. And this is kind of off topic, but
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  now I'm curious about it. You mentioned it's
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  the lock and paddle. And so do you just grab
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  whatever your vessel is and kind of... traverse
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  through the locks is that kind of the the program
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  yeah so we have uh you know facebook page event
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  pages for for folks that want to join us um and
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  you bring your own kayak and and canoe or you
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  can rent them from various outfitters um and
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  basically we just give you a time to show up
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  and you show up with the rest of the paddling
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  community it's a free event and we have lots
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  of fun things also on shore for those people
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  that just want to watch instead of kayak or canoe
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  through. So it's just a big party that we offer
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  every year on Canada's Parks Day to celebrate
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  the paddling community. That's fun. Yeah. And
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  you're saying that the Canada Strong Pass actually
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  complements the events and the things that you
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  guys do fairly well then because you're able
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  to take advantage of the discounts and all these
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  kinds of things. As far as I know as well, the
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  Canada Strong Pass technically just goes also
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  beyond that. Like it gives you discounts on via
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  rail. It gives you discounts on some galleries
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  and some museums as well. So it's really all
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  encompassing that you can actually go and enjoy,
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  you know, a lot of different places, a lot of
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  different locations, a lot of different things
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  in the area. And I think it's Canada wide, right?
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  It is, yeah, definitely. So, you know, some of
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  those things will, you can use here on the Trent
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  Severn Waterway. Some of those things you can't.
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  And there's lots of kind of ins and outs of all
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  the different offers that are available. So,
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  you know, we strongly, strongly advise that before
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  you plan that trip, take a visit to either the
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  website of the... the park or the National Historic
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  Site that you're looking to visit to see what
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  is available there. Or you can just go to the
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  Parks Canada website and all the information
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  is there as well. So do a little bit of trip
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  planning because that will help you understand
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  what specific offers are available and what the
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  guidelines may be for using them. Okay, so if
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  I wanted to know what... I can take advantage
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  of for the Trent Severn, like if I'm going through
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  the Trent Severn, is that that would be on the
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  website, right? Yes. Yeah. Our specific websites.
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  Yeah. You know, we can provide you with that
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  information for your viewers. But basically,
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  you can just, you know, Google Trent Severn Waterway.
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  Make sure you're hitting that Parks Canada official
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  site and all that information will be there.
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  Perfect. Easy peasy. Yeah, it's really simple.
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  Yeah. And tell me about because I was going through
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  the Canada Strong Pass, like, I guess, the main
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  website. And can you there were different fees
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  or different discounts based on age range as
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  well. Does that also apply for, you know, the
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  Trent Severn waterway? Well, we are just able
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  to, you know, offer the lockage. So when we do
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  the lockage and the camping, you know, it's reservable
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  on the Parks Canada reservation website for the
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  camping. When you are talking about boats or
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  paddle craft, it is done by the vessel. So when
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  we come in, there's basically no age restrictions
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  because it's the vessel that counts and not the
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  people on the vessel, if that makes sense. And
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  I assume I just this thought just crossed my
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  mind, but I would assume when you said that there
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  is like a refund for the lock passes that you
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  guys normally do. I also saw on the website that
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  there was something called Discovery Passes that
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  Parks Canada does. I don't know if you get a
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  refund on that, but I saw that it gets extended
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  as well. So for the discovery passes that yes,
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  there will be an extension put into play. However,
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  on the Trent Severn Waterway and the Rideau Canal,
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  discovery passes are not needed as our lock station
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  sites are open to the public. So anyone can,
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  you know. Come and visit us at our lock stations,
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  and lots of people do, just to come and sit and
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  watch the boats go by. That can be an afternoon
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  or a morning of excitement as well. So no Discovery
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  Passes are needed with regard to visiting either
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  the Trent -Severn Waterway. Okay, so just to
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  enjoy all the amenities and all the things that
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  you guys do, then all we need would be the Canada
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  Strong Pass, technically. Right. Yes. Yeah, exactly.
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  So, you know, we've already seen since June 20th
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  quite an increase of people, you know, using
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  the locks as part of that. So I think we're up
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  about 13 % or so. So, you know, people are taking
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  advantage of it. And people that may have thought,
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  well, I, you know, I live on this lake, but I
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  never feel the need to go through a lock station
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  are now exploring. um these lock stations even
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  if it is just to go up to the next lake to get
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  an ice cream cone or you know stop for dinner
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  or lunch um so people are using it they're out
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  and exploring and um you know it's just it's
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  just a great way to to get on the water grab
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  your family grab your friends um And these sites
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  have been around for over 100 years. Trent Severn
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  Waterway and the Rideau Canal. And a lot of people
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  don't know about them. So, you know, preserving
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  these sites for future generations and creating
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  those memories is part of what makes this job
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  just so great. Yeah. well i i love the uh the
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  i guess the the push as well of just supporting
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  local supporting you know the local tourism and
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  stuff like that because it's just it's really
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  needed nowadays you're trying to figure out how
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  to spend time with your family how to spend time
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  outside how do you do it in you know uh an affordable
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  affordable way if you will right so this pa these
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  passes actually are um you know fairly useful
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  for for everyone. Yeah. Oh, definitely. Yeah.
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  And, you know, a lot of people, a lot of these
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  new folks that are coming to visit us, it's their
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  first trip, the first time they've ever, you
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  know, been locked through. So if they have any
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  questions, you know, they can reach out to us
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  at any time. We have an email address that they
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  can email or our social media accounts are very
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  active as well as our website. So, you know,
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  if they are at all nervous. um want to ask questions
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  beforehand please do reach out to us we're here
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  to help with trip planning and our lock staff
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  are just absolutely amazing folks they are the
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  experts when it comes to their small little park
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  and the communities you know around them they'll
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  know where the best fishing spots are they'll
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  know uh you know give you recommendations for
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  for dinner or for lunch or the best ice cream
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  cone or the best burger or walking trails They
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  know their sights inside and out. They know their
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  communities inside and out. And they just love
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  to talk to people. So, you know, stop, say hello,
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  ask them what their best tip is. They're the
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  true experts when it comes to navigating the
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  waterway. That's reassuring. I know. And they'll
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  help you. They'll help you lock through. If you
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  come up to, you know, a lock station and you're
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  at all nervous, you'll see on those on those
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  lock walls that there is a section that has a
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  blue line. And then there's also, you know, parts
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  of the wall. We call them the gray wall that
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  are not painted. You know, people that are more
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  experienced, they can come up to the blue line
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  and that signals to the lock staff that they
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  want to go through the lock. If you just want
• 17:45
  to stop and use the facilities or have a picnic,
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  or if you're a little nervous about going through
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  a lock, you can moor on that gray wall and disembark
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  your vessel, talk to the lock staff. They'll
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  help you through and guide you on how to lock
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  through safely. Yeah. That's awesome. That's
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  huge. As somebody who needs to, I'm the one that
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  always looks up if we're going somewhere, what
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  the parking situation is like, so I can prepare
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  myself ahead of time. So that's nice to know
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  that there's a lock version of that. Definitely,
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  definitely. And you know, there's, the Bowdoin
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  community is just so supportive of each other
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  and friendly and helpful. So even if our lock
• 18:29
  staff may be busy with another boater, there'll
• 18:32
  always be other boaters around that can help
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  as well. So, you know, it's just a great community
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  feel to be on the Trans -Siberian Waterway. That's
• 18:41
  amazing. Yeah. And we'll put all the links and
• 18:44
  everything that you mentioned on the website
• 18:46
  for people to kind of check out. But for people
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  that are listening. you know, and don't have
• 18:52
  access to their computer right at the second
• 18:54
  that they're listening, do you know what your
• 18:56
  social media handles are or what your website
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  is? Like something that they can, you know, remember,
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  if you will. Oh, certainly, yeah. For the website,
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  it's parks .canada .ca and then forward slash
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  Trent Severin. Perfect. But both social media
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  handles and all we do have is Twitter and or
• 19:24
  X and Facebook. And so it's Trent Semret NHS
• 19:29
  and the NHS is National Historic Site. And then
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  I guess if I could, the only thing I would have
• 19:37
  to mention is if. you know you haven't been on
• 19:42
  the Trent Severn Waterway and you're looking
• 19:44
  for interesting things to see and do kind of
• 19:49
  we call them the the big three so there's always
• 19:52
  the Peterborough lift lock which is lock 21 in
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  Peterborough and that's the one that is 65 feet
• 19:59
  tall and it's basically like a big boat elevator
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  so if you haven't seen it we invite you to come
• 20:06
  down and see that it's the largest hydraulic
• 20:10
  lift lock in North America, followed closely
• 20:14
  by the Kirkfield lift lock, which I'm sure your
• 20:17
  viewers and readers will recognize in Kirkfield.
• 20:23
  But then we also have the Big Chute Marine Railway,
• 20:25
  which is also, you know, one of its kind, a port
• 20:30
  -severant area. So, you know, some pretty cool
• 20:34
  engineering feats that are well, well... older
• 20:38
  than i am we'll say um that have stood the test
• 20:42
  of time and uh we are so proud to be able to
• 20:45
  showcase those sites uh for canadians as well
• 20:48
  as 44 other lock stations that have lots of green
• 20:51
  space that people can enjoy and um with their
• 20:55
  families and friends yeah that's amazing yeah
• 21:00
  i love it well uh karen thank you very much for
• 21:04
  you know, taking time out of your day and talking
• 21:07
  to us about like all the things that we can take
• 21:09
  advantage of this summer. My pleasure. I invite
• 21:13
  you to come and visit. Thank you for listening
• 21:17
  to the entire episode. All the links and info
• 21:19
  you heard in this conversation will be featured
• 21:21
  in the show notes on our website, villagermagazine
• 21:23
  .ca slash podcast. If you enjoyed this episode,
• 21:26
  consider subscribing to our channels like YouTube,
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  Spotify, or wherever you're listening from so
• 21:31
  you never miss an episode. Thanks again, and
• 21:34
  I'll see you next time.