GORE BAY—While there were differing opinions among council members, Gore Bay council has given the go ahead for an investigation into what interest there is in the cruise ship industry visiting the town on a regular basis.
Gore Bay Mayor Ron Lane explained to council at a meeting last week that the town had received an email from Annette Clarke, economic development officer for Western Manitoulin. “We have had discussions in the past as to whether we would like to get involved in the cruise ship business and have cruise ships visit the town. Cruise ships have been annually visiting Little Current for several years as well as Killarney and other communities in the area. Annette wants to know if the town is interested in getting involved in the cruise ship industry here.”
“I’m not,” stated Councillor Ken Blodgett. “When cruise ships dock and get off the boat in Little Current they are right on the shore. Here, if we had a cruise ship docked, it would be a long walk into town, from Fish Point to walk into the downtown area. Little Current has done very well, but this would be a huge project for us.” He noted a study would need to be carried out to see if the cruise ship industry would be interested in coming to Gore Bay.
However, Councillor Dan Osborne said, “I’m 100 percent in favour of cruise ships coming to Gore Bay. I would like to see them come here. If we had cruise ships coming to Gore Bay it would be a benefit to all of Western Manitoulin, not just Gore Bay. The cruise ships that go to Little Current very rarely go past Kagawong, and they don’t go to Sheshegwaning or Meldrum Bay. If we had cruise ships
visiting here it would open up opportunities for these travellers to visit all our communities on Western Manitoulin.”
Councillor Osborne said, “as for the walk from the docks, in St. Thomas when visitors get off a cruise ship there, passengers walk a mile to get downtown, and many will then catch a bus so everyone has the opportunity to see the scenery in the area. It’s not impossible and is something we should try and see what the interest is in cruise ships coming here.”
The next step would be having Ms. Clarke investigate if the cruise ship industry shows any interest in visiting Gore Bay, council was told. There would be no commitment at this point for the town to pursue funding to put additional infrastructure in place to handle large cruise ships.
“Personally, I think we have at least the same or more to offer than Little Current and as far as restaurants on the waterfront: we have Buoy’s and Split Rail Brewing right there,” said Mayor Lane. “I agree with Dan, Gore Bay has as much to offer as anywhere and passengers on a ship could visit Bridal Veil Falls in Kagawong, Sheshegwaning First Nation and Meldrum Bay, along with our other communities. A tour can provide a full day trip to Western Manitoulin.”
Mayor Lane noted as well there is not just one cruise ship line in the business. “Annette said she would contact those in the cruise ship industry and report back to us what the interest is. We’ve had lots of large boats come here in the past and dock here. I think it is totally worthwhile to explore this.”
Councillors Aaron Wright and Terry Olmstead were in favour of gauging the interest of the cruise ship industry, with the latter stating, “if you build it, they will come.”
Council passed a resolution to support the idea of the Western Manitoulin EDO exploring the interest of the cruise ship industry visiting Gore Bay and Western Manitoulin.
