Please click link or “download” to access most current version of Border Crossing Guide:
Link to laptop/desktop version of ArriveCAN:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/splash-arrivecan.html
Please see covid updates below. The most recent will be list first. Thank you.
Pre-Arrival Testing is Over as of April 1, 2022
The Government of Canada has officially announced that pre-arrival testing for crossing the border will be removed for fully vaccinated travelers as of April 1, 2022.
This is a huge step forward to makings things simpler as you plan to come and see these kinds of gorgeous sunrises with your own eyes.
Please keep in mind that you still require a full vaccination series (boosters not required) and must complete an ArriveCAN submission prior to arriving at the port of entry. The ArriveCAN submission will continue to ask for a quarantine plan because self test kits will still be given out randomly at the border.
A reminder to our guests that we will assist you with your self-test if selected randomly, so please bring the kit with you and do not open anything until we get you set up to make the telehealth video call at the lodge.
This announcement comes almost 2 years to the day that the border was initially shut down to non-essential traffic. All of us at Mylie’s and the tourism industry in general are looking forward to the much better season come spring.
It is important to note that kids aged 5-11 do not require full vaccination to travel to Canada with vaccinated parents, grandparents, guardians, but if they are not vaccinated, they will continue to require pre-arrival testing as before, as well as a Day 1 arrival test. This means, they will given a self test kit (same as random self test kits) to do after arriving at your final destination.
Kids aged 12-17 that are not full vaccinated would also be admissible to travel with vaccinated parents, but require pre-arrival testing and full 14 day quarantine on arrival as well as Day 1 arrival self testing and Day 8 self testing if staying that long.
For the official announcement, follow this link to the Government of Canada’s website:
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2022/03/government-of-canada-will-remove-pre-entry-test-requirement-for-fully-vaccinated-travellers-on-april-1.html
Thank you all for being patient throughout this slow process of restrictions being removed. We hope to be able to welcome everyone again much sooner than later.
— Justin Krista & Ellen
Why you should make sure you get a Molecular test if think you have covid. (Jan 17, 2022)
Get A Molecular Test if you think you have Covid!!
Even if you are asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms, you should confirm a covid diagnosis with an approved molecular test and the reason is simple. From the day you test positive with a molecular test, the following 11-180 days, you will not need a pre-arrival test to come to Canada!! After 11 days, you are exempt up to day 180. Your positive molecular test will be accepted instead of a pre-arrival negative test.
In ArriveCAN, you will simply answer “YES” to the question that asks “Have you had covid within the last 180 days?” Then you use your accepted molecular test as proof and you are good to go. You cannot use a rapid antigen test. It must be an accepted molecular test like PCR, Walgreens ID NOW, various NAAT tests offered at pop-up sites like those in I-Falls, Warroad, Bemidji, St Cloud, Brainerd, Becker or the Baudette pharmacy.
What’s New in 2022? (January 7, 2022)
We hope you are all settling in nicely for a great 2022. Omicron is proving to be a big pain in the butt for many, but we will choose to be positive and believe it will move through well before it is time to start scheduling your pre-arrival tests for this spring. There are a number of housekeeping items to put out there so please keep them in mind if you have a trip planned, are on the waiting list for a cancellation, or considering either of the above.
Deposits for trips in 2022 are now due and will be due immediately upon making a new reservation. Please send ASAP if you have a trip planned for this year that is not being secure with a rolled-over deposit. International postage rate in $1.30 so please keep that in mind when getting your cheque in the mail.
We need confirmation ASAP for all groups/trips being held with a rolled over deposit. That confirmation will entail the total # of guests in your group that are reading, willing and able to enter Canada with the current entry requirements in place. As of now, nothing has changed for land entry crossings. Vaccinations and pre-arrival testing are not optional so if you or members of your group have chosen not to vaccinate, we will need to be aware of this and be able to open your dates to someone on the waiting list. The deadline for confirmations will be February 1. Deposits will stay on your accounts for future trips to be made once requirements change and you are ready to return. We’ll look forward to the day we can take new reservations from those that won’t be making their trips for the time being.
Due to border crossing logistics where we are spending the winter in BC, we will not be sending a newsletter again in 2022. Please make sure you get in touch with the person who is in charge of your group to make sure the deposit and/or confirmation of your rolled over trip is taken care of by Feb 1.
Please feel free to call, text, email with any questions or concerns relating to your trips. We re very much looking forward to seeing our spring groups again in 2022!!
ReOPENER 2021 UPDATE (October 9, 2021)
If you receive a random self-test kit at the border, please proceed to the resort so we can help you get the test taken care of easier. We have been testing a new ISP in the office this fall and it has helped create a strong, table connection to the Switch Health site/app that is required to complete the rests. We can help you get registered and ready for everything the Switch Health Agent will guide you through to get through the test quicker and more efficiently. We will then finish the call with the agent to arrange the pick-up for your test kit. This is something we are pleased to offer our guests and would be happy to assist you if you get the random selection.
ReOpener 2021 Update
The border process has been smoother than we could ever have hoped. If you go through the ReOpener Guide we put together for our guests and get everything taken care of prior to arrival, you will sail through your primary examination at customers without any issues. CBSA officers have been very helpful with little errors/problems with ArriveCAN submissions, but please understand that the ArriveCAN app/portal submission process is NOT optional. You must take care of everything that is covered in the ReOpener Guide for your crossing to be simple and painless on arrival at the Port of Entry.
ReOpener 2021 Update: July 28, 2021 RE: CBSA STRIKE VOTE
You may see, or have seen, news reports relating to potential strike action by Canada Border Services Agency officers as soon as August 6th in order to try and leverage a new contract for their unions. A strike vote was taken the week of July 19 and came back with a mandate for strike action to try and force the government to come to terms on a new contract.
Before you get totally riled up, please take a deep breath and consider the following facts:
1 – An official with CBSA spoke on the record to our tourism advocacy organization to confirm that CBSA must ensure 90 percent staffing levels at all times due to their designation as an essential service. Another article claims that up to 2600 members can take full strike action out of more than 8500 total members across 2 unions.
2 – Their contract expired in June. Of 2018. Yes, more than 3 years ago. There have been no talks since December of 2020. Talks have since resumed.
Unless the 90 percent staffing level requirement is an aggregate total that would allow some points to have almost no staff, there will not be much change to operations in Rainy River or Fort Frances. There are only 2 possible lanes to work with in RR and they are rarely used at the same time. We would expect extended wait times anyway, so I don’t foresee this being a big problem even if it does carry on to August 9 and beyond. As always, I could be totally wrong about all of this so don’t set your watch by any of it.
For the most part, the officers in Rainy River have been getting rave views from an overwhelming majority of our guests the last 5+ years and we appreciate their great work in facilitating smooth entries into Rainy River. This contract needs to get done and it needs to get done soon. The Liberal government cannot keep dragging this out. It’s time to make a deal. Let’s take care of our CBSA officers so they can continue to take care of us and our guests.
I don’t expect this to be a significant issue in our district, but wanted to make sure everyone is aware of what is going on because there is possibility it could be a factor affecting travel wait times at various ports of entry.
Of course, I could be totally wrong. Wouldn’t be the first or last time that happens.
ReOpener 2021 Update (July 26, 2021)
We have a few announcements that I’d like to make which are mostly related to our groups with reservations on the book for the rest of the year:
1 – I hereby christen this crazy mid-summer start to the season as “ReOpener 2021” and it shall hereby be referred to as such for the rest of this year. Let’s hope it is the first and last of its kind. The .doc file with information about the border and resort reopening is now titled “ReOpener 2021 Guide.” If your group hasn’t received it yet, please email and ask for it.
2 – We have reached out to everyone that has trips booked for August and have somewhat of an idea on what might be open in August starting August 9 through the end of the month, but are waiting to hear back from about half dozen groups so it may take a few days before we get a clear picture of what might be available. We expect things to be somewhat fluid as well as people navigate everything and may decide to roll their trips over after initially hoping to make it work. I’m starting on early September groups as of July 26 and ready to hear from everyone with a reservation if we haven’t reached out yet, please do so ASAP.
3 — Please reach out if you have trips booked so we can confirm or cancel/roll over. Also, feel free to reach out if you are ready to ask about openings. We may not have answers on openings yet, but we can take notes to work with as we get more responses from existing reservations.
4 – There has been a lot of concern from guests that we have spoken to relating to not being able to make their trips and how it relates to their regular ongoing reservations. Please, please understand that nobody will lose their spots for 2022 because they don’t/won’t/can’t make a current reservation work between August 9th and the end of the season. Nobody is going to lose their deposits because of a cancellation. All will be rolled over to 2022 and we will determine how to proceed with 2022 confirmations in the new year based on what requirements for travel are then and/or any changes that may come about between now and Feb/March. At that point, we’ll need people to confirm their intentions for 2022 so we can proceed with a clear picture of what openings might be available due to cancellations/roll overs at that time. We want you all to make your decisions based on what is best for you and those in your groups at the present time. All we ask is that you reach out to your groups as soon as you can so you can keep us informed and we can plan accordingly.
5 – Most openings will be available Saturday to Saturday or have to start/end on a Saturday. When we can make it work to offer Saturday night stays, we will absolutely do that. Some groups have told us they are fine to switch cabins if it helps free up some space for people to make a trip work somehow and we are thankful for that and will do what we can help facilitate a trip. The new duplex will still require check-in/check-out to be on any day other than a Saturday to ensure those cabins don’t add to the Saturday cleaning schedule.
6 – We are trying to clarify the situations with kids under age 12 that are not vaccine eligible. Our tourism advocacy organization is working on this and we hope to know soon whether or not your kids under 12 will need self-administered Day 1 arrival tests like they are requiring for Canadians and eligible travelers prior to August 9th.
7 – It is my understanding that hotel rooms and accommodations are sold out on August 8th from I-Falls to Baudette and maybe beyond along MN HWY-11. We suggest you calling local lodging providers in MN/Fort Frances ASAP for anyone that hopes to have an overnight stay before or after your visit to Lake of the Woods. It is likely there will be more demand in general and especially on weekends moving through the next couple of months with the border requirements in place.
8 – Our bait supplier will not have leeches and does not handle worms. I am trying to determine if worms will be available anywhere in the local area so anyone that uses them can plan to buy some nearby. I have not totally ruled out trying to get some flats be pre-order only, but will have to determine feasibility of this option if it will even be available to us.
9 – If you normally have summer boat storage, please let us know if you want us to save your spot or if we can use them for others the rest of this season. 10 – We plan to have some of the usual items in our store/office. Ice cream, beverages, tackle, canned goods, condiments etc but our selection might not be as wide as would normally be. Items can be added if demand is there for them, but the first couple of weeks will probably be a feeling out period. Don’t be afraid to ask about something you may want/need and may be able to order or pick up during a regular town trip.
11 – Wi-fi has been just plain AWFUL since the pandemic started and there isn’t really anything that we can do about it. The systems are so overloaded, especially at peak times, that they often time-out when you are trying to load web pages. We strongly encourage you to add a roaming package to your cell phones/tablets so you can use the tower signals directly and hotspot off them as needed for your connectivity needs. Also, download any movies, books, etc prior to arrival. Large file downloads and video streaming on resort wi-fi will not be very reliable. We have to live with it every day. If yours is better at home, be thankful you don’t live in Morson!
That should do it for this update. Stay tuned for more as info becomes available.
Border Update: Re USA extending closure (July 23)
I’M GONNA SAY THIS REAL LOUD FOR EVERYONE IN THE VERY BACK AND THE 5TH MEZZANINE SO LISTEN UP!!
The extension of the closure of the USA border to non-essential travel APPLIES ONLY to non-US citizens/permanent residents. For some strange reason that defies all common sense, the USA does not want Canadians driving across the border at land ports of entry. A country CANNOT keep you from going home if you are a citizen. You WILL be allowed to return home even if the USA border remains closed to land crossings for Canadians and other counties.
The media headlines on this issue have been terribly misleading and make it appear you will be locked out of your homeland. NOT TRUE!
Anyone with concerns should call Baudette Customs and Border Patrol directly @ 218-634-2803 and ask them the following question “If I go to Canada before August 21, will I be allowed to come home?” I am willing to bet everything I owe that the answer is ALWAYS going to be “yes.”
USA citizens have been travelling back and forth since the start of the border closure. Several US citizens own resorts in Canada and have been able to go back and forth for business purposes and return home at any time. There is no testing requirement for you to return home. That would have to be a new restriction added by the US government. There has been no indication that is even being considered.
You show up at the port of entry and you get welcomed home.
COVID UPDATE ON BORDER TRAVEL (July 19)
This will be a very short update with the important details from the press conference held today at 12:30PM CST.
More information relating to how this will effect resort guests will be forthcoming as soon as we have time to figure out our own plan.
For now, here are the details everyone has been waiting for:
The Canadian border will open to non-essential travel for American citizens and permanent residents on August 9, 2021.
The requirements for entry are:
1. Full vaccination series of a health Canada approve vaccine and be 14 days past the full vaccination. For moderna and pfizer, this will be 14 days past a second dose. For Johnson and Johnson, 14 days past the single dose.
2. A negative pre-arrival PCR test no more than 72 hours prior to arriving at the port of entry.
3. Willing to submit to a random testing requirement at the border if asked. I will offer more details on this in the next update. It will be similar to random extra searches at airports or other land crossings.
Kids under the age of 12 will be exempt from quarantine requirements (with a few conditions) if they are travelling with fully vaccinated parents.
You will be asked to use the “ArriveCan” app to enter your vaccination status, pre-arrival test and health questions to help speed up the border crossing process. Also bring digital or paper copies of your documents along in case of issues with the app.
We will update more in a couple days. Please don’t call and ask for openings yet. We need time to figure this all out and contact the guests set to arrive first before we can begin to piece this puzzle together. There may yet be some real fine print we haven’t been able to see yet.
For now, please reach out to your groups if you have trips planned. Everyone will need to understand this process and be willing to take care of all of the above requirements to be able to cross the border.
Other public health orders will remain place in Ontario for the time being, but they should be quite manageable for those heading up to go fishing.
Thank you all for your continued patience and understanding
We hope to see as many of you as possible soon!
– Justin, Krista, and Ellen
COVID UPDATE: JULY 5, 2021
There is no new information related to the border, but I wanted to post a progress report on vaccination rates in Canada over the past 2 weeks.
As of 8:45am CST on July 5, the vaccination rates for 1st doses and 2nd doses for ages 12 and up in Canada is just over 78% and just over 40%. That compares with 76% and 23% of the same category 2 weeks ago. There were multiple days last week that Canada delivered over 600K shots in a single day. Covid case numbers continue to be low across the country.
Several provinces are opening up almost completely or will be doing so shortly (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan.) Ontario is lagging but expected to enter the 3rd step in their reopening plan no later than July 21. It is important to note that there may very well be leftover public health directives in Ontario once the border does open. We will be sure to make it clear to everyone what will be required so you can be prepared.
The policy for Canadian citizens and permanent residents reducing quarantine to the time it takes for an on-arrival test to come back negative goes into effect just before midnight tonight. At the moment, there is also a 72-hour pre-arrival test required as well. We can only assume the federal government will be watching these test results closely to see how many vaccinated travelers produce a positive test for covid upon arriving at an airport or land crossing.
We continue to hold out hope that common sense and faith in the science of vaccines will prevail once Canada reaches the stated goal of 75% fully vaccinated. For now, we can only wait for more information to be released regarding easing of border restrictions.
Thank you all for your patience and pledges of support.
Justin, Krista, and Ellen
COVID UPDATE – June 22, 2021
The federal government announced the first step in the process of easing border restrictions on June 21. As of July 5th, Canadians and permanent residents that are 14 days past a full vaccination series will no longer be required to quarantine for 14 days upon return to Canada. Proof of vaccination will be required. A pre-arrival PCR test and an on-arrival PCR test continue to be required, but once the on-arrival test is taken, individuals will be allowed to return to their normal routine. Any other travelers, including children ineligible for vaccination, will be required to quarantine for the full 14 days. No other plans or details were provided on possible next steps.
While this is a painfully small step in the process, it is an important one. The reduction or elimination of quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers is the only way there is hope for fishing trips to be made in 2021.
Further comments by the members of the federal government appeared to make it clear that non-essential travel will not be considered until Canada is 75% percent fully vaccinated. As of this posting, Canada has 76% of ages 12+ with 1 dose and 23% of ages 12+ with 2 doses. There is still a long way to go to reach the benchmark, but good progress is being made.
In other news, the federal court challenge to the hotel quarantine program was thrown out last week so that program is allowed to remain in place for those without full a full vaccination series or proof of such. Also, the US government decided against a unilateral reopening of their side of the land border so there continues to be zero non-essential travel by land until at least July 21.
The big take-away from this update is that the July 21 date for re-opening of the border to non-essential travel seems unlikely. The rate of vaccination was about 1% per day last week. That pace would require 52 days to reach 75% fully vaccinated assuming all shots are 2nd doses, which they won’t be. I have to adjust my personal sports book odds to near 0% for non-essential travel being allowed in July. August seems possible and is now sitting in the 50-50 range for mid to late August based on my evaluation of all circumstances available.
We are trying to remain hopeful and positive, but the federal government is making that extremely difficult. I have tried to be as politically neutral as possible during the majority of these updates, but I find that impossible to do today after the announcements this past Friday and Monday. I apologize in advance for what may qualify as a political rant, but I feel like this needs to be said.
The tourism industry continues to be sacrificed for reasons that far outweigh common sense and the medical since available. If it wasn’t clear before, it is obvious now. The Trudeau Liberal government is doing its best to keep polling in their favor for an election that could occur anytime in the next 12-15 months. Opening the border to fully vaccinated travelers while a majority of Canadians polled would prefer to wait is not in their political best interest. Despite loads of science, data and common sense to back them up, they refuse to run the country in the best interests of the entire population. It is shameful. It is harmful to the country in so many ways. It is darn near criminally negligent.
To paraphrase a line from one of my favorite movies, Trudeau and his liberal party members of parliament are so busy trying to keep their jobs that they are forgetting to actually do their jobs. That is no way to run a country.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Cheers,
Justin, Krista and Ellen
COVID-UPDATE; June 18, 2021
The border closure is officially extended until July 21, 2021. While this is not the announcement we were hoping for, it is the one we were expecting. The Canadian govt is planning to announce plans on Monday, June 21 that will be a starting point for loosening of some border restrictions.
We truly hope there will be a timeline of steps given to allow everyone to plan their summers accordingly.
COVID UPDATE – June 9, 2021
There have been a lot of calls, emails and texts the last couple days. I was hoping to have something official before the next update, but it appears the time is now. With no official news to report, we are going to be guessing again.
First, vaccination rates in Canada are coming along nicely compared to the slow start so that is a huge part of any possible changes. As of this update, 71.6 percent of the population 12 years of age and up have received at least 1 dose of vaccine and over 10 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Second doses are now being distributed at a high rate so the fully vaccinated group should increase much faster moving forward. For comparison, the USA currents shows 61.2% of the population aged 12 and up has at least 1 dose, but 50 percent of that same group is also fully vaccinated.
Second, the 3rd waves case count are coming down across Canada. Hospitalization numbers are coming down as well. These 2 indicators, along with vaccination rates will be the key to easing restrictions.
The rumors state that the borders are opening on June 22/23 based on someone’s source high up in the federal cabinet within the government of Canada, but I have no reason to believe this is to be true for the Canadian border. I see no circumstances that would result in throwing the border open for anyone and everyone (with full vaccination) at that time. I may be wrong and will eat my words if that is the case, but it makes zero sense based on all the information we have and the government’s prior behavior. The US may open their border to Canadians at that time, which I will get to below.
A few articles with quotes from government officials have been written lead me to believe there is a chance some announcements could be made regarding some changes at the border. I fully expect these to apply to Canadians returning to Canada initially, but any chance to current restrictions will be a good thing. The first domino that needs to fall is removing the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated travelers. Based on the US info model, fully vaccinated people are those people 2 weeks past their 2nd dose of a 2-dose vaccine and 3 weeks past the Johnson and Johnson single shot vaccine
The current hotel quarantine requirement for air travel is up to 3 days, or until your PCR arrival test at the airport comes back and then the rest of the 14 days at a location with a plan approved by govt is currently being contested in Federal court by a constitutional challenge. Land crossings do not have a hotel portion, but involve other testing requirements throughout the 14 days. That hearing is set to wrap up any day if not already. The govt could wait and see if the court forces their hand (and then claim they had no choice, but to disband it) or they could act first and save any negativity associated with being scolded by the court for doing something against the constitution. A few weeks ago, a govt advisory panel of medical experts recommended scrapping the hotel quarantine plan altogether and gave suggestions for a more common-sense science-based approach to those without vaccine, one shot, or full vaccination series. According to this report, those in the fully vaccinated category should have no quarantine requirement. The govt has this report on their desk as well so this could provide cover with the folks still scared of everything covid and allow them to drop the quarantine for vaccinated people. There is also the matter of our PM jetting over to the G7 Summit meetings schedule for June 11, 12, 13. He has indicated he does not plan to use the govt approved quarantine hotels in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Calgary upon returning with his delegation, but rather selecting an Ottawa area hotel for himself and what I would expect is a large group of people in his traveling party. I cannot imagine that sitting well with opposition politicians or at least half of the general-public. This may provide more good timing to drop the quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated travelers and just avoid potentially negative fallout from appearing to play by different rules than others.
Any announcement dropping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated people will be a huge step towards getting some people back to the lake. A quarantine requirement is non-starter for those booking cabin rental, campsites, etc. So, despite not having any direct impact on US travelers to start, this would still be a very a good thing.
Rumors about the USA opening their side of the border on June 23 have been floating around for a few weeks now. They seem to have solid sources high up in Customs and Border Protection at busy ports in Washington state, but nothing has been confirmed. This would be another good step because pressure would mount even more on Canada to make some changes. This may be a strategy to try and force some easing of restrictions based on the threat of allowing all Canadians access to the US or may be a bluff as well. It could lead to some compromise on both sides, which again would be a big improvement because anything in the right directions is a good thing.
It does appear a staged re-opening is likely and may start with people like those with family members on both sides of the border and property owners. After a stage or 2 of some kind, we would then expect fully vaccinated people to be welcomed back in the next phase. All these steps could take weeks at a time or a couple months even, but I have changed my odds of late July travel for the average angler from zero to 50-50. I still had July at 0 chance in my sports book a week or 10 days ago. Late august has been moved to 90+ percent based on current trends, leaks to media, etc.
Of course, things could change drastically between now and then and nothing is certain and Trudeau could dig in if he feels it is politically beneficial to do so, but these are our best guesses at this time.
We hope to have something official to pass along about the quarantine requirements being changed in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner, as the G7 Summit is days away from beginning and will be done in less than a week.
Please pass this along to anyone you know that is waiting for the chance to come back to Canada and fish. We will need to ramp up our workload here to finish projects we have started and may not be able to return every call about the border. When things do become official at some point, we will be contacting those with trips scheduled for the time the border opens first and then work out way through the calendar a week at a time to reach out to everyone.
Thank you all for your patience and eagerness to get back to the lake and help us dig out of the covid-induced hole our industry has been put in.
Cheers.
Justin, Krista, and Ellen.
COVID-19 UPDATE – (as of May 4, 2021)
So you’re saying there’s a chance?
Despite multiple provinces being in lockdown mode and Ontario experiencing another stay-at-home order that includes checkpoints limiting travel at the provincial borders with Manitoba and Quebec, there is a glimmer of hope for the first time in months that a portion of the summer may be available to south of the border visitors. After having my optimism of a partial season in 2020 crushed over and over, I have been holding a much more pessimistic view of the likelihood of the border opening since last September. For the first time since then, I believe there to be a reason for a wee bit of optimism that there will be some travel before the end of the summer.
As vaccinations in Canada move along at a slower, but steady, pace than we’d like, Canada has reached a full 1/3 of the population having received at least 1 dose. While the percentage of fully vaccinated Canadians is still embarrassingly low (4%), the reason for hope is a couple of studies showing the effectiveness of 1 dose of vaccine as well as the percentage of people testing positive for covid after being fully vaccinated. The numbers being discussed for 2 dose effectiveness against contracting covid are in the 70% range, while the #s of people contracting covid after 2 doses of vaccine are so miniscule, they are in the same ballpark as the # of blood clots reports after receiving the A-Z shot. The chances of passing it to someone else and/or needing to be hospitalized in the event of contracting covid after vaccination are even smaller yet. If public health officials and government leaders want us to trust the science of vaccine safety against blood clots and covid in general, they must be willing to trust the science of relating to the chances of contracting covid after 2 doses of vaccine, right? Can I get an “Amen, J-Man”?
This entire “2 weeks to bend the curve movement” began with the idea of keeping the medical system from being overwhelmed. It should be quite clear that vaccinated people will add little or nothing to the burden on the medical system by way of their own covid outcomes or passing along to someone else, especially if the majority have at least 1 shot or have had the opportunity to do so. After all, these forced closures and orders were never designed to save every life. They were designed to help the health care system manage the case load.
Having said all that, Canada should be on track to have everyone in the country able to get an initial dose of vaccine by the end of June. If the government and health officials use common sense and trust the science the way they keep telling us to, that would allow for consideration of potential easing of border restrictions, assuming current 3rd wave issues across the country are manageable by that time. BC has already reported a downward trend in the 7-day average of new cases after 1 month into their current lockdown. If that trend follows into other provinces as well, it gives 8 weeks to make progress at the same time as vaccinations increase in targeted hot spots including specific neigbourhoods, work places/industries, cities/towns etc. Factor in some extra governmental “drag their feet” time into July, there is a chance there could be something announced at some point in July. My guess is that gives August a 50-50 chance as things stand here today. July would have much lower odds, again in my opinion, but moving August from 0% to 50% in my sportsbook is a big improvement.
Now, it is important to note that we expect that all travel in 2021 will require some kind of proof of full vaccination. There may also be a negative test prior to arrival as part of the process as well. That is already in place for air and land entry to Canada for anyone not included in the essential travel category. The definition of fully vaccinated may also be “30 days after the 2nd dose” in a 2-dose regimen. With that assumption in mind, I urge all July/August guests still holding onto their reservations and able to come on shorter notice, to plan accordingly. Please inform us ASAP if you will not be getting a vaccine this year or any testing requirements so that we can make a note that your dates will likely be available for someone that would like to fill that slot due to vacation/testing conditions.
Nobody will lose their deposit or slot in 2022 if they choose not to take the vaccination or do the testing most likely required to make a trip this year. All deposits and dates will be rolled over for any trips cancelled by the border closure or choice to pass on vaccination/testing. All we ask is that you make your plans known so we are on the same page and can adjust accordingly to fill any openings that may arise.
As I wrap this up, I urge to you keep in mind that there is no official word on any of this. It is all opinions and best guesses based on what we have seen unfold over the past 14 months. I may be totally wrong about all of this or off on the timelines. This update also assumes that the quarantine requirement for travelers would be lifted at the same time the border is allowed to reopen. Any kind of quarantine requirement would pretty much make all talk of fishing trips to resorts moot. The government may also find further reason to stifle travel and economic recovery while wiping out another season completely in the same of public safety. We have seen covid used and abused as a political tool to gain/maintain power so nothing is assured. At the time of writing this update, this is our best guess on what we expect in the next 8-10 weeks.
We are currently accepting reservations from Canadians looking to make plans while the border remains closed. We’ll be firing up the covid-lemonade making machine soon and it will be with a renewed boost of hope that our hard work and investments will be able to be enjoyed before the end of the summer. Watch for updates on projects that are currently in process and a couple of exciting new things happening soon.
I cannot end without expressing heartfelt gratitude to our wonderful resort family. Your encouragement, patience and offers of support beyond all expectations have been the only thing keeping me going during some of the toughest stretches of this mess. Almost every spending decision made since March of 2020 has weighed heavily on me and tested my resolve and confidence like no other situation ever has. Knowing we have your support behind us whenever you are able to return helped immensely in deciding whether or not we could take on debt to invest in improvements during this period with almost no revenues. I truly feel that we are just caretakers of this slice of heaven that have been entrusted both with your investments in us in the form deposits for trips not available in 2020 and some in 2021 as well. Also, there is the duty to continue the legacy that my Grandpa Mylie and Grandma Evelyn began in back in 1959 when they bought this property from Fred and Dorothy Vauthey and later continued until 1982 with Grandma Roberta by his side after Grandma Evie passed away. Both of these are of the utmost importance to me personally and I intend to continue to work hard to be worthy of the faith placed in me to make sure the job is done well.
As we enter Year 30 here at the resort, I hope that we can turn the corner and start to leave covid troubles behind us far enough to welcome some of our dearly missed resort family back to lake and make plans for a resort family re-union of sorts this year and next for everyone that needs to start a new streak of years going to Canada. Cheers to making it 1 year in a row again as soon as possible. May the 4th be with you, always.
With gratitude, love and thanks from the bottom of our hearts,
Justin, Krista and Ellen
COVID-19 UPDATE (As of March 20, 2021)
Spring 2021 has officially sprung, bringing with it a fresh 30 day extension of the border closure agreement. This marks the 12th consecutive month that the 30 day closure has been extended and the reality is that it won’t be any different in the near future.
We fully expect to lose all of May and June again in 2021 due to the border closure, with July and August more likely than not to see the same results.
The Canadian government failed to secure a reliable vaccination supply so we are lagging badly as a nation in getting our population vaccinated. At this time, the Canadian plan is to stretch out the interval between doses of all 2-dose vaccines to 4 months to try and get all Canadians that want it, an initial dose to give as much protection as possible to the most people in a short time. This is purely based on the lack of vaccine supply in Canada. All current estimates say they hope to have the 1st doses distributed by the end of the summer. It is doubtful travel will be allowed in any meaningful numbers until the entire country is fully vaccinated, but only time will confirm that hypothesis.
For anyone interested, the following link will bring you to a Canadian vaccination tracking website. The key number will be the percentage vaccinated. Fully vaccinated vs single dose vaccinations will be the biggest mark of important progress we believe will be required for serious consideration to re-opening the border to discretionary travel before the end of the 2021 tourism season.
https://covid19tracker.ca/vaccinationtracker.html
Anyone claiming they have insider info about any of this is either flat out lying, or is woefully naive and believing someone that is flat out lying. “Insider information” was reported almost every month from June 2020 to now about how the border would be opening on this date or there is a pilot project happening to try this or that at the broder. That information has been WRONG. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
If you want to make sure you get a fishing trip for your current May and June dates, we strongly encourage you to seek alternate destinations again this year. All you’re deposits and dates will be rolled over to 2022 again. All we ask is that you let us know when you have committed to another trip so we are all on the same page moving forward.
Covid has been minimal in the Rainy River District since this all began and continues to be so 1 year later. Another note of interest, Covid has been minimal in Lake of the Woods Country in MN as well, despite many resorts there having record busy years and being open from their walleye opener onward. With that as our guide, when the time comes, we are confident that the risks to guests and staff will be very minimal with just a few changes to standard operating procedure at the resort. Our light housekeeping, full independent cabins are perfect for keeping risk low.
Thank you all for your love, patience, support and prayers as we continue to navigate through these uncertain times. We will do our best to keep you informed along the way and give our honest thoughts/feelings whenever asked to predict the future. Our resort family means the world to us. We hope you are all doing well as we move into year 2 of covid related business frustrations.
We continue to try and hold onto some optimism for better than expected outcomes. However, having gone through this for a full year now, we know much better what to expect from our federal government in terms of where this issue fits into their list of priorities.
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