Fish Surveys Underway

(Ministry of Natural Resources photo)

The Ministry of Natural Resources will be conducting lake surveys in the Kenora, Fort Frances and Dryden areas over the next couple of months.

Spokesperson Bill Towill says they're collecting a wide variety of information.

"We're sampling the fish to understand the fish population in that lake," says Towill, "the structure of that lake and the overall health of the population."

Towill says the data is shared with the Ministry of the Environment for its annual guide for eating sports fish and used to make changes to local fishing regulations.

Anglers Checked

The Ministry of Natural Resources says most anglers fishing the Fort Frances area are following the rules.

A recent check of anglers by MNR Conservation officers found 95 per cent in compliance with fishing regulations.

Most were non-residents.

The MNR did lay five charges and issued another fifteen warnings during the May 28 check for such things as having more than the legal limit of fish, packaging fish so they could not be easily identified or failing to produce a valid fishing license.

Shelter of Hope to Hold Camp

The Rainy River District Women's Shelter of Hope is giving children who have witnessed woman abuse in their home a chance to go to camp.

Child Witness program coordinator Susan Hanson says the five-day retreat will be held at a Kenora camp at the end of this month and is open to both children and their mothers.

"They're going to learn that the abuse in their home isn't their fault," says Hanson. "They're going to learn how to safety plan. There is lots of self-esteem building throughout the week. We're also going to have time to have lots of family time with mom."

The free camp is open to those in the Kenora and Rainy River districts.

Registration can be made by the calling the Shelter of Hope's office in Atikokan.

Check Twitter for Border Wait Times

The Canada Border Services Agency is now using Twitter to inform motorists of the estimated wait times at its border crossings.

It part of a three-month pilot project being tried this summer.

It's being used at selected border crossings, including Fort Frances, before Agency considers expanding it to include other ports of entry.

Point-of-Sale Debate Continues

There's optimism from some native leaders regarding the HST.

Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Stan Beardy says he's encouraged a solution could be reached on continuing a point-of-sale tax exemption for native people following meetings this week with both the provincial and federal governments.


"We still have a lot of work to do," says Beardy, "but I guess the fact that their willing to sit down and talk to us is an a positive indication perhaps they're trying to work with us.

First Nations have been asking the governments to continue the point of sale tax exemption when HST comes into effect July 1.