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Manitobans with Ontario cottages frustrated with new border restrictions

Manitoba residents Candace and Sean Ashtons property on Malachi Lake, Ontario. Candace Ashton

To limit the spread of COVID-19 variants, the Ontario government has announced they’re restricting interprovincial travel starting Monday, April 19, for those crossing the border from Quebec and Manitoba.

For Manitobans with secondary residences, cottages or cabins across the border, the information has been hard to understand.

“Very frustrated and super disappointed, kind of seemed almost unbelievable,” Ste Anne resident, Candace Ashton said. “I had to read it a few times just to let it set in a bit.”

Candace and her husband Sean Ashton own a cabin on Malachi Lake, Ontario. Their property is close to the border, approximately 45 minutes from Kenora.

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“People pay taxes there to have your cabins there and it helps support that economy and now you’re literally telling the taxpayers that they can’t go?” Sean said. “And ours aren’t as hefty as some of the people inside Kenora city limits so that I couldn’t imagine. I would be even more unhappy if that was the case.”

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Click to play video: 'Travel remains among top concerns for COVID-19 in Manitoba'
Travel remains among top concerns for COVID-19 in Manitoba

Usually heading out to their cabin at the end of May, the Ashtons are hoping the current restrictions won’t be a factor by then.

“We definitely hope they’re going to amend the rules, fingers crossed that the numbers go down and they’ll allow us [back in],” Candace said. “Or the real hope is that if the [numbers] don’t go down that they’ll do what they did last year and split up the province into different zones, and then have exemptions where the numbers are lower, or not as many people are affected.”

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