Manitoba reserve’s scramble before freeze-up made worse when ferry breaks down
SHOAL LAKE, Man. — An annual mad dash for supplies that residents of an isolated reserve near the Manitoba-Ontario boundary make on their ferry’s last day before winter freeze-up was extra hairy Friday when the vessel broke down, stranding people and their vehicles on either side of the crossing.
Erwin Redsky, chief of the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, said the hydraulics failed just hours after the reserve’s council declared Friday morning that ferry operations would cease that evening.
Redsky said the necessary part for repairs wasn’t available until next week, and with the ice continuing to freeze, the community took to motorboats to push the barge back and forth.
The final trip was completed in the wee hours of Saturday morning.