The group hoping to keep the SS Keewatin in its home port isn’t giving up the fight.
While not surprised by Skyline Investments’s move to donate the Edwardian-era ship to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston, Keep Keewatin Home campaign lead Dan Travers said it’s now time for the federal government to step in and stop the move.
“Naturally we’re extremely disappointed at this turn of events,” Travers said. “Having said that, simply announcing a move does not constitute an imminent loss of the ship from its home berth here in Port McNicoll, as representatives from the Kingston museum and a local charity are stating.
“Because it involves a multi-million dollar federal tax break, the Canadian government has a duty to do its due diligence with regard to the deal made between Skyline Investments and the Kingston museum, and should that deal turn out to be not in the best interests of Canadians, we will be waiting.”
When asked about how much Skyline will receive as a charitable tax receipt with its donation, CEO Blake Lyon told MidlandToday “we are not at liberty to disclose this, nor has it been determined.”
According to Travers, the Keewatin has been the cornerstone of economic redevelopment in Port McNicoll since returning to great fanfare in 2012 with volunteers giving thousands hours of their time along with private investment and government resources allocated to rebuild the community.
“We are a small community with a big heart,” Travers said. “The loss of the Kee would mean all of our efforts over the past years have been in vain. All of our strategic planning and approved Official Plans will now have to be redone at considerable cost – who will pay to replace this community asset and the attendant planning costs?
“There are multiple options within North Simcoe for the ship’s long-term preservation, which present less risk in transport and are more appropriate to the vessel’s history and provenance.”
Travers emphasized the government has a certain amount of accountability in the deal between Skyline and the Marine Museum.
“Removing the Keewatin from its home port is heritage appropriation, the notion that this practice can be facilitated by the federal government with dollars coming from the pockets of Canadians is unfathomable,” Travers said, noting that as the potential beneficiary of a huge tax receipt, Skyline, says on its website that it has $700 million in assets.
“Why spend millions moving the ship when far less money could be spent restoring the SS Keewatin where it is now in line with existing approved government plans?”
Simcoe North MP Adam Chambers said that from his point of view the Keewatin's home is the port from which she sailed.
"There are still many steps that must occur before the ship is moved and I am hopeful there is a scenario where she remains," Chambers said.
Chambers said he oppose Skyline receiving any windfall tax receipt on the basis of value that was created at the hands of volunteers.
"Taxpayers should not subsidize the transfer of the ship," he said. "I have confidence that CRA will scrutinize the transaction appropriately, as it does with many cultural property donations each year."
When asked about any possible next steps, Travers was adamant.
“It's now time for everyone who has a role in the preservation and safety of the SS Keewatin to do their jobs,” he said. “We must hold those responsible to a degree of accountability.”
In that regard, Travers said Transport Canada will need to set specific conditions for the safe transit to Kingston based on the ship's existing condition.
“We think the hull of the ship is tender in a few spots and represents a significant risk if moved. The insurance underwriters for the tow will need to conduct a risk assessment prior to setting the premium and binding coverage for the transit to the shipyard.”
Travers also expressed concern about the government’s ability to provide proper oversight during the next phase of the ship’s life.
“The representatives of Heritage Canada will have to ensure that the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes guarantee the ship's safety from a conservation and preservation perspective,” he said, adding that as a condition of the museum receiving a Heritage Canada category B designation for the ship, strict standards must be met.
“The responsibility doesn’t start when the ship arrives in Kingston, it includes the ship as is, where it is, and its voyage to the shipyard. While being worked on at the shipyard particular care will need to be taken given the vessel's all-wood superstructure.”
After being moved to Kingston later this year, the Edwardian-era ship will then be integrated into the Marine Museum’s extensive transportation collection covering the last 200 years of Great Lakes history and offer a new cultural experience in Kingston.
From 2012 until the pandemic, the ship was operated as a historical attraction in Port McNicoll with operations managed by volunteers with the charity RJ and Diane Peterson Keewatin Foundation, also known as ‘Friends of Keewatin’.
The saga surrounding the possibility the Keewatin would leave Port McNicoll began shortly after the pandemic started in March 2020. At the time, Skyline noted the ship would remain shuttered for that summer’s tourism season. From there, fencing was placed around the ship and volunteers were asked to return their keys.It hasn’t been open since that time.
And In 2021, MidlandToday obtained a letter where a Minister of Canadian Heritage staffer tells Keewatin boosters that since the ship is privately owned, the decision of where it resides rests solely in the hands of its owners (Skyline Investments Inc).
Writing on behalf of Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbault, Josée Ethier told Travers and other supporters that the government won’t become involved in the push to keep Skyline from moving the vessel from Port McNicoll to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in Kingston for a charitable tax receipt.
“The Government of Canada recognizes the important work that has been done by the Friends of the Keewatin and the volunteers towards the preservation of the ship,” wrote Ethier, who served as director of the Ministerial Correspondence Secretariat.
“However, it is important to note that the decision to donate the property to one heritage organization over another is a private matter.”
But Travers says that while it takes little effort to sign a paper agreement in a lawyer’s office and make an announcement in the media, fulfilling every one of these category B conditions to the satisfaction of all Canadians will prove more difficult.
“It is our interpretation that if any one of these conditions cannot be met, then Heritage Canada has a responsibility to invalidate this deal and look to the vessel’s hometown for better options,” he said.
“If this move cannot be justified by our federal government, the Keewatin must stay.”
