‘Canoe for Every Child’ paddlers close completing journey
A pair of Northern Ontario women are well on their way in their canoe journey from Sault Ste. Marie to Spanish. Paige Simon and Lue Mahaffey set out in their orange canoe last Friday as they launched their "Canoe For Every Child" campaign, with a goal of raising money for First Nations water issues as well as raising awareness of residential schools.
The pair began their journey near the former Shingwauk Residential School in the Soo, and they're paddling along the shores of Lake Huron to the former residential school in Spanish. Recent stormy weather and choppy waters forced the pair to take an unscheduled break near Serpent River.
"A few nights ago when were coming out of Thessalon First Nation, it was pretty bad," says Simon. "It was very wavy, and we had to, like, make an emergency landing on an island and stay there for the night."
"Today was the first day that it just wasn't safe to even go on the water," adds Mahaffey. "Thunderstorms coming in. We've got a tarp over our tent just to try to keep us a little bit extra dry. But we're kind of camping out until it clears a little."
Until this latest setback, Simon says the weather has been very cooperative.
"The weather has been in our favour for sure," she says. "We're actually way ahead of schedule and we're getting to our destination way sooner than we expected to be."
The pair says they have reached the halfway point of their $75,000 fundraising goal, which they will donate to "Water First," - an organization working to address drinking water challenges on First Nations.
Simon and Mahaffey are updating their "Canoe For Every Child" campaign regularly on their Facebook page, where information on how to donate to the cause can also be found.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.