Northern Ontario roadside attraction facing chopping block
A roadside attraction in Iroquois featuring a lumberjack may be on the chopping block.
Within the next couple of weeks, the town’s council will decide whether to spruce it up or send it to the landfill.
‘Guy-Paul Treefall’ is a 20-foot lumberjack situated on Highway 11, near the entrance to the town centre in Iroquois Falls. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
Guy-Paul Treefall has been greeting travellers on Highway 11 for the past 15 years and officials said it is due for some touchups.
“It needs some plastering, some paint, and … there's some holes in it with the rain and the storms over the years,” said Iroquois Falls Mayor Tory Delaurier.
Council put the work out for tender and the bid from a local company came back at around $26,000.
“It's a lot of money for a small town to spend," said Delaurier.
"But (it's a) tourism attraction. It does draw people -- people do take pictures with it. People are stopping” just to see it.
However, not everyone agrees with the mayor.
“I think we should get rid of it,” said Dan Paul, a resident of Iroquois Falls.
‘Guy-Paul Treefall’ is a 20-foot lumberjack situated on Highway 11, near the entrance to the town centre in Iroquois Falls. (Lydia Chubak/CTV News Northern Ontario)
“It’s not too good where it’s situated to start with. I don't think it brings tourists in here, so I think we should get rid of it instead, spending all kinds of money to fix it."
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
Fellow resident Lucie Woloschuk said she hasn’t made up her mind on the matter yet but said $26,000 "is a lot of money for us taxpayers."
"At the same time, I'd like to see it repaired because it's our town's heritage kind of deal. So I'm still debating, still wondering,” Woloschuk added.
Delaurier said he’s leaning towards keeping the statue, but he wants to gather more feedback over the next two weeks before a final decision about Guy-Paul Treefall’s fate is made.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
NDP house leader says House dysfunction will be a factor in future confidence votes
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
BREAKING Jury begins deliberations in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
The jury tasked with determining if Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago began deliberating Friday after nearly two weeks of testimony that saw the singer and his accuser give starkly different accounts of what happened.
BREAKING Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Canadian family stuck in Lebanon anxiously awaits flight options amid Israeli strikes
A Canadian man who is trapped in Lebanon with his family says they are anxiously waiting for seats on a flight out of the country, as a barrage of Israeli airstrikes continues.
Yazidi woman captured by ISIS rescued in Gaza after more than a decade in captivity
A 21-year-old Yazidi woman has been rescued from Gaza where she had been held captive by Hamas for years after being trafficked by ISIS.
Airlines' challenge of Canada's passenger protection rules rejected by Supreme Court
Canada's airlines have failed in their challenge of air passenger protection rules that the federal government implemented in 2019.