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
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
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.'
Missing B.C. climber died from fall on Mount Baker, medical examiner says
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
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.
Anne Hathaway confirms 'Princess Diaries 3': 'Miracles happen'
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it’s officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
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.
Sask. man pleads guilty in U.S. after unknowingly providing videos of men raping toddlers to FBI agent
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.