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Rideau Canal gets ready to open for 2018 season

May 17, 2018
Mike Postovit, Global News

The historic Rideau Canal opens for navigation on Friday. Lockmasters and their staff will be ready to hand-crank most of the 47 sets of locks between Ottawa and Kingston.

The Rideau Canal is the oldest continually used canal in North America.

“With the free lockage last year we saw an increase of around 15 per cent in usage of the Rideau Canal and, of course, that was with the inclement weather and stuff we had last year and some of the shutdowns,” said Dustin Bulloch, Parks Canada’s southern sector manager of Ontario Waterways for the Rideau.

One of those shutdowns happened at Upper Brewers Locks in South Frontenac. Numerous boats were stranded in the system for several days due to high water levels. Parks Canada officials are hoping for a smoother 2018.

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