Dear friends,

You may have seen some discouraging news this week about the S.S. Keewatin; but don't despair, our campaign is just beginning!

Over the last few months Friends of Keewatin have work diligently to put together a heritage designation application that will allow them to assume ownership of the ship, but Skyline Investments do not have the patience to wait nor the will to honor their commitments to the people of Simcoe county. This week we learned that the Kingston Maritime Museum have now also put in for a heritage designation with Skyline’s support - which means that the Friends are now in a competition with Kingston with all their political will and resources and a potential $10M cheque from the federal government.

We had hoped that we could allow the Friends to find a bureaucratic solution but that now seems impossible; so a political solution Is now what we are working towards... and our campaign is just getting started.

We have a strong team of volunteers at #KeepKeewatinHome who are dedicated to ensuring the Keewatin stays in Port McNicoll, and we will need your help. This week we have set up a Twitter account (@homekeewatin), we will shortly have a website (keepkeewatinhome.ca) and you will be seeing more about our efforts in the coming days and weeks.

Until then there are things you can do to help!

Email the heritage minister Stephen Guilbeault (hon.steven.guilbeault@canada.ca) and tell him how you feel about the Keewatin going to Kingston, and taxpayer funds going to a development company that has failed honour its promises to the people of this county. If you live in the North Simcoe area you can also email us at keepkeewatinhome@gmail.com to request a window sign for your home or business – we will have these ready in the next few weeks.

I will be in touch again soon with more info and next steps. Thank you for your support to Keep Keewatin Home!

Dan Travers

keepkeewatinhome@gmail.com

#keepkeewatinhome