Feds offer Cold War-era tourism attraction
By CHIP MARTIN The London Free Press


Making Port Stanley a new home for a decommissioned Cold War-era submarine has moved a step closer to reality.
A tiny step.

Central Elgin, asked by the Elgin Military Museum to say it wants the HMCS Ojibwa to become a lakeside attraction in the port, has opted instead to continue talks while its lawyer considers the plan.
“We can’t just say go ahead,” Central Elgin Mayor Tom Marks said.

“We have to check with our lawyer and get an opinion. We are trying to indicate, ‘Let’s talk.’ Before we can make a decision we need information. We did not say no.”
The federal government is prepared to spend $1.9 million to tow to Port Stanley the 1960s-era sub that was facing the scrap-yard in Halifax.

Joe Preston, the Conservative MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, said he secured the funds on behalf of the Elgin Military Museum and he’s excited about Port Stanley as a home for the tourist attraction.
“Certainly, 80,000 to 100,000 visitors a year is positive for whatever community it’s in,” he said, using attendance figures from Ojibwa’s sister sub, the HMCS Onondaga, which recently became the latest tourist attraction in the St. Lawrence river community of Rimouski, Que.

“At this moment, it is up to them to want it,” Preston said of Central Elgin. “We think it is the right thing to do. Tourism is another form of economic development.”
He said the Oberon-class Ojibwa would be a fine addition to the harbour area the municipality is about to acquire from Transport Canada.
“I think it’s a win-win,” he said.
But Marks said the municipality is looking for “a comfort level it would be a good fit. We are trying to be cautious but we are trying to send the message that we see great potential.”
And he said he wants to do what’s best for all ratepayers in Central Elgin.

Dan McNeil, a retired Canadian rear admiral and president of the Port Stanley Village Association, described council as “timorous,” partly because port divestiture isn’t yet complete.
“The navy won’t allow this to happen unless it’s a huge success and the risk is very, very low,” he said.

“There are other communities who will grab this wonderful opportunity if we don’t have the wherewithal to do it,” he said.
Goderich, Sarnia, Windsor or Port Burwell would jump at the chance to be the new home for the Ojibwa, he said.

Ian Raven, curator of the Elgin Military Museum, said he was satisfied with the response from Central Elgin and understands it.
“I think it was a step forward,” he said. “We will find if the funding body (Fed Dev Ontario) thinks it is enough.”


chip.martin@sunmedia.ca