Orléans canoe club facing financial pressures trying to stay afloat

Young athletes set off for their paddle at the Petrie Island Canoe Club, something that, in a few weeks, they may no longer be able to do. Financial pressures mean the club may have to shut its doors. It was heartbreaking, personally, because this is my second home, and it's my sport, it's where I've met half of my friends, it's where my second family is and everything. I've had so many amazing experiences here, and I've made so many memories that I couldn't have had anywhere else. I was really disappointed because Petrie is such a nice, fun place to be. It's very community-based. We promised that we would not go any further into debt. So on November 1st, if we don't have the funds, we have to fold. Sarah Kennedy says rising costs associated with COVID-19 was a big reason the bill for their new boathouse doubled to nearly $1.5 million. The club, which is a non-profit, says it still needs to find more than $50,000 by their deadline to pay the debts and stay afloat for another year. It's really to buy time. The best solution to save the club long term is for the city of Ottawa to buy the building. In a statement to Radio Canada, the city says it's reviewing the club's finances and operations to see if it can play a role. The local councillor, Matthew Luloff, also said in a statement that he and his colleagues worked to secure $150,000 in funding for the project a few years ago, but the upcoming municipal election is complicating that. The coaches, however, are still holding on to hope because they know the impact the club has on the East End community. Petrie offers programs that Rideau does not in the sense of naturalist and French-speaking programs. It also isn't sustainable to be able to transit every day, I find, to a club that far. It's really important to have also the child care aspect of having a summer camp and it being close and it being also affordable too is really important. It's such a giant big deal for me personally because I know how important it is to the community. I see the kids every day who come down here and their personal development through the years is like, I live for that. Sport is a vehicle to prepare kids for life and it's a vehicle to build community. and it would just be heart-wrenching to see that disappear. Emma Weller, CBC News, Ottawa.