Cortes Island stores celebrate Canada Day

Roy L Hales/ CKTZ News - Cortes Island stores celebrated Canada day, but not because of the nation’s Confederation 154 years ago.

British Columbia began step three of its restart plan. Face masks are no longer mandatory. People can gather in larger numbers and go to restaurants.

The Floathouse Restaurant
“You can definitely tell that things are changing. The last couple of weeks it has been a steady uptick. This weekend in particular, starting yesterday. We were closed for the heatwave, but it was like somebody flicked a switch. Everybody is out and there are people moving around. I would say it is almost business as usual. I have no comparison. I wasn’t here in a regular summer before,” said Carol Pierce of the Floathouse Restaurant, when we finally connected via ZOOM shortly after 8 PM.

She estimated there were 50 people in the restaurant and another 50 to 60 listening to a live performance in the lawn below. The Gorge Harbour Store was just closing. Carol believed it was ‘adult swim’ in the pool, but that is another in part of the resort.

“It is nice to see people out again and everybody seems happy to be out,” she said.

Gorge Harbour Marina
There had easily been 40 people at the Gorge Harbour Marina when Cortes Currents arrived earlier that afternoon. They were everywhere: in the pool, the parking lot, the General Store. The tables out on the deck of the Floathouse were packed with customers. More were waiting to be seated. When I asked for an interview, Carol said 8 PM.

Down at the dock, General Manager Bill Dougan agreed to a ZOOM chat at 4 PM. When that didn’t work, he suggested 6 PM, but later texted, “I am crushed and cannot see getting off my docks until closer to 8 tonight, can we reschedule you for tomorrow?”

Photo Credit: Boats arriving in Squirrel Cove - courtesy Curt Cunningham