What is the Next Canadian Holiday?

travelover · 11-07-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nestor_Kelebay

Travelover:
..................Churchill Airport has one long asphalt runway (almost 2 miles long), and airplanes with jet engines do land there, but it's not like you're describing.........................

Confession - it was at least 10 years ago that I was last there. At that time we landed on Boeing 737. I recall getting off on the runway on one of those big stair assemblies. On the return flight we were supposed to stop at a second village and the flight crew flew right past it because the fog was so thick. They did a big U turn, flew by a second time and still couldn't make out the runway so they said forget it and flew on down to Winnipeg, where we landed. This wasn't a chartered plane, but I don't doubt that regular service has been discontinued by major air carriers. I was just amazed at the capacity of the runway given the remote location.

The first time I was there we went by rail from Thompson, where we had driven. I was astounded at how long it took to get there, as the train rumbled along about 25 mph on the permafrost (this was in 1976). I just looked on line and the trip is quoted as taking anywhere from 12 to 24 hours to cover a distance of 250 miles as the raven flies.

Nestor_Kelebay · 11-07-2009, 11:06 AM

Yep, everyone who goes up north comes back with stories to tell. I'm expecting there's going to be a lot of development in the north with global warming. A few years ago they found diamonds in the Canadian north, and Canada went from a non-producer of diamonds to one of the largest producers of diamonds in the world. Diamonds that come from Canada are marked with laser on their edge so that people buying them know that they're not "blood diamonds" that come from one of the conflict zones in Africa. That way, people don't feel bad that the cost of the diamond went to help fund a civil war somewhere.
http://www.canadadiamonds.com/canadian_diamond_story.htm

Also, just about 2 months ago, the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company discovered a large gold deposit in Snow Lake, Manitoba that they now plan to develop at a cost of about 500 million dollars.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/gold-mine-a-boon-for-snow-lake-65737322.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/11/05/mb-snow-lake-mine-gold-manitoba.html

That's the thing about the north. It's very much unexplored territory. You can still find natural resources up there that that have remained undiscovered because the cold weather made development impractical.

travelover · 11-07-2009, 01:24 PM

I've driven to Yellowknife, too. Boom and bust town depending on the price of gold.

Nestor_Kelebay · 11-07-2009, 07:07 PM

You've been all over the north. They must be partying in the streets of Yellowknife. The price of gold is over $1000 $US per ounce and rising.

funetical · 11-09-2009, 09:55 AM

Canadian Diamonds? What's next? What a crazy world we live in.