The Owen Sound Salmon Derby is a pretty big deal in Owen Sound. The late-summer extravaganza brings thousands to the area to do what fishermen and fishers do; drink beer and spend money, and plenty of it.
But this year there's a fly in the ointment; Transport Canada has decreed that the "terror gate" on the east side of the harbor be closed permanently, just a month before the Salmon Derby.
That terror gate came about in the hysterically paranoid post-9/11 environment, when international rules dictated by America's determination to secure any port where a US ship might dock were amended accordingly. And yes, US ships dock in Owen Sound to unload or load corn and cement.
Obviously those would be prime terrorist magnets... a ship loading corn in Owen Sound... yup, a chain link fence will keep those evil-doers at bay.
An attack on a freighter in Owen Sound harbor is so far down the Jihadi hit list that the locals correctly see this as complete bullshit. And in the event that the few Muslim families in town might be secret terror cells who have been biding their time, just waiting for the right moment to attack a cement barge, well, I don't think that chain link fence is gonna stop them.
But it's going to mess up the Salmon Spectacular.
This is a problem that can be resolved with a decent set of bolt-cutters.
No comments:
Post a Comment