In Clova, a former accountant who for 30 years has boosted the economic activity of the small forest village with his outfitter and his air transport service to the lakes and forests of the north, worries about the livelihood of the employees.
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“The tragedy here is the incredible loss of revenue for our tourism businesses. We have employees with small families who depend on us and if this continues we will have to make temporary layoffs,” fears Jean Blanchard, owner of Air Tamarac-Pourvoirie Outfitter.
The month of June, favorable for pike-perch fishing, is crucial for the income of his business and since the ban on going into the forests, he can no longer receive customers.
Furthermore, after the Prime Minister indicated that Clova will be left to the fires, we must reassure people: the village has not burned down and the fight against the fire has basically never stopped. Even local residents participated. The rain on Wednesday also helped.
“I have colleagues in Mauricie who could work because they are far from the fires and because the flammability index has become moderate again, but the driving ban in the forest remains.” We hope that it will not remain wall-to-wall ‘ Blanchard said, also fearing companies would go under.
Expected Compensation
He hopes the government will offer compensation to providers who have already been hit hard by the pandemic.
Loss of income insurance only covers a “ridiculous” portion of daily loss amounts. Above all, Jean Blanchard is hoping for rain.
His adventure in Clova, a Mauritian village of about forty houses, began while he was studying accounting. Originally from the Montérégie, he and his wife worked for outfitters in the region during the summers.
“This is how our love for nature and tourism developed. And on the day of my fourth accounting exam, I started a flying lesson,” says Jean Blanchard, a flight enthusiast.
Family succession in sight
In 1994 he bought Air Tamarac-Pourvoirie Outfitters with his wife Éliane Bédard.
“I worked in accounting until 2001 because we wanted to be sure the company would support our family. We had four small children. Today, some of them are preparing to take over. They developed this love,” says the entrepreneur.
When the Blanchard-Bédard couple started dating Clova, the village was much more dynamic.
There was another school, and a priest came by train every week to celebrate mass there.
Fragile even before the fires
However, the timber industry left the area and the village withered away. Before the fires, it was economic decline that threatened his survival. Jean Blanchard came up with the idea of inviting a competitor to settle there to keep the place alive. Other outfitters are affiliated with the village.
“Clova is like a base camp for tourist activities, a starting point for hunting and fishing spots. It’s the best place to take off for seaplanes,” explains the man who takes customers to the Gouin reservoir and some of the surrounding lakes.
Fishing is possible until mid-September. Then we go moose hunting until the end of October. And Jean Blanchard strives to bring that experience back to life for his clients in Quebec, Ontario and the United States.
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