Anglers headed into Ontario may find new toll booth

Anglers and other Northland residents heading to parts of northern Ontario for the Memorial Day weekend may run into an unexpected stop along their route — and an unexpected expense.

The Couchiching First Nation band of Ojibwe has set up a toll booth along Highway 11 just east of Fort Frances. The band is charging travelers $1 per vehicle to pass over Couchiching land as part of an argument with Ontario and Canada government officials.

The band wants to be paid for the land on which the federal highway sits and wants the government to clean up contaminated soils on part of the reservation.

The booth went up Friday and affects east- and westbound traffic. So far, the Ontario Provincial Police have monitored the site and no problems have occurred. Some travelers have stopped to pay, others have not.

Tribal leaders have been meeting with government officials to address the grievances. But the toll booth remained as of Tuesday.

The toll booth could cause some traffic delays for drivers headed east and north of Fort Frances on the way to Atikokan, Redgut Bay, Dryden and points north such as Lac Seul and the Red Lake Road. But only minor delays have been reported.

“I am asking for the patience of the public and for all involved parties and stakeholders to come together and engage in constructive dialogue to resolve the underlying issues,” said John Kendrick, Ontario police detachment commander in Fort Frances.

While Highway 11 is the only direct route to areas east of Fort Frances, Ontario police are suggesting that tourists traveling to areas north of Highway 17 may wish to use an alternative route to avoid delays. The average delay Friday, when the toll booth first went up, was about 25 minutes for eastbound traffic at peak hours, police said, while there was no delay for westbound traffic.

The site is about 10 miles from the Minnesota/Ontario border.

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