The Norgoma will join its sister ship the Norisle as it sets course for the scrapyard
CBC
After decades of debate over what to do with the historic ship, the MS Norgoma is about to be cut into pieces and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The ferry boat, along with its sister ship the Norisle, carried passengers across Georgian Bay for decades before being replaced by the Chi-Cheemaun in the 1970s, and then sat rusting on the waterfront in Sault Ste. Marie for many years.
When plans to turn it into a museum or some other kind of tourist attraction went nowhere, city council moved it to a private dock five years ago. There were several possible buyers lined up for the boat, but all of those deals fell through.
On Monday, Sault city council voted to spend $395,000 to have the Norgoma scrapped, while waiving thousands of dollars in fees for the municipal landfill where some of its remains will ultimately end up.
"I am relieved, perhaps, is the word, to see that this will likely be the last Norgoma report that we will see before council, because it has taken up far too much council time over far too many decades," said Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.
"But I think the questions of 'What ought to have been?' are misplaced. And I think the reality is that the question is 'What ought never to have been?'" We got the Norgoma for $1 in roughly 1975 and have had a debate ever since."
The Norgoma's sister ship, the SS Norisle, met a similar fate this fall
In October, Assiginack township council on Manitoulin Island ended a long local political debate by having the Norisle hauled away to be scrapped.
It had sat at the dock in Manitowaning harbour for years while plans to refurbish it and maybe even sail the Norisle again, never materialized.
The debate over the boat spilled into municipal politics and was a top issue during the 2018 municipal election.
The disposal of the Norisle ended up costing taxpayers in the small town $743,000.
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