Ottawa man sets out on solo cross-Canada canoe voyage

Posted on April 7, 2006

Following a ceremonial send-off April 7th at Victoria Island, Ottawa, on April 9th, former Canadian national triathlon team team member and retired federal public servant Jay Morrison will launch his canoe at Les Escoumins in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in an attempt to become the first person to paddle solo across Canada, from the Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean in one season.

Jay plans to finish at Inuvik on the Beaufort Sea around September 30, before freeze-up, after paddling and portaging along some of Canada's biggest rivers, including the St Lawrence, the Ottawa, the Churchill, the Athabasca, the Slave and the Mackenzie.

"I have always wanted to see more of Canada's wilderness -- all of it actually -- and I also want to draw attention to the unique opportunity Canada still has to conserve our extraordinary northern Boreal forests and waterways. I am asking all Canadians to support the important work that CPAWS is doing right across Canada to protect our wilderness," says Jay.

Jay has spent the past year planning for this venture, including many hours of endurance training, and meticulous planning.

"I think that I can do this thanks to the physical training I've done over the years, my wilderness experience and the planning and risk management skills I developed in professional life. But it is going to take some luck, too. A lot can happen in 8,000 kilometers," he says.

Jay has organized food drops at 12 locations along his route, and predicts stopovers of one or two days in a few major towns and cities on route, including Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, The Pas and Fort McMurray. Jay is particularly looking forward to talking with people in the small communities of the far north.

Jay's self-built wood canoe is decorated with woodburned images of the animals of the Canadian landscape and is called Daki Menan, Ojibway for "our land", belonging to everyone. The name symbolizes the Native value of making decisions that are right for seven generations.

Says Jay, "Canadians need to create a balance between developing sustainable resource industries and preserving wilderness. If we don't, I'm afraid that much of what we know as wilderness will be lost forever in just one generation."

Armchair voyageurs can follow Jay's trip through regular entries he will post to his blog at www.cpaws.org/canoe. Media interviews can be arranged with him as he will travel with a satellite phone.

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Contact: Jill Sturdy, (613) 569-7226 ext 232