Whatever the weather, BeaverTails co-founder Grant Hooker is ready for the upcoming winter season on the Rideau Canal Skateway.
He’s made a significant investment in upgraded BeaverMobiles and the company has signed a new agreement with the National Capital Commission to continue operating on the canal for another five years.
“Those BeaverMobiles are 42 years old,” Hooker, who co-founded the company with his wife Pam in 1978, told OBJ. “They’re hauled around, they’re turned into trailers by adding wheels, so they go over bumpy roads. Over the years, we’ve had to rebuild walls and other things. And this year, with our renewed contract (with the NCC), we committed a large amount of money to making sure the units didn’t come apart so easily.”
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Hooker said the roofs of the three BeaverMobiles were replaced and the red exterior redone with ultraviolet-resistant paint. Attachments were added to make the BeaverMobiles easier to move on and off the ice. Inside, structural improvements were made to the units in the hopes that they can continue to be used for another 45 years.
But the question remains whether the canal will be able to operate as a skating rink this season and in years to come. In 2023, for the first time in the skateway’s history, warm weather kept the 7.8-kilometre stretch closed to skaters for the entire season.
For Hooker, concerns about climate change and its effects on the skateway are top of mind. He said the company has had to learn to anticipate setbacks, including telling the 250 to 300 employees it hires each year that the shift schedule is always subject to change.
“We’ve developed a lot of systems to help us do our work,” he said. “We’ve also developed a lot of calluses that protect us emotionally when we’re disappointed with weather patterns.”
Despite the uncertainty, he said the past season was reason enough to keep BeaverTails coming back.
“It motivated us to want to commit to another five years,” he said. “We were totally closed one year and the next year only open at one location for nine days. So last year just surprised us so pleasantly by having 53 straight days where the temperature didn’t go above freezing. It was a bumper year for us.”
This year, while he’s hoping to see several weeks of skating on the canal, he doesn’t try to make predictions.
“I don’t look at the Farmers’ Almanac,” he joked. “We’re ready for a good season and that’s the best we can do. It’s like farming. You till the ground, you plant your seeds and then you wait to see what Mother Nature allows or doesn’t allow.”
He added, “We’ve learned that you can count on the weather forecast pretty much within 24 hours, maybe 48. If it’s longer than that, it’s unpredictable.”
Ultimately, he said, it has been an honour to see his company become part of the winter traditions for many Ottawa families.
“They’re a point of pride out there on the canal and it’s a feeling of gratitude that we have been part of such a unique microcosm of Canada, of Ottawa,” he said.
