No teacher would have recommended the first book I ever loved. It was a story about an orphaned Russian boy adopted by an American platoon in the Second World War. It was cartoonish, violent, . . .
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Young has introduced the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act that would temporarily allow cruise ships to travel directly between Seattle and Alaska. Regulations require the ships to make a stop in a foreign country, typically Vancouver or Victoria. In a statement, Young said the bill would provide relief for large cruise vessels, the lifeblood of Alaska’s summer tourism economy. He noted the relief would be temporary, applying only while Canadian ports are closed to the ships. “This month, Canada’s surprise decision to close their ports shocked Alaska’s communities, and has caused significant uncertainty for our small business owners and the broader tourism economy,” he said. “But if cruises can safely proceed, and I believe they can, then we ought to be doing everything possible to alleviate the stress and anxiety of families whose livelihoods depend on tourists coming to Alaska to experience our great state. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated Alaska’s 2020 cruise season;
“This is the right and responsible thing to do,” Alghabra said. Simone Kearney, who sells souvenirs to cruise passengers at Ogden Point and now through a pop-up at Mayfair Shopping Centre, called the extended ban a gut punch, saying she’s stuck with a warehouse full of products Canadians won’t buy. “I was expecting a return of the ships, maybe in August, but now I don’t have words … I feel ill,” said Kearney. The ban affects cruise ships with more than 100 passengers, wiping out a second full season of ships at Ogden Point and crippling the bottom line for the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, which expects to see losses surge to $25 million.
The federal government's ban on cruise ships carrying more than 100 people has been extended until February 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, wiping out another season for an industry that struggling to survive.