Saskatoon Lighthouse-owned adventure park temporarily closed
An adventure park owned by the Lighthouse Supported Living Inc. has closed, according to a post on the park’s social media.
A March 9 post on Blue Mountain Adventure Park Facebook page said the park is “temporarily not in operation, and will not be accepting any reservations at this time.”
Blue Mountain’s manager Angela Beatty told CTV News in February that none of the staff had been paid since January.
Beatty said at the time she hadn’t received any communication from its board of directors as to when or if the park’s eight employees would receive payment and that she didn’t have authority to close the park or to stop taking bookings.
“I would expect that if things are coming to a close that my employer would notify me or at the very least set the booking system to not accept future bookings,” she said.
CTV has reached out to the park for comment.
On Feb. 24, a judge handed over control of the Lighthouse, which owns the park, to accounting firm MNP, a move initially requested by two board members who were ousted as co-directors of the shelter by three other board members.
Among the points of contention in the legal battle was an attempt by the former directors, Twila Redekopp and Jerome Hepfner, to consider the sale of the Blue Mountain land.
MNP has the power to manage Lighthouse operations and list the properties for sale, if it chooses, but not finalize a sale. The next hearing is scheduled for April 13.
The Lighthouse purchased Blue Mountain Adventure Park, spanning eight-quarters of land near North Battleford, in June 2012 with the stated intention of providing a “tranquil environment beyond the inner city where homeless men and women from across Saskatchewan can realize their full potential and positively change their lives,” a press release from the Lighthouse said at the time.
According to the corporate registry, Blue Mountain’s directors are listed as Don Windels, Jerome Hepfner, Twila Reddekopp and Adeel Salman, Beatty’s husband.
All the park’s directors are also members of the Lighthouse board.
A 2021 MNP Lighthouse audit report that revealed Don Windels and his relatives had effectively received loans from the Lighthouse and purchased property from the organization for less than the appraised value also found irregular transactions between one of Windels’ companies and Blue Mountain.
The Kowach Foundation for Advancing Education, a non-profit run by Windels, was tasked with hiring summer students for Blue Mountain beginning in 2018 by accessing federal wage subsidies on its behalf.
In 2021, the MNP auditor shows that Kowach recorded a $39,000 profit for this task, after being reimbursed by Blue Mountain, the Canada Summer Jobs subsidy and the COVID Emergency Work Subsidy.
The auditors were unable to determine if any of that profit later flowed to the benefit of Blue Mountain.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
W5 Investigates 'I'm in financial ruin': Canadian homeowners sound alarm over contractor accused of fraud
This W5 investigation focuses on mother and daughter homeowners who found themselves in a fight with a general contractor over money they say they're owed, and over work that was never completed on their dream home.
'What are we talking about?' Experts respond to Trump's 'economic force' comments
Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump's threats to use 'economic force' against Canada and its industries are sparking worry and disbelief.
Liberal MPs gather for first time since Trudeau announced his resignation plans
Liberal MPs are meeting in Ottawa today for the first time since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he will step down.
Is Donald Trump kidding? Americans in Canada react to tariff, annexation threats
While Donald Trump's comments on tariffs and Canada becoming 'the 51st state' have drawn anger and fear among Canadians, reaction from Americans who live, study or work in Canada has been mixed, and is largely influenced by how they voted in the presidential election.
Thinking of a career change? Here's what employers are hiring for this year
As 2025 gets into full swing, gaps in Canada's job market offer new opportunities to start fresh -- in some sectors, more than others.
Thousands flee as wildfires burn out of control in and around Los Angeles and homes are destroyed
California firefighters battled wind-whipped wildfires that tore across the Los Angeles area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained early Wednesday.
A B.C. mom's real-life nightmare and the search to find her trafficked daughter
A Vancouver island mom shares the story of what happened to her teenaged daughter – and a warning for other parents about sex trafficking.
Trump is open to using 'economic force' to acquire Canada; Trudeau responds
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said 'there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,' on the same day U.S. president-elect Donald Trump declared that he's open to using 'economic force' to acquire Canada.
Canadian naval vessel shadowed by Chinese war ship in the East China Sea
CTV National News is on board HMCS Ottawa, embedded with Canadian Navy personnel and currently documenting their work in the East China Sea – a region where China is increasingly flexing its maritime muscle. This is the first of a series of dispatches from the ship.