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“We’re proud to have been selected by Parks Canada,” Taillefer said Tuesday at a celebratory news conference aboard his company’s paddlewheeler, the Ottawa River Queen.

“I’ve been on a boat since I was four years old. It’s my life,” he said. “For us, it’s familiar territory. We’re used to it, and we look forward to the challenge.”

The company plans to have two new electrically propelled vessels, each capable of carrying about 100 passengers, built by a local company for the canal tours. There are two potential builders, but Taillefer wouldn’t identify them.

One of the new boats will be operational next season and the second will come into service in 2017, Taillefer said.

The tours will be similar to the ones provided for 66 years by Paul’s Boat Lines — which didn’t bid on the new contract — except that passengers will be able to get on and off at various points.

Ottawa Boat Cruise has also purchased Paul’s Boat Lines’ Ottawa River operations, including its tour boat, the Paula D. The river tour vessels will be rebranded as “World’s Famous Paul’s Boat Lines,” Taillefer announced.

His company plans to build more connections between its services on the river and the canal. For example, tourists could take a river tour, disembark at the Ottawa Locks, board a canal boat and get off at Lansdowne Park to attend a football game.

The company will offer other services on or along the canal as well, but those are still being negotiated with Parks Canada, Taillefer said.

The two parties are also still negotiating the exact financial terms of the lease, but Taillefer said they would be similar to those spelled out in the RFP, which called for annual payments of $75,000 to Parks Canada or six per cent of revenue, whichever was greater.

dbutler@ottawacitizen.com

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