Metro Vancouver has filed a small claims suit against a canoe rental business to recoup money owed to it under the terms of a park lease.
The civil suit filed against Ayla Canoes seeks $13,800 from the business or 10 per cent of the gross revenues from its operations at Grant Narrows Regional Park.
Metro Vancouver says it has yet to receive any money from Ayla Canoes to date and claims “both written and verbal requests for payment have been made to Ayla without success.”
Metro Vancouver, which operated Grant Narrows as one of its regional parks for the past 12 years, walked away from the park’s operation on Dec. 31 after it couldn’t reach a leasing deal with the B.C. government, which owns the land.
With Metro Vancouver no longer running the park, Ayla Canoes had to be dismantled and vacated by late last year.
The lease termination ended a family business that ran for two decades.
Lance Williams, who ran Ayla Canoes, compared the civil claim filed by Metro Vancouver to “suing a rock.”
He admits the family business will most likely be declaring bankruptcy and had its barge and several canoes stolen last year.
“There isn’t much more they can squeeze out of us,” Williams said.