The St. Lawrence Seaway closes each winter, but this year, the closing date has been pushed back further than ever before due to the eight-day Canadian worker strike back that occurred in October.

While it’s very good news for economic reasons, some say the move could also be a dangerous decision.

When some 300 Canadian workers walked off the job back in October, shipping along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway came to a halt. Ports like the Port of Oswego were left empty not only for eight days, but even longer.

The second the strike ended, folks like Port of Oswego Executive Director William Scriber called for the seaway’s closing date to be extended.

“We logged about $1.8 million to $2 million in loss in economic activity. Those numbers aren't just small. They’re huge,” he said.

Those calls were answered. The seaway will now be open longer than it ever has before, with a closing date set for Jan. 5.

“It's getting very rough out here today,” Save the River Executive Director John Peach said, standing on the shores of the St. Lawrence River.

It's a decision that, when you consider economics, Peach understands. However, when you consider everything else, he just flat out disagrees with it.

“So you can see how the docks are moving. And if this was an icy day, this would be a very perilous path we're on,” Peach said, thinking of responders answering a call in icy conditions.

Save the River was formed in 1978 – 45 years ago – for the specific reason of fighting back against winter navigation proposals. It says it is extremely dangerous for a number of reasons.

“Things do happen. They happen. This is a hostile environment,” he said.

An environment that he says, when you allow for more time for ice buildup, can cause serious issues with ships running aground. And if there's an oil spill, well, he said it's almost impossible to contain.

“If there’s ice on the shores, or ice along the shores, you can't boom all that material. It's going to get underneath the ice, and it's going to stay there for the winter,” he added.

There's also the human element, he says, especially local first responders who would have to go out in the icy, rough conditions when, frankly, they're not specifically trained to do so.

“When you're dealing in icy docks and boats that are iced up, that's when accidents happen,” he said, referring back to his walk earlier on the docks.

Perhaps a middle ground, he said, would be the Seaway working with ships that are either half-full or even just one full on a one-way trip, but empty on the return, to combine cargo.

He says that would indeed shorten the shipping season. Peach said his combine shipping idea would be easy enough with all of the technology in use today, but so far, hasn’t been as well received as he would like.