Sounds like a pretty uncomfortable trip, not to mention rounding a bend in moving water and running into ice coming out from the banks and ice across the river... or walking on thin ice on the lakes.
If Saskatchewan has had a winter like ours, he'll be dragging his canoe sled over three feet of ice until at least June, or up there, maybe even the end of June.
I know his guy knows his stuff but Arctic river spring runoffs are terrifying in volume and speed as can be seen by damage done to the shoreline in this photo (Thelon River).