At a duly convened meeting of Alderville Chief and Council, in direct response to deter ongoing influx of people on its First Nation lands for purposes notwithstanding the global COVID-19 pandemic, Alderville First Nation has extended the State of Emergency for all Alderville First Nation lands effective immediately.
This extended declaration follows the Province of Ontario’s decision announced on April 14, 2020 to extend the declaration of a Public Health Emergency in the Province of Ontario.
Extending this State of Emergency affirms the need for the Alderville First Nation to support and meet our public health and safety obligations.
The decision to extend this declaration came from Alderville Council’s careful consideration of the rapidly changing impacts of the current pandemic on the members of Alderville First Nation. In particular, notwithstanding the clear directives of all levels of government and health authorities in Canada, Alderville deems this action vital to continue derailing the pressures from large numbers of people attending the Alderville First Nation on a daily basis for the sole purpose of retail purchasing of goods and services.
Maintaining the closure of retail sales will curtail the influx of visitors and allow our community to maintain adequate social distancing, and avoid putting our residents, particularly our Elders and Youth, at severe and unnecessary risk to their health and safety.
By extending the State of Emergency, we are reinforcing the message that it is NOT business as usual to those people who are not taking the current health crisis seriously. We are furthermore putting the public on notice of our intention to take such further measures as may be necessary to protect our people, which will include, if necessary, a total shutdown of all businesses to non-residents and the closing of our borders to unauthorized visitors.
At this point, the Council has ordered all retail stores remain closed as of April 17, 2020. With the only exception being the retail sales of gas and fuel during the daily hours of 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and restaurant take-out orders during approved limited hours of operation.
The situation continues to evolve on an hourly basis. Chief and Council of Alderville First Nation continue to monitor the situation and will make further decisions affecting our services, facilities and businesses as necessary, and will continue to keep our members as well as our valued neighbours apprised of any updates.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
