Aaniin,
At yesterday’s Council meeting many decisions were made about how to safely and
slowly begin reopening our community. Before we share those measures with you, I
want to take a moment to remind everyone that even though things are opening, the
safest place for you to be is at home. Please remember, Curve Lake will continue to
support you in doing this as we move forward. Our Window Flag System remains in
place whether you want to stay home or in the event you need to self-isolate.
Amendment to Order of Council: The responses from our community survey and
our focus groups indicated that the priority for reopening is to reunite our families. No
matter where we live, Curve Lake will always be our home. Our families have been
apart long enough. We would like to acknowledge our membership and their
families for respecting the criteria for temporarily restricting access to your home for
the safety of those living here. It is for this reason why Council amended the Order
of Council and as of midnight tonight, June 19, 2020, our entire membership and
their immediate families will have unrestricted access to Curve Lake First Nation.
Please see attached the poster explaining how this will work and detailing the
definition of immediate family.
Seasonal Cottagers: At this time, we are not opening our community to seasonal
residents, but we continue to be aware of the important role our seasonal residents
play in our community. We will be evaluating a proposal at our June 23, 2020
Council Meeting to welcome our seasonal residents slowly back to our community.
The foundation is that those with permanent residency in a Phase II health region of
the province will be allowed to return in groups as recommended by our Lands
Department.
Health and Family Services: Health and Family Services will begin evaluating the
necessity of programs and the ability to safely deliver these services to our
community members. As our staff and Loomex determine that services can be
delivered with minimal risks, these services will slowly begin. Please remember that
this means things will begin slowly and medically necessary services will be the
priority.
Administrative Shutdown: We have also extended the closure of all Curve Lake
buildings until 4:00pm July 31, 2020. Frontline staff will continue to report in person
and all other staff will continue to work from home.
Greenspaces: We have also heard the importance of opening up the greenspaces
in our community. As a result, effective June 21, 2020 the following green spaces will
be open:
– Lance Woods Park
– Subdivision Playground & Park
– Mary Dorothy Jacobs Memorial Park
– Lower Baseball Diamond
– The Cenotaph
– Church
– Henry’s Gaamiing (Boardwalk remains closed)
We will be providing a protocol for their safe use, as well as sanitization supplies at
these spaces for your use. Please note that Curve Lake will NOT be sanitizing these
spaces and therefore it is critical that you use the hand sanitizer provided at these
spaces. They are open for your use at your discretion. The provincial limits on
gatherings will continue to apply and Anishinabek Police Service will continue to
enforce these measures. More information on how these spaces will operate and
recommended safety protocol will be posted both electronically and at these spaces.
Checkpoint: We have heard both the importance of safely and slowly reopening
our community. As a result, we will begin reducing the hours at the checkpoint
effective June 23, 2020. Given that the Order of Council remains in place, the reduce
hours will not be shared. There will be times where you will begin to notice that there
is no one manning the checkpoint.
Next Steps: Our next steps, at this point, will be evaluating what reopening will
continue to look like, including plans for our Early Leaning Centre, our Government
Services Building and all other facilities that Curve Lake operates and how to safely
modify our buildings to deal with the new realities of COVID-19. We will continue to
seek community input on these decisions so please feel free to reach out to myself,
your elected Councillors, and our Pandemic Coordinator, Kayla Stephenson
(kstephenson@loomex.ca) to share your thoughts.
We would like to again remind everyone that the safest place is in your own home,
without visitors. The fact that our community and the rest of the province is slowly
opening does not mean you need to go out. When you or your family consider
coming to Curve Lake, please remember the risks involved and the importance of
keeping those who are at risk of complications safe. If you are seeing family, visit
outside whenever possible. Maintain a distance of 2 meters (6 feet). Wash your
hands regularly. Try to limit the number of people you are interacting with, such as
the ‘social bubble’ poster that is attached.
Miigwetch. Stay safe, stay home.