MEDIA RELEASE – APRIL 3, 2020

[CURVE LAKE FIRST NATION] The Chief and Council of Curve Lake First Nation passed a motion on Friday, April 3rd, 2020 to set up a ‘checkpoint’ for incoming traffic to the village. This checkpoint is to deter non-essential travel from entering Curve Lake during the COVID-19 Pandemic and to remind seasonal residents that they should be sheltering in their permanent residence.

This checkpoint will allow members of the community to travel in and out of the village for groceries, work and other essentials trips. It will allow staff members who live outside of the village to travel into Curve Lake for work. It will allow family members to continue to care for each other.

This checkpoint, which will be put in place immediately, will be located at the entrance of the heavily populated residential areas, past the main commercial areas to allow for business continuity. These businesses continue to provide jobs to our community members and are providing essential services to many people in our area.

The checkpoint will not allow people into the village to:

– Socialize

– Go for nature walks

– Fish from our docks

– Stay at seasonal residences

“On the advice of our Emergency Operations Control Group, Council have decided that this measure is an essential step in keeping our community safe at this time,” stated Chief Emily Whetung. “Curve Lake has limited resources and we need to direct all efforts to ensuring that our community members needs are met. We have systems in place to care for our residents and our members, to ensure that our Elders remain healthy and safe. Having to deal with additional traffic or seasonal residents just isn’t a good use of our resources at this time, not to mention that it allows for the potential of increased exposure to COVID-19”.

Efforts will be made to minimize contact between drivers and the checkpoint operators and to ensure their safety. Personal protective equipment will be provided and volunteers have been asked to maintain the recommended physical distancing of 2 meters.

Curve Lake First Nation is located approximately 25km north of the City of Peterborough and has approximately 2,177 registered members. The total population is approximately 2,700 (members and non-members living in 300 plus households located throughout the First Nation.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the information contained in this release, please contact Chief Emily Whetung at EmilyW@CurveLake.ca or 705.760.4945