Garden River First Nation has, once again, made the decision to close its community to the east of Sault Ste. Marie.
The following notice appeared on its official Facebook page sometime today.
Enactment of Additional Orders under the Garden River First Nation COVID-19 Virus By-Law, No. 2020-02
Order No. 2020-02-02 “Specific Order Implementing Travel Restrictions Onto the Garden River First Nation”
On Jan. 4, 2021, a duly convened meeting of Council, further restrictions were enacted under Order No. 2020-02-02 “Specific Order Implementing Travel Restrictions Onto the Garden River First Nation”.
What does this mean:
Additional Orders are in place, effective Jan. 7, 2021 at 12 p.m. under Order No. 2020-02-02. The complete text of the By-law and Order can be found at www.gardenriver.org under the COVID-19 tab.
A person may only enter or be present on Garden River First Nation, pursuant to Section 5 of Order No. 2020-02-02 if they are:
- A resident of the Garden River First Nation and must provide proof of residency (ie. driver’s license, utility bill, letter from the GRFN Membership office, school report card, rent receipt);
- An occupant, tenant or lessee of the Garden River First Nation, including their employees;
- An employee of the Garden River First Nation who is an essential worker;
- A dependent child who normally enters the reserve under the terms of a written/verbal agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting;
- A driver of a vehicle who enters the reserve to drop off or pick up a dependent child under the terms of a written/verbal agreement or court order regarding custody, access or parenting;
- Emergency Services Personnel;
- A person who enters the Reserve for the purpose of providing medical care to a resident (ie. PSW);
- A person caring for a resident with a diagnosed medical condition;
- A person conducting emergency repairs to a home of a resident;
- A person delivering goods and services to a home or private business;
- A person doing work to maintain or repair utilities or public infrastructure (ie. Hydro, phone, gas);
- A person whom entry is for compassionate grounds.
Entry into the community will be exclusive to Syrette Lake Road via Highway 17A (new highway). All other access roads to the community will be closed. Residents can leave the community via Highway 17B and Syrette Lake Road.
