GORDON/BARRIE ISLAND – Council for the municipalities of Gordon/Barrie Island and Burpee and Mills are both in support of a call from the Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) and First Nations on Manitoulin Island in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We (council) endorsed the resolution of the MMA that non-primary residents stay in their primary homes and that smelt fishing not be permitted on road allowances and public property this year,” said Reeve Lee Hayden after a Gordon/Barrie Island council meeting last week.
“I’m not sure if we have any streams in the township where people can smelt fish, but we are in favour of the motion by the MMA and we wanted to support Billings Township (which is a very popular community for smelt fishing) on this issue,” said Reeve Hayden.
The MMA “talked about advertising both messages in the local newspapers, local radio station and maybe the Sudbury Star,” said Burpee and Mills Reeve Ken Noland at a council meeting last week.
“We need consensus to advertise the two messages,” said Reeve Noland, who noted both Manitoulin Health Centre (MHC) and Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) boards supported the MMA messages.
“It would make sense for people to comply, but there will probably be some that won’t,” said Councillor Art Hayden.
“The messages reinforce what the government has been saying, that people should stay in their homes in their permanent residence,” said Reeve Noland.
Council passed a motion in support of the MMA messages.
At a recent MMA meeting, two motions were presented to all Manitoulin municipalities and First Nations in regards to COVID-19 and a call for people to restrict travel and stay in their principal residence to avoid the spread of the virus. The second message was an Island-wide decree that smelt fishing will not be permitted on road allowances and public property this year.
