Located on the North Shore of Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada

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COVID-19 Response and Information

In response to the Provincewide Stay-At-Home Order that came into effect Thursday, January 14, 2021 , The Municipal Office will remain closed to the public until further notice. Most of our staff are working from home, but are available by email; if leaving a telephone message at (705)843-2033, please press “0”, rather than their extension, and your message will be relayed to the appropriate department. The Library is offering curb-side pick-ups and parks are open with physical distancing required. For your convenience, an exterior Mail Slot has been installed at the Municipal Office.  It is located to the left of the Main Entrance and available 24/7.

Please, protect yourself and others by following orders to self-isolate, physical distance, and conduct proper hand washing and sanitizing. We all need to do our part to flatten the curve of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Municipal Notices

With the most recent provincial announcement, the municipality understands that seasonal residents are looking to return to their seasonal residence. Public Health officials suggest that all individuals remain at their primary residence, and if you do visit your seasonal residence, that you follow proper Covid-19 precautions. Please see this attachment for more information.

A message from our Northern Medical Officers of Health regarding COVID-19
Videos are available in English and French.

Use these websites for credible and up-to-date information about COVID-19.

Resources and Information for employers, business owners, workers, and all others

Government of Canada – Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan
Canadian Chamber of Commerce – COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness Toolkit for Ontario Businesses
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety – Business Continuity Plan and Tools
Canadian Veterinarians Association – COVID-19 and Animals
Ontario Energy Board –  Energy Assistance Program
Algoma Public Health – Safety during the holidays
Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation – Northern Ontario Recovery Program

Blind River Employment Solutions

Financial Support

Canada Revenue- Tax Credit for Home Office Expenses
Ontario’s Main Street Relief Grant: PPE Support
NOHFC – Northern Ontario Recovery Program

Sector Specific Information

Agriculture

Small Business

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Now Open for Applications

Canadian families and small businesses across the country are feeling the impacts of COVID-19. That’s why the Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories to protect jobs and businesses, and give property owners support so they can help small business tenants make it through these difficult times.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that applications are now being accepted for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses.

Read the full news release here.

New Ontario Programs Focus on Hospitality Workers & Apprentices

As the economy gradually reopens, the Ontario government is helping people affected by COVID-19 get back to work. The province is investing in Ontario’s first Virtual Action Centre, an online counselling and training portal, to support laid off and unemployed hospitality workers, and is helping apprentices by providing grants to purchase tools, protective equipment and clothing for their trade, along with forgiving previous loans to purchase tools.

Read the full news release here.

Algoma Public Health Updates

Jan 27’20 – Updated Advisory on Cross-Border Travels

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Issue Statement Series on COVID-19- Keeping up with COVID-19 Public Health Measures 

OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 24, 2021 /CNW/ – Over the last month, the authorization of two COVID-19 vaccines offered many Canadians – myself included – hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight. This hope comes nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and at a time when the days are short and cold.

At this stage of the pandemic, many of us are experiencing mental fatigue and exhaustion, which is certainly normal and expected. The past year has been challenging and a lot has been asked of Canadians – to stay home, wear a mask, limit gatherings, and adopt new ways of living and working, among others. Yet, you have risen to the occasion knowing that these measures protect your family and your community, and ensure that our hospitals and health care providers are able to care for those who get sick.

I know that this has not been easy and that these choices have contributed to real hardships for many of you – things like loneliness, isolation, anxiety, financial challenges and loss of employment. Your efforts have not been in vain. Your commitment to following these public health measures is so important to all of us who are trying to manage this pandemic, so thank you – and please keep up the great work! We still have a ways to go to get this pandemic under control.

Being a runner myself, you have heard me compare the COVID-19 pandemic to a marathon. Right now, we are at a critical point in the race. We are part-way though, but with the current momentum of the epidemic and continued high rates of infection in many areas of the country, now is the time to strengthen our resolve, regroup and make sure that we have the stamina to keep our pace and make it across the finish line.

To ensure that we can reach the end of this marathon, I am asking everyone, including those who have been vaccinated, to continue to follow COVID-19 public health advice. That means following local public health guidelines, staying home when required, isolating if you have symptoms of COVID-19, wearing a face mask as appropriate (including in shared indoor spaces with people from outside your immediate household, practicing physical distancing and frequent hand washing, and avoiding non-essential travel). Everything we do to reduce transmission makes a difference in our fight against COVID-19. It is not forever, but it is for now.

I am often asked why it is so important to follow these measures even after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. This is a good question and there are a couple reasons. First, it can take up to 14 days after receiving the vaccine for it to start being effective. Additionally, while the two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are between 94-95 percent effective, for 5-6 percent of people who are fully vaccinated, they may still develop symptoms.

The second reason is that we are still learning about the role of vaccines in preventing transmission of the virus. While current data indicates that the COVID-19 vaccines prevent people from getting sick with COVID-19, researchers are continuing to study whether or not they also prevent people from spreading the virus to others. Once we have more research on the role of these vaccines in preventing transmission, our recommendations may change.

Finally, public health measures currently reduce the risk of contracting all strains of the virus that cause COVID-19. The Chief Medical Officers of Health in the provinces and territories and I remain deeply concerned about the new variants of the virus that have been identified in the UK, Brazil and South Africa and continue to monitor the situation closely in Canada and abroad. We need to do everything we can to protect Canadians, particularly those who are the most vulnerable, by reducing the opportunity for the virus to mutate. This means preventing transmission of the virus from person-to-person, by diligently practising our proven public health measures.

With vaccines rolling out in Canada and across the world, I am hopeful that the finish line will soon be in sight. In the meantime, we must dig deep, continue to follow public health advice every day, and keep focused on our goals – so we can all finish this marathon and get back to enjoying the things that we did before the pandemic. Thank you again for your commitment and efforts to stay healthy and keep your families and communities safe. Together we can win this race.

CPHO Statement

Ontario – News Release –

Ontario Announces Additional Workplaces that Can ReopenAdditional seasonal, retail and household businesses must follow public health guidelines

Office of the Premier

TORONTO — Today, the Ontario government announced the retailers, seasonal businesses and health and community service providers who will be permitted to open or expand their services on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:01 a.m., provided that the general trend on health indicators continues to improve as part of the first stage of the government’s reopening framework. The workplaces opening as part this stage are well-positioned to put workplace safety measures in place and get more people back to work, while not overburdening public transit and other services.

The government also announced additional seasonal services and activities will be permitted to open as early as Saturday May 16, 2020 at 12:01 a.m., in time for the Victoria Day long weekend, as key public health indicators continue to show progress.

The details were provided by Premier Doug Ford, Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, and Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

“During the last several weeks, the people of Ontario have been called on to make incredible sacrifices to help us stop the spread of COVID-19, including staying home from work, closing down businesses and going without a regular paycheque,” said Premier Ford. “However, we are reopening even more of our businesses beginning this long weekend. We are taking a cautious, balanced approach to our economic reopening, to protect the health and safety of everyone.”

As soon as 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, 2020:

  • Golf courses will be able to open, with clubhouses open only for washrooms and restaurants open only for take-out.
  • Marinas, boat clubs and public boat launches may open for recreational use.
  • Private parks and campgrounds may open to enable preparation for the season and to allow access for trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract.
  • Businesses that board animals, such as stables, may allow boarders to visit, care for or ride their animal.

The government’s responsible and measured approach to reopening will allow business owners and service provider’s time to ensure workplaces are safe for staff, consumers and the general public. Assuming trends in key public health indicators continue to improve, Ontario’s first stage of reopening will begin on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and will include:

  • Retail services that are not in shopping malls and have separate street-front entrances with measures in place that can enable physical distancing, such as limiting the number of customers in the store at any one time and booking appointments beforehand or on the spot.
  • Seasonal businesses and recreational activities for individual or single competitors, including training and sport competitions conducted by a recognized national or provincial sport organization. This includes indoor and outdoor non-team sport competitions that can be played while maintaining physical distancing and without spectators, such as tennis, track and field and horse racing.
  • Animal services, specifically pet care services, such as grooming and training, and regular veterinary appointments.
  • Indoor and outdoor household services that can follow public health guidelines, such as housekeepers, cooks, cleaning and maintenance.
  • Lifting essential workplace limits on construction.

“We are taking a cautious, practical and reasonable approach to restarting the economy, while maintaining the health and safety of the people of Ontario as our top priority,” said Minister Phillips. “This will allow Ontario to emerge from this outbreak with a clear path to economic recovery that keeps people safe and healthy.”

The government and health and safety associations have released more than 90 safety guidance documents to assist employers in multiple sectors, including construction, retail, facilities maintenance and manufacturing. As new sectors of the economy begin to reopen, additional resources will be made available to help protect the safety of workers and the general public.

To support business-owners, workers and the economic recovery of the province, the government has launched a website to provide businesses with information on personal protective equipment (PPE) suppliers. The Workplace PPE Supplier Directory has an up-to-date list of Ontario companies and business associations that are ready to supply personal protective equipment.

“Ontario’s businesses stepped up at the outset of this crisis not only to keep their workers and customers safe, but to come forward with innovative ideas and solutions that represent the best of the Ontario Spirit,” said Minister Fedeli. “This new website is truly a made-in-Ontario approach with Ontario businesses helping Ontario businesses.”

The government continues to prioritize the needs of patients, frontline health care workers and first responders when it comes to having critical equipment and supplies to protect themselves during the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses are encouraged to access only the PPE they need to keep their employees and customers safe.

“We will leave no stone unturned in our mission to keep workers in this province safe,” said Minister McNaughton. “Ontario’s labour laws are clear: businesses must protect the health and safety of workers, including against workplace hazards like COVID-19. That’s why our ministry has released practical safety guidelines, doubled our capacity to help people by phone and hired more inspectors. We want to ensure everyone is safe at work.”

To ensure that these first actions to reopen the province are a success, the public should continue to adhere to public health measures, including practicing physical distancing or wearing a face covering when physical distancing is difficult or not possible, as well as regular handwashing and staying home when ill. The Chief Medical Officer of Health will closely monitor the evolving situation to advise when certain public health restrictions, including adjustments to social gatherings can be gradually loosened or if they need to be tightened.

“Because of the collective efforts of all Ontarians, we are making real and significant progress in our battle against COVID-19, with the number of new cases each day shrinking,” said Minister Elliott. “As we move forward with caution, public health experts will closely monitor each stage of reopening to carefully assess the evolution of the outbreak, so we can benefit from the best practices and lessons learned across Ontario.”