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Two New Fires In Northwestern Ontario

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The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry are confirming 2 new fires in the region.

Sioux Lookout Fire 44 is not under control at 0.3 hectares and is located near Lynxpaw Lake which is around 84 kilometres northeast of Sioux Lookout.

Nipigon Fire 40 is being observed at 1.3 hectares and is about 120 kilometres west of Geraldton.

The Ministry says there are currently 5 active forest fires in the region, one is not under control, one is under control and three are being observed.

The forest fire hazard is mainly high to extreme across the region.

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Four New Fires In The Northwest

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The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is confirming 4 new fires in the region.

The largest of the new fires is Sioux Lookout 40 which is not under control at 4 hectares in size and located 25 kilometres north of Wunnumin Lake First Nation.

Sioux Lookout 41 and Fort Frances 35 are also not under control at 0.2 hectares in size and Dryden 24 is being held at 0.1 hectares in size.

The MNRF says there are 15 active forest fires in the region, three are not under control, four are being held, three are under control and five are being observed.

The forest fire hazard is mainly moderate to high with pockets of low hazard scattered across the region.

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Police Release Update On Red Lake Bear Attack

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Provincial Police in the Red Lake and Ear Falls areas are releasing more details surrounding a recent bear attack off Highway 105.

Police say on July 20th they were advised of an overdue man who left home to pick blueberries on Tuzyk Road.

OPP say they located the man deceased with a black bear in the area.

Police now say the man has been identified as 67-year-old Peter Franczak of Red Lake.

A post mortem conducted in Toronto on July 24th has determined the cause of death was consistent with a “bear attack”.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has been contacted and will be sending the bear to Guelph for testing.

 

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Weekly Update From Eric Melillo

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Kenora MP Eric Melillo believes the COVID-19 scare on local first nations is being handled appropriately.

Melillo says health officials are taking very seriously the six cases reported this past week.

“Continuing to monitor the situation. I’ve been in touch with local officials as well as with the Department of Health and Indigenous Services to make sure that the resources are there that these communities need in order to respond to this crisis.”

Melillo says health officials and communities are treating the outbreak responsibly and safely.

He stresses as long as people are behaving in a safe and responsible way, there’s no reason we can’t open our economy up, despite the extra cases.

Melillo recently raised the coronavirus response issue with Treaty #3 Grand Chief Francis Kavanaugh.

To here more from Eric Melillo on that meeting, conversations with Kenora District Services Board Chief Administrative Officer Henry Wall on homelessness as well as Summer meetings with constituents, listen to the Audio link below.

Here is the weekly report from Kenora MP Eric Melillo

Dear Constituents,

Lately I’ve been busy meeting with local business owners, volunteers, and community leaders across the Kenora riding.
I’ve had many valuable conversations with local tourism operators over the past few months. Recently, I had the chance to meet with some of them in-person in Dryden to reiterate my support.

Tourism operations are in a particularly precarious position during this crisis, due to high start-up and maintenance costs and their reliance on cross-border tourists. Their situation has been worsened by lack of clarity on re-opening dates and by the insufficient federal response.

Since this crisis began, I’ve been advocating for measures to support our tourism industry, including direct funding and grants from the federal government, as well as more concrete information about when we can expect the Canada-US border to re-open.
I was also happy to speak to Grand Council Treaty 3 Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh about issues facing Indigenous constituents, including COVID-19 response, community policing, and support for First Nations businesses.

Additionally, I had a productive discussion with representatives from the Kenora District Services Board to discuss how the government can work to address housing security, homelessness, and technological divides that hinder access to social services.

The current crisis is having a disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable, underscoring the need for more infrastructure investments in our region. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with constituents, stakeholders, and my colleagues from all parties to get action on these important files.

I truly appreciate hearing from my constituents about issues that affect their lives. Your feedback helps me serve you better in Parliament.

As always, if there is anything my office can assist you with, or a cause you would like me to take up in Ottawa, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 807-468-2170 or by email at eric.melillo@parl.gc.ca.

Sincerely,

Eric Melillo

Member of Parliament – Kenora riding

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KPDSB Provides Update As Schools Remain Closed

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The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board prepares as students will not return to the classroom this school year.

Premier Doug Ford made that announcement this morning.

The school board says they are still there to support parents and children and will continue with the distance learning model for the remainder of the school year.

Preparations are also being made at schools to allow students to grab personal items that they may have left behind.

The KPDSB says the safety of students and staff is top priority and access to schools will have the be approved by the local medical officer of health.

The full release to parents can be found below.

COVID-19 Updates From DOE S… by Rayson Martyn on Scribd

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Pandemic Exposes Fragility Of Vulnerable Populations: Dr. Tam

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Canada’s chief public health officer says the pandemic is exposing the fragility of vulnerable populations.

Dr. Theresa Tam says if we are to end increased disease and death rates in vulnerable populations, we need to make things right now.

“So when I think about where we are right now, with outbreaks, and vulnerable settings and underserved populations driving the epidemiology of COVID-19, I am reminded of the critical importance of addressing inequities,” she said.

Tam said we need to look beyond the health system and expand to include the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our society.

“This pandemic has exposed the fragility of some of our populations especially those living in long term care homes, group housing, those experiencing homelessness, or vulnerable indigenous communities.”

Tam said we need to adapt our daily lives to include physical distancing, handwashing, and other control measures so we are managing COVID-19 and it’s not managing us.

“This is not just someone else’s problem or someone else’s sorrow, inequities touch us all. They affect the health and social wellbeing of all Canadians just as they diminish our humanity.”

Tam said we need to build protective supports into our social fabric to provide long term protection against future waves of COVID-19 and future pandemics of emerging disease.

Tam reported 47,327 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,617 deaths.

She said labs across Canada have tested over 717,000 people and 7 per cent of those tested were positive for COVID-19.

Tam said we will all get through this by being stronger together.

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Kenora MP Eric Melillo Updates Region

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Kenora MP Eric Melillo is providing a letter to his constituents to let them know what’s currently happening with the federal government.

In the letter the Conservative MP describes what work they are doing to help Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they are assessing the situation.

You can find the letter below.

Eric Melillo – Letter to Constituents by Rayson Martyn on Scribd

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Premier: Ending Of Our Story Is Up To Us

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Starting Saturday at midnight, the province is closing more essential businesses because as they say, the ending of our story is up to us and people’s lives are at risk.

Premier Doug Ford says he’s taking all the actions in his power to keep people safe.

“We are moving as quickly as we can and taking actions as the data changes. Today we are taking additional steps to flatten the curve we are announcing the closure of more sectors, and let me tell you this was no easy task,” Ford said.

Starting at midnight Saturday, all industrial construction will stop with few exceptions like hospitals that are necessary.

Ford urged residents to stay home and save lives.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says if you don’t stay home the amount of COVID-19 cases will rise and will overwhelm our health care system.

It is expected the provincial government will update its online essential business list as they continue to update it as the pandemic continues. The list goes from over 70 categories to over 40.

You can find the list HERE.

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More Details On Dryden And Sioux Lookout COVID Cases

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The Northwestern Health Unit has provided more details surrounding the two positive cases of COVID-19.

One of the cases is in Dryden and the other is in Sioux Lookout.

The case in Dryden is an older resident who lives with their family and has not traveled recently.

Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ian Gemmill says the case has been isolated and the family is currently in quarantine.

They are also investigating if the other family members are ill as well.

The case in Sioux Lookout is a man who has only been in the Sioux Lookout area and is in quarantine along with his family.

Gemmill says the man does travel for work outside of the Sioux Lookout area, but he has not traveled during his infectious period.

He also says they are monitoring for additional symptoms from the man’s co-workers.

Gemmill also warns that since both of these cases occurred among people who haven’t traveled, transmission of the virus is most likely already happening in these communities.

He also believes there will be more positive cases being reported in the coming days as they still have over 150 outstanding tests in the region that they are waiting for results on, but they have also received 182 tests with negative results.

The Thunder Bay District Health Unit is now reporting five additional cases in their city as well for a total of nine cases of COVID-19.

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OECTA Still Plans To Strike On Thursday

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A one day strike by the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association will still be going ahead tomorrow.

That despite that fact the Education Minister Stephen Lecce agreed to lower class sizes to 23 from 25 and cancel e-learning courses in order to graduate.

Regional OECTA spokesperson Leanne Davidson says to expect to see Catholic teachers on the picket line.

“We will still be walking out tomorrow…at the current time we don’t have a deal,” explains Davidson.

“We cancelled our strike dates in the past in good faith to bargain, hoping we would have a deal and the government did not respond in good faith.”

OECTA says it is back at the bargaining table today with the government in hopes of getting a deal done.

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