Stakeholder Roundup: Impact of C-19 Exemptions

The caseload for COVID-19 in Saskatchewan has inverted -- while northern Saskatchewan residents looked at COVID-19 from afar in March and April, May has been strikingly different.

The ratio of Active COVID cases in the province's Northern Administrative District continues to skew northward, from about 50% in mid April, to 60% in late April, and now roughly 70% as of May 8 --- 138 Active cases out of 196.

This inversion of caseload lead many northern leaders to cohesively join together under the banner of Rick Laliberte's community organization 'The 155 Collective' -- a reference to Highway 155 which spans a large portion of the North-West of the province, from Green Lake to La Loche.Together, the 155 Collective petitioned Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's provincial government to treat the north and south halves of the province differently when it came to its COVID-19 response and economic opening, and specifically requesting a more strict Public Health Order around travel, which was announced last week.

To the surprise of all those listening, the communities of Stony Rapids (far north, Athabasca region) and La Ronge (where MBC is stationed) had asked the provincial government for an exemption from the northern Public Health Order around travel. MBC immediately contacted the Town of La Ronge office, which has still not replied or put out a formal Press Release around reasons for their Exemption Request, now rescinded. It remains unclear if the Town of La Ronge's lack of a permanent administrator since fall of 2019 contributes to their public communication difficulties.

Today's video explores the confusing process that the last week of Municipal politics has entailed in La Ronge, where a Tri-Community area of three councils has been dealing with political and logistical fall out from the lack of cohesion on the Order, and check-stops. During the exemption -- and exemption-from-exemption debacle -- confusing realities started to materialize, frustrating citizens: how would the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Village of Air Ronge maintain their Public Health Order, while the larger and more tourist-drawn La Ronge remained open on the far side of their roads? How would La Ronge's 335 over-65 seniors (2016 census) and myriad of immune-compromised individuals feel about this added vulnerability?

Local Journalism Initiative reporter Brandon White talks to a variety of people about COVID-19 and what they think the best solution to halt the spread should be, considering that the region has only one ventilator, and that the province has stated those units will remain centralized, preferring to transfer patients when necessary. This week MBC looks to the human-impact of policy choices that create confusion.