This check stop is located about 50 kilometres south of La Ronge. (Cook-Searson Tammy Jim/Facebook)

By Derek Cornet

Pandemic Response

La Ronge exempt from public health order, LLRIB and Air Ronge support road restrictions

Apr 30, 2020 | 5:06 PM

La Ronge and Stony Rapids are exempted from a new public health order issued today restricting all non-critical travel into northern Saskatchewan, as well as between northern communities.

That means travel to and from La Ronge and Stony Rapids from outside the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District (NSAD) is allowed, but travellers aren’t permitted to stop in any other community.

The public health order came one day after a formal check stop was erected at the intersection of Highway 2 and 165. The councils of Air Ronge, La Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) held a teleconference about the matter this afternoon when it was decided the band and Air Ronge were in favour of the road restrictions.

“We have a special council meeting tonight anyway to do our budget, so we postponed our decision until tonight when we all get together because not all of council was on the conference call,” La Ronge Mayor Ron Woytowich said. “It’s going to be a closed meeting. We have to decide tonight how we feel about this.”

Woytowich has been an opponent of setting a check stop coming into La Ronge for weeks. He believes the town should remain open to neighbouring communities due to the high level of essential services the municipality provides to northerners.

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This afternoon the LLRIB passed a motion supporting the road restrictions currently in place. Chief Tammy Cook-Searson said firefighters from the band are assisting with the check stop with assistance from a conservation officer.

“Only primary residents be allowed to travel in and out [and] we said the road access not to allow non-residents of the NSAD,” Cook-Searson said about the motion.

Band leadership has taken issue with some elements of the check stop. For instance, they would like it to be open 24 hours per day instead of the limited 14-hour time limit. There are also some questions about how the highway can be used to access La Ronge and Stony Rapids.

“I don’t know why the premier would be able to open up a road when the LLRIB is on the same road, Air Ronge is on the same road and our surrounding communities don’t want to open it up,” Cook-Searson said.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter@saskjourno