FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION - It wasn’t an easy decision, but according to Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins, it was always the intention of the band council to reopen vendors to the public.
“It’s not an easy task, it’s not an easy decision,” Collins said. “It weighed heavy on them last night. But at the same time we have to open up to a certain degree at some point. We will continue to monitor what is going on in the city and Canada.”
Last night, the band council passed a motion to implement a bylaw that will allow vendors in the territory to reopen on Monday to First Nation members and to the general public on Tuesday.
“We want to get our members in there, to get their supplies, their gas, their smokes, whatever they need and get them out of the connection of that bigger group,” Collins said. “Hopefully it works well and hopefully our vendors are happy.”
The announcement to reopen follows a closure of three weeks first instituted on April 14 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
There will still be restricted access to Fort William First Nation territory and barriers that were setup at the corner of City Road and James Street will be moved further back into the community and only essential workers will be permitted to enter.
“That line hasn’t opened up yet and that will probably be three weeks yet or a month and we will see how things transpire over the next little while,” Collins said.
“At some point in time we have to get to a point of somewhat normal. I know we are never going to be there probably for quite some time yet. But at the same time we have to start moving in that direction.”
According to Collins, it wasn’t about any pressure from vendors to reopen, but rather the work of council to continue to ensure the safety of community members.
The initial closure was to last two weeks but was extended to May 1. Collins said council needed time to put the proper safety measures in place and guidelines for vendors.
“We put some measures in place that we are going to explain to our vendors tomorrow and hopefully they follow suit and we get through this,” he said. “The last thing you want to see is 300 to 500 people standing at the door. If we can keep that safety factor in mind, the vendors will be able to operate for a while.”
After the closure was extended to May 1, First Class Gas reopened on Monday, but closed again after Anishinabek Aski Police Service warned that employees and customers could be issued trespass notices.
The new bylaw, which is to be ratified on Friday, also includes a measure allowing council to order another closure of vendors if it is required, but Collins hopes it does not come to that again.
“Hopefully we won’t need to,” he said. “It’s tough when you shut a business down. It’s tough for us, it’s tough for them. No matter what decision leaders make in a community, it’s the wrong one, but we are going to everything humanly possibly to protect our communities. It’s challenging times for all of us.”
Following the announcement of the initial closure, Collins said reopening the community would be determined by the situation in the city of Thunder Bay and the number of COVID-19 cases.
“The numbers that are getting tested and the number of positive cases and the number of people who have gotten better outweigh a lot of the different things,” Collins said. “The city is doing their part, which is good. We are all doing our part and if we continue to do that, the measures we put in place, we will stay that course.”
Vendors will be open on limited hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and be required to follow all safety measures put in place. A new bylaw officer will be hired to ensure the guidelines are followed.
There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Fort William First Nation.
