(Nicole Reis/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nicole Reis

PURCHASING ESSENTIALS

Checkpoints remain unchanged after calls with the province

May 14, 2020 | 2:10 PM

In a letter sent to Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab earlier this week, Northern Chiefs said several complaints have been made against security officers for unfair and disrespectful treatment.

In a joint release issued by Meadow Lake Tribal Council, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), and Métis Nation Saskatchewan, Canoe Lake Cree First Nation Chief Francis Iron said he was denied access through a check point while trying to drive to Flying Dust First Nation .

“Our First Nation primary cheque signatory lives in Flying Dust and our families on social assistance and the First Nation payroll depend on those cheques and we need to pay our bills. These officers also have no regard of what an essential service for northerners is,” Chief Iron said in the release.

After calls with the province yesterday, Chief Francis Iron told meadowlakeNOW the state of checkpoints will remain the same with no one allowed in or out of the northwest.

“I’ve been getting call after call from band members who are concerned about this order as they cannot get the things they need,” he said. “If they go to the Beauval store, they’re only limited to a few bags of groceries when they can go to Meadow Lake and a full [range] of stuff.”

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Iron said the province may be unaware with the plight of living in the North as supplies such as baby formula, are commonly unavailable. Meadow Lake businesses have always been supportive of northerners coming into the community to do their shopping, and people in the north would like to see food delivery trucks from Meadow Lake delivering essentials to checkpoints.

“It’s a scary time for my people right now,” he said. “They’re scared to move but they value that one shopping day we allow every two weeks.”

People in Canoe Lake have been staying in and to date, the Cree Nation has not been affected by the virus. Northerners have been equipped with masks, gloves and sanitizer as precautionary measures to use while shopping.

“I think the province wants to contain the virus and we feel the same way, but they don’t understand the precautions we’re taking back home to make sure the virus doesn’t spread,” he said.

Grocery stores in the far north often do not carry specialized baby formula, a selection of good quality meats and fresh or consistent kinds of produce. He added people can make donations of essentials at provincial checkpoints to be distributed to community members.

“Going forward, we hope the province gives us a little more clarity and answers and we are willing to work with them but they do need to communicate with us on a better basis,” he said.

Iron said since sending the letter, he has been getting calls on a regular basis from the province and he’s hoping to work out better answers with government officials to communicate back to band members.

The designated community shopping day for Canoe Lake and Eagles Lake residents is May 14.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722