A message from the mayors of Muskoka
This global pandemic is affecting all of our lives in ways that none of us could have imagined. It is our hope that this writing finds each of you and your families well and committed to continuing the great work you have all been doing in fighting the spread of this insidious virus. Through your efforts, our Muskoka communities have remained relatively safe and healthy compared to so many others.
We are all so very thankful for our frontline healthcare professionals, first responders and essential goods and services providers that are keeping us safe and ensuring that our necessities of life continue to be available in these times of uncertainty. They are our heroes!
We must remain positive and continue to be vigilant by following the advice and direction of both our Federal and Provincial leaders as well as their respective public health experts.
Together, we are making a difference!
Let us remind ourselves that all our residents—both year round and seasonal—are valued, and recognize that we share a long tradition of coming together to support one another.
Now is not the time for divisive attitudes or the propagation of negative “us versus them” social commentary relative to seasonal versus permanent residents. For that type of behaviour is counter-intuitive to our Canadian values and falls far short of reflecting the sentiment of the vast majority of Muskoka residents. We are all in this together.
As our higher authorities begin to turn their attention to the next steps in the transition to a new normal, may each of us commit to following the existing guidelines and directives relative to our own personal actions and activities.
Should you elect to either leave or come to Muskoka you must:
– purchase provisions in advance and self-quarantine as appropriate,
– self-isolate and limit all public interaction,
– do not congregate in groups,
– practice social (physical) distancing measures,
– wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face and mouth,
– consider face coverings.
Now is not the time to forsake our efforts to date. All the experts suggest that continued diligence in the short term will facilitate favourable long term results.
May you all be safe!
Terry Glover, Lake of Bays mayor
Phil Harding, Muskoka Lakes mayor
Paul Kelly, Gravenhurst mayor
Peter Koetsier, Georgian Bay mayor
Graydon Smith, Bracebridge mayor
Karin Terziano, Huntsville mayor
John Klinck, District chair
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Thorny issues, all. But considering that the U.S. is basically open for business again (with hand-washing and physical distancing; natch!); it’s not difficult to understand the economic pressures on the mayors. Now the President cancels the pandemic task force one day, and reinstates it the next. He readily acknowledges the fact that many more will die (especially with the fall crest approaching). He also refuses to wear a mask (but what narcissist would?); and besides, i would mess his makeup.
Mr. Gruscyk: I am afraid that I cannot agree with most of your basic tenets. Firstly, your cottage is not your home. Secondly, none of we permanent residents has gone to a restaurant (as they are all closed) and very few stores are open. Finally, I also pay high taxes (and have NO services; including garbage). You sound like an imminently sensible man, and under the conditions which you mention, we’d welcome any visit. (Even Arrowhead Park is opening on May 15.)
I have to agree that neither the PM with his family holiday, nor the Premier’s daughters has set a good example for anyone. “Do as I say, but not as I do” has been a losing credo since our parents all tried it on us in our youth.
We have a nice home on Mary Lake. Keep it maintained. Receive very little in services from Huntsville except for the Garbage.
Our taxes are higher than most folks in the town of Huntsville. We support the local folks as much as possible. We rarely go to town for groceries. Yet as a part time homeowner I feel that my taxes Sb substantially reduced this year due to our fear of even going up to our home based upon all the folks in charge of this health issue discouraging us. We have not gone to the many restaurants and stores since January. We are all losing now so let’s all of us use our common sense in dealing with this health issue. 80% of the deaths are in long term homes for seniors.
If we all stay in our homes and not have groups of people at our properties we all be fine.
Devisiveness is in the sensitive eye of the artificially offended party to serve their need to be right at the time. Any person that cannot understand why northerners do not want to be exposed to the hordes of people from the highly infectious area of the cities must be very closed minded and selfish . Do not use all these idiotic issues like being a tax payer or saviour of the northerners way of life in the past as a statement of insult to justify your disatisfaction with the wise health policies of restricting exposure to a deadly virus just because you cannot have your own way nobody cares about your hurt feelings we only care about your health and our health and well being see you when this is all over or not .
We have owned a cottage on Lake Vernon for over twenty years. We have always supported local businesses, paid our taxes and contributed to Huntsville Hospital. I have always felt welcomed and part of this great community until now. It is very unfortunate that the “seasonal” members of your community are now treated like second class citizens. I certainly don’t feel welcome right now. Divisiveness has already been felt!
The mayors seem to try and shift the discussion into “us vs. them”. This is cheap. Tourists are not the local residents’ foes and that was never the core of the issue. The core is that there is a multitude of cases in urban environments and almost none here. The chances that someone gets infected in Toronto are multiple times higher than the chances that a local resident gets infected. That is at the core of the concerns why tourists are asked to stay distant from us at this point until such time when the medical community deems the risk of infection in urban centres lowered and, therefore, the risk of transmitting the virus locally in Muskoka will be more moderate (It won’t be zero). It is plainly naive to think that the tourists come here and stay in their cottages adhering to all the rules of social distancing. Some do, but many don’t. The party folks with visitors coming and going are omnipresent along the cottage paths in Port Sydney. Add to that that Ontario has chosen not to implement face masks as a mandatory precaution. The function of masks is not to protect their wearers, but to protect those who come into contact with the wearers such as in grocery store isles. So, the chances of locals to encounter an infected urban dweller at less than 2 metres distance when buying groceries, who also doesn’t protect others by wearing masks are higher than some of us think is acceptable. This is where the May 4 recommendation of the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Gardner, comes into play. The mayors chose to disregard the health professional’s recommendation for seasonal residents to wait a bit longer with coming up here. Has any of the mayors undergone medical training?
Mayors, you owe us an explanation why you chose to disregard Dr. Gardner’s recommendation. And if you made a conscious decision to put economic development over the the health of your population, because you may think that the economic disaster weighs heavier than the pandemic, say so. I fully understand, albeit do not share, the perspective that when required to choose between economy and grandma, you choose the economy, albeit moderated by naive and unenforceable appeals. When I returned from the US in late March, I had to self-isolate for 2 weeks, rightly so. That was because I was considered returning from an area of increased risk. If I weren’t a Canadian citizen, I would not even have been allowed into the country. So, why are we promoting individuals from high-risk areas to come here? Just because there are no border controls North of Barrie?
Please, do not accuse those of us with concerns about pandemic facts of being opposed to “Them”. We are not. This is just not the right time to mingle yet. The time to get together will come and I am looking forward to that, to getting together, physically distanced, with my seasonally resident friends.
This article is about as divisive as you can get.
You “MUST”. ……. except for Doug Ford !!!
The mayors have already divided seasonal residents from locals. Good luck getting any tourists coming back to your cities or collecting taxes from “seasonal” residents.
Divisiveness is when some of us get fined for sitting in parks and others get excused breaking rules public health rules, like Doug Ford and his family.