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A man from Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-lac is facing charges of assaulting a Kahnawake Peacekeeper (PK). The man was pulled over by the PKs after he was illegally on the territory trying to purchase cigarettes on Monday afternoon at about 3:15.

Kyle Zachary is the Public Relations Officer at the Pks. “He was argumentative with the officer right from the beginning of the stop. When the officer issued him the ticket he crumpled it up and threw it at the officer, which is an assault,” Zachary said.

The man, in his 60’s, wasn’t done there. “An attempt to arrest was made and the driver sped away from the officer. Pursuit was initiated. All of the other officers on the road were involved from Mirella’s on the 132 to about the Highway 30 entrance where it was called off because it was becoming too dangerous for the public,” he said.

But Zachary said that the Peacekeepers know exactly where to find their suspect. “They already have all the drivers information because they were issuing him a ticket so that means they had his driver’s license, they had his address. So it wasn’t crucial to arrest him there and then because of the danger the public was in. They then advised the police services in the surrounding area.  We received later on that the male was arrested again by the SQ closer to Vaudreueil-Dorion on charges of their own. So there were further incidents after he dealt with the Peacekeepers.”

Today marked ‘The Community Drive By Salute,’ parade in Kahnawà:ke. The parade was held this morning in the community, departing from the Sports Complex at 11:30 and ending at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center. 100 vehicles took part in the parade including a Peacekeeper escort and a half dozen school buses. Kahnawakeró:non decorated the parade route with homemade signs thanking the front-line workers. The parade was a display of support for first responders, volunteers and all those who have been on the front-lines since the start of the Pandemic.

Residents flocked outside to witness the event. Clint Meloche offering his support:

“Clint Meloche, I’m here to support all of the front-line workers, the Peacekeepers, everybody who helps our community survive. I think it shows our community appreciation that everybody that they’re helping: nia:wenkowa.”

Offering her good wishes, Dreamer Delaronde:

“My name is Dreamer Delaronde and we’re here to support all of the front-line workers and first responders. My grandfather was in the hospital and we’re just showing support. I love it, I think it’s super fun. It’s a good thing for my daughter too, it’s nice to be together as a community doing something nice for our front-line workers.”

The Kahnawake Covid-19 Task Force says that if the conditions allow, then Phase One of the Kahnawake Economic Revitalization will begin with the reopening of businesses in the community on June 1^st. But they caution that it is a moving target as they continuously examine the data.

Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips says the Kahnawake Economic Revitalization Committee (KERC) and the Task Force has taken into consideration the health and safety of the community as well as the social and psychological impact and how it relates to the economics. “If all the conditions are met and the situation stabilizes in the area that is the target we are shooting for to give the green light to the first phase of the business reopening to take place,” Phillips said. “June 1^st is the target date, but that’s not etched in stone.”

Effective immediately personal swimming pools can now be opened by outside companies who normally service Kahnawake homes. “Since people are being asked and told to stay a home as much as possible, and since pools are an extension of the home we have made the decision that we will be allowing for pool companies to come in and do any type of repairs and any type of openings that you may require for your pool,” he said. The Task Force will be contacting the outside pool companies and giving them the green light.  

Kateri Memorial Hospital Center Executive Director Lisa Westaway says her team has spoken with nearly 900 families as part of the community health check. They have made over 1400 calls since the check began. “The impact is an increase in testing,” Westaway said. “We have probably doubled the testing since before the health check. We are averaging 8 to 10 tests per day now.”

The Caisse Populaire Kahnawake released a statement, announcing that they would be closed today but would reopen for business on Tuesday.

K1037 News has learned that an individual at the bank was sick. Chantal Corbeil, spokesperson for the ‘Movement Desjardins’, the Head office for the Caisse Populaire in Kahnawake, explained to K1037 News that the closure was Covid-19 related. However, after initially stating that it was due to a positive test, the Caisse Populaire Kahnawake says there was miscommunication with “Movement Desjardins” and that there has been no positive test. The bank is in the process of being disinfected today.

Kahnawake Covid-19 Task Force member and Executive Director of the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center, Lisa Westaway acknowledged that the bank closed today. “They wanted to close due to their policy to clean when there is a possible suspect case,” Westaway said. “So there is somebody who is sick. There is somebody who was tested from the bank and they wanted to take all precautions to ensure the safety of the community. There is no positive case, as we are speaking (Monday 5 PM) today at the bank.”

Lisa Westaway, the Executive Director at the Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC) thanked Kahnawake families for coming by to drop off gifts for their family members on Mother’s Day on Sunday. “I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful experience that was,” she said. “The employees really were having a wonderful time meeting with you. Family members, from what i saw, really enjoyed dropping gifts off and how our residents and our elders really enjoying receiving.”

Westaway says the community health check is going very well. As of Friday they have reached out to over 1000 homes in the community.

Lloyd Phillips, the Commissioner of Public Safety, cautioned that businesses will likely have to remain patient until the death rate comes down in Quebec. “The one thing that is for sure is that the death rate is not changing,” Phillips said. “Matter of fact today it jumped a bit. Over 140 people had died in the past 24 hours in the province of Quebec. The bulk of those in the Montreal area. So certainly the numbers don’t show that things are improving.”

Public health officials in Kahnawake are calling new data from the province ‘worrisome’ and say they will not give a date for the reopening of businesses in the community. 

The study, published two days ago by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) shows a sharp increase in deaths in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA) if restrictions for schools and businesses are lifted as planned on May 25.

The GMA could see 500 hospitalizations and 150 deaths per day by June with a loosening of restrictions. 

“This is very worrisome,” said Kateri Memorial Hospital Center (KMHC) director Lisa Westaway in a daily briefing on Saturday. “We know, as we start opening up…people tend to think that they are safer because they see things opening up around them.”

Westaway said the number of cases could potentially be much higher since the research is based on an increase in contacts of just 15 to 30 percent.

For his part, Commissioner of Public Safety, Lloyd Phillips, quashed ‘rumours’ that businesses would get the green light on May 18. 

“I’ll confirm right here today that that is not the case. We are not looking at opening on the 18th,” he said.

Phillips said businesses can expect more information about preparing to reopen soon. “A lot of work has been done in getting information that will be distributed to businesses in the community to help them prepare for the opening.”

During the Kahnawake 911 live update on Facebook on Friday, KSCS Executive Director Derek Montour admitted that they jumped the gun in announcing that the Turtle Bay Elders Lodge would be allowing visitors.

“We realized we were premature,” Montour said. “We are in communication with Dr Gauthier and the Task Force. We are looking at putting additional measures in place, such as taking appointments and limiting visits to a certain number of family members. And limit to a certain number of residents that can receive visitors at one time. We also will put in place a triage of all visitors to make sure that they are healthy.”

The Kahnawake Economic Revitalization Committee (KERC) met with the Task Force on Friday.

The goal after receiving the report is finding a balance, according to Kateri Memorial Hospital Center Executive Director Lisa Westaway. “We must find a balance between health and safety and our economic livelihood,” she said.

The KERC have identified over 400 businesses across nearly 40 different industries. “We are evaluating the levels of risk posed by the phase in reopening each industry,” Westaway said.

“We are looking at the best and fairest way of getting as many businesses as possible to the starting line on day one when we are ready to go,” Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips said.

“We want to make sure that we are as clear and as transparent as we can be,”

While the Task Force does not have an exact date when they will give the green light to a phase one reopening of the community’s businesses, they did provide a list of which industries would have to wait until the first phase is complete.

Bars, beauty or hair salons, gyms, restaurant dinning rooms, gaming houses and social clubs will not be part of the first phase of reopening. Phillips explained that it was determined that those businesses are being limited due to the fact that they are determined to be high volume establishments or businesses in which gatherings or interactions can not be avoided. They are deemed not to have the ability to respect social distancing.

Less than one day after the Turtle Bay Elders Lodge in Kahnawake announced they would be allowing family members to visit the 22 residents, the Kahnawake Covid-19 Task Force postponed the doors from opening up. This despite strict measures and rules put in place by the management of the lodge.

“We just wanted to make sure everybody’s on the same page,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips. “That all the factors involving visitation and how it can be done safely and how various measures can be put in place. We want to make sure all of those are addressed and all the factors are weighed equally. We understand that people are lonely, people want to see their families. But we want to make sure we get more expert opinions on it before moving forward.”

KMHC Manager of Outpatient Care Dawn Montour-Lazare with a demonstration on the Kahnawake 911 live update on Facebook on Thursday on how best to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“If you are using cloth masks, they need to be washed all the time,” Montour-Lazare said. “When you are done you should deposit them directly in to the washing machine. Don’t touch your face. Don’t touch the mask, because you have now contaminated your hands again. Do not alter the mask in any way. Do not pull it down to talk. Surgeons wear it on their face during 8 to 12 hours of surgery. When you are done with the material mask then drop it straight into the garbage.”

She said that one of the one of the reasons you wear the mask is that if you have the virus it prevents you from spreading it to others.

Montour-Lazare also spoke about the usefulness of wearing gloves.

“People are wearing gloves everywhere,” she said. “We at the hospital use them when procedures are very dirty. Gloves are great for cleaning toilets and washing dishes. When we are done they go right into the garbage. In this context I don’t wear gloves. They provide a false sense of security. It’s a respiratory virus. When you have gloves on you don’t wash your hands as often.”

Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips said the Task Force is keeping a close eye on the happenings around Montreal. The City and surrounding areas have had their re-openings of schools and businesses pushed back another week until May 25^th at the earliest.

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will fly over Montreal this afternoon as part of their cross Canada salute to frontline workers. They will lift off at 12:45 PM from Quebec City, and head towards Montreal where they are expected to land an hour later. The flyover is expected to take place over Kahnawà:ke at some point between 1:20pm and 1:45pm. Kahnawa’kehró:non should note that the jets will fly at a low level, with resulting noise levels that may startle those who are not expecting the display. The jets will enter Kahnawà:ke airspace from the east.