Several townships have enacted measures to protect against COVID-19.
Madawaska Valley Township has said they are closing their offices, and are directing all business to either email or phone. They say that payments can be made online or dropped in the dropbox at the municipal building, but the township says to not leave payments in cash. All regular and council in committee meetings have been cancelled as of today. Interest on the tax instalment due on March 31st will be waived for the month of April. They say Special Council meetings will be called when necessary, and roads, waste management, transfer stations and curbside pickup will continue to operate. The risk of contracting COVID-19 in the township remains low, but residents are asked to do their part by remaining vigilant and self isolating.
North Algona Wilberforce has suspended its council meetings as well and has moved back the tax deadline until April 30th, as well as closing access to its municipal office and public works garage. Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards township will close its offices to the public and says it will maintain essential service like curbside pickup and routine road maintenance. All City of Pembroke buildings will be closed to the public during this time as well.
Meanwhile, Renfrew County has said it will scale back non essential service and will reallocate resources to where they are most needed. In addition, all Renfrew County buildings may only be contacted by phone or email. Warden Debbie Robinson has said that they are in a public health crisis and are assessing the situation daily.
MPP John Yakabuski’s constituency office will not accept walk in inquiries. The MPP’s office instead asks that those constituents who require assistance to call or email the office during regular hours. The MPP says that Ontario has been diligently monitoring the developing situation and taking decisive action to contain the spread of the virus. He says the health and well-being of the people of Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke is the number one priority.