Effective Monday March 22
On Monday, March 22, several health units will change their zone colours.
The changes can be found here.
Continuing Limitations
The limit on cottager access to Saugeen First Nation lands remains the same. Only those whose address on record with the band and who are from the Green, Orange and Yellow zones are permitted access to their cottages at the present time. Your address on record with the band is the address of your principal residence where you receive your invoices for your service fee and your lease.
“How About if I’ve Been Vaccinated?”
SCOI has been asked if you can access your cottage if you have been vaccinated. The answer is no. Vaccination status has no relationship to land or cottage access.
Please keep track of the zone colour where you live.
American Cottagers
For American cottagers, restrictions at the Canadian border will remain in place until at least April 21.
Based on the latest data, the following eight public health regions will be moving from their current level in the Framework to the following levels effective Monday, March 22, 2021 at 12:01 a.m.:
Red-Control
Brant County Health Unit;
Chatham-Kent Public Health; and
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
Orange-Restrict
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
Yellow-Protect
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health;
North Bay Parry Sound District;
Porcupine Health Unit; and
Timiskaming Health Unit.
So if you’re a returning a snowbird via air travel (allowed) with a US principal address who’s completed a 14 day quarantine you are allowed to access your cottage? Sounds like yes.
If Grey Bruce goes red and Peel goes yellow then we can go? I think these are valid questions and/or discussion points. Look forward to your input and our cottage mates input. Cheers.
If your Canadian address is in Peel you cannot go to your cottage regardless of your quarantine upon returning from the US.. Grey Bruce is Green and if Peel goes to orange you can go to your cottage. If Grey Bruce becomes red, we expect the Band will lock down the Reserve and all cottagers will have to go home.
I was speaking about a US snowbird w a principal USA address as per his/her Saugeen lease address. You are coming from a ‘zone’ with no colour coding to a green zone. How is this defined or addressed. I know a few who will be affected by this .
The yellow trumps red/grey zone restriction is obvious. Sounds like a slow summer.
Karen,
We do not know the answer to the question about coming from the US and then to the Reserve after quarantining. We advise that you e-mail Kirk Roote at Lands Management for a ruling. kirk.roote@saugeen.org
So anyone that is forced into red is also not required to pay the Service fees and Lease then and will there be a prorated amount that is deducted for the time those who are banned? If Bruce goes to red this summer will they be refunding cottage owners if they’re sent home?
Please find a definitive answer instead of “we are not sure”. Asking cottagers to pay large amounts of money to be told that they are not allowed access is a very questionable practice……
Keri,
When we said we were not sure we were referring to those coming from the USA.
If you are in a red or grey zone and not allowed to go to your cottage, we strongly suggest you still pay the service fee by April 30th. After that you will be assessed a $100 late fee.
When you get the invoice for your lease fee we also suggest you pay that on time as well. May 1 has been the deadline in past years and you should assume the same for this year unless the invoice gives a different due date.
There will be no refunds even if you are not allowed to go to your cottage and no refunds if your home colour zone goes red or grey and you are required to leave.
Clearly not the answers you want but they are the answers none the less.
This has been confirmed that if anyone that is currently allowed to be at their cottage this summer and their home address returns to a “grey or red zone” they will be forced to to leave? What about in the event of those cottagers that remain there for the entire season without returning to their primary home at all?
Our understanding is that if people are at their cottage legitimately and the zone where their permanent address is located is reclassified as red or grey, they will be required to return to their home. If they choose to stay they are subject to a $500 fine for each day they remain at their cottage.
This is getting ridiculous, we have a big investment in our Cottage along with paying the highest rates on the lands. They are telling us even if we have our COVID shots we can’t go, just totally ridicules. We should be able to demand a rebate on our lease, they are taking total advantage of us. Can you tell us if Cottage land owners in Sauble are bared from their properties, what is the town councels stance on this, are the same rules in place,
Bob,
We ask that you please read your lease. The lease is very clear that there will be no “rebate” or adjustment to the lease amount whether you demand one or not.
At this time the Band is not differentiating between those who have been fully vaccinated and those who have not. That is not likely to change anytime soon. Keeping track of who has and who has not would be a nightmare and add significant cost to policing on the Reserve.
The Band is only following Provincial restrictions. Grey and Red zone people are not supposed to be travelling to other zones. The OPP are fining those they stop for other reasons (speeding) for travelling from more restrictive zones.
We do not know what freehold cottage owners in Sauble are able to do. It is not relevant. However, you are always free to buy a cottage there and do what they are allowed to do.
Being respectful of the Band and understanding that their members are at a higher risk of Covid infection than the general population will be more helpful to getting us all back to the cottage than threatening and demanding things that are not theirs to give. We are looking forward to a time when a high percentage of Band members have been vaccinated and, in turn, the Band’s level of comfort increases to the point where we can all return to our cottages.
I understand the grey/ red zone restrictions, but I will say when covid first started the whole province locked down. Right now anyone with a second home is able to go there, although asked and recommended not to. We understand this but here’s my problem. We were robbed for a second time since December. We have local friends checking on our cottage. We had lumber to the side and behind the cottage. We are a new build so no way to secure it with the very fast lockdown. I know security is supposed to be patrolling those of us that are not supposed to be there. This lumber would have taken quite awhile to move. If we cannot be there I would hope the properties are being looked at often. We have lost over $6000 in material. OPP have been contacted. This happened between Monday and today.
We are very discouraged. There was enough lumber that this was possibly done even in two trips.. is there a way that security could be more on the lookout when it comes to this.
Lawney,
We are sorry about your difficult situation but unfortunately there is not much SCOI can do for you. You have notified the OPP, which is a good thing. Once again we will notify the Band of of your problems and hopefully they will increase the frequency of patrols past your place.
Thank you. I realize that’s all that can be done at this time. We have emailed Kirk as well. I’m pretty sure by next weekend we will be orange and we will be able to get things secured. Fingers crossed this is all behind us very soon.
Unfortunately there has been no direct communication between the lessees and the lessor. There is an expectation when holding a legal lease that the 2 parties act in good faith and communicate in writing either be email or letter. This should have been the case last season and this season. Once again, the onus is on the lessee to find out information regarding access. I somehow feel this will not ever change.
David,
Once upon a time there were only the 4 cottagers’ associations. At the request of the Band, SCOI was created so that the Band could more easily communicate with all cottagers. Over the past 10 years or so, the relationship between SCOI and the Band has improved significantly. We now enjoy considerable dialogue back and forth. It was just recently that we received notice from the interim Band administrator which was posted directly to the SCOI website. That particular letter spoke directly to changes in the Bands covid restrictions which allowed orange, yellow and green zone cottage owners to return to their cottages. Since that time we have received communication indicating that there has been no change to those restrictions. All these messages have been relayed to cottagers through posts to the SCOI website. If cottage owners choose not to follow the SCOI posts, then their lack of communication with the Band is on them.
In addition to messages shared with SCOI, the Band annually sends every cottage owner a brochure with their Service Fee invoice. The brochure outlines important information for cottage owners. The details in the brochure change somewhat each year. So it is incumbent on the cottage owner to read the brochure each time it is sent out. One will be coming soon, as the Service Fee invoices are being sent out now.
Failure to review the brochure is also on the cottage owner.
Throughout covid this past year the Chief has spoken directly to cottage owners on his periodic Facebook posts. These Facebook posts have been highlighted by SCOI web posts as well.
We do not find fault with the Band’s communications this past year. We understand that some cottage owners do not feel that SCOI represents their interests very well. But, by ignoring SCOI posts, they do run the risk of missing important Band messages
Can you please give us an update as to when and what is happening with the lease situation? We are only a few days away from April 1st. Lease fees are due May 1st. No information as to details of our lease other than rumours. I emphasize with you as this is a volunteer position. I regret you having to deal with all our comments. However, this is the only means of communication we have with the band. This whole situation is worrying for cottage owners. This is not an unreasonable request.
Larry and Kathy,
We sympathize with you and many others who have expressed concern over the lateness of the Service Fee and Lease Fee invoices being sent out from the Lands office. There have been a number of things they are dealing with that also involve Indigenous Services Canada and which have been delayed due to Covid..
We do not have a formal notice from the Band yet but do believe we will get a 5-year extension of our current lease to take us through to 2026. That should give the Band time to complete the transition to the First Nations’ Land Management Act at which time we will then have leases with the Band rather than with Indigenous Services Canada.
We do not know exactly when the new leases will be sent out for signing or when the lease fee invoices will be sent out, but assume they will arrive before May 1st. As soon as we are told what the lease payment schedule will be for the 2021-2026 period we will post it on the SCOI website.
Current invoices for the 2021-2022 Service Fee ($1000) along with the 2021 Brochure are being sent out. Once that has been done, the leases will come next.
We are also waiting for a formal announcement from the Band on decisions concerning the designation vote that took place on March 5th. We expect this very soon and will also relay those results via the SCOI website.
The Lands office is having to deal with all of these things at one time, so although not knowing is unsettling, we ask for your patience as they work their way through the backlog.
With cottagers now receiving their invoices today, something needs to be communicated. I just spoke with folks who live on the reserve and they actually completely disagree with what the band is doing and the high spikes in leases up to 35% and no communication to the cottagers.
All of the local realtors know the new lease rates (they’re going up about 50%). Very confused about why the people required to pay the leases are still being kept in the dark. Why is the band not yet sharing this information?
Dianne,
The Band has not confirmed the new lease rates yet. And we are pretty sure they have not confirmed them with real estate agents either. This leads us to assume real estate agents are just guessing. One thing we do know, is that the rates will be going up because values of land in neighbouring communities, which are used in the appraisal process, have been going up.
When the rates have been approved by Chief and Council, we will be notified and will then post the results on the SCOI website.
Proposed lease rates were discussed at the bands information meeting regarding the land designation vote, which is available online. This is likely where those numbers are coming from (and may only be for Block A). The appraisals came back with increases between 13-31 % – The greatest being for first row (waterfront lots, which is not unexpected given the current market).
In the past, the band has raised lease rates higher than what the appraisers recommended.
Again, no lease rates have been released by the band. When SCOI has something official, we will post it.
With the possibility of red and grey zones not returning to green this year and hence won’t be allowed at their cottagers this summer as the variants rise, how will the band handle this as we can’t leave our cottages unattended for a year. I know many cottagers from other zones are having people up in the red and grey zones for weekend stays, etc so not sure how the band is handling that as it definitely defeats the purpose.
Matt,
You are asking questions for which we do not have answers. If we were to ask the Band they would also not have any answers. Right now they have their hands full sorting out results of the designation vote, establishing new lease rates and issuing new leases. It is too soon to be asking these questions. And comparing our circumstances to those of freehold cottagers in other jurisdictions is not relevant.
The Band is holding 2 vaccination clinics a week for its members and the regions where cottage owners live are ramping up their vaccination programs. Give it some time and we will see how things play out. We know everyone is frustrated with the situation. Including the Band. Making irrelevant arguments and being pushy are not helpful tactics.
Cottage owners need to have a bit of faith that the Band is doing what is best for the entire community (cottagers included) and we all need to show some respect for the way they are managing a difficult situation. The last thing we need is a serious outbreak on the Reserve and everyone gets shut out for the summer.