A checkpoint has gone up between Flin Flon and Creighton, set up by the Saskatchewan government as part of recent northern public health orders.
The checkpoint, located at the Phantom Lake Road between Creighton and Flin Flon, was put up May 5. Vehicles were stopped but not turned away, with workers at the site distributing information about northern Saskatchewan health restrictions to drivers before allowing them to go through.
As of 9 p.m. May 5, the checkpoint had closed and the road was fully open to traffic. The checkpoint was back and open again May 6, though no vehicles were being stopped at the site and no information was distributed.
The checkpoint is similar to the kind created by the Manitoba government on some southern highways in late March, where motorists were given pamphlets about COVID-19 and public health measures before going through.
Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) firefighters are currently staffing the checkpoint.
The checkpoint has been built as part of a public health order issued by the Saskatchewan government May 1, heavily restricting travel within northern Saskatchewan - specifically, the Northern Saskatchewan Administrative District (NSAD). Creighton, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Deschambault Lake, Sandy Bay and all nearby Saskatchewan communities are included in the NSAD.
"No person shall travel to or out of the NSAD from within the province of Saskatchewan or otherwise. Additionally, no person within NSAC shall travel outside the community in which their primary residence is located," reads the handout given to motorists at the Creighton checkpoint.
There are exceptions in the public health order. Under current Saskatchewan public health measures, people working in essential services, travelling for medical treatment or buying goods or services not available in their home community are exempt from the order.
An exemption has been made for Indigenous people travelling for hunting, fishing and trapping for food or medicinal purposes or carrying out ceremonial observances.
Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and other area residents are still able to locally travel freely across the provincial border during the outbreak. Deschambault Lake, Sandy Bay and Pelican Narrows residents, along with people from other nearby communities, are able to travel to Flin Flon to purchase food or supplies that aren't available at home.
"If supplies are available in your community, please shop within your community. Do not travel for food or medical care if it's already available in your community," reads the information sheet.
Anyone found disobeying public health orders may be subject to fines, up to $2,000 for a person and $75,000 for a business.
Several First Nations communities in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan, including Pelican Narrows, Deschambault Lake and the Amiskosakahikan reserve in Denare Beach, have already erected checkpoints earlier in the outbreak.
