Kahnawà:ke Emergency Preparedness Law reverts to previous 2008 version

03/15/2023

The Public Safety Division of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to advise the community that the version of the Kahnawà:ke Emergency Preparedness Law (the Law) and Regulations amended on April 6, 2021, is no longer in effect. This amended version was put in place to specifically address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As stated in the Kahnawà:ke Legislative Commission (KLC) press release dated March 14, 2023 (today), “The previous Kahnawà:ke Emergency Preparedness Law (amended on October 27, 2008, by Mohawk Council Resolution #1/2008-2009) remains the valid law or the Law ‘in effect.’ For clarity, this valid version is the one that has been reinstated on www.kahnawakemakingdecisions.com, the KLC website.”

The April 6, 2021 emergency amendments needed to be confirmed at a duly convened Council meeting during the Recovery Period, which ended on May 2, 2022.

“As we know, the pandemic took a heavy toll on everyone in the community,” said Commissioner of Public Safety Lloyd Phillips. “While we met our goals of protecting the community against COVID’s worst, we were unable to complete the process of having the new amendments and regulations cemented into the law on a permanent basis within the time permitted.”

“There remains a need to update existing laws, including the Emergency Preparedness Law,” he continued. “We learned a lot during the pandemic. We will use that knowledge to ensure we have a more comprehensive law and also an updated pandemic response plan. The changes made in April 2021 are a good start and provide clarity. We will build on that.”

As stated in the KLC release, “The 2021 amendments included lifting the ‘instating of a Recovery Period after a State of Emergency’ to ensure a gradual transition between the height of an emergency to a state of normalcy. New Regulations were created to encompass the authority of the Commissioner of Public Safety and to attribute enforcement authority to specially appointed Inspectors during the recovery period.”

-30-

For information on the Law & Regulations, please contact:
Lloyd Phillips, Commissioner of Public Safety
450-632-0635 or lloyd.phillips@mck.ca

Ratsénhaienhs Ryan Montour, Public Safety Portfolio Lead
Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke 
450-632-7500 or ryan.montour@mck.ca