There will be a large military presence in North Huron next month when Canadian troops come to town for training.
The exercise will run from May 3 to 5, but personnel and equipment will not begin arriving in the area until late April.
Our headquarters are in Blyth and we utilize local community centres, campsites and the Wescast community complexes at Ball Diamond and Wingham. Other communities in Huron and Bruce counties will also participate in this exercise.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, North Huron Deputy Reeve Kevin Falconer said the reason no one has heard about this yet is because communication surrounding the exercise is the military’s responsibility.
“We’ve been assured over and over again that it’s going to happen, but as we all sit here now, this is April 2nd, it’s been four weeks and we still haven’t heard anything,” he said. Ta. “Unfortunately, it’s in the hands of the Canadian Armed Forces, and they’re acting in mysterious ways as to when they’re going to let everyone know.”
Town officials estimate the exercise will result in approximately $16,300 in rental fees that were not previously included in the 2024 budget.
CAO Dwayne Evans says this is also an opportunity for staff to meet some training requirements in a different environment.
“As the City Council knows, training must be conducted annually to meet state law,” he said. “Normally we conduct this exercise in the fall, but this is an opportunity for us to scale up to another scale. This is definitely a learning opportunity for all members of the Emergency Management Control Group, so we You’ll see the benefits.” Participate in this exercise. ”
Residents are encouraged to tune into radio and social media posts for updates related to planned events and exercises.