Brock council to discuss Sunderland Santa parade later this month

Brock council to discuss Sunderland Santa parade later this month

by The Standard | October 8th, 2020 Podcast https://thestandardnewspaper.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Brock-Parade-Oct-8th-2020.wav

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

BROCK: Brock township council is going to wait until later this month before deciding the fate of the 2020 Sunderland Santa Claus Parade. At a meeting on Monday, October 5th, councillors saw correspondence from Joan Down, the parade committee’s chairperson, requesting to hold the annual parade and a free skate on December 12th. Township staff recommended denying the requests, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, Ward 5 Councillor Lynn Campbell made a motion to defer a decision on these requests to a meeting on Monday, October 19th. Councillor Campbell stated this motion will allow “parade organizers the opportunity to provide another letter, outlining their plans for safe COVID-19 protocols at the 2020 Sunderland Santa Claus Parade.” Council was largely in agreement with seeking more information before making a decision on this event. “I definitely support deferring this for now. We don’t want to cancel Christmas altogether, but we obviously want to do it in a safe way,” Ward 1 Councillor Michael Jubb opined. Councillor Campbell pointed out, the township will also need input from their emergency control group on this situation. Clerk Becky Jamieson said staff will do their best to have something ready for the October 19th meeting, but if they can’t this issue could be discussed on Monday, October 26th.