Sarnia’s Primary Control: Who is this shadowy group calling the shots?

Troy Shantz Ever since Sarnia declared a state of emergency on March 18 the Primary Control Group has met almost daily, issuing updates and making decisions that impact the lives of residents.

Troy Shantz

Ever since Sarnia declared a state of emergency on March 18 the Primary Control Group has met almost daily, issuing updates and making decisions that impact the lives of residents.

But who exactly is calling the shots?

The Primary Control Group is headed by Sarnia CAO Chris Carter. He is joined on it by the elected head of city council, Mayor Mike Bradley,  the Chief of Aamjiwnaang, the police and fire chiefs, Lambton’s medical officer of health, a media coordinator, and the city clerk and engineer.

During the COVID-19 pandemic it has met daily at 9 a.m. via teleconference, but normally gathers in a secure room at the Sarnia Police headquarters. Depending on the type of emergency, other city managers are added as required, Bradley said.

Lambton County has a similar group that meets regularly.

Sarnians have largely adhered to the emergency orders so far, although some Primary Control Group decisions —the banning of backyard fires; the closure of the boat launch — have been controversial.

And the grumbling appears to be growing as the lockdown drags on.

The mayor said he signs all emergency orders, including the April 5 campfire ban.

“If I didn’t want to do it then it wouldn’t be signed,” said Bradley, who has final say. “But I’m very confident in the team and the advice.”

Public use of the municipal boat launch in Centennial Park was discussed two weeks prior to its closure on April 14, said Bradley, who lobbied for it to be shut down earlier.

Also coming soon are the cancellation of many civic events in May and June, and Sarnia’s famed Canada Day celebration is unlikely to happen this year, he predicted.

The emergency orders will remain in place “until that curve is going down dramatically,” he said.

“Everything that we’re doing, all have sunset clauses on them. It will not exist once the emergency is lifted. If we really want to get back to a good, strong, healthy community and economy we have to make the sacrifice up front.”

Any core member of the Primary Control Group can call it together but the need is usually pretty obvious, Bradley said.

It mobilizes whenever a CVECO Code 6 warning needing traffic control is declared in the Chemical Valley, or a weather event inflicts significant damage.

It also assembled following last summer’s CN derailment in the St. Clair River, and the 2015 Kenwick Place apartment fire that sent 16 residents to hospital and displaced hundreds of others.