There will be a large military presence in North Huron next month, when the Canadian Armed Forces come to town for a training exercise.
The exercise runs from May 3 to 5, but personnel and equipment will begin arriving in the region in late April.
It will be headquartered in Blyth using the local community centre, campground and ball diamonds, along with the Wescast Community Complex in Wingham. The exercise will involve other Huron and Bruce County communities as well.
At Tuesday's council meeting, North Huron Deputy Reeve Kevin Falconer said the reason no one has heard of this yet is communication surrounding the exercise is the military's responsibility.
"We have been assured on many occasions that that is going to happen, but as we all sit around here, this is April 2nd, we have four weeks and we have yet to hear anything," he said. "Unfortunately that is in the hands of the Canadian Armed Forces and they work in mysterious ways as to when they're gonna let everyone know."
Town staff project the exercise will result in approximately $16,300 in rental fees that were not previously accounted for in the 2024 budget.
CAO Dwayne Evans says it's also a chance for staff to meet some training requirements in a different setting.
"As council is aware, we have an annual training exercise requirement that we need to do to satisfy provincial legislation," he said. "We typically will do that exercise in the fall, but this is an opportunity for us to take it to a different scale. It will certainly be a learning opportunity for all members of the Emergency Management Control Group, so certainly see a lot of benefits to taking part in this exercise."
Residents are encouraged to stay tuned for radio and social media posts regarding planned events and updates related to the exercise.