Neskantaga chiefs urge federal and provincial aid as evacuation drags on
More than 250 residents of Neskantaga First Nation remain in Toronto after a sewage leak forced the closure of their only nursing station, and community leaders are pressing Ottawa and Toronto for urgent assistance.
A sewage leak at Neskantaga First Nation’s only nursing station triggered a state of emergency on Aug. 4, leading to the evacuation of over 250 of its roughly 400 residents to hotels in Toronto. The remote community, located about 440 km northeast of Thunder Bay, has been without a functional health-care facility for weeks, with repairs only now beginning and a tentative completion date in early October. Chief Gary Quisses expressed concern that falling temperatures could push the timeline back further, while former chief Wayne Moonias highlighted the cultural and psychological toll of the displacement.
During the Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s annual Keewaywin Conference, NAN chiefs approved a request for Indigenous Services Canada to provide emergency funding for a new nursing station and to establish a federally mandated working group until the emergency is lifted. Indigenous Services Canada confirmed three nurses are currently delivering urgent care in the community and that Ornge services remain on standby for medical evacuations.
Why it matters
The prolonged evacuation underscores chronic health-care gaps in remote Indigenous communities and pressures governments to act.
In this story
