The chief of Neskantaga First Nation is calling on the federal government to quickly help set up a mobile health centre in the remote community due to flooding that has closed its nursing station.
Chief Gary Quisses and the northwestern Ontario community’s council declared a state of emergency on Sunday after health-care staff noticed water seeping from the walls and a strong smell of fuel.
The First Nation, where fewer than 400 people live about 450 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has also been under Canada’s longest boil-water advisory for 30 years.
“It’s our lifeline, our nursing station,” Quisses said during a virtual news conference on Tuesday. “I don’t have [a] proper medical facility in the community right now. We have a small interim place, but that’s not good enough.”
The temporary solution is offering health-care assessments in an 8-by-10-foot room, said Neskantaga’s health director, Sharon Sakanee.
“They’re not getting the full access of the services that they need every day,” Sakanee said of her patients. “That’s causing a lot of mental health issues.”
Providing limited services in a small space means nurses are unable to access essential equipment, such as the X-ray machine or oxygen tanks, she said. It’s also causing concerns around patient confidentiality.
CBC News reached out to Indigenous Services Canada and will update this story when there’s a response.
Neskantaga is not the only community in the region facing flooding issues.
Community evacuations are taking place in Kashechewan First Nation further east.
Flooding is an ongoing challenge in Kashechewan due to ice breakup on the Albany River. The federal government has promised to move the entire community of 2,000 people to a new location by 2029.
Neskantaga’s nursing station was built in 1994, said community member and adviser Roy Moonias. Spring flooding often impacts the building, but not to this extent.
The precise reason for the fuel smell hasn’t been determined.
But Carla Chisel of Matawa Technical Services said fuel spills are an ongoing issue in the community, and the odour at the nursing station is currently being attributed to mechanical issues bringing fumes inside the building.
There are high rates of diabetes and other chronic health conditions in Neskantaga, resulting in many community members requiring daily care, Quisses said.
If the government fails to provide an immediate solution, he said, the community would consider arranging evacuations for its most vulnerable members.
Wayne Moonias, former chief of Neskantaga, said the community’s needs will become more severe the longer it takes to get a mobile health-care centre in place.
“[It is] a very vulnerable situation right now in the community,” Wayne Moonias said. “It’s very scary to think that if somebody is in distress that requires, for example, resuscitation, that that may not be available.”
But with the lasting legacy of the boil-water advisory in place, Roy Moonias said, the community lacks faith in the government’s commitment to Neskantaga.
“The government doesn’t care about native people,” Roy Moonias said.
“If this was to happen in an urban setting or municipality, immediate actions, immediate measures [would be taken].”
Quisses also echoed the frustrations shared by Roy Moonias, saying he hopes the federal government provides a quicker response to the nursing station crisis than it has to the boil-water advisory.
“It’s very hard for us to live like this,” Quisses said.
