It’s been nearly eight weeks since Neskantaga First Nation’s most vulnerable members were sent to a hotel in Toronto, but remediation work has only just begun on the damaged nursing station that forced the evacuation of the isolated northern Ontario community.
That’s left Neskantaga’s chief Gary Quisses fearful that many of his people won’t get home before the snow falls.
“The timeline is probably going to change because of the weather. I know it’s getting cold up there,” Quisses told CBC News, saying it could be a month or more before the nursing station reopens.
The remote Ojibway community, some 440 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., declared a state of emergency on Aug. 4 following a sewage spill at its nursing station, the only health-care facility in the First Nation.
From a community of fewer than 400, more than 250 people were evacuated to Toronto, where they remain.
This is the second time problems at the health-care facility prompted an evacuation. Last year, community members were displaced for three months over a flood and smell of fuel in the building.
Problems have also plagued a temporary nursing station set up in the community. A space heater caused a small fire in the health-care facility a few weeks ago. The space lacks privacy and can only provide basic care such as painkillers and bandages, according to Quisses.
“The health system is failing,” he said.
Neskantaga is part of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), a political-territorial organization that represents 49 First Nations across treaties 9 and 5. During NAN’s annual Keewaywin Conference this week, Neskantaga’s former chief Wayne Moonias appealed to the region’s chiefs for support.
Evacuees miss eating traditional food and being out on the land, he said.
“There’s a portable school set up at a hotel. Those are the kind of things that we’re facing,” Moonias said.
“This cannot be a norm where people are evacuated every time an infrastructure unit goes down.”
NAN chiefs voted in favour of calling on Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to take urgent action to support Neskantaga, including emergency funding for a new nursing station and a temporary community-approved facility.
They also want the provincial and federal governments to appoint a specifically mandated working group until Neskantaga’s state of emergency is lifted to resolve the situation, address the community’s outstanding demands, and prepare a financially resourced and First Nations-approved plan.
The Ontario government is only responsible for providing evacuation support; infrastructure issues fall to the federal government.
A spokesperson for ISC says Neskantaga is leading repairs at its nursing station, which are hoped to be completed in early October, they told CBC News in an email on Friday.
“Three ISC nurses are providing urgent and emergency medical services for those who remain in [the] community. Ornge services are also available should any med-evacs from the community be required,” wrote Maryéva Métellus.
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“Wraparound services for health, safety and wellness are being provided” for evacuees, she said.
ISC is working with health partners to support evacuees, she said.
“Partner co-ordination calls with the First Nation, ISC, the province, Matawa First Nations Management, Ornge and the community contractor are ongoing.”
The issues Neskantaga is facing are compounded by the fact that it’s been under a boil water advisory for 31 years, the longest in effect in Canada’s history.
Neskantaga receives support from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA). It serves 33 communities in northwestern Ontario, 28 of which are remote.
SLFNHA’s vice president of community health, Janet Gordon, said infrastructure deficits in fly-in First Nations often prevent health-care services from being delivered.
“Lack of space, workspace and lack of accommodation,” Gordon said. “The services have expanded but the infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the needs of those services.”
While nurses are on-site with Neskantaga evacuees in Toronto, Gordon said it’s important to recognize the mental health effects that come with being displaced for so long — as well as the culture shock of relocating from a remote community to Canada’s largest city.
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“There’s lots of stress that comes with that and just being in an environment that doesn’t feel like home, doesn’t feel safe,” she said.
Meanwhile, Quisses said he’s fielding questions from community members every day seeking updates about the nursing station.
“Everybody’s pretty much on the same page asking, ‘When are we going to go home? Are we going to be here for Christmas?’”
