First Nation chiefs share safety concerns amid wildfire evacuations in northwestern Ontario

CBC

2 days ago

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As wildfire evacuees from northwestern Ontario settle in at their accommodations in the southern part of the province, community chiefs are raising concerns about what happens next.
Wabaseemoong Independent Nations was the first community in the region to issue an evacuation notice on May 13 because of the area's largest fire, Kenora 20, which spans more than 35,000 hectares.
About 450 members of the Ojibway First Nation, located north of Kenora, are staying in Niagara Falls.
Next, Deer Lake First Nation called for a community evacuation on Wednesday due to the nearby fire Red Lake 12, which is now more than 17,900 hectares large. Nearly 900 members of the remote Oji-Cree community have been brought to Toronto.
Chief Leonard Mamakeesic said the evacuation has gone smoothly, all things considered. Community members took Dash 8 planes to Thunder Bay before being transported on larger planes to Toronto, he said.
"I try to be more on the positive side," Mamakeesic said in an interview with CBC News Monday afternoon. "To be grateful that we have hotels at the moment; there are reserves in Manitoba that are staying in gymnasiums."
Webequie First Nation declared a state of emergency on Thursday due to a wildfire known as Nipigon 5, which is more than 7,500 hectares large. Evacuees are being sent to Barrie, about a one-hour drive north of Toronto.
However, Chief Cornelius Wabasse said a shortage of aircraft due to high demands in other communities affected by wildfires delayed the remote Ojibway First Nation's evacuation.
"There is a shortage of planes and also other resources," Wabasse told CBC News in an interview Monday morning.
The first planes were expected to arrive in the community Monday and bring about 200 of the First Nation's most vulnerable down south.
CBC News has reached out to the provincial government for comment on Webequie's concerns about a shortage of planes, and is awaiting a response.
Concerns around culture shock, outside influences
While Wabasse's main goal is keeping community members safe while they wait for planes out of Webequie, Mamakeesic says his top priority is maintaining security in Toronto for the members of Deer Lake First Nation.
Fewer than 1,500 people live in Deer Lake. Like Webequie, it's only accessible by plane or winter road.
Transitioning from life in the remote north to Canada's most populous city "is a cultural shock," Mamakeesic said.
He's worried about the high traffic levels near the hotel, as well as pressures on community members to consume alcohol or drugs because they're "easier down here to get," he said.
Two years ago, Deer Lake members were evacuated to Cornwall because of wildfires. A lot of lessons were learned through that experience, Mamakeesic said, including the importance of keeping community members engaged.
"I'm trying to integrate my workers into what's already set up to make it easier. That's a big lesson I'm learning from my past evacuations," he said.
For example, while ISN Maskwa, an Indigenous emergency operations centre, is providing security services for evacuees in Toronto, Mamakeesic is trying to get his own community members to work with them, so evacuees can deal with familiar faces.
Overall, though, he's been encouraging people to make the most out of their time in Toronto while they wait for the all-clear to return home.
"I think it's going well," he said. "I always tell my council, it reflects on us to be calm and if we work collaboratively, then it filters down to our people."