‘Our people are tired': First Nations leaders call on province to ‘open up hotels' and suspend conferences to prioritize evacuees
A wildfire near Sherridon, Man. is seen on May 28, 2025. (Michelle Reimer)
First Nations leaders in Manitoba gathered Saturday afternoon to call on the province to provide a directive to hotels prioritizing wildfire evacuees in Winnipeg hotels.
Leadership from Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) and some of the affected First Nations urged the premier to suspend conferences that are taking up space much needed for evacuees arriving to the city.
'It is really sad to see our children have to sleep on floors, waiting in hallways, waiting outside,' said AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. 'We need to make sure we have space for our people.'
MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee said the reception of people into Winnipeg is 'not a good experience.'
'If you were to see what is happening you would be appalled as Manitobans.' he said, 'This is a matter of basic human dignity when our people arrive here they are not afforded that basic human dignity.'
Kelly Linklater, a councillor with Mathias Columb First Nation said the nation is 'halfway' evacuated with community members being flown out all day and continuing over the next couple of days.
'It would be good to move quicker,' he said, 'There is anxiety because of the kids, the Elders, and of course, the pending changing of the wind.'
Leaders spoke of how families are spread out across the province and even out of the province.
Linklater said there is a possibility 800 of their members may be flown to Niagara Falls, ON.
'We need to come together and make space for our people.' said Grand Chief Wilson, 'Our people are tired. Our leadership is tired.'
CTV News reached out to the provincial government for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
28 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Arctic Gateway Group says the Port of Churchill will help diversify Canada's trade links to other countries
Less than a year into his new job as CEO of Arctic Gateway Group, Chris Avery is finding himself overseeing what is quickly emerging as a critical cog in fighting the Trump-era trade war. AGG, which operates the Port of Churchill and the connecting Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) in northern Manitoba, strategically links Western Canada to Arctic waters and from there offers routes to Europe, South America and the Middle East. The company is aiming to become a vital link between Canada and emerging Arctic routes to help boost interprovincial and overseas trade and to reduce reliance on the United States. 'We're proud that we're part of the national solution … and are supporting our response to what's happening in the U.S.,' said Mr. Avery, who was named chief executive officer last July. 'I think it's really been a great wake-up call to say we need options and we can't be dependent on the U.S., even though they are our closest neighbor and our largest trading partner.' Stretching for 1,000 kilometres from The Pas in central Manitoba to Churchill on Hudson Bay's western shores, the HBR is also a lifeline for 33,000 people living in isolated areas with limited road access, said Hicham Ayoun, senior communications adviser at Transport Canada. The Port of Churchill, Canada's only deep-water Arctic port connected to mainland, ships goods such as critical minerals, construction equipment and agricultural and energy products to Southern Nunavut's Kivalliq region and the rest of the world. Mr. Avery said the Arctic trade route can slash global shipping times. 'The way that the sea lanes are set up and where the port is … allows you to reduce shipping days by upwards of two to three days, versus going to the East Coast or going through the Great Lakes and up the St Lawrence River and so on.' In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney in early May, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew touted the crucial role the Port of Churchill can play in the Canadian economy and in Arctic security. The letter said the port is at the core of the One Canada Trade Corridor project, which is one of the five initiatives Manitoba is pitching to the federal government to expand Canada's energy exports and critical minerals development through newly constructed all-weather roads and rail links. HBR and Port of Churchill were previously operated by Denver-based Omnitrax Inc., beginning in 1997. But following a flood in May, 2017, the U.S. company refused to repair a stretch of rail, leading to a legal dispute with the Canadian government over responsibility for the costs. The impasse left Northern communities without rail service and facing skyrocketing prices for goods delivered by plane. The port and railway were returned to Canadian hands in August, 2018. A partnership of OneNorth – a group of 29 First Nations and 12 communities in Manitoba and Nunavut – and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired them from Omnitrax and commenced repairs, supported by federal funds. The Churchill community welcomed back the first train in November, 2018, after 18 months of shutdown. Fairfax left the partnership two years later, leaving OneNorth the sole owner of AGG, owned by a partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 communities in Manitoba and Nunavut, Mr. Avery said. 'Americans sitting in Denver really didn't care that Churchill or Indigenous communities in Northern Manitoba were cut off from the South. But our ownership group live and work in the communities … So they will ensure that the infrastructure is invested again in the future,' he said. Mr. Avery said the company currently employs 150 workers, with more opportunities expected as it expands its operations. The relaunch of the railway and the port have also strengthened the local economy, benefiting tourism and mining, and allowing people to 'live close to their communities … support their families, and have a good standard of living,' he said. AGG is still working to upgrade the infrastructure after decades of neglect by Omnitrax. AGG's updates have already reduced travel time by 10 per cent, a saving of three hours between The Pas and Churchill, according to the group's 2024 progress report. Mr. Avery noted that about 80 per cent of repairs for the HBR are complete. 'We've invested a lot of capital into the railway, so we're very much open for business now. The railway is probably in better condition than it's been for the past 25 years.' He added that AGG is currently focusing on upgrading and expanding the port, investing in repairing wharfs and decks and conducting analysis to understand how to accommodate larger vessels. The company marked a milestone in August with the first shipment of critical minerals from the port. This included around 10,000 tons of zinc concentrate from Snow Lake, Man., loaded onto the HBR and cargo vessels, and destined for Belgium. The group is building a new storage facility to ramp up critical mineral shipments, 'the first new building at the Port after decades of neglect,' according to the report. Mr. Avery said Europe is a critical minerals major market for AGG. The group plans to transport up to 20,000 tonnes of minerals this year, including potash for food production. New exports will also include sand used in new technologies such as solar panels. Construction equipment, trucks and building materials are instead on the list for Nunavut communities. The company also plans to make agricultural products a staple of its trade activities, and is currently conducting talks with several partners, Mr. Avery said. AGG signed recent agreements with Saskatchewan-based Invest Tisdale and Genesis Fertilizer to move grain and fertilizer products across Canada and expand their markets beyond the U.S. through the Arctic route. Mr. Avery also wants the port to serve Western farmers who are importing products such as phosphate from trading partners beyond the southeastern states of the U.S. to avoid tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. 'What the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay railway offer is the ability for companies and Canadian farmers to import phosphates from North Africa or the Middle East to Churchill and from Churchill directly to the Western Canadian provinces and our farmers.' The group's future operations involve more than just commercial aspects. He said AGG is also talking with the Department of Defence about transporting supplies and goods to northern military bases through Churchill's airport. The CEO said Transport Canada operates the airport, but AGG has access to its facilities and infrastructure. The federal government announced in March it will invest $175-million over five years to support railway maintenance, enhance the port's security and operations, and encourage potential private investments with the group. 'It is a huge set of infrastructure that helps us assert our sovereignty in the North,' Mr. Avery said. 'These things that we're building are nation-building by nature and also generational by nature because it's not just for the next year or two, it means for our kids' generation and their kids' generation.'
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
N.W.T. government ends relationship with B.C. treatment facility
The N.W.T. government is no longer contracting a B.C. facility to provide addictions and PTSD treatment to territorial residents, but past participants credit the program with their continued sobriety and healing. Edgewood Health Network in Nanaimo was "not successful" in securing a renewed contract, spokesperson for the facility Mary Doyle said in an email. In its own response, the N.W.T. Health department said Edgewood did not apply on a request for proposals in August 2025. Department spokesperson Andrew Wind said in an email the government sent 105 residents to the facility in the last year. He said clients of the Nanaimo program with intake dates up to and including March 14 would still be funded for the duration of their treatment and a year after. Neither the department nor Edgewood could confirm how many people were waitlisted when the contract lapsed on March 31. The end of the contract could be discouraging for patients who relapse and want to return to a facility they are familiar with, said Peyton Straker, who attended Edgewood and is active in Nanaimo's recovery community. Straker, who is originally from the N.W.T., celebrated 12 months of sobriety in May. Past participants say program helped, but had flaws Straker said they found the treatment effective — the program they were in lets clients leave the facility for Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and interact with the recovery community through support groups and rallies. It wasn't perfect, though. Straker said there was room for improvement, especially where Indigenous cultural sensitivity was concerned, since smudging and beadwork supplies weren't allowed into the facility when they were there. The facility applied "rigid" visitation policies that recognized nuclear families, but turned away visitors with other ties, they said. Straker said they thrived in the reading and writing components of the program, but saw N.W.T. clients with low-literacy struggle. Straker observed that clients fluent in Dene languages, but who could not read or write in English, were not given accessibility accommodations to understand reading and writing assignments. For those patients, "not having the ability to read or write really interferes with your treatment plan, but nobody tells you that before you arrive," they said. Aftercare options to help people stay sober are also costly, and not subsidized despite being a "key piece of what keeps people clean," said Straker. A privately-operated living space that is a safe, substance-free place to maintain your recovery can cost between $1,600 and $3,500 and is not covered by the government, they said. Staying clean post-treatment is critical, because relapse after treatment carries the highest fatality risk, they said. "The financial strain makes it so that patients aren't actually able to follow the recovery suggestions that are given by the recovery treatment itself," they said. Straker said when they attended Edgewood, the program cost between $40,000 and $50,000 for anywhere from 50 to 120 days of programming, which is paid by the territorial government. The health department budgeted $3 million for facility-based addictions treatment in 2024/25, and contracts six different facilities in Alberta, Ontario and B.C. Other ways to access programs Edgewood told CBC News that N.W.T. residents can still access its treatment programs through "other available funding channels" like Jordan's Principle, employer benefits, or unions. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) is another funding pathway. Edgewood offers a program for first responders seeking treatment for PTSD. Seann May, a firefighter in Yellowknife, said he attended the program last year — nearly 20 years after he responded to a 2005 fire where the building collapsed and killed two firefighters. May turned to alcohol to cope with the feelings brought on by that workplace fatality. May said at the worst points, his wife had packed her bags. In 2019, he was diagnosed with PTSD. May said he put in a claim to the WSCC in 2024, and got into treatment by going through counselling at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in Yellowknife. He said the contract with Edgewood lapsing is a "big shame," because its counselling for addictions was "phenomenal." He said the sessions he took through Edgewood gave him tools to regulate his emotions, helped him rebuild trust with his children and made him more focused at work. May said once he got in, he "thought the world" of the program. "I wake up happy every day, rather than doing the morning ritual, trying to drink coffee so I can hide my breath," he said. "I feel like I can take my day on."
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Gwich'in Tribal Council member concerned over lack of remote option at Inuvik meeting
The president of the Nihtat Gwich'in Council in Inuvik, N.W.T., is expressing concern over the Gwich'in Tribal Council's decision not to let people participate remotely in its most recent board meeting. The meeting was held Wednesday and Thursday in Inuvik. Kelly McLeod said the date of the meeting was already postponed multiple times from March to May. He booked a personal trip during the end of May. When he found out the proposed dates of the meeting, he requested virtual attendance, over phone or video call. He said his requests went unanswered by some members of the board, while others said they were in favour of the remote call-in. It's the latest issue contributing to a tense relationship between Gwich'in Tribal Council Grand Chief Frederick Blake Jr. and some of the community councils whose presidents sit on the board. McLeod said participants under the Gwich'in land claim were previously invited to attend board meetings virtually and could log in and view the meetings as they happened. This was also not allowed this past meeting. "It's never been an issue in the past. The previous board highly encouraged virtual participation, participation by members in the south — like we have had a number of participants log onto the links available and watch the meetings," said McLeod. When asked why virtual participation was denied this meeting, Blake said council members decide for each meeting whether they want people to be able to remotely participate. "The last couple meetings, board members had concerns about virtual [attendance] because they wanted everybody to be together in one place. You know it's challenging times, as you can imagine, the board is in. That's what they want to do, I believe, is build a stronger team," said Blake. McLeod says he wanted to attend the meeting to address some issues he has with the council regarding governance, finance and leadership. He said he is concerned that the council is only following bylaws when it's suitable for them. "You need to follow the bylaws and the policy and, more importantly, Gwich'in law, which is our Gwich'in value system. Excluding myself, I have seen an uproar of participants asking to attend virtually and they have been denied," said McLeod.
