Latest news with #LeahGazan
National Observer
2 days ago
- Health
- National Observer
Ottawa's wildfire aid to First Nations delayed and inadequate, NDP leaders say
As wildfires rage across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, displacing over 26,000 people — many from northern and First Nations communities — leaders say Ottawa's response has been both delayed and inadequate. The discussion reached a peak as NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, Leah Gazan led an emergency debate on Tuesday in the House of Commons. Gazan accused the federal government of failing to protect Indigenous evacuees and violating their Charter and treaty rights. 'The federal government is obligated to uphold the dignity and well-being of First Nations that are affected by these wildfires,' she said. Gazan said First Nations leaders had told her evacuees — including children, Elders, and those with medical needs — were housed in crowded and poorly equipped facilities, creating risky and unstable situations. Families were split up and people were left without enough help in unfamiliar environments. Delays in evacuation efforts were especially severe in Mathias Colomb First Nation, where residents were flown out by helicopter, 'six people at a time when their airstrip was closed.' 'The helicopters are too slow and too small. We need the Canadian Armed Forces to step in now. Every hour we wait puts lives at risk,' said Gordie Bear, chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in a press release on May 30. 'Our community is in immediate danger. We have over 2,300 people stranded with no road access and no way out by plane.' 'The federal government is obligated to uphold the dignity and well-being of First Nations that are affected by these wildfires,' said Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre. Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, Eleanor Olszewski defended the response, calling it 'one of the fastest federal responses in recent memory.' Olszewski said the military was deployed immediately after the province asked for help. 'Our government acted swiftly when called upon,' Olszewski said. She said evacuations in remote areas took longer because 'when the landing strip could not accommodate larger planes, we had to source smaller ones, and so the evacuation was necessarily slower.' Gazan said that the current crisis is reflective of federal inaction during extreme weather events. She pointed to the 2011 floods in Lake St. Martin First Nation, when thousands were displaced for years and many could not return home for more than a decade. The long-term displacement led to mental health issues, family separation, and exploitation — especially among women and girls. She is concerned that the fire season arriving earlier, lasting longer and being harder to manage is 'the new normal.' She called for a national wildfire fighting force and a Youth Climate Court to help Canada respond to extreme weather and support climate resilience. Other MPs supported Gazan's concerns. Lori Idlout, NDP MP for Nunavut, said climate change is making disasters like these wildfires more frequent and severe, overwhelming local and provincial responders and raising concerns about housing, space and healthcare for those fleeing the fires. She said the debate is especially important for Nunavut, since many residents rely on Winnipeg for medical care and are now competing for resources with thousands of wildfire evacuees. 'My constituents must not fall through the cracks as Winnipeg sees a huge influx of people who require healthcare,' she said. Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, said during the debate the department gives advance payments so communities can act quickly during emergencies without waiting to be paid back. The Emergency Management Assistance Program covers eligible wildfire costs, including evacuation support and culturally sensitive services like mental health care, traditional food, language interpretation and child care. Gull-Masty also pointed to the FireSmart program, which supports fire training, fuel management and vegetation clearing projects in First Nations communities. 'Preparedness is key. These supports are about building strength before disaster strikes, so that communities can mitigate the impact to the greatest extent possible. It's not only to ensure that they have the ability to respond, but that they also have the capacity to recover and thrive,' she said. Wildfire activity remains high across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with dry conditions and lightning sparking new blazes. Manitoba Wildfire Service reported more than 100 active fires as of June 3.
National Observer
2 days ago
- Health
- National Observer
NDP criticizes Ottawa's wildfire aid to First Nations
As wildfires rage across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, displacing over 26,000 people — many from northern and First Nations communities — leaders say Ottawa's response has been both delayed and inadequate. The discussion reached a peak as NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, Leah Gazan led an emergency debate on Tuesday in the House of Commons. Gazan accused the federal government of failing to protect Indigenous evacuees and violating their Charter and treaty rights. 'The federal government is obligated to uphold the dignity and well-being of First Nations that are affected by these wildfires,' she said. Gazan said First Nations leaders had told her evacuees — including children, Elders, and those with medical needs — were housed in crowded and poorly equipped facilities, creating risky and unstable situations. Families were split up and people were left without enough help in unfamiliar environments. Delays in evacuation efforts were especially severe in Mathias Colomb First Nation, where residents were flown out by helicopter, 'six people at a time when their airstrip was closed.' 'The helicopters are too slow and too small. We need the Canadian Armed Forces to step in now. Every hour we wait puts lives at risk,' said Gordie Bear, chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in a press release on May 30. 'Our community is in immediate danger. We have over 2,300 people stranded with no road access and no way out by plane.' 'The federal government is obligated to uphold the dignity and well-being of First Nations that are affected by these wildfires,' said Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre. Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience, Eleanor Olszewski defended the response, calling it 'one of the fastest federal responses in recent memory.' Olszewski said the military was deployed immediately after the province asked for help. 'Our government acted swiftly when called upon,' Olszewski said. She said evacuations in remote areas took longer because 'when the landing strip could not accommodate larger planes, we had to source smaller ones, and so the evacuation was necessarily slower.' Gazan said that the current crisis is reflective of federal inaction during extreme weather events. She pointed to the 2011 floods in Lake St. Martin First Nation, when thousands were displaced for years and many could not return home for more than a decade. The long-term displacement led to mental health issues, family separation, and exploitation — especially among women and girls. She is concerned that the fire season arriving earlier, lasting longer and being harder to manage is 'the new normal.' She called for a national wildfire fighting force and a Youth Climate Court to help Canada respond to extreme weather and support climate resilience. Other MPs supported Gazan's concerns. Lori Idlout, NDP MP for Nunavut, said climate change is making disasters like these wildfires more frequent and severe, overwhelming local and provincial responders and raising concerns about housing, space and healthcare for those fleeing the fires. She said the debate is especially important for Nunavut, since many residents rely on Winnipeg for medical care and are now competing for resources with thousands of wildfire evacuees. 'My constituents must not fall through the cracks as Winnipeg sees a huge influx of people who require healthcare,' she said. Mandy Gull-Masty, Minister of Indigenous Services Canada, said during the debate the department gives advance payments so communities can act quickly during emergencies without waiting to be paid back. The Emergency Management Assistance Program covers eligible wildfire costs, including evacuation support and culturally sensitive services like mental health care, traditional food, language interpretation and child care. Gull-Masty also pointed to the FireSmart program, which supports fire training, fuel management and vegetation clearing projects in First Nations communities. 'Preparedness is key. These supports are about building strength before disaster strikes, so that communities can mitigate the impact to the greatest extent possible. It's not only to ensure that they have the ability to respond, but that they also have the capacity to recover and thrive,' she said. Wildfire activity remains high across Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with dry conditions and lightning sparking new blazes. Manitoba Wildfire Service reported more than 100 active fires as of June 3.
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
Red Dress Alert program must be in place by May 2026, says report from organization leading project
Social Sharing All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system within the next year that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says. A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children. Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system. Survivors and family members, along with leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province, in both rural and urban communities, the report says. Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig is now calling on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest. "Every day that the Red Dress Alert is not implemented is a day that someone could go missing," project lead Denise Cook said at a Tuesday news conference. A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, said Sandra DeLaronde, the chair of Giganawenimaanaanig. The program will differ from existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, DeLaronde said. "This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at the news conference. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way." The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says. The next steps are to meet with those agencies, said Cook. Participants in the engagement sessions overwhelmingly said that they are "not being listened to, not being taken seriously, not being given the resources or the time that they need from those service providers that are there — that are supposed to be there but are not there," said Cook. "There are gaps, and we recognize that individuals and systems do not necessarily … perform in the way that they should be, but it's so significant in the Indigenous community," she said. "A lot of communities have been left to do what they can with what they have." The alert system's success will depend on all Manitobans, said Cook. Evacuees 'vulnerable and targeted' The program is also making considerations for people who go missing after travelling to an urban centre from a remote or northern community, and those who may be vulnerable after leaving a hospital or other institution that's far from their home, the report says. It's something that hits close to home, said DeLaronde, as thousands are currently evacuated from northern Manitoba communities due to wildfires. "People told us that when they were evacuated, they were in fact vulnerable and targeted" in larger urban centres, DeLaronde said. While planning for the alert system continues, DeLaronde said more patrols in and around hotels and evacuation sites, as well as a response line to call if someone goes missing, are ways to help keep those fleeing fires safe. At a separate news conference, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said her organization is looking at addressing safety concerns in spaces where displaced people are staying, and is working to bring in wraparound support for those forced from their homes. "We know that these sites are now a target for predators, for human traffickers, for drug dealers," she said. Participants said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the Giganawenimaanaanig interim report says. Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, must also be written into law to ensure accountability, it says. A final report on the Red Dress Alert program's engagement sessions, with recommendations, is expected to be released in October. Extreme urgency' for MMIWG alerts: report 1 hour ago Duration 2:03 The Manitoba team working on a provincewide Red Dress Alert system will meet with police, child welfare agencies and sports groups. The Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children.
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
Red Dress Alert program must be put in place by May 2026: Giganawenimaanaanig
All levels of government must act quickly to establish a notification system by May 2026 that would help find missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in Manitoba, the organization spearheading the project says. A Red Dress Alert would prompt notifications to the public whenever an Indigenous woman, girl or two-spirit person goes missing, as an Amber Alert does now for missing children. Giganawenimaanaanig, the Manitoba committee implementing calls for justice from the national MMIWG inquiry, released an interim report on Tuesday detailing the development thus far of the program, which started after Manitoba MP Leah Gazan put forth a motion in Parliament in 2023 to fund an alert system. Survivors, family members, leadership and representatives from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities attended 29 engagement sessions held as of January throughout the province in northern, southern, rural and urban communities, the report says. The program will differ from pre-existing notification systems, since it will be guided by those families and communities, project lead Sandra Delaronde said. "This alert is really going to be built on their words," she said at a news conference on Tuesday. "When a Red Dress Alert saves a life, it's because of all the people who provided their ideas, thoughts and opinions on how this should be done in a good way." A public survey is currently being conducted for those who were unable to attend the engagement sessions, with over 1,000 responses received in the month of May alone, Delaronde said. Participants in the engagement sessions stressed the "extreme urgency" of establishing an effective notification system, the report says, and Giganawenimaanaanig now calls on all three levels of government to get the program running by May 2026 at the latest. Participants also said there's no single technique or technology for an alert system to reach everyone, but they'd want it to be more than just a way to distribute missing persons reports, which can desensitize the public with frequent use, the report says. Clear criteria for the notification system must be widely publicized, participants said, and expectations of how police and other government agencies should respond to cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls must also be written into law to ensure accountability, the report says. The alert system will also need a co-operative and co-ordinated effort across jurisdictions and between agencies to keep tabs on youth who've run away from foster care, as well as those experiencing gender-based violence, housing insecurity and/or human trafficking, the report says.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg MP Gazan seeks emergency debate on wildfires
A Winnipeg MP has written to the Speaker of the House of Commons to ask for an emergency debate on wildfires in Manitoba and elsewhere. Leah Gazan, who represents Winnipeg Centre, shared a letter with media organizations that she sent to Francis Scarpaleggia on Monday morning. 'Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency for the next month and are now appealing for international assistance to contain the fires. Despite the heroic efforts of front-line workers — firefighters, nurses, doctors and volunteers — the response system has proven inadequate in addressing the urgent needs of evacuees, particularly in Indigenous communities,' the NDP MP wrote. 'This is not the first time First Nations have been left behind during climate emergencies. The federal government has repeatedly failed to ensure that remote and northern communities have access to reliable emergency preparedness infrastructure and evacuation support.'
