Government response to wildfire evacuations from Manitoba First Nations slow, poorly communicated: leaders
Leadership says poor communication by province, feds after 17,000 people ordered to evacuate
Indigenous leaders in Manitoba are accusing the federal and provincial governments of poor communication, slow responses to resource requests and bureaucratic red tape as wildfires force the evacuation of 17,000 people in northern First Nations.
"What we have seen… [from government] is delays in response times, delays in supports," Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said Thursday, a day after Manitoba declared a provincewide state of emergency.
"Lives are being threatened by wildfires, yet we have to sit back and we have to wait. How is that fair?"
Leaders from First Nations organizations held a press conference Thursday, after intensifying wildfires in northern Manitoba led to evacuation orders being issued in multiple First Nations Wednesday.
People living in the First Nations of Pimicikimak Cree Nation, Pukatawagan (also known as Mathias Colomb Cree Nation) and Marcel Colomb First Nation are all under evacuation orders, as are residents in the northern Manitoba communities of Flin Flon, Sherridon and Lynn Lake.
WATCH | Government too slow to move on evacuations, leaders say:
Norway House First Nation and Chemawawin Cree Nation (Easterville) are also under an evacuation notice, with people told to be ready to leave.
By Thursday evening, a wildfire moving toward Tataskweyak Cree Nation, also known as Split Lake, threatened that community, as well as Fox Lake Cree Nation and York Factory, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak said in a news release.
Garrison Settee, grand chief of the northern First Nation advocacy organization, requested immediate evacuation support from all levels of government for people in those communities with health challenges, along with elderly residents and children.
"People are in danger," with the wildfire advancing rapidly and threatening to cut off the communities, Settee said in a statement following Thursday's press conference.
"We demand swift, co-ordinated action to protect First Nations lives."
'Everyone is going in a different direction'
Wilson said she's had to make multiple calls to multiple different government departments to get any information about where people are going and what support is being offered.
"Everyone is working hard," she said. "But everyone is going in a different direction."
She couldn't answer questions about how many people have been evacuated and where they are staying because no one has given her that information, she said.
Her point was echoed by Pimicikamak Chief David Monias, who issued an evacuation order for his community on Wednesday.
He said he couldn't reach anyone from the federal government as he scrambled to evacuate 6,500 residents from the First Nation, about 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg. He said people went south to Norway House and then waited for a ferry for nine hours.
"That's unacceptable," Monias said, adding he was met with bureaucracy every step of the way.
"Shame on you, Canada."
WATCH | An aerial view of the fire near Pimicikamak:
Manitoba RCMP said in a news release Thursday they are currently helping to evacuate people from Pimicikamak and Pukatawagan. Mounties will patrol the evacuated communities to keep them secure and provide emergency response, the release said.
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak's grand chief said he wants all affected communities to know they are not alone.
"We are here to ensure that everything that needs to happen will happen," said Settee.
"This is about saving lives, about bringing people to safety. This is about ensuring that everyone who has been evacuated will arrive at a place where they feel safe."
Evacuees are being sent to Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson, and shelters have been opened up on Peguis First Nation and in Nelson House, leaders said at Thursday's press conference.
Several chiefs suggested an emergency management centre should be established for First Nations.
"We need to have one hub," said Wilson. "We need to understand what emergency management looks like in our province."
Federal Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said in a prepared statement she has been in close contact with Chief Monias and has offered to speak with him at his earliest availability.
Her department is "continuing to monitor the wildfire situation," she wrote, and commended "the hard work of First Nation leadership, the Canadian Red Cross and all emergency personnel for keeping communities and their people safe."
Are you an evacuee who needs assistance? Contact Manitoba 211 by calling 211 from anywhere in Manitoba or email 211mb@findhelp.ca.
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