Neskantaga First Nation evacuating members to Thunder Bay, Ont., due to flooded nursing station

Neskantaga First Nation is evacuating its most vulnerable community members to Thunder Bay as it grapples with the closure of its only nursing station due to flooding.

The remote northwestern Ontario community has been under a state of emergency since Sunday, after health-care staff noticed water seeping from the walls and a strong smell of fuel.

About 131 evacuees, along with their indoor pets, will be transported to Thunder Bay, Neskantaga said in a news release Wednesday. Fewer than 400 people live in the First Nation.

"Our vulnerable people require full and immediate access to health services that, unfortunately, is not available in Neskantaga First Nation at the moment. We are not willing to put any high-risk people in a compromising position due the nursing station being closed," said Chief Gary Quisses in the release.

"We acknowledge the support of Indigenous Services Canada in responding to the seriousness of this crisis and we hope that some other logistical challenges we are experiencing with other partners, like the City of Thunder Bay, will be resolved."

In a virtual news conference Tuesday, community leaders shared their concerns about the lack of space to meet people's health-care needs. 

This is at least the second First Nation in Ontario's north that's being impacted by seasonal flooding to the point evacuations are happening. Relocation efforts for children, elders and vulnerable residents from Kashechewan First Nation, which is also under a state of emergency, began Monday. Flooding there occurs almost every spring due to ice breakup on the Albany River. 

Makeshift room created for health assessments

At Neskantaga First Nation, health director Sharon Sakanee said the community nurses have been using an 8-by-10-foot room for limited health assessments, creating concerns around confidentiality and a lack of access to medical equipment.

Neskantaga is about 450 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay. This is not the first time community members have been evacuated to the city; challenges with its water treatment plant resulted in evacuations in 2019 and 2020.

The community faces the longest boil-water advisory in the country. It has been in effect for 30 years. 

"The plan is to return vulnerable evacuees to the community after a temporary site in the community has been identified, retrofitted and supplied with medical equipment," the First Nation said in Wednesday's news release.

"The process of ensuring a comprehensive assessment of the damages from the nursing station flood has begun. Remediation will take place shortly after."

In an emailed statement provided late Tuesday to CBC News, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) said remediation work to get the nursing station fully operational "will begin as soon as possible and is anticipated to take several weeks."

"ISC is looking at all available options to resume full health services in the community. ISC is co-ordinating with Neskantaga First Nation leadership and Matawa Tribal Council to assess the potential repairs at the nursing station," said spokesperson Jacinthe Goulet.

"This is an evolving situation. ISC will continue to support the community and partners. We are committed to re-establishing health services as quickly as possible to serve community needs."

While spring flooding often affects the community's nursing station, senior staff in Neskantaga First Nation say it's not normally this severe.