More than 700 individuals have been relocated from Kashechewan First Nation to date, as confirmed by the community’s executive director. However, a significant portion of the population is still awaiting evacuation.
Chief Hosea Wesley of Kashechewan declared a local state of emergency on January 4 due to the deteriorating conditions of the community’s water treatment and wastewater facilities.
Situated along the James Bay coast, the fly-in community has been collaborating with the federal and provincial authorities to evacuate all 2,300 residents.
Tyson Wesley, the executive director of Kashechewan First Nation, expressed frustration over the slow pace of the complete evacuation, noting that flight operations have not accelerated despite requests for expedited evacuation.
The community faced a gastrointestinal outbreak on Monday, with concerns heightened by a lack of testing equipment to determine the cause, leading to uncertainty regarding whether illnesses resulted from a viral infection or consumption of tap water prior to the emergency declaration on January 4. A ‘do not consume water’ directive was issued on the same day.
On January 7, the community’s nursing clinic was evacuated following a sewage backup, necessitating the relocation of staff, patients, and equipment to a nearby elementary school. However, diagnostic tools are unavailable at the new site, limiting the clinic’s operational capacity to 40 percent.
According to Eric Head from Indigenous Services Canada, water testing is in progress, and repairs are underway at the water treatment plant. Northern Waterworks has been deployed to Kashechewan to install replacement pumps at the plant, with additional equipment being transported for further infrastructure repairs.
The initial phase of the evacuation was supported by the Loomex Group, a provincial vendor that facilitated residents’ relocation to Timmins and Kapuskasing in northern Ontario, and subsequently to Kingston, Ontario.
Trent Gervais, the President and CEO of the Loomex Group, highlighted the organization’s preparation for extended stays of at least 60 days during evacuations prompted by natural disasters or similar crises as witnessed in Kashechewan.
Plans are underway to transfer around 200 evacuees to Kingston, with subsequent arrangements to move approximately 1,700 individuals to Niagara Falls, Ontario, where more hotel accommodations are available.
Chief Hosea Wesley expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the evacuation, criticizing what he deemed as inadequate responses from governmental authorities and urging the Canadian Armed Forces to expedite the evacuation of vulnerable community members and provide bottled water deliveries to prevent potential tragedies.