The office of Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said conversations are ongoing with provincial officials to determine what resources will be provided to Bearskin Lake.Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press
Community leaders in Northern Ontario say front-line and essential workers are mentally and physically exhausted, and they have renewed a call for immediate military support in Bearskin Lake First Nation.
Since the end of December, 201 COVID cases have been reported in the remote community of more than 400 people.
At an online press conference on Friday afternoon, New Democrat MP Charlie Angus, who represents Timmins, said Bearskin Lake is still awaiting a response from Ottawa to its first public request for military help, on Jan. 3.
“To have the military come in with logistical support in order to keep people safe is a pretty straightforward request. This shouldn’t be that hard to accomplish,” Mr. Angus said.
Bearskin Lake declared a state of emergency on Dec. 28, immediately after it confirmed its first COVID case, Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin said. By Jan. 3, the virus had infected half the households in the community, and Mr. Kamenawatamin made a public call for military assistance from the government. He’s been isolating at home himself since Monday, when his adult son tested positive. Mr. Kamenawatamin’s tests have so far been negative.
“We have about close to 30 front-line workers here doing everything from grocery shopping, hauling water, wood: everything that needs to be done in the community,” Mr. Kamenawatamin said.
A two-hour power outage on a frigid Thursday night raised anxiety levels in the community even more, he said, adding that a nine-month-old baby is among those infected.
“I don’t know if we can last any longer,” he said. “We need boots on the ground now.”
Canada’s North reveals the limits – and the humanity – of pandemic responses
COVID-19 outbreak at Bearskin Lake First Nation has local officials looking for help
The province has to submit a formal request to Ottawa for federal assistance, including the military, and prove the emergency exceeds its resources to manage it.
The office of Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair confirmed it received a request from Ontario late Thursday night, and said conversations are continuing with provincial officials to determine what resources will be provided to Bearskin Lake, but did not say when that would happen.
The letter from Ontario Solicitor-General Sylvia Jones, which also went to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, described the situation in Bearskin Lake as “overwhelming the collective ability to manage the outbreak and deliver critical services” despite federal supports to date. It said “military resources or otherwise” are needed for such services as community wellness checks; logistical support to co-ordinate delivery of supplies to those in isolation and quarantine; transportation and delivery of food, water and PPE; cutting and delivering wood; and putting up temporary isolation facilities for at least two weeks.
The letter said similar requests may be coming for additional communities in Northern Ontario experiencing widespread outbreaks.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Derek Fox said on Friday that NAN has 357 confirmed cases. The territory of about 49 remote and rural First Nations covers much of Northwestern Ontario. He said two other communities, Aroland and Ginoogaming, have declared states of emergency.
The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority has reported 245 cases in 13 of its 31 communities, including Bearskin Lake, and has been under a regional lockdown since the end of December that restricts non-essential travel in and out.
“The impacts are devastating to First Nations communities who face major infrastructure shortages, boil water advisories, overcrowding, and complex health conditions,” said Lloyd Douglas, public-health physician for the health authority. He added that none of the communities have a hospital.
Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Nicolas Moquin said the department has three nurses and one advanced-care paramedic in Bearskin Lake and has provided more than $1-million to the community directly or through its tribal council since Dec. 31, including for airport and winter road security costs.
Indigenous Services reported 3,927 active cases in First Nations in Canada on Jan. 6.
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Willow Fiddler