Chiefs in Manitoba take province, feds to task over wildfire preparedness

The chiefs of four remote First Nations in Manitoba say the provincial and federal governments have a lot more to do to prepare rural communities for wildfire season. On Friday, the chiefs met with reporters to outline investments they say are needed to keep people and their communities safe. This year’s wildfire season is on the verge of breaking records with tens of thousands of people displaced. Island Lake chiefs say the lack of a strategy is to blame. “The Auditor General found that Indigenous Services Canada spent 3.5 times more on response and recovery than on preparedness,” said Anisininew Okimawin Grand Chief Alex McDougall. “That is $646 million on reacting to disaster versus $182 million preparing for them.” Garden Hill, Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point and Red Sucker Lake Anisininew Nations are located about 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Anisininew Okimawin represents them. McDougall said roughly 80 per cent of Indigenous communities are located near remote, fire-prone regions. He said, despite that, many are without basic resources and infrastructure needed to respond to the fires. “Experts confirm that investing in prevention saves money,” he said. “Public Safety Canada acknowledges that a dollar spent in prevention saves $6 in response costs. Yet Ottawa refuses to follow its own math.” Another issue is a community’s ability to get out of the way of an oncoming wildfire. Red Sucker Lake Chief Samuel Knott says it’s a luxury his community doesn’t have. He said the government needs to invest in fire suppression teams and infrastructure projects like all-season roads to keep people safe. “No firefighting aircrafts or crews have been deployed as we are completely abandoned,” he said. “Our people are suffering from severe smoke inhalation. Children, elders, people with asthma. “We have no asthma medication available for our most vulnerable community members.” Knott has called on the province and Ottawa to immediately send medical supplies, including much-needed asthma medication to his community. A 252 kilometre, all-season road from St. Theresa Point to Berens River would cost approximately $512 million, according to Anisininew Okimawin. The chief said the project is one of more than 100 wildfire mitigation projects deemed eligible but are currently without funding across the country. Garden Hill Chief Dino Flett said his community has spent almost $3 million of its own money evacuating people twice this year. “Two of the three of our winter road bridges were burnt and that is our lifeline to our community,” he said. “And we have to, it’s already August. We need to replace these bridges as soon as possible.” The chiefs urged Canada to develop a national Indigenous fire strategy with First Nations consultation to prevent this from happening again in the future. Continue Reading