Current Problems:
Exploring Theme: "Emergency Management in First Nations"
Updates on this page: 23
October 22, 2024
Federal ministers summoned over Fort Chipewyan contamination scandal
MP Laurel Collins in the hallway at the House of Commons in Ottawa. File photo by Natasha Bulowski/Canada’s National Observer Canada’s National Observer: A federal committee will grill cabinet ministers over Transport Canada’s failure to inform Indigenous communities about water and soil contamination at a dock in Fort Chipewyan, Alberta. The federal Standing Committee on Environment...
August 14, 2024
Hundreds of evacuees return home, weeks after being forced out due to wildfire smoke
Wildfire south of Gods Lake that forced thousands to flee 5 First Nations still out of control CBC Indigenous: Vulnerable residents who were evacuated from three First Nations communities in northern Manitoba are returning home, weeks after heavy smoke billowing from an out-of-control wildfire forced them out. The Canadian Red Cross said it is assisting...
August 14, 2024
Thousands to evacuate Bunibonibee Cree Nation as wildfire approaches community
Canadian Red Cross assisting evacuation of 2 other First Nations in northern Manitoba due to wildfire smoke CBC News: A full-scale evacuation is underway at Bunibonibee Cree Nation as a raging wildfire, burning out of control, encroaches on the community in northeastern Manitoba and forces thousands to leave. The Canadian Red Cross said crews were...
August 14, 2024
Ballantyne Cree Nation calls for help after community evacuated due to wildfire
According to the federal government, there will be more wildfires from British Columbia to Manitoba this month, with climate change fuelling them. APTN News: The Canadian Press – The leadership of Ballantyne Cree Nation says the province is failing to act hours after issuing an evacuation order for Sandy Bay, Sask. due to an escalating wildfire. A...
July 27, 2024
Indigenous firefighters share knowledge, training and compete during annual gathering
Safe operations and cancer risks among topics discussed during three-day session. CBC Indigenous: Dozens of Indigenous firefighters from across the province were in Oneida Nation of the Thames this past week working to upgrade skills aimed at serving communities that are often rural and under serviced. The three-day annual Ontario Native Firefighter’s Society Conference brought people...
May 10, 2024
Emergency co-ordinators missing in wildfire-prone communities
By Matteo Cimellaro | News, Urban Indigenous Communities in Ottawa | Andrea Stelter stands for a portrait near the Skwlāx band office. Catastrophic wildfires hit the Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw First Nation in August 2023. Photo by Jen Osborne / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Last year in the hot spot of Alberta, 25,000 people were displaced from...
May 6, 2024
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak Calls for Equitable Funding and Control in First Nations Emergency Management
NatIonTalk: (Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario) – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, is marking Emergency Preparedness Week by calling for urgent enhanced capacity support for First Nations. “First Nations are critical to the success of Canada’s emergency management system and must have access to equitable funding on par with similar-sized...
April 16, 2024
Ontario Investing in Local Emergency Preparedness and Response
Targeted investments will help keep communities safe during emergencies Table of Contents TORONTO — Treasury Board Secretariat – The Ontario government is investing $5 million in communities across the province to help them prepare for and respond to emergencies. Funding is being delivered through the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant to help communities and organizations purchase critical supplies, equipment...
April 10, 2024
Nearly all Indigenous communities at risk as feds prepare for busy wildfire season
Government boosts wildfire funding as climate risks rise APTN News: Officials with a number of federal departments say 2024 will likely be a busy wildfire season because of the climate crisis, and Indigenous communities in particular are at risk. On Wednesday, a technical briefing was held on the upcoming season ahead of a news conference...
March 6, 2024
As disasters mount, First Nations’ safety has never been more pressing: Woodhouse
– First People’s Law Report: CTV News, The Canadian Press – GATINEAU, QUE.- First Nations leaders gathered Wednesday to discuss how they can better prepare for the wildfires, pandemics, floods and effects of climate change that disproportionately affect their communities. The Assembly of First Nations summit in Gatineau, Que., is the first such forum in...
February 27, 2024
Report finds deficient communication with First Nations during hazardous spills
On Oct. 21, 2021 the Zim Kingston encountered stormy weather while entering the Juan de Fuca Strait, resulting in 109 40-foot shipping containers falling overboard. Just four containers were recovered after they washed up on west Vancouver Island in the days following, while fridges, sofas, clothing, toys, industrials parts and various other items collected on...
January 15, 2024
Siksika Nation State of Local Emergency Update: January 14, 2024
Originally announced on January 14, 2024 NationTalk: The State of Local Emergency (S.O.L.E.) in Siksika will remain in effect today as temperatures remain around -30 today and into the night as a precautionary measure. The Siksika Nation Emergency Management team has been working around the clock since yesterday morning responding to several calls from residents...
December 29, 2023
What it means to lead through fire
Kukpi7 James Tomma, and his wife Jay, have been staying in this hotel room for the past few weeks because their house burned in the Shuswap fires during August 2023. Photo by Jen Osborne / Canada’s National Observer THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES MANY HANDS, AND ALL OF US ARE BETTER EQUIPPED WHEN WE’RE...
December 6, 2023
Exclusive: Feds face burning questions over ‘upside-down approach’ to climate readiness
Inside Skwlāx’s north subdivision: This is one of two houses left standing after fires obliterated the area. Catastrophic wildfires hit Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw in August. Photo by Jen Osborne/CNO Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Ottawa continues to underinvest in disaster preparedness and mitigation on First Nations despite ballooning recovery costs from the worst wildfire season...
November 21, 2023
Scant investments in wildfire prevention in fall economic update
Inside Skwlāx’s north subdivision: This is one of two houses left standing after fires obliterated the area. Catastrophic wildfires hit Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw in August. Photo by Jen Osborne/CNO Canada’s National Observer: After Canada’s worst wildfire season on record, Ottawa’s mini-budget was scant on fresh investments to prepare and protect Indigenous communities for a new...
November 21, 2023
Living and breathing with wildfire smoke
“Uncle” Wilfred Tomma sits on his bed in the hotel room he was displaced to after wildfires hit his home area, Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw. Photo by Jen Osborne / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Wilfred Tomma is no stranger to fire. Now in his 80s, Uncle Wilfred, as he’s known to many...
November 14, 2023
Act not react: Multiple audits advised feds to help First Nations before wildfires hit
Andrea Stelter stands for a portrait near the Skwlāx band office. Catastrophic wildfires hit the Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw First Nation in August 2023. Photo by Jen Osborne / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: A year before First Nations experienced their worst wildfire season, Ottawa’s auditor general was calling on the federal government...
October 3, 2023
B.C. Ombudsperson says the province needs Indigenous-led disaster relief services
The B.C. Ombudsperson report calls the provinces current disaster program “outdated” and “poorly communicated” Lytton 2021 after the wildfire. Photo: APTN file. APTN News: A new report from British Columbia’s ombudsperson says emergency support programs for those forced from their homes during the 2021 floods and wildfires are outdated, rely on volunteers working long hours,...
September 12, 2023
Frantic escapes, damaged homes and lost time: First Nations hit hardest when wildfire season comes
First article from the Special Report: Nations on the front lines of fire A portrait of Debbie Rupke (Tomma), who was evacuated alongside other Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw community members in August. Photo by Jen Osborne / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer – Debbie Rupke (Tomma) heard a rattle at her door. It was...
August 29, 2023
NWT evacuations leave some Indigenous people in ‘scary’ situations
Hannah Paulson·August 29, 2023 The line-up of people waiting for airlift evacuation at Yellowknife’s Sir John Franklin High School around 11am on Thursday, August 17. Photo: Sándor Vörös NationTalk: In the days leading up to Yellowknife’s evacuation, Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty says, the NWT government likely knew an evacuation order was imminent – or...
August 29, 2023
TG Supports Amendments to NWT Emergency Management Act
Tłı̨chǫ Government Supports Efforts to Amend NWT Emergency Management Act To Include Coordination with Indigenous Governments & Organizations NationTalk: Behchokǫ̀ – Tłıc̨hǫ Government supports the efforts of Monfwi MLA, Jane Weyallon Armstrong, to amend the NWT Emergency Management Act (EMA) to require the Emergency Management Organization (“EMO”) to coordinate its activities with impacted Indigenous Governments...
August 23, 2023
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Calls for Support for First Nations Communities Affected by Wildfires in B.C. and N.W.T.
NationTalk: Ottawa, ON – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Interim National Chief Joanna Bernard is urgently calling for increased support in response to wildfires in British Columbia (B.C.) and the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.), for the affected First Nations individuals and communities, including in the city of Yellowknife, nearby communities of Ndilo, Dettah, and the...
March 21, 2023
Emergency Management in First Nations Communities
NationTalk: Auditor-General released Report 8 on Nov. 15, 2022 May 8.1 Emergencies such as floods, wildfires, landslides, and severe weather events are happening more often and with greater intensity throughout Canada. These emergencies disproportionately affect First Nations communities—groups of First Nations people living on reservesDefinition 1—because of their relative remoteness and socio-economic circumstances. In addition, many First Nations communities were...