Introduction
Many remote First Nations experience difficulties during emergency events, such as floods, house fires, or wildfires. Difficulties arise from a lack of infrastructure, resources, personnel, and chronic underfunding to sufficiently train, supply, and prepare remote or isolated First Nations in the event of an emergency. First Nations are more vulnerable to emergency events than non-First Nations mostly due to their geographical remoteness. First Nations are 18 times more likely to be evacuated due to an emergency event than non-First Nations. Canada has 114 remote First Nations communities, with many accessible only by air or water. According to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), between 2013 and 2023, 70,824 First Nations citizens had to be evacuated from their home reserve lands due to emergency events.
“Emergency preparedness measures for First Nations in Manitoba already fall short of acceptable.”
-Grand Chief Cathy Merrick, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (2024)
Recent Emergencies in Northern and Remote First Nations in Manitoba
In Manitoba, 80% of First Nations are geographically situated in wildfire-prone areas. Over several decades, particularly in an era of accelerating climate change-induced weather and environmental disasters, First Nations leaders in Manitoba have voiced their concerns over the lack of firefighting and emergency services in northern and remote areas. First Nations leaders in Manitoba have urged the federal and provincial governments to provide funding to meet the dire need for fire safety equipment, fire trucks, and emergency response tools in remote and northern First Nations. Thus far, however, such calls have not been prioritized nor funded.
There have been frequent fire incidents and deaths in many of the northern and remote First Nations areas in recent years. Shamattawa First Nation and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN) both declared a state of emergency in 2023. In Shamattawa, a fire destroyed the homes of eight families at the time the community was without adequate fire-fighting equipment and while experiencing a mental health and suicide crisis. Addressing the situation in Shamattawa, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Cathy Merrick stated: “Hopelessness has taken our people to a place where they don’t need to be, and that hopelessness results from the lack of adequate services.” The Grand Chief further urged both federal and provincial governments for assistance and funding to resolve the matter. Fundamentally, social, health, and cultural challenges are deepened and exacerbated by emergency related events.
First Nations in northern and remote Manitoba also face emergencies related to flooding, wildfire, loss of road connection, and other natural calamities due to rapid climate change. For example, in early 2024 remote First Nations in northeastern Manitoba failed to transport essential health and educational supplies due to poor winter road conditions caused by unusually warm weather during the winter season. Failure to transport essential goods including food, fuel, medical supplies and building materials have forced many remote First Nations in Manitoba to declare an emergency.
Failure to bring in essential goods has resulted in increased costs, threatened food security, and jeopardized access to health care. First Nations leaders in Manitoba are currently advocating for reliable road access, including an all-season road, demanding prompt action from the provincial and federal governments. Without self-determined policies and funding, First Nations in Manitoba will continue to be at a greater risk of facing, and unsuccessfully mitigating, an emergency or natural disaster.
“There is a need to address how we deliver Emergency Management Services in the Manitoba region for First Nations.”
-Grand Chief Cathy Merrick, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (2022)
The Federal Neglect of Emergency Preparedness for First Nations in Canada
2022 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada found that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) failed to provide adequate support and funding to First Nations to manage emergencies such as wildfires and floods despite decades of warnings. The report further indicated that ISC did not consistently monitor emergency services, nor the level of services provided to First Nations. Over the past decade, there have been more than 1,300 emergencies in First Nations, resulting in the forced displacement of 130,000 people from their traditional lands and homes. The number of displaced First Nations peoples is expected to increase due to the impact of adverse climate change-related events. Despite this alarming situation, ISC spends 3.5 times more on responding to emergency events than on preventative measures, such as funding infrastructure development and preparing First Nations with training, decision-making powers, and resources to mitigate emergencies. For example, ISC spent $646 million on disaster response in reserve areas and only $182 million on preventative measures for disaster management in First Nations.
“First Nations will continue to be more vulnerable to emergencies if they are not adequately supported to prepare for and mitigate emergencies.”
-Reports of the Auditor General of Canada to the Parliament of Canada (2022)
First Nations Leaders in Manitoba Demand More Support for Emergency Management
Indigenous organizations in Manitoba have entered into multilateral relationships to assist First Nations during emergency events. The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) and ISC Manitoba Region have been under a service agreement since 2017 to provide emergency response services to First Nations. First Nations in Manitoba could request through ISC support from CRC to evacuate in the event of emergencies such as wildfires and floods. In 2022, the CRC supported a full evacuation of Peguis First Nation due to flooding and 2,173 individuals from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation due to the wildfires and a long-term hydro outage. However, this agreement expired on March 31, 2023.
Canada’s National Indigenous Fire Safety Council identified First Nations people living on reserve as 10 times more likely to die in a house fire than people living elsewhere in Canada. In the Manitoba context, this figure is troubling: according to the Government of Manitoba, the unusually warmer and dry winter seasons in recent years may lead to higher wildfire danger across Manitoba in the spring and summer of 2024. Compounding this, an acute nursing shortage in remote and northern areas exacerbates the potential for suffering during emergency events. Due to a lack of health care professionals and inadequate medical facilities, First Nations citizens in northern and remote Manitoba may be denied emergency treatments in the event of disasters. The federal government must increase funding to improve the compensation for nurses and healthcare systems in northern and remote areas. The recent provincial cuts to emergency funding in Manitoba Budget 2024 likewise jeopardizes the situation and have serious implications for rural First Nations in Manitoba.
Canada, in collaboration with the provincial government and non-governmental organizations, must engage in dialogue with Indigenous leaders to prepare a risk-based assessment to mitigate upcoming emergencies in northern and remote First Nations in Manitoba.