A few weeks ago, we were part of Thursday morning virtual meeting with the Neskantaga First Nation Emergency Operations Centre. Chief Chris Moonias began by stating that it had been 9463 days since his Community had drinkable water. That’s over 25 years.

First Nation Communities across Canada struggle with long-term drinking water advisories with Ontario Communities having 43 of the 59 current long-term drinking water advisories in the nation. A long-term drinking water advisory means that there has been an advisory in effect for more than 12 months. Neskantaga has the longest-running advisory in Canada and declared a state of emergency in October of this year.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

This state of emergency, due to an oily residue on the surface of their water supply, forced the entire Community to evacuate. As difficult as it was to evacuate the elderly, children, chronically ill and the most vulnerable during a global pandemic, this isn’t the first time the Community has faced an evacuation. In September 2019, Community members were evacuated to Thunder Bay when the water pumps failed. The Chief has continued to express frustration over the water issues in Neskantaga and has pleaded with the federal government for a complete overhaul of the Community’s water system.

EVACUATED

When Community members are evacuated, they are brought to nearby cities by plane and are hosted in local hotels until it is safe to return. Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) are quickly established within the Community and where the Community members are staying to ensure they are supplied with necessities, reunited with family, seen by medical professionals and provided with safe activities. Last week, Neskantaga First Nation members were finally able to return home; however, they are still under a boil water advisory.

THE EOC

Normally an EOC takes care of the Community members while they are displaced. In this instance, TAG was brought in by its client IFNA to assist with a unique EOC that dealt with the logistics, planning, operations administration, and finance of Neskantaga’s in-community, on-the-ground operations. An effort to keep homes, pets, and the community safe until its members returned. Having worked in Emergency Management multiple times over the years with a number of Communities, TAG has a thorough understanding of what needs to be done to keep everyone safe and what the Community members need to feel comfortable.

It is with great partnerships with Communities, Tribal Councils, and PTOs that the Emergency Operations we have worked on have been successful. Being known and supported by so many has allowed us to gain the trust of our clients, and the Communities we serve. We are honoured to have been called to support Neskantaga First Nation in this time of need and glad that the Community is able to be home for the holidays.