Four members of the Canadian Armed Forces have arrived at Bearskin Lake, a First Nation in northern Ontario where more than half of the population is infected with COVID-19.
Bill Blair, federal emergency preparedness minister, said Sunday that the Rangers did an initial assessment on Saturday. They’re helping deliver essential services such as food, medicine and firewood.
Blair’s office said the Rangers will be in the community until at least Jan. 23, and more could be deployed in the coming days.
Roughly 460 people live in the remote community located 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. More than half have tested positive, and even more are in quarantine.
Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin said Sunday that as many as 60 households are isolating. Most homes are heated by wood stoves, he said. With temperatures sitting at about –30 C, firewood is an urgent need.
Community members from Bearskin Lake First Nation unload supplies from a plane chartered by Wapekeka First Nation. (Submitted by Monica Chapman)
“We need a whole lot of supply of wood on a daily basis for each home,” said Kamenawatamin, who is isolating himself after someone in his household tested positive. With those temperatures, “it doesn’t take long for a house to be cold.”
The crisis has also taken an emotional toll, Kamenawatamin said.
“It takes a lot out of you,” he said. “It’s been a long week.”
Nearby First Nations have donated supplies, sending planes with items such as food, medicine and air purifiers.
Tania Cameron, a First Nations woman from Kenora, Ont., has raised about $26,000 for the Bearskin Lake effort. She said Sunday that she’s already sent about $19,000 worth of groceries and supplies.
Cameron said was motivated to help after her son tested positive for COVID-19. The federal government should have responded earlier to the outbreak in Bearskin Lake, she said.
Boxes of food are prepared before distribution to households in Bearskin Lake First Nation, a remote community located 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. (Submitted by Rodge McKay)
“I don’t think this is going to be limited to Bearskin Lake,” Cameron said. “I understand leadership of all First Nations are doing their best to prepare for outbreaks in our communities.”
At Bearskin Lake, she said, “they’re running out of helpers.”
Sol Mamakwa, the MPP for Kiiwetinoong, said he believes that the federal government would have responded faster if it was another municipality in Ontario.
He travelled to Bearskin Lake during the outbreak, he said, and saw the lack of federal presence.
Update: CAF members arrived in Bearskin Lake First Nation today to conduct an initial assessment. Officials from across government are working closely with community leadership to get support where it is needed. <a href=”https://t.co/14OTARfNa7″>https://t.co/14OTARfNa7</a>
“When I went there, it was ghost town-like,” Mamakwa said. “It was kind of eerie where you see no children, no kids running around. I saw maybe 25 to 30 people my whole trip there. I was there about six, seven hours.
“The ones I was talking to, I know they were exhausted. They were tired, very emotional. I can see it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices that they felt there was no end in sight.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Derek Fox, who represents 49 First Nations across northern Ontario, is from Bearskin Lake. He previously told CBC News that the First Nation appreciates the help.
“The problem is there’s no boots on the ground,” he said. “So whatever comes into the First Nation, there’s no one there to deliver those things. There’s no one there to cut the wood.”
The province says it’s sent $40,000 “in COVID support” to the community and another $121,000 to help with the current outbreak. The Ministry of Health has also sent an additional 1,000 rapid testing devices.
The Ministry of Indigenous Affairs said in a statement on Sunday that it’s “providing support to address urgent gaps, such as the purchase of wood splitters to ensure community members who are in isolation have access to wood.
Concern for elders
“Surge capacity funds are also being provided … to address transport of needed vehicles into the community, retrofitting of vehicles, rentals, charter fights for food and supplies, and/or supports for relief workers.”
Kamenawatamin said the community is about 80 per cent vaccinated, but he’s concerned about elders, infants and vulnerable people with chronic health conditions.
Cameron said she wanted to send the message that people care.
“There’s a whole lot of people watching Bearskin Lake, and there’s a whole lot of love for people in Bearskin Lake,” she said.
“I want the community members to know there’s a lot of donors out there, and there’s a lot of prayers to your community to overcome this sickness, this illness. So know that you’re loved.”
LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
