As forest fires continue to affect more remote regions of Ontario, Ontario’s Regional Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, has a question about the evacuations.
Archibald is trying to find out why members of the Pikangikum First Nation are being sent to Saskatchewan.
Archibald is thanking the local leadership at PFN as well as the Canadian Rangers, Ontario Fire Marshall, Emergency Management Ontario, Indigenous Affairs Ontario and Indigenous Services Canada for all the work everyone has done to get people safely out of the community.
However, Archibald is wondering why the community members are being evacuated to Saskatchewan.
“There’s no good reason why we aren’t looking after our own here in Ontario,” Archibald says in a release.
“We are requesting that municipalities open their doors to their northern neighbours during this crisis.”
Archibald says so far more than 20 communities in Ontario have been affected by the forest fires as well as PFN and Keewaywin First Nation.
Archibald says the communities are in crisis mode.
She’s asking all levels of government to ramp up their efforts to intervene and mobilize and to have more Armed Forces help the communities in case more evacuations occur if the forest fires are not contained.
