Kashechewan First Nation members who were scheduled to evacuate their remote community due to flood risk will not be heading to Greenstone, following a heated conference call Monday morning with government officials.
About 250 people were scheduled to stay on cots in the Geraldton Arena, accommodations that have been used in previous years when Albany River flooding has threatened homes in the community of 1,200 people, located 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.
Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday was requesting more sophisticated accommodations in the meeting when an unidentified government official made it clear the Geraldton Arena was his only option.
“You can go (to Greenstone) or you can stay home,” the official said on the call.
Friday said those community members will now remain in their homes, despite the threat the rising river poses.
“I’m disappointed we were told to stay home. It’s not healthy for our community members,” the chief said.
“If (the water) rises above the river bank, you never know what’s going to happen. If it’s overflowing, a lot of homes will be impacted and could be destroyed.”
Emergency Measures Ontario is looking into the incident and an official response is expected later.
Friday claimed the public and cold climate in the Geraldton Arena has resulted in illnesses during past evacuations.
Conversely, 300 Kashechewan evacuees are residing in Thunder Bay hotels and all 403 evacuees staying in Kapuskasing have hotel or motel accommodations.
“We were just telling the people on the other side that people don’t like to be accommodated in arenas because of the problems that happened last year,” Friday said.
“They’re going to take the risk to stay, alive or dead.”
Greenstone Mayor Renald Beaulieu said beyond the 250 cots that are already set up in the Geraldton arena, 100 beds in local motels had been arranged to accommodate those known as “Stage 1,” including elders, children and those living with disabilities. Those have also been cancelled.
While Beaulieu wouldn’t contest Friday’s assertions that people had become sick from staying in the Geraldton Arena last year, he pointed out Greenstone has hosted 13,000 people fleeing states of emergency in remote communities since the 1970s.
Beaulieu stood behind the food and security services Greenstone has provided evacuees over that time, adding his highest priority is being as welcoming a neighbour as possible for those in need.
“We do everything we can,” Beaulieu said.
“I know last year it has been a little bit more difficult because evacuees seem to want to go to centres where there are hotels and services such as shopping. When they are in Greenstone, they are being looked after very well.”
Developing story: More information will be provided when it becomes available.
