Kudos to the city for reaching out to our neighbours to the north.
Last week it became increasingly apparent that rising waters on the Albany River would soon overflow the banks and flood Kashechewan First Nation.
On Saturday Mayor Keith Hobbs signed a document allowing the city to open its arms to 150 of the devastated community’s most vulnerable people.
The next day 150 Kashechewan residents began arriving by air in Thunder?Bay, finding a Northern Ontario oasis in a city that must seem like a second home to many.
Yes, these floods are happening on a more frequent basis.
Yes, it’s costly to fly mass numbers of people to the city.
And yes, the community probably shouldn’t have been built on a flood plain.
But it’s how we deal with tragedies like this that truly shows the character of our city.
With few exceptions, we’ve welcomed our visitors with joy, helping them adapt to an unfamiliar culture, working to keep families together to make their stay that much less stressful.
It is, however, time for the federal government to start looking at long-term solutions to the problem. Kashechewan residents can’t have their homes threated each year. It’s just no way to live.
