Kashechewan First Nation in Northern Ontario. Wants the military to help evacuate residents due to lack of clean water
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Frustrations grow among remote First Nations as plans go ahead evacuate residents From a remote fly-in community in Northern Ontario due to lack of clean water.
On Sunday, Kashechewan First Nation Chief Hosea Wesley declared a state of local emergency as the community’s water treatment plant fell into disrepair.
Now, the Cree community of about 2,300 people located on northern Ontario’s James Bay coast says it can’t secure enough bottled water for residents.
In early December, he said, the water treatment plant’s pumps broke down, which meant chemicals could not be mixed to purify drinking water.
Later that month, the waste water treatment plant’s raw sewage intake also began to fail.
During a call with Indigenous Services Canada on Tuesday, community leaders called for military intervention to assist in full-scale evacuations in northeastern Ontario cities like Timmins and Kapuskasing.
Kashechewan First Nation executive director Tyson Wesley told CBC News that as of Thursday morning, one flight to Timmins and five flights to Kapuskasing had been chartered.
In an email to CBC News, Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Eric Head said Lumex Group, a provincial vendor, was enlisted to manage the evacuation of 500 vulnerable people from the community in Timmins and Kapuskasing.
But the community wants to evacuate all 2,300 residents.
Kashechewan First Nation executive director Tyson Wesley told CBC News that as of Tuesday afternoon, ISC had chartered a commercial flight using a small plane to evacuate the community’s most vulnerable residents.
Officials in Kashechewan managed to charter two additional flights.
‘We are in a serious situation’
“We are in a serious situation and the response we are getting is not good enough,” Wesley said.
“And I don’t think they understand that these are kids, these are people. I think one comment I’m hearing from members of our community is, ‘We’re people. We’re human beings and we deserve clean water.'”
Timmins Mayor Michel Boileau confirmed Timmins will accept approximately 35 evacuees from Kashechewan on Wednesday.
Boileau said the city will operate at “minimum capacity” to accommodate people who have medical needs due to the presence of Timmins and District Hospital in the community.
“We expect a few more, but the majority will go to other communities,” he said.
Officials at Kashechewan First Nation, a fly-in community along the James Bay coast, are forced to move equipment and medications from a local clinic to the community’s elementary school due to a sewage backup. Kashechewan Executive Director Tyson Wesley captured this footage of a raw sewage backup, which was caused by a failure at a water treatment plant. The community is currently seeking military assistance for a full-scale evacuation.
By Wednesday, staff were evacuating the community’s small clinic due to a sewage backup in the building, which resulted from water treatment plant issues.
Wesley said patients, equipment and medications would need to be taken to a nearby elementary school.
“We also have an outbreak of influenza in the community,” he said. “So there’s a whole list of issues that are happening at the same time.”
repairs at water treatment plants
Indigenous Services Canada said Northern Waterworks workers were immediately deployed to Kashechewan to begin repairs on the water treatment plant.
“The company was able to install replacement pumps in the lift station, and are bringing additional equipment to the community to continue their work to resolve the situation,” the spokesperson said.
annual withdrawal
Mass clearance in the spring is an almost annual event in the Kashechewan First Nation.
The community was built on a flood plain along the Albany River, and is prone to flooding during the spring thaw.
tyson wesley said the community has been in talks with the federal government for years — dating back to Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin — about moving the First Nation to a site in a flood-prone area 30 kilometers to the north.
Under Justin Trudeau as prime minister, that move was targeted to be completed by 2029. But with the new Liberal government under Prime Minister Mark Carney, those plans remain unclear.
“We’ve kind of been sidelined and forgotten about, and our issues have escalated significantly over the last few years,” Wesley said.
“Today we are seeing that impact and it is our people who are paying the price for the inaction of our governments.”
Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Eric Head said on Dec. 4, 2025, the department approved approximately $8.4 million to conduct a detailed planning study to resettle the community.
“Indigenous Services Canada will continue to support Kashechewan First Nation in meeting the long-term needs of the community,” Head said.
Wesley said it would not be appropriate for the community to invest in a new water treatment plant until the relocation to the new site is complete.
