A First Nation community in northwestern Ontario that has been under a boil water advisory for more than 25 years says it is evacuating some of its members after a new issue with its water supply was discovered. In a tweet just before 5 p.m. ET, Neskantaga First Nation Chief Chris Moonias said it is “disheartening and sad” that he has had to evacuate the elderly, infants, chronically ill and vulnerable people from the community for a second time during his tenure.
Ontario First Nation evacuates community over water safety, asks feds for help
An abrupt downturn in an already poor water-quality situation in a northwestern Ontario Indigenous community poses more of a safety risk than the federal government is willing to acknowledge, representatives of the First Nation said Wednesday as they called for help covering the cost of evacuating the community. Most of the 250 residents of the Neskantaga First Nation, a member of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, flew out of the community on the weekend after untreated water began flowing from local taps and water pressure tapered off dramatically.