Formal Request from Ontario for Military Help
THUNDER BAY – NEWS – There are now 200 cases of COVID-19 in Bearskin Lake. Help has come first from First Nation communities around the community of 400 people in the far North of Ontario.
Ontario has now, through the Solicitor General put a formal request to the federal government for military assistance. Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says, “This evening, we received a formal request for assistance from the Ontario Government for Bearskin Lake First Nation. Officials at Safety Canada and Indigenous Services Canada will work closely and quickly to ensure the community receives support during their time of need”.
Earlier in the pandemic the Canadian Rangers were instrumental in assisting in Northern Ontario communities with communities in need over COVID-19 issues.
In Bearskin Lake there have been a growing number of the community’s workers in COVID-19 isolation. The team available to help with essential services is starting to wear down with the long hours of work.
There was a scare last night as briefly the power went out in Bearskin Lake. However that outage did not last very long.
There have been off reserve community members assisting, and Muskrat Dam and KI First Nation have made repeated trips into Bearskin Lake to deliver needed supplies, including firewood.
The level of understanding of the situation in Bearskin Lake continues to grow, and Indigenous Services Canada has been working with tight timelines to make sure needed supplies and resources make it into the community.