By Canadian Ranger MCpl Chris Vernon
Canadian Rangers in the Cree First Nation community of Peawanuck were activated on Oct. 11 after a woman was accidentally cut in the leg by her husband while the pair were skinning a large moose.
According to 3Rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group (3 CRPG) Peawanuck Patrol Sergeant Matthew Gull, the husband used a satellite phone to call an acquittance in Peawanuck and informed them what happened.
A community member then reached out to Sgt. Gull, who was in Thunder Bay at the time, for assistance.
The pair were hunting in a remote area requiring boat access about 30 km from the community at the time of the incident, and despite being out of town, Sgt. Gull was able to establish a plan of action to retrieve the woman and bring her to the Peawanuck Health Clinic.
“I managed to get a hold of a civilian and I called a first-response team and told them to go to the clinic. We all came up with a game plan and put it into action,” said Sgt. Gull.
With some of his Rangers out of town on training and other events, using a patch work of cell and satellite phones, Gull remotely assisted two civilian community members who retrieved the woman and her husband and brought them to the health clinic.
After receiving stitches for a severe laceration, the woman was released.
Peawanuck is home to about 240 residents located approximately 35 kms from the Hudson Bay coast.
Canadian Rangers are a sub-component of the Canadian Armed Forces reserve force, primarily serving part-time in remote and coastal First Nations communities in Canada.
Their role is to provide a military presence and surveillance in these areas, support during domestic response operations, and in Ontario they assist with search-and-rescue.
In 2022, 3 CRPG participated in 21 rescue missions saving 31 lives.
3 CRPG is headquartered at Canadian Forces Base Borden, near Barrie, Ont.
