Members of the Kashechewan First Nation gather at a rally demanding the relocation of the community, in front of Queen's Park in Toronto, on April 29, 2019.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
There are about 1,800 displaced residents of Kashechewan First Nation living in hotel rooms across Ontario right now, wondering when they will be able to get home – and, when they do, how long they can stay.
On Jan. 4, the First Nation in Northern Ontario declared a state of emergency owing to an outbreak of cryptosporidium, a fast-spreading parasite that causes infectious diarrhea. As of March 5, there were 90 outbreak-related cases of cryptosporidiosis, and the community had to evacuate members as far away as Niagara Falls. Chief Hosea Wesley said that since the start of the outbreak, there have been six “direct or indirect deaths.”
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Water-related evacuations have become a part of life for Kash. While failed waste pumps at the local water treatment plant are reportedly the culprit this time, the issue is usually a fact of history: The community should never have been built on a flood plain near the fast-moving Albany River. But that’s where Canadian officials forcibly relocated them to in 1957. And just about every spring for nearly two decades, the community has to deal with flooding from ice breakup.
It’s time to deal with the problem, once and for all.
Seven years ago, I attended a press conference in Toronto with then-federal minister of Indigenous services Seamus O’Regan, Ontario’s Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford, and Kashechewan First Nation’s then-chief Leo Friday. The leaders proudly announced that the Kashechewan would be moved to safer, higher grounds, known as “Site 5.”
Everyone was all smiles. It seemed that finally, the annual evacuations – usually costing around $20-million – would no longer be needed.
But one moment from that day has stayed with me: Mr. Friday said at the time that he was skeptical that anything would actually happen. And he was right. Time passed, COVID-19 happened, and the water problems for the James Bay community continued.
“We aren’t a First Nation with a lot of cash flow from big projects,” said Tyson Wesley, the executive director of Kashechewan. “It affects the First Nation in so many ways. We are talking about the stability of the Nation itself, how it operates.”
Every year it’s a gamble to get to safety from the floods. This time, a parasite added yet another water-related problem – raising the possibility that the community would have to evacuate twice this year.
It would help Kash, a Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) member, if the First Nations Clean Water Act – a vital step toward First Nations water rights – was revived. That bill died when the last Liberal government folded. The number of boil-water advisories in NAN territory has only risen, from 13 to 17, since June, 2025. “We want to stop communities from getting on that list in the first place,” said NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler.
Kash is not alone in having woefully inadequate infrastructure. The legacy of incomplete commitments and decades of poor builds, combined with harsh weather and climate change, have set many First Nations up for disaster.
Displacement is hard on people, too. You are away from your home and your things; pets often have to be left behind. If you are a student, your studies are disrupted, and mental-health issues rise. If you suffer with addiction, you become vulnerable to drug and alcohol pushers.
So the Chief is furious. Last week, he called for federal Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty to resign for failing to visit over the course of this two-month crisis. Kashechewan is now planning for Ms. Gull-Masty to visit on Monday, though her office did not comment on the exact date – just in case it changes for unforeseen circumstances.
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Earlier this year, Indigenous Services Canada agreed to fund an urban-planning study of the community for $1.73-million. The consultants’ final report should be issued by the end of the month, the minister’s office said, and it will help guide next steps. They added that most (but not all) of the evacuation costs, which are only estimates at this point, will be covered by ISC through the Emergency Management Assistance Program.
But Mr. Wesley raises a good point: “I don’t know how much the government has in emergency management. But if they can come up with this money to do this with us every year, wouldn’t there be a cost benefit to moving the community to higher ground quicker?”
No one wants to operate like this every year. It takes up too much time, energy and resources. Investing in First Nations infrastructure and clean water is good for Canada, so that these Nations don’t have to keep expending their precious resources – especially at a time when Canada is looking to extract resources from the nearby Ring of Fire.