Sask. company sending isolation shelters to help with COVID-19 crisis on Northern Ont. First Nation
A company owned by a Saskatchewan First Nation is sending six shelters to a Northern Ontario First Nation hit hard by an outbreak of COVID-19.
Kashechewan First Nation, a remote community located along the coast of the Hudson Bay, is facing a COVID-19 outbreak affecting more than 10 per cent of the reserve’s population.
The severity of the outbreak is being blamed on a chronic housing shortage, resulting in crowded homes and a lack of places to isolate.
Pro Metal Industries, owned by Pasqua First Nation, is part of efforts to send aid to Kashechewan through a partnership with Indigenous Services Canada that was formed at the start of the pandemic.
“We've been into over 45 First Nations communities throughout Canada, and a lot of them being very remote, fly-in communities,” said President of Pro Metal Industries Mark Brown. “So dealing with Kashechewan right now, this is the biggest emergency that we responded to since the beginning of the pandemic, so we've had a lot of experience but not quite on this scale."
The six dome-shaped shelters headed to Kashechewan each have approximately 37 square metres of floor space, including two bedrooms, a bathroom, and kitchen suite.
Kashechewan is only accessible by plane in the winter, so the shelters will be flown in with other supplies and can be put together on-site within days.
The domes also come with the benefit of their own independent infrastructure.
“Basically, it’s fully self contained. Fresh water tanks, sewer tanks and all operated by a generator,” Brown explained. “They don’t have to be hooked into the infrastructure in Kashechewan, so that really adds to the rapid deployment of them.”
Richard Missens, president and CEO of the Pasqua First Nation Group of Companies, said the situation in Kashechewan is not unlike the problems many First Nations face around the country.
“Limited access to health services, overcrowded housing conditions, limited access to education, all of these challenges make it more difficult and compound the complexities of dealing with a pandemic like COVID,” Missens said.
All six shelters are either in transport or on the ground in Kashechewan, with the goal of getting them up and running in the coming weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion, 1 person seriously injured: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
How to overcome 'savings guilt' when you're living paycheque to paycheque
As the higher cost of living continues to squeeze household budgets, many Canadians find they have even less left over at the end of every month to squirrel away for the future.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.