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
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.