IFNA, a tribal council that represents KI and four other First Nations in northwestern Ontario, jointly launched a human right complaint with KI against Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) in August 2025, arguing systemic discrimination is behind chronic underfunding of on-reserve fire services.<\/p>\n
Reached by CBC Thunder Bay, Donny Morris said \u201cit is a hard time for me\u201d when he was asked about the house fire.<\/p>\n
Just last month, he told CBC News<\/a> that KI has a fire truck and firehall but needs a bigger space. KI is also seeking permanent funding and staff for health-care and emergency services, including paramedics, nurses and mental health counsellors, and accommodations for them.<\/p>\n 2 adults treated for serious injuries<\/p>\n Members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), IFNA Regional Fire Rescue and the KI Fire Department responded to the house fire around 3:30 a.m. CT Monday.<\/p>\n In a news release, the OPP said emergency personnel worked to ensure public safety and prevent spread of the \u201cfully engulfed house fire,\u201d and that one individual was found dead.<\/p>\n As well, two adults were transported out of the community to be treated for serious injuries, according to IFNA. <\/p>\n The OPP said the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario continue to investigate, in collaboration with the KI OPP, the Sioux Lookout Crime Unit and Forensic Identification Services.<\/p>\n The Canadian Human Rights Commission provided an update on the complaint in October, saying an intake analyst hadn\u2019t yet been assigned to the case. IFNA and KI say they haven’t received any updates from the commission since then.<\/p>\n (Independent First Nations Alliance)<\/p>\n \u201cIFNA chiefs are condemning the commission\u2019s inaction and calling for the complaint to be advanced without further delay,\u201d Wednesday\u2019s statement said.<\/p>\n \u201cAdditionally, given the serious implications for First Nations communities, IFNA chiefs are calling on the auditor general [of Canada] to investigate the commission\u2019s handling of this complaint and the broader systemic failures that continue to put lives at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n IFNA chiefs also want the federal government to \u201ctake immediate responsibility for ensuring equitable, sustainable and properly funded fire safety services in First Nations communities.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Canadian Human Rights Commission told CBC News that it can’t comment on individual cases before the commission. It added \u201cthere is a trend of\u00a0turning to\u00a0the\u00a0complaints system under the\u00a0Canadian Human Rights Act\u00a0to address underfunding of services on reserve,\u00a0often when\u00a0requests for adequate funding have been ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe problems\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0seeing are longstanding,\u00a0serious\u00a0and systemic,\u201d wrote the commission’s acting director of communications, V\u00e9ronique Robitaille. \u201cThat\u2019s\u00a0why the commission has\u00a0long\u00a0been calling for real, systemic changes\u00a0to address the chronic lack of funding in First Nations communities.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) told CBC News on Friday that it had received IFNA’s request to investigate the commission.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the Auditor General does not conduct investigations of the nature requested, the OAG does consider requests for audits received from Parliamentarians and the public. Audit selection is determined through a strategic, risk-based process that also takes into account our mandate, significance to Parliamentarians and Canadians, planned audit work, and available resources,\u2019\u2019 wrote senior communications adviser Claire Baudry.<\/p>\n Sol Mamakwa, Kiiwetinoong member of provincial parliament (MPP) and a member of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, issued a statement Thursday afternoon in support of IFNA’s and KI’s calls for action.<\/p>\n \u201cThe death of this three-year-old\u00a0child, like many of the deaths that came before, is a\u00a0result of systemic discrimination and neglect\u00a0from Canada and Ontario,” said Mamakwa. \u201cIt should not have to come to this level of tragedy for the\u00a0governments\u00a0to take action.\u00a0But at this point, if this\u00a0event\u00a0does not trigger\u00a0urgent\u00a0action, I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know\u00a0what\u00a0will.\u201d<\/p>\n ISC provides statement<\/p>\n A spokesperson for ISC provided an emailed statement Saturday morning, saying \u201cthe department has approved $120,000 for the immediate response under the mental wellness program,\u201d to support the immediate needs of the three-year-old’s family and community.<\/p>\n In 2016, ISC provided funding for KI to build a new fire hall, which was completed in 2017, and it \u201cprovides $135,864 annually to Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug for fire protection and training,\u201d wrote spokesperson Eric Head.<\/p>\n Between 2025-2026, KI received $40,000 to support fire safety \u201cthrough education, awareness, and prevention efforts, including the installation and inspection of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms into selected homes within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe plan is to get these fire suppression systems into all of the homes in the community in the future,\u201d Head wrote.<\/p>\n ‘Canada continues to ignore our pleas’<\/p>\n KI has had to deal with other fire-related deaths.<\/p>\n In May 2019<\/a>, a woman and four children died of smoke inhalation following a house fire. Archie McKay was found guilty in April 2025 of\u00a0five counts of second-degree murder<\/a>. On Monday, he received five concurrent life sentences<\/a>.<\/p>\n That fire prompted KI to declare a state of emergency<\/a> over the mental health effects of the losses. The First Nation did not have a fire department at the time.<\/p>\n Indigenous people are over five times more likely to die in a fire than non-Indigenous counterparts, according to the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat number increases to over 10 times for First Nations people living on reserves,\u201d its website says.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lac Seul First Nation Chief Clifford Bull expressed concerns about the lack of federal action in a statement issued Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada continues to ignore our pleas for urgently needed fire safety funding. We warned that lives would continue to be lost. However, the commission has made itself complicit in this discrimination by refusing to take our complaint seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sioux Lookout OPP is asking anyone with information about Monday’s house fire to contact them at 1-888-310-1122. <\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774905266_952_default.jpg\")
KI Chief Donny Morris, Chief Clifford Bull of Lac Seul First Nation and Chief Paddy Peters of Pikangikum First Nation, left to right, are attended the Independent First Nations Alliance quarterly chiefs meeting in February.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774905266_866_default.jpg\")
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa is seen at Queen’s Park in this file photo. (Evan Mitsui\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774905267_589_default.jpg\")
A house fire in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation in northwestern Ontario on May 2, 2019, led to the deaths of four children and one woman. Shown in the top row, left to right, are Geraldine Chapman, Angel McKay, Karl Cutfeet, Thyra Chapman (surviving). Hailey Chapman and Shyra Chapman are in the bottom row, also left to right. (Submitted by Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation)<\/p>\n