{"id":623451,"date":"2026-04-23T14:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/623451\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:31:17","slug":"amid-year-long-state-of-emergency-neskantaga-first-nation-calls-for-health-care-intervention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/623451\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid year-long state of emergency, Neskantaga First Nation calls for health-care intervention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lashaunda Waswa, Neskantaga First Nation\u2019s youngest band councillor at 22, is advocating for a better future for the next generation.<\/p>\n

The remote Ojibway community in northwestern Ontario has been under a boil-water advisory for 31 years, the longest in effect in Canada. <\/a>Community members also say health-care access is an ongoing challenge in the First Nation and urban centres like Thunder Bay, where people often travel for care they can\u2019t get at home.<\/p>\n

Neskantaga’s only nursing station flooded last year<\/a>, prompting a two-month evacuation of the community\u2019s most vulnerable members and the state of emergency.<\/p>\n

While Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) says the building reopened in November, Waswa is among the First Nation\u2019s leaders stressing that the aging facility and outdated medical equipment are unacceptable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are worried that we’re going to lose community members over this,\u201d Waswa said.<\/p>\n

\"ANeskantaga First Nation’s nursing station was built in 1994. It is the only health-care centre in the remote Ojibway community. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Waswa added that the nursing station relies on contract nurses from outside the First Nation who haven\u2019t built trust with community members.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neskantaga\u2019s leaders shared multiple stories with CBC News about community members being sent home from the facility and later requiring medical evacuations.<\/p>\n

The federal Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program<\/a> provides coverage for medical transportation, accommodations and meals for those who must travel for appointments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Neskantaga\u2019s leaders say last-minute travel arrangements made through the program mean community members are missing their appointments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ANeskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisses says there needs to be more health-care support for his members, both at home and in urban centres like Thunder Bay. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s last-minute notice, maybe five minutes before the plane lands: \u2018Your travel\u2019s here,\u2019\u201d said Chief Gary Quisses. \u201cIt’s really impacting the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The First Nation is calling for a new medical centre to replace its nursing station. It also wants the federal government to overhaul the NIHB system to reduce travel delays and provide better co-ordination for patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need the governments to step up,\u201d Quisses said. \u201cThat’s their obligation to fix that \u2026 it’s not the First Nation’s fault why we lose appointments, why we miss flights.\u201d<\/p>\n

ISC says it’s working with community leaders <\/p>\n

ISC spokesperson Jennifer Cooper provided an emailed statement to CBC News about Neskantaga\u2019s concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHealth services, including dental and X-ray, are currently available to community members through the community\u2019s regular nursing station under the clinical direction of health professionals,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n

\"ACoun. Lashaunda Waswa wears a beaded medallion, which features the design of Neskantaga First Nation’s flag. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Since the state of emergency has been in effect, ISC has been \u201csupporting the delivery of medical supplies to the nursing station, co-ordinating nursing staffing and access to primary care services in the community, as well as referral to medically necessary services outside the community when needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for NIHB, Cooper said the department is working with community leaders to better understand their concerns around \u201caccess to supplies, medevac services, and patient supports, and to identify practical solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cISC continues to work with partners to address reported gaps and improve co-ordination so that patients are better supported before, during, and after travel.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Health care ‘should be taken care of’<\/p>\n

Neskantaga members say they’ve been waiting too long for health-care improvements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our treaty right to always have provided services; our health care, education, our well-being should be taken care of, no matter what costs,\u201d said Coleen Moonias, a band councillor. \u201cIt’s about a fiduciary obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACoun. Coleen Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation says it’s been frustrating to advocate for more health-care resources and not see any improvements. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Stanley Moonias is Neskantaga\u2019s case manager for health and social services. <\/p>\n

He has a heart condition and says he\u2019s had an appointment pushed back 2\u00bd months because his medical travel wasn\u2019t arranged in time.<\/p>\n

Last month, his great-granddaughter kept being sent home from the community\u2019s nursing station. The 1\u00bd-year-old\u2019s condition worsened and the family advocated for her to be flown to Thunder Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to wait for 18 hours to get that medevac,\u201d Moonias said. \u201cThat’s not right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACoun. Bradley Moonias of Neskantaga First Nation says his members deserve the same quality of health care as anyone else in Canada. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Band councillor Bradley Moonias remembers having to drive 17 hours from Neskantaga to Thunder Bay \u2014 using the community\u2019s winter road to connect to the highway network \u2014 when his three children became sick a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all had infections, all three of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Moonias said his youngest son had further complications and was supposed to stay at a hospital in Thunder Bay for a few days, but the family couldn’t afford to be in the city any longer.<\/p>\n

Waswa said her goddaughter was also repeatedly sent home from the nursing station and ended up being diagnosed with pneumonia in Thunder Bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is happening to a lot of our children.”<\/p>\n

Local MPP demands change <\/p>\n

On Friday, Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa wrote a letter<\/a> to federal Indigenous Services minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Health Minister Marjorie Michel about concerns with the NIHB program.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are suffering. People are hurting. People are not getting to their appointments because of this system that is not working, and that’s unacceptable,\u201d Mamakwa told CBC News.<\/p>\n

Some people have been waiting years for medical appointments, only to be left scrambling to arrange medical transportation themselves, he said.<\/p>\n

This has a ripple effect on health-care providers and pharmacies that are left dealing with last-minute requests and cancellations, Mamakwa added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As he waits for the ministers to respond, Neskantaga members have been shovelling the remaining snow away from the nursing station to prevent future flooding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we see the nursing station being brand new, maybe even turned into a little hospital … That’s when we know that [the federal government is] actually listening,\u201d Waswa said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lashaunda Waswa, Neskantaga First Nation\u2019s youngest band councillor at 22, is advocating for a better future for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":{"0":"post-623451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}