Some First Nations leaders are calling on both the provincial and federal governments to help remote communities affected by wildfires in northern Ontario.<\/p>\n
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige said affected communities need clothing, food and financial donations for their immediate, medium- and long-term needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cTheir community has been completely destroyed, all infrastructure, all equipment, anything that has to do with the community is gone,\u201d Debassige said about Collins First Nation in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday, noting that the intensity of the wildfires \u201cis surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just the total lack of an adequate response from both Ontario and Canada,\u201d Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nation communities, said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of our communities \u2026 declared a state of emergency two days ago and they still have yet to see an aircraft coming into their community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fiddler is urging Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney to deploy the military to help the community, including sending aircraft to save people from the wildfires. He said it was \u201cunacceptable\u201d that a different community had been waiting three days for aircraft to evacuate them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw the fires escalate in our region over a week ago, and we have been asking Canada and Ontario to deploy adequate resources so that communities can be supported,\u201d Fiddler said. \u201cOur main priority right now is to prevent the loss of life, and I would hope that both Ontario and Canada feel the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence Wanakamik, chief of the Whitesand First Nation, said Ontario\u2019s Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) was \u201creally late\u201d in its response to the wildfires. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really critical that the MNR acted sooner and have more fire resources available, but that didn\u2019t happen, so I am kind of disappointed,\u201d Wanakamik told CTV News Channel on Friday.<\/p>\n
Wanakamik lamented over the lack of resources to help fight the wildfires and the community\u2019s frustration. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are very anxious, they are getting angry … they just want to go home,\u201d he said about community members.<\/p>\n
Collins First Nation, the hardest hit community, was destroyed by wildfires on Monday. Meaghan Daniel, a lawyer representing the community, said in an article published by The Canadian Press<\/a> on Friday that it didn\u2019t get help because Ottawa doesn\u2019t recognize it as a First Nation. Residents had to leave the area on their own earlier this week before the wildfires ravaged the community. <\/p>\n Federal, provincial response<\/p>\n