As northern Ont. community mourns death of young girl, calls grow to ensure fire protection
A GoFundMe campaign to help a family in the remote community of Peawanuck, Ont., has surpassed $37,000 as calls for action grow to ensure the community has fire protection.
The Wabano family is dealing not only with the death of their young daughter, but the loss of everything they owned in a Jan. 28 house fire.
Ten people lived in the family home. JC, the couple’s 10-year-old daughter, was killed in the fire.
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus said in the House of Commons last week that he alerted Indigenous Services Canada in February 2021 that Peawanuck, also known as Weenusk First Nation, lacked fire services.
"In 2021, I wrote to this minister warning about the lack of fire protection,” Angus said.
"That warning was ignored and now a child is dead. It is unconscionable that any community in this country is left without basic fire protection. So to the minister simple question, will she stand today and promise to commit to build a fire hall and give the in my emergency resource support for the people of Peawanuk, so they can live in safety?”
In response, Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) sent CTV a statement outlining steps that have been taken in the community related to fire services.
“On Jan. 24, 2022, Indigenous Services Canada approved funding of $506,640 for a new fire truck for Weenusk First Nation,” the statement said.
“The fire truck is expected to be delivered in March 2023. As Weenusk is leading the procurement of the fire truck, with funding from Indigenous Services Canada, the community is best placed to respond to questions about the truck’s delivery status.”
ISC said it also provides $10,447 annually for the recruitment and training of volunteer firefighters, paid $25,000 for the repair of three fire hydrants in 2021-2022 and provided $18,420 to purchase personal protective equipment for the fire hall during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In terms of the fire hall project, ISC said the community uses a fire storage facility as a fire hall.
“On behalf of the community, Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation (OFNTSC) is working with ISC to obtain funding and approval to design and build a new fire hall,” the statement said.
“Since March 2022, ISC has met multiple times with the community and its representatives and has remained in consistent contact over email, to advance this project.”
On Nov. 28, 2022, Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation submitted a draft project approval request for a new fire hall to ISC, which is currently being reviewed, the ISC said.
“ISC officials will continue to work with the team to finalize the project approval request and assist with identifying a funding source,” the statement said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.