Here is a letter for you to use in support of immediate aid to Bearskin Lake. Urgent help is needed and public pressure counts.
Hon Patty Hadju
Minister of Indigenous Services
Government of Canada
Patty.hadju@parl.gc.ca
January –, 2022
Dear Minister Hadju,
I am writing this letter to support the request of Bearskin First Nation that has been asking for military assistance amid a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected half of its on-reserve population and “crippled” daily operations. Although the Federal government has final sent in military support, I feel very strongly that the support should not be temporary, and that the Federal government must address the fundamental underlying problems.
Bearskin Lake First Nation says 174 people have tested positive, including people in essential jobs with administration and maintenance units for the band. The First Nation says most households are quarantining and need deliveries of food, water, chopped wood, and medication; additionally, the community does not have space to host testing or isolation centres. Chief Lefty Kamenawatamin says resources are being stretched to a breaking point and that the community has asked for financial support from the federal government, but resources offered so far have been “minimal.”
Bearskin Lake does not have clean drinking water and continues to be on a boil water advisory. This makes it difficult to practice PPE protocols when clean water is not available, particularly the basic task of washing your hands with clean water, a normal practice for the rest of us. Bearskin First Nation is in need of bottled water, firewood, food, heaters and medicines such as Tylenol, cough syrups, Vicks, Vitamins C and D. Firewood is their only means of heating their homes.
If they are unable to leave their homes because of being told to isolate, they are at increased risk. Portable air purifiers are also necessary with multiple people in the same households infected with COVID, also diapers and formula for babies, cleaning supplies, disinfectants: the list goes on. Many essential health care workers are also sick including administrative support workers from the Band office that would normally be available to mobilize help.
Imagine a local village or community in Southern Ontario with a similar population that has nowhere to go except one store for all its food, medicines and housekeeping needs, and there’s nothing left on the shelves. That is why neighbouring communities stepped up and started caravans to Bearskin Lake with food and firewood. And that is why the story about the $480,000 from the federal government mentioned in news reports means little at the moment, as it is a commitment on paper; until those promises actually are converted to cash and purchased supplies, only then can the government say they provided much needed support. In the meantime, how many more residents will be infected and how many will die?
Please act now to support this Ontario indigenous community as other communities suffering climate disaster have been helped. Make no mistake: this is a disaster area – a disaster area with fundamental structural problems that need to be remedied.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
————–
City/province
Copy to: Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minster justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca