08/10/2026
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum were in Neskantaga First Nation today to support the community as they deal with utility breaks at the nursing station that is keeping evacuated members from returning home.
Chief Gary Quisses and community leaders are meeting with federal officials and engineering contractors to determine the timeline for repairs to vital infrastructure and the repatriation of community members.
These evacuations have caused tremendous suffering for community members who want to return to their homes, explained Chief Quisses, who is waiting for the results of environmental soil samples taken from around the nursing station.
Neskantaga was evacuated last month because of smoke from wildfires and disruptions to vital supply chains that cut off food and other supplies for the remote community. Community members were just beginning to return home but were forced to evacuate again after a sewer line break at the community’s nursing station. Remediation work is being done to clean up sewage and long-standing issues with fuel contamination in the soil, forcing Chief and Council to declare a state of emergency.
A temporary nursing station has been set up to support members as they return home, but it can only provide basic medical services. A medical aircraft has been placed on standby to evacuate anyone who needs more advanced care.
In addition to work in the community, Neskantaga leadership is also coordinating supports for more than 200 community members who have been evacuated to Toronto. Chief and Council are working with federal officials to determine the minimal conditions necessary for community members to return home.
It has been a very difficult summer, and Chief and Council are under tremendous pressure to provide answers to their members about when they can go home, said Grand Chief Fiddler. He said it is difficult to understand how their members are coping, especially the children.