The NDP critic for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation says action speaks louder than words and it’s time to stop making promises and get boots on the ground.
Sol Mamakwa is commenting on the flood potential in Kashechewan First Nation as the Spring melt on the Albany River begins.
The remote northern community of 2,500 has been evacuated 17 times in the past three decades.
Mamakwa is calling on the government to step in and help move the community to their final relocation spot, so they don’t need to evacuate to communities already strained by COVID-19.
The Kiiwetinoong MPP says residents can either stay on reserve until the ice and the waters break through the dike or they can evacuate now to “Site 5”, the high ground area that was selected and agreed upon by both levels of government in 2019.
Mamakwa says there is little, if any, wiggle room right now and stresses the government has a responsibility to act.
