How the COVID-19 outbreak in Bearskin Lake shows Canada needs to boost crisis response in First Nations

When a major COVID-19 outbreak overwhelmed a small, remote First Nation in northern Ontario, the federal government's response was criticized as being slow and ineffective. 

As leaders in Bearskin Lake cried for help, Ottawa sent $1.1 million and said it had deployed seven Canadian Rangers. Local leaders, however, say only three came from outside the community. 

It's an effort critics say was too little, too late.

This isn't the first time governments in Canada have come under fire for failing to help First Nations facing emergencies. 

But this latest instance has again exposed how unprepared the country is to deal with the more frequent and intense emergencies that climate change can bring, especially in First Nations, which the Assembly of First Nations says are 18 times more likely to be evacuated due to emergencies than other communities.

It's a complex conversation — encompassing public safety, health and Indigenous affairs — and is complicated by jurisdictional disputes and unique realities in each of the more than 630 First Nations in Canada.

There are well-established steps — repeated in multiple government reports and cited by several experts who spoke with CBC News — that can be taken to ease the pathway to a future promising unprecedented disasters. But there is agreement in that it can only happen if everyone is at the table, on equal footing.

When John Cutfeet, a resident of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, heard nearby Bearskin Lake's call for help, he had no questions, no second thoughts. Just action.

"When there's a call for help, there is a response as immediate as possible," said Cutfeet, also board chair for the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority, which services 33 First Nations across northern Ontario.

"It's what true nations do. It's what we've always done."

Cutfeet drew a clear distinction between that kind of immediate and visible on-the-ground action, from other First Nations in the region, and the unfulfilled expectations of the federal government.

LISTEN | John Cutfeet shares how his community helped Bearskin Lake:

A similar situation unfolded last summer in nearby Kashechewan First Nation, where Chief Leo Friday struggled to get military assistance as 15 per cent of the 1,900 community members were infected with COVID-19.

Eventually, a large contingent of nurses, Canadian Rangers and, later, other military personnel were deployed. But the response came so slowly that the Mushkegowuk Council, which represents seven remote First Nations on the James Bay coast, called for a public inquiry.