Matawa First Nations Management says lessons learned from Constance Lake inquest

The CEO of Matawa First Nations Management (MFNM) says the organization is reviewing the verdict and 79 recommendations from an inquest into the deaths of five members of Constance Lake First Nation.

Luke Moore, Lorraine Shaganash, Lizzie Sutherland, Mark Ferris and Douglas Taylor died after an outbreak of a fungal lung disease called blastomycosis in 2021-22.

It’s caused by breathing in spores that grow in specific conditions that include the combination of heat, high nitrogen levels, decaying wood and wet soil.

MFNM CEO Sharon Nate said, in a statement, that lessons learned from the inquest should prevent similar deaths from ever happening again in the region, and across Canada.

“We acknowledge the long and difficult process for the families, friends, and community, and we honour their strength, resilience, and unwavering resolve,” she said.

She urged anyone requiring emotional support and assistance to contact NAN Hope at 1-844-NAN-HOPE (626-4673).

The tribal council represents nine first nations, including Constance Lake, and oversees a number of divisions.

One of them, Four Rivers Environmental Services, responded to the health crisis in November of 2021, and gathered soil samples for testing for the disease-causing spores, and also created and distributed educational materials to raise awareness about blastomycosis.

It also established a weather station in Constance Lake to monitor weather patterns that were suspected of helping to create the ideal conditions for the growth of spores in the soil.

The manager of Four Rivers, Sarah Cockerton, said that she was glad to see the wide variety of recommendations addressing environmental issues.

Specifically, she said the clean-up of blue-green algae in Constance Lake and the remediation of an abandoned sawmill site near the entrance to the nation, whether they contributed the health crisis or not, would be progress.

She said Four Rivers had been plowing ahead with soil sampling and research as their time and resources would allow since the outbreak, but recommendations underlining the importance of continued research lends their work weight and could attract collaborators.

The jury highlighted the establishment of a research hub into blastomycosis in the community which Cockerton said was an idea that was already being tossed around.

“Those kind of conversations have been ongoing, but now they can be expedited or expanded,” she said.