Attawapiskat MP Reports Flooding, Sewer Backup Result in Hospital Evacuation

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Two northern Ontario First Nations have declared a state of emergency due to recent flooding and failed sewer backups, consequently triggering the evacuation of a hospital and closing all the schools in the area. A member of parliament from that region, NDP MP Charlie Angus, mentioned on Tuesday that heavy snowfall followed by a speedy melting has overwhelmed the “sub-standard” infrastructure in the Attawapiskat and Kashechewan reserves, both of whom are situated at the shores of the James Bay.

The rising sewage ultimately left Attawapiskat with no option but to evacuate its only hospital, as the emergency officials moved patients to facilities off-reserve as a precaution. Angus stated that “my big concern is that it’s not good enough to simply pump sewage out of a hospital clinic.” He further added that “it needs to be completely sterilized and that’s going to be a serious issue.” Angus reported that “it would be serious anywhere but in these communities, where you have sometimes five, 10 or 15 people in a two-bedroom house, the effects can be catastrophic,” he said in a phone interview.

Angus mentioned during his address, that nature is not the only one to be blamed for the communities’ plight, he mentioned that “the reality is, it’s sub-standard sewage and infrastructure, so the list stations in both communities just couldn’t keep up and it was backing up raw sewage in people’s homes, into the hospital, into the teachers’ residences.” Angus continued saying that “without a hospital, with the fact that the schools are shut down, this is a community that needs outside help and it needs a plan.”