2023-06-08 08:35:43
Currently, 12,693 people are being evacuated in Quebec, according to the latest government figures. Nearly 15% of them come from Aboriginal communities. This figure does not take into account the new evacuations planned in Obedjiwan and some communities believe that more of their members are still being evacuated.
Waswanipi Chief Irene Neeposh announced that people with respiratory problems, disabilities, mental health issues, heart disease, or special needs, among others, must evacuate the Cree community.
The evacuation is in the direction of Quebec City. According to the government, 300 people are evacuated.
The chief asked members of her community to remain calm.
The telephone lines with Waswanipi no longer work.
Yesterday, at the end of the afternoon, it was another Cree community, Oujé-Bougoumou, which had initially ordered the evacuation of vulnerable people, before carrying out a total evacuation shortly afterwards.
According to Quebec, nearly 800 people were evacuated from the community. After a tedious overnight journey, they arrived in Roberval and Saguenay. A few families have found refuge in Mistissini.
In Abitibi, the Anishnabe community of Kitcisakik, located south of Val-d’Or in the La Vérendrye wildlife reserve, is still empty. The approximately 250 members evacuated since the weekend are still in Val-d’Or and the surrounding area.
Chef Régis Penosway still does not anticipate a return due to air quality, closely monitored
.
Smoke plumes are not good for your health and the air quality is really not good. We are not currently planning to return
, he explained. THE CISSS de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue also indicates that the air quality is very poor in Kitcisakik and Lac-Simon, and is generally deteriorating in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
In Lac-Simon, the evacuation notice was lifted Monday evening and members began to return to the community. Quebec estimates that 150 people are still evacuated, but Lac-Simon chief Lucien Wabanonik estimates that only about half of the 2,000 members have returned to their homes.
Thursday morning, shuttles will begin the repatriation of some 200 people who are at the Polyvalente Le Carrefour in Val-d’Or. However, the chief is asking vulnerable people to stay out of the community until Friday.
For Lac Barrière, Quebec lists 206 evacuations. The chief indicated that almost the entire community (about 700 inhabitants) had nevertheless been evacuated. The vast majority are in hotels or with family.
For its part, the Atikamekw community of Opitciwan is evacuating 200 additional people, on a voluntary basis. Vulnerable people, mainly women and children, will be welcomed by the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, in Lac-Saint-Jean. Buses were chartered to evacuate members of the community which is located north of La Tuque.
Opitciwan had already begun the evacuation of vulnerable people. Chief Jean-Claude Mequish estimated that more than 75 people had already been evacuated.
On Tuesday, about 300 people from Opitciwan left their community, which has some 2,500 members, on their own.
Legault does not lead our community
says the chief of Mistissini
The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, raised this morning the possibility of an upcoming evacuation of the Cree community of Mistissini. The public safety coordinator as well as the community communications manager quickly denied this information to Indigenous Spaces, specifying stay in alert mode
.
In a statement posted in Cree and then in English on Facebook, the chief of Mistissini, Michael Petawabano, wanted to reassure the members of his community, located northeast of Chibougamau.
« Legault does not lead our community. The community is managed by the leaders here, we make the decisions. We are safe, there is no danger. »
Nonetheless, he said he was quietly making plans for the vulnerable should the need arise. Do not panic
he repeated.
The situation is being closely monitored, with the collaboration of SOPFEU.
Furthermore, the 9e edition of the Pow-wow Abitibiwinni in Pikogan has been cancelled. Due to the circumstances, it is our duty to prioritize the safety and well-being of all spectators, singers, dancers and volunteers. The decision was not easy to make
the Powwow committee wrote in a statement.
The Abitibiwinni Pow-wow was to be held on June 10 and 11.
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