Premier to visit First Nation grieving after deadly fire

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This article was published 15/02/2022 (1339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the aftermath of a fatal house fire on a northern Manitoba First Nation, the community hopes the provincial government will work with them to improve a systemic lack of resources that led to overcrowded housing and no running water.

As he prepares to welcome the premier to Pimicikamak (Cross Lake) Cree Nation, Chief David Monias said he hopes their meeting will be a step toward solving chronic problems the community faces, which he said contributed to the tragedy.

Premier Heather Stefanson made arrangements to visit the community about 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg after a house fire claimed three lives Saturday. A toddler and two teenagers died, while four other residents managed to escape. The identities of the deceased haven’t been publicly released. Monias said autopsies are being conducted.

There is no running water in the area where the fire happened, and the community of 10,000 has no fire hall. There is a housing shortage and many homes are overcrowded, Monias said.

He’s expecting to welcome Stefanson Wednesday afternoon for a meeting about the tragedy, hoping it will lead to positive change for the community.

“All we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get parity, we’re trying to get equality,” Monias told the Free Press Tuesday.

“We are impacted by tragedies like this when we don’t have those same type of resources and same type of opportunities for our people in our community.”

It’s the first time in a “very long time,” that a premier has visited Pimicikamak, Monias said, saying it’s a welcome visit.

“Being here and being on site is the best (compared to) just reading a report about it. It’s always good to have face-to-face time, and also it gives us a (chance) to bring reality to the things that we’ve been talking about.”

Monias said he’s also expecting Alan Lagimodiere, Manitoba’s minister of Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations, to make the trip, along with Grand Chiefs Arlen Dumas and Garrison Settee of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, respectively.

In a statement Tuesday, MKO’s Settee said he was extremely saddened to hear about the house fire and three young lives lost.

“When a tragedy such as a house fire takes place, our grief is immense. Most community members have a personal connection to those who are impacted, and it is natural we grieve with them. Grief is an ongoing process and I encourage all those who are hurting to reach out to others for support during this difficult time.”

A mobile crisis team from MKO is providing counselling in the community.

Monias said he is in shock about the fire, and the community is still coming to terms with what happened.

“Everybody, when they hear about this, the first thing they want to do is hug their children, hug your family and make sure that everybody’s safe,” he said.

“And then you want to reach out to the families that are affected and to support them.”

It feels as though the community has been dealing with death over and over again, he added.

“It’s hard to try and recover (from) one loss after another,” he said.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca