Statement from Kashechewan First Nation: Our Members are Displaced, not Homeless

Niagara Falls, ON – Kashechewan First Nation Chief Hosea Wesley has released the following statement regarding comments made during a Niagara Falls council meeting last week that has left many evacuees feeling unwelcome in their host community:

“Over the past six months, the people of Kashechewan First Nation have been living through one of the most difficult chapters in our community’s history. Families were forced from their homes – not because they chose to leave, but because failures in essential water and wastewater infrastructure has made it unsafe to stay.

Recently, I learned that during a presentation on homelessness and the unhoused population in Niagara Falls, our community members were referenced as part of that discussion. While I understand the pressures that host communities face, it’s important that we are careful about how this story is told.

Our people are not homeless. We are displaced. There is an important difference.

Our Elders, parents, and children have homes. They have a community. They have a culture and a deep connection to the land. What they have lost – through no fault of their own – is the ability to safely return home because of the critical infrastructure failures.

I have tremendous respect and gratitude for the people of Niagara Falls who have welcomed our families with compassion and kindness. This is not about blaming a host community. In many ways, host communities like Niagara Falls are also experiencing the consequences of these systemic failures and the lack of response by the governments of Ontario and Canada.

If there is one conversation we should be having, it is this: How do we ensure that no other First Nation community is forced into a month’s-long evacuation because critical infrastructure has failed?
That is the conversation the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canda, and all Canadians need to have.”

Contact:

Chief Hosea Wesley
Kashechewan First Nation
Cell: 705-951-0871

Tyson Wesley, Executive Director
Kashechewan First Nation
Cell: 613-858-1473
Phone: 705-275-4440 ext. 1054
executive.director@kfnation.ca

For more information please contact:
Michael Heintzman,
Director of Communications
Cell: (807) 621-2790
mheintzman@nan.ca