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Pedestrians walk in the Clifton Hill tourist area of Niagara Falls in May.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The mayor of Niagara Falls has offered an apology to the people of Kashechewan First Nation for remarks made about evacuees from the Northern Ontario community during a recent city council presentation.
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati met with Chief Hosea Wesley last week to discuss a June 23 city council meeting, when a speaker delivering a report on the city’s homelessness strategy suggested evacuees from the First Nation were becoming a burden on tourism.
The evacuees have been living in hotels in Niagara Falls since January due to failed water infrastructure in their community near James Bay.
Last Friday, Mr. Diodati and Mr. Wesley spoke at a rally at City Hall where the Kashechewan First Nation flag was raised. About 100 people, including evacuees, gathered to support the Cree community.
Mr. Diodati said in a joint statement with Mr. Wesley that the comments made during the city council meeting were misinterpreted, but acknowledged they were hurtful to the people of Kashechewan and the broader Indigenous community.
“I apologize and I take responsibility for that, as I stand by the positive intentions of the report. No disrespect was intended,” he said.
The comments in question were made when retired Niagara Falls chief administrative officer Ken Todd presented a city-commissioned plan and recommendations to councillors for tackling homelessness in the “Vegas of the North.”
Indigenous leaders criticize claim that Northern Ontario evacuees are burdening Niagara Falls tourism
He took particular issue with how federal and provincial governments handle evacuations of First Nations.
“The way the whole evacuee situation with the Indigenous is not being handled properly by the federal and provincial governments. Niagara Falls has done more than its fair share,” Mr. Todd told the city council.
He also said that placing 1,100 evacuees in the city was not fair to the evacuees or the tourism industry.
“This community wants to be, Mr. Mayor, Vegas North. You want to be, we want to be the jewel of tourism in Ontario, and unfortunately, a lot of the residents and people will see Indigenous people on the streets, walking around, thinking they’re homeless people from this community, and they’re not. And I think they deserve better. I don’t think children deserve to be playing their recess time in a parking lot beside the casino.”
Additional comments made during the meeting by the mayor and other council members about the alleged negative impact on tourism were also criticized.
In the joint statement, Mr. Diodati reiterated the need for support beyond the municipal government.
“To be displaced from your home, living in a hotel room for weeks and sometimes months on end, individuals and families need places to go, to gather, and to create community.”
In his comments at the rally, Mr. Wesley said relying on hotels across Ontario for emergency management is “not a sustainable long-term solution.”
“The responsibility rests with the federal government and provincial government to invest in safe infrastructure, adequate housing and effective emergency planning so the First Nations are not repeatedly forced to be evacuated from their community.”
The report presented to city council contains an unhoused plan and recommendations, including calls for the provincial and federal governments to do more to support Indigenous evacuees.
In Ontario, First Nations are evacuated when they declare states of emergencies for events such as wildfires and flooding that threaten the safety of community members.
Kashechewan has faced annual spring flooding and evacuations for more than two decades because of its location along the Albany River. This year community members were evacuated because failed water infrastructure contaminated the drinking water supply.
Indigenous Services Canada is ultimately responsible for the costs of First Nations evacuations, with services contracted out to the province and emergency management companies that coordinate and oversee evacuation logistics, including transportation, accommodations, security and access to essential services like health care and education.