The federal government's response to a COVID-19 outbreak in a northern Ontario First Nation was criticized for being slow and ineffective. Indigenous leaders and experts say Canada needs to rethink how it responds to crises in First Nations.
More than half of Bearskin Lake including most essential workers and leadership in the First Nation in Ontario are now in quarantine, either having tested positive for the virus or living with someone who has.
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Posted: May 01, 2021 8:00 AM ET | Last Updated: May 1
From unused lumber to old containers and even sinks, any available materials he could find were being repurposed last summer to grow plants, said John Cutfeet.(John Cutfeet)
As the pandemic set in last spring, John Cutfeet watched as life begin to change in his remote northern Ontario community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI).
Amid lockdown measures, travel restrictions and fears of how the First Nation would fare if the virus got in, he was reminded of the words of his late grandmother. One of the things she always talked about was if something happens out there, meaning out in the cities and towns, she would always say that we would be able to continue on for a while longer because we would have access to all the resources that were around us the waters, the fish, the animals and the land, he said.
Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority Logo/Release
After joining the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority in June 2020 to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. John Guilfoyle is retiring.
Those with the SLFNHA say Dr. Guilfoyle will be missed, as he has become a trusted source of leadership in the Sioux Lookout region.
“Dr. John Guilfoyle brought a very calming presence when the communities that we serve needed it the most,” said James Morris, Executive Director of SLFNHA. “His hard work and dedication will be always remembered. We wish John a well-deserved and happy retirement.”
As Dr. Guilfoyle makes his departure, SLFNHA welcomes Dr. Lloyd Douglas as the new public health physician.