Kashechewan evacuees face another delay in returning home as nurses now to leave northern Ontario First Nation

After more than six months away from home, hundreds of people from Kashechewan First Nation were hoping to return to the James Bay community this month. Instead, many of the roughly 350 people who were still in Kashechewan are now preparing to fly out.

Kashechewan evacuees face another delay in returning home as nurses now to leave northern Ontario First Nation "This is going to be a short term," says Kashechewan executive director After more than six months away from home, hundreds of people from Kashechewan First Nation were hoping to return to the James Bay community this month. Instead, many of the roughly 350 people who were still in Kashechewan are now preparing to fly out. In a notice Thursday night, the remote northern Ontario First Nation announced it must evacuate its remaining residents because the community’s nursing team is leaving Friday amid ongoing work to flush the local water system.

The latest development comes just days before that work was expected to be completed — and as people were looking ahead to finally returning home. “It’s been six and a half months for some of the people,” said Tyson Wesley, the First Nation’s executive director. "Everybody is eager to go back home."

Kashechewan, a Cree community of about 2,300 people, has been under a state of emergency since Jan. 4, after pumps at the local water treatment plant failed. Since evacuations began in early January, hundreds of people from Kashechewan have been staying in hotels in communities across Ontario, including Timmins, Kapuskasing, Kingston and Niagara Falls. Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario plans evacuation of residents due to water plant failure Cryptosporidium confirmed in Kashechewan First Nation water treatment plant, 63 test positive for parasite The plant is now undergoing extensive repairs, including complete flushing the community’s water system.

That process has involved the use of chlorine dioxide. Wesley said members of Kashechewan's nursing team experienced health issues, including skin reactions, during the flushing process. Some members of the First Nation have have also reported similar skin irritations and discoloured clothing.

"Once the nurses pull out, the paramedics will pull out because they don't have anybody to take to the clinic and usually when that happens the police also leave the community," he said. "All of these services are going to be non-existent in the community and that's causing us to evacuate people out of the community." The First Nation has been providing bottled water to residents who remain in Kashechewan, with about 15 litres per person available to help meet their water needs.

"Safety is paramount for us and we won't take any chances with our people," Wesley said. Flights harder to secure due to wildfire evacuations CBC News reached out to Indigenous Services Canada for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. As of Friday morning, Kashechewan was awaiting flight confirmation, with the first plane expected to arrive later in the day.

More flights are planned for the weekend. Wesley said the timing has been particularly difficult for people who had been expecting to return home this month. "People were surprised" by the announcement that they would have to leave again, he said.

"Having to evacuate more people out of the community when we're weeks away from getting people back is kind of creating some uncertainty with community members." The flushing work is expected to be completed Monday and federal health officials are slated to arrive around July 21 to conduct further water testing, according to Wesley. He added that results could take seven to 10 days, or possibly less and that the findings will help determine when the repatriation process can begin.

Wesley said the First Nation is reaching out directly to airlines to arrange flights for community members, since government resources may be occupied with wildfire evacuations. “We’re just so close to finishing all the work that needs to be done,” he said.