Deaths of three children in fire on Manitoba First Nation underscore chronic housing issues, Grand Chief says

First Nations leaders and Manitoba’s premier visited a northern Manitoba community in the wake of a house fire that claimed the lives of two teenagers and a toddler.

It happened early Saturday morning nearly 800 kilometres north of Winnipeg in Pimicikamak Cree Nation.

“This kind of tragedy with kids, young kids, should never happen,” said Garrison Settee, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), which represents northern Manitoba First Nations. “No family should ever undergo such a tragedy.”

Pimicikamak, also known as Cross Lake, is home to 10,000 people, yet Chief David Monias said it has no fire hall and no running water in the area of the community where the house fire occurred.

The RCMP said officers were called to the fire just before 5 a.m. on Feb. 12.

Once firefighters in the community and police were able to enter the home, they found the bodies of the three children.

Four others who were inside the home when the fire broke out, including a four-year-old girl, managed to escape through a window.

“It is a crisis that is just unbearable for anyone to endure,” Settee said, who is from Pimicikamak and knows the families.

He visited the community Wednesday with Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas, Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Affairs Minister Alan Lagimodiere to offer support and bring attention to chronic housing issues.

“There’s a shortage of housing, the housing is inadequate and these are literally death traps because some of these houses you cannot escape if there is a fire such as this one,” said Settee. “It’s something that should’ve been addressed decades ago.”

Stefanson expressed her condolences at a ceremony in the community.

“As a mother myself I can imagine what you’re going through today with the loss of these three angels,” Stefanson said. “We are here to help you heal. We are here to help you through this absolutely horrific and tragic time.”

It comes after two other fatal fires that have claimed the lives of children on reserves this year, one in northern Ontario on the Sandy Lake First Nation and another in Siksika Nation in Alberta.

It’s an issue the federal government said it’s been working to address over the past five years through annual funding of more than $30 million for fire protection and capital spending on housing and infrastructure.

“Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by fire incidents that can have devastating impacts on families and communities,” Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Indigenous Services Minister, said in a statement.

“We recognize that much needs to be done to prevent horrible tragedies from occurring and to improve fire safety on reserve.”

A Statistics Canada report in March 2021 that was prepared for the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council found that the fire-related mortality rate among First Nations people living on reserve was 10 times higher than the rate among non-Indigenous people in Canada. It was five times higher on reserve than off reserve.

“This incident is an alarm bell again,” said Dumas. “It’s a reminder of the systemic discrimination, the inadequate funding.”

Dumas believes the province can also play a role to help improve fire safety on reserves.

It’s something Settee thinks can be addressed, in part, through improved housing.

“A family should never lose loved ones to a fire like this ever again,” Settee said. “It should never happen.”

In a statement released Wednesday evening after visiting the community, Stefanson said the Manitoba government’s committed to supporting and assisting the community to address the housing shortage and other systemic issues.

“We will continue to advocate for federal funding for Manitoba First Nations through the federal Indigenous Housing and Rapid Housing initiatives, and we call on the Prime Minister to act quickly to address these critical needs,” Stefanson said.

The focus right now is on the immediate needs of family. MKO’s Mobile Crisis Response Team is supporting the community and officials with Indigenous Services Canada is offering support as needed.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.