Indigenous Services Canada says it expects to evacuate all nurses and paramedics still working in Kashechewan First Nation on Monday.
In an email to CBC News, the federal government department said that the evacuation of remaining medical personnel will be dependent on flight availability. Once the nurses are gone, anyone still in the community who needs medical attention will have to travel to the neighbouring community of Fort Albany First Nation.
Depending on conditions, it takes about 45 minutes to drive to from Kashechewan to Fort Albany, crossing the frozen Albany River on a winter road.
Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley confirmed there are currently four paramedics and four nurses in the community.
Wesley said he is in talks with the federal government about building a shortcut to the ice road that has existed in years past. That shortcut could cut the travel time to Fort Albany to around 20 minutes.
Most of Kashechewan’s 2,300 residents have evacuated from the community since Chief Wesley declared a state of emergency on Jan. 4. Those community members are now scattered across Ontario, living in hotel rooms in Kapuskasing, Cochrane, Timmins, Kingston and Niagara Falls.
“It’s stressful with the mental health and all that stuff,” Wesley said. “Especially the kids are really struggling right now.”
Keisha Paulmartin, a 15-year-old from Kashechewan who is currently living in a hotel room in Niagara Falls with her family, said leaving pets behind has been especially difficult.
“Just missing your pets can really have something on you,” she said. “Missing your home, missing being on the land all the time.”
Wesley confirmed with CBC News that around 300 people are still in the community, including children. First Nation leadership confirmed that there are plans to evacuate all children and non-essential personnel.
“The healthy people are the only ones who are going to stay to look after the community,” he said.
The community remains under a state of emergency due to ongoing issues with the water treatment plant.
Pumps at the plant, which mix in chemicals to treat the water, failed in December. That caused cascading issues with a sewer system that hadn’t been cleaned in years, according to Robert Lariviere, a consultant with Northern Waterworks hired to help assess and repair the damage to the plant.
Lariviere said sewage backed up into the system due to those issues.
On Jan. 28, preliminary test results of local water samples confirmed a parasite called cryptosporidium was present in the system. More than 63 people from Kashechewan have tested positive for the parasite.
Binyam Desta, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the University of Guelph, told CBC News the parasite spreads through infected feces from people and animals.
“So it can contaminate rivers, lakes and water systems from a run-off,” he said.
Symptoms from infection include diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, and fever.
Healthy people normally recover in two to three weeks as long as they stay hydrated. But people who are immunocompromised can require IV replacement therapy and medication to recover.
Chief Wesley confirmed that two elders and one youth from the community have died since evacuations began.
He could not say, however, if those deaths were directly linked to exposure to cryptosporidium from the water supply.
Wesley added that funeral arrangements are underway for those individuals once the community returns home.
Kashechewan was built in a flood plain. Since 2005, community leaders have called on both the province and federal governments to support a relocation to higher ground in an area about 30 kilometres to the north.
In 2019, former Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday signed a framework agreement with the provincial and federal governments affirming a commitment to relocate the community.
Indigenous Services Canada spokesperson Eric Head said in an email to CBC News that on Dec. 4, 2025, the department approved around $8.4 million to undertake detailed planning studies for the relocation of the community.
“Indigenous Services Canada will continue to support Kashechewan First Nation in meeting the long-term needs of the community,” Head said.
But Wesley said he’s tired of “studies, after studies, after studies” on the issue.
“There’s no solid commitment,” he said. “Enough with these studies.”
Wesley said his community can’t invest in long-term infrastructure projects — such as a new water treatment plant — until it moves to an area that isn’t at risk of flooding every spring.
