TORONTO — Three young women have committed suicide — two in this week alone — and people can’t afford to buy food on a northern Ontario reserve, one month after Indian Affairs cut off funds to the community.
Federal funds have not flowed to Pikangikum First Nation since April 30 after community members refused to allow the government to take over its finances, and the result has been chaos, said an aide to Matthew Coon Come, the grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
Coon Come, along with regional and provincial native leaders, is scheduled to pay an emergency visit to the fly-in community 300 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg on Thursday.
People are also trying to cope without clean water after a fuel spill shut down the treatment system last October.
They are without paychecks, since most jobs in the community are dependent upon federal transfer dollars.
Since teachers cannot be paid, the local school has been shut down.
The only local store is running out of basic supplies such as bread and milk.
Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault repeated his belief Wednesday that it was necessary to take over the finances of the community of 1,700 people “for social reasons,” even though it is not running a deficit.
But he refused to be interviewed about the latest turmoil in the community as described by community leaders.
