First Nation evacuees arrive in St. Marys
Jeff Heuchert, STAFF REPORTER Chicken and mashed potatoes was the first taste of St. Marys evacuees from the northern Ontario native community of Kashechewan had upon their arrival earlier this week.
The first 110 Cree First Nation residents arrived at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) - home for the duration of their stay - just before 8:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, a short time after landing at Stratford Municipal Airport.
The remaining 300-plus evacuees were expected to arrive in groups over the next few days.
As they entered the facility, evacuees were welcomed by town staff and Red Cross volunteers, who assisted in getting each person registered. Town staff greeted them also with a warm meal, likely their first in days. Mayor Jamie Hahn said the evacuees’ arrival ran smoothly, noting that many were “tired, exhausted and hungry” upon arrival.
The evacuees have been forced from their homes due to extreme flooding in the James Bay area. Poor weather put a stop to rescue efforts over much of the weekend, however, Canadian Force’s aircrafts were able to resume moving people out of the coastal region Monday. The first evacuees, 79 in total, arrived in Stratford just after 1 p.m. Monday.
The Town of St. Marys, along with the City of Stratford, Municipality of West Perth and Township of Perth East, answered the province’s call for help by providing emergency shelter to the 1,000 evacuees from Kashechewan. Perth County’s Emergency Control Group received the request from Emergency Management Ontario on Friday.
Mayor Hahn noted that despite having the option of saying no to the province’s request, the town believed helping those in need was the right thing to do and didn’t  hesitate in offering their services.
“We could have said no, but why would you? They’re human beings and they need our help,” he added. “We’ll answer the call.”
In addition to the 445 evacuees staying in St. Marys, 310 are being housed at the Rotary Complex in Stratford, with around 150 going to the recreation centre in Milverton and 130 to the community centre in Mitchell. The Red Cross is the lead agency involved in the county’s efforts, suppling cots, blankets and hygiene kits for each evacuee, as well as around the clock assistance in each shelter.
As of this week, early indications are that the evacuees will be in St. Marys for one to three weeks, although it could be longer, depending on the flooding situation in the James Bay area. The PRC is being treated as a private residence, in that there will be limited public access to it, but the evacuees will be free to come and go. Town staff will be supplying the evacuees with a map of the town, with services such as banks and variety stores listed. Town staff ask that the public refrain from visiting the facility.
“We want people to respect the privacy of each individual while they’re here,” added Town CAO Bruce Grant.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, doors were locked to the public at the PRC and all programming at the centre has been canceled until further notice, however, the sport fields and diamonds at the PRC remain open for regular use.
Town staff have been quick to apologize for any inconvenience closing the facilities has caused, noting that scheduled events have had to be canceled or other facilities booked. Grant said he’s hoping town residents will appreciate the gravity of the situation and understand the need to close the facility.
It’s been a feverish past five days for St. Marys’ Emergency Control Group, which held its first meeting at 6:45 a.m. Saturday. Members met numerous times to work out the logistics of accommodating the new residents.
Red Cross volunteers arrived at the PRC early Sunday morning to begin assembling cots, posting signs and setting up stations. The old ice pad was filled with 370 cots, with the remaining cots placed in the new ice pad, which was drained Monday and was expected to have been warmed up enough by Tuesday.
Town staff will be responsible for preparing approximately 1,300 meals a day for the evacuees. As for the menu the town is offering, Grant said the Kashechewan residents’ diet does not consist of much fruit or vegetables, but that they hoped to offer the evacuees a healthy selection, while at the
same time providing options that would appeal to them.
The town is also planning programming to entertain adults and children, while the Endzone room has been turned into a quiet room and phone lines and computer access have been set up for evacuees to contact friends and family.
The town has also had to bring in supplies to support infants, such as diapers, strollers and play pens, while also tracking down enough towels for the evacuees and scheduling regular laundry pickups, if they choose to use the service.
The town has also hired a private security firm to monitor the situation inside the facility, while the OPP will be monitoring any situations outside.
All costs from the town’s emergency efforts are recoverable through the Federal Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs.
At a press conference Saturday, Stratford mayor and co-chair for the Perth County Emergency Control Group, Dan Mathieson, said the Province came to this region for assistance because of its excellent facilities and because it has great emergency planning, noting that each community in the county is certified in handling such situations. He added that the Province has had an excellent working relationship with Perth County in the past, providing support in various initiatives, and that this was “an opportunity to work with them in their time of need.”
Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson noted that some of the earlier evacuees were placed in shelters closer to home, although those communities did not have the resources to handle a large group of people.
Noting that St. Marys is “taking in the lion’s share” of evacuees in the county, Mayor Hahn said the PRC is ideally suited to handle the influx in people, noting that the Centre is equipped with a large kitchen, although town staff expected they would have to bring in a portable fridge and freezer to store the extra food they would be getting.
Mayor Hahn has commended the efforts of town staff, who worked around the clock to prepare for the evacuees arrival and are expected to be kept busy in the coming weeks.
“This is going to be the (evacuees’) home for the next week, or two or three,” noted Mayor Hahn. “It’s been a huge job.
“It’s been amazing how our town staff has come together,” he added.
At present time, residents looking to help can make a financial donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, by phoning 1-800-418-1111. The Red Cross is saying there is not a need for new volunteers at the shelters at this time.