The province is spending more than half a million dollars to help Eabametoong First Nation (EFN) as the northwestern Ontario community strives to get a temporary school up and running by the fall.
The remote Ojibway community of roughly 1,600 people lost its only school to a fire on Jan. 25. Four teenagers were charged with arson in connection with the blaze, which displaced about 300 students from kindergarten to Grade 9.
On Wednesday, Ontario announced $540,000 for Eabametoong:
- $250,000 to support community needs including transition supports for Grade 9 students, emergency supplies, food, and mental health and well-being.
- $150,000 to support children and youth in the community who have been affected by the loss of their school.
- $120,000 for mental health, land-based programming, and health and safety.
- $20,000 for emergency food security needs.
The money comes from three provincial ministries: Indigenous Affairs; Children, Community and Social Services; and Tourism, Culture and Sport.
“Ensuring the safety and well-being of Indigenous communities, particularly during times of crisis, is a top priority for our government,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs, in a news release Wednesday.
“Our team mobilized quickly and continues to work closely with Eabametoong First Nation to identify the community’s needs and help rebuild crucial infrastructure to sustain the community’s strength and vitality.”
As Eabametoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario copes with the loss of its only school to a devastating fire, leaders are looking to get a temporary school built by September. Here’s why the John C. Yesno Education Centre was more than just a building to staff and students looking to pave a brighter path forward for the remote community.
Eabametoong’s Chief Solomon Atlookan said he’s grateful for support from Rickford and his team in making sure the province recognized “that the deeper mental and social health issues that cause this destruction need to be addressed — not just putting up a building.”
“We are working together to support the healing and recovery of our people so that Eabametoong can thrive again. EFN’s chief and council are appreciative of the rapid and sincere actions taken by Ontario to work with us through this trying time,” Atlookan said in a news release Wednesday.
After meeting with Atlookan in mid-February, federal Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, announced more than $13 million “to help the community buy, bring in, build and fully furnish five modular buildings.”
“This is on top of the $3.7 million we invested up to date for educational resources, additional teachers, supplies and essential mental health services for the students,” said Hajdu’s then-press secretary, Reem Sheet, in an email to CBC News.
‘Our local infrastructure has been severely impacted’
There have been four significant fires in northwestern Ontario’s First Nations so far in 2024. In addition to the blaze in Eabametoong:
Last July, a fire at Eabametoong’s water treatment plant forced a community evacuation, which lasted about three weeks. That fire was also determined to be arson.
“Our local infrastructure has been severely impacted, our students no longer have a school, our families no longer have a recreation and gathering place, and it will be years until a new one is built. That is hard for most people in Ontario to comprehend,” Atlookan said in Wednesday’s news release.
Once the temporary school is ready, ideally by September, Atlookan said he’s hoping to get to work as soon as possible planning for a new permanent school.
In addition to the money earmarked for Eabametoong, the Ministry of Education says it’s spending an additional $240,000 to support the Keewatin Patricia District School Board’s Rapid Response Northern Schools Team.
The team provides crisis and education support as requested from First Nation community schools, as well as support for students transitioning from their home communities to provincially-funded schools elsewhere.
Students from Eabametoong typically move to Thunder Bay to complete their high school education in Grade 10. However, the fire forced more than a dozen Grade 9 students to move to the city early.
“Our priority is to help ensure students have the resources they need for uninterrupted learning during this very difficult time, along with assisting school staff to continue to deliver education, mental health resources and well-being supports,” said Minister of Education Stephen Lecce in Wednesday’s news release.
“The importance of maintaining a sense of normalcy as the community — specifically students — recover from the loss of their school is first and foremost.”
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