Indigenous Services minister says housing shortage aggravating COVID-19 outbreak in Kashechewan

A COVID-19 outbreak in a remote, northern Ontario First Nation would not be as severe if Ottawa had provided more housing before it hit, Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller said today.

Kashechewan, a Cree community of about 1,800 people near the western shores of James Bay, reported more than 300 members infected with COVID-19 this past month.

Chief Leo Friday repeatedly has blamed overcrowding for the crisis, which is being driven by the spread of the highly transmissible Alpha variant.

“He’s absolutely right,” Miller said.

“There have been investments. There obviously have not been enough.”

It’s not unusual for up to two dozen people