KITCHENUHMAYKOOSIB INNINUWUG – INDIGENOUS NEWS — More than a month after declaring a state of emergency, the leadership of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) First Nation says the Ontario government’s inaction on their urgent calls for equitable health services has left them no choice but to pursue legal action.
On July 31, the remote fly-in First Nation of 1,500 people in Northwestern Ontario issued the emergency declaration following the tragic poisoning deaths of two 14-year-old girls, who died after a delayed medevac flight failed to get them timely care in Thunder Bay. The community is located approximately 600 kilometres north of the city.
“I haven’t heard of any government official responding to that state of emergency,” said KI Councillor Jacob Ostaman. “What else can we do? We can just do a legal action, I guess.”
Since the declaration, eight more young people have been medevaced from KI for poisoning-related emergencies—three of them in the last week alone.
Human Rights Complaint Alleges Systemic Discrimination
The Independent First Nations Alliance (IFNA), which represents KI and four other Northern Ontario First Nations, filed a human rights complaint on September 13 against the Province of Ontario. The complaint accuses the Ministry of Health of systemic and discriminatory underfunding of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in remote Indigenous communities.
The five IFNA communities — Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Lac Seul, Muskrat Dam, Pikangikum, and Whitesand — collectively represent more than 6,000 residents in Northwestern Ontario.
“Just look at all the reserves up north — there is nothing whatsoever,” said Ostaman. “We should have that infrastructure: a building, even an air base for ambulance.”
Stark Inequities in EMS Access Across the North
The complaint draws sharp contrasts between the emergency services available in IFNA communities and those provided in non-Indigenous municipalities of comparable or smaller size:
-
Ignace (pop. 1,200): 2 ambulances, heated storage, 8 EMS staff, 3 full-time paramedics
-
Pickle Lake (pop. 400): Same infrastructure and staffing
-
Lac Seul: Relies on paramedics from Sioux Lookout, with response times of 25–45 minutes
-
Whitesand: Served by Armstrong’s EMS, with similar gaps
Meanwhile, KI and Muskrat Dam rely exclusively on Ornge air ambulance services, stationed hundreds of kilometres away in Thunder Bay or Sault Ste. Marie. In Pikangikum, emergency response is handled solely by volunteers.
Legal Grounds: Violation of Ontario’s Ambulance Act
The complaint argues that Ontario’s refusal to fund EMS in First Nations is a clear violation of the Ambulance Act, which does not exclude First Nations from receiving paramedic services.
“Ambulance services are comprehensively regulated by [Ontario], and as such, the funding for the same can be sought from Ontario, regardless of whether the services are provided to First Nations,” the complaint states.
It demands $10,000 in damages per resident across the five IFNA communities, citing physical and mental health impacts caused by unequal access to emergency services. The complaint also highlights disproportionate rates of suicide, birth complications, house fires, drownings, and exposure-related injuries — all of which are compounded by a lack of timely EMS support.
“Ontario is required to provide the communities with EMS equitable to those received by residents of similarly situated, non-First Nation communities and municipalities,” it concludes. “There is no reason for Ontario not to provide funding.”
What This Means for the North
This case amplifies longstanding concerns across Northwestern Ontario about healthcare inequality in Indigenous communities, particularly those accessible only by air. With no response from the province, and no permanent EMS infrastructure in sight, IFNA leadership says this legal action is necessary to hold Ontario accountable for denying First Nations access to life-saving services available elsewhere.
As KI and its sister communities await a response from the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the question remains: How many more lives will be endangered before equitable health care is treated as a right, not a privilege?
