NESKANTAGA — There’s no end in sight to Neskantaga First Nation’s latest evacuation, Chief Gary Quisess said Thursday.
Neskantaga’s chief and council declared a state of emergency on Aug. 4 after sewage backup contaminated the fly-in community’s nursing station.
Additionally, a Neskantaga child and family services official reported four days later on social media that a sewer line was broken in remediation work.
Community members were evacuated to Toronto, where a release from Neskantaga First Nation said “they will remain … until there is full remediation of the health care infrastructure.”
Quisess told Newswatch it’s unclear when members can return as “we haven’t received any results from the soil testing yet.”
The return date will depend largely on soil testing results, he said.
It’s not the first time Neskantaga, about 430 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, has evacuated due to a hygiene problem at its nursing station.
Members were flown to Thunder Bay in April 2025 due to concerns over a strong odour from diesel at the nursing station, and stayed for several weeks.
The latest evacuation is also the second in a month, as it comes soon after more than 140 Neskantaga residents returned from evacuating due to heavy smoke from wildfires.
Because of “a contractor’s error,” Quisess said, raw sewage backed up into the nursing station’s basement or crawl space.
The chief said repairing the damage will require “extensive remediation” including replacement of the building’s foundation.
“Neskantaga First Nation is once again calling attention to the stark contrast between Canada’s willingness to pour time, money and resources into mining infrastructure in northern Ontario while the basic social infrastructure that keeps First Nations alive is left to fail decade after decade,” the First Nation’s news release stated.
“Canada continues to support roads, mineral exploration and Ring of Fire mining infrastructure while Neskantaga is unable to rely on clean water, safe housing, emergency medical care or a functioning nursing station in its own community.”
Neskantaga has been under a boil water advisory for more than 30 years, longer than any other community in Canada.
“Our people are being forced out of our homes again, not because of a natural disaster but because the infrastructure we depend on has been neglected for years,” Quisess is quoted as saying in the release.
“Canada cannot keep treating First Nations health care as an afterthought while pushing forward mining roads and industrial development.”
The mineral-rich Ring of Fire, where Wyloo and other companies want to establish mines, is northeast of Neskantaga.
The First Nation has approximately 400 members, 300 of whom live on the reserve 180 kilometres northeast of Pickle Lake, according to the Neskantaga website.
The website stated Thursday that the community has been under a boil water advisory for more than 11,500 days.
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Aug 13, 2026 at 19:10
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