First Nations in BC Experiencing Compounded Emergencies; BC and Canada Must Provide Full Supports

     November 19, 2021

(Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) As BC continues to reel from the ongoing devastation caused by the recent “atmospheric river event”, which saw extreme rain, winds, landslides, and floods wreak catastrophe upon communities and infrastructure, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) remains deeply alarmed and concerned about both short-term and long-term cumulative effects of the crisis upon the safety and welfare of First Nation communities.

The FNLC calls upon the provincial and federal governments to commit significant financial supports, and resources to First Nations still recovering from the compounded and ongoing emergencies of the 2021 wildfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis, the homelessness crisis and the crisis caused by the discovery of the thousands of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools.