Media Release

Pikangikum, ON – Since Friday, the First Nation Community of Pikangikum has been without its only and essential medical transport vehicle used to move patients from incident scene to Nursing Station to Air Ambulance service. This created a dire situation putting patients and the community of more than 4000 people in the remote First Nation at extreme risk. The community reached out to the Integrated Emergency Service (IES) of its Tribal Council the Independent First Nation Alliance (IFNA). In response, on Saturday, October 22, 2022 the community of Pikangikum received two much-needed retired ambulances recently donated by the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB).

In order to facilitate immediate delivery of the lifesaving vehicles to the community, which is accessed primarily by plane, IFNA reached out to the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) who enlisted the support of the Canadian Air Force (CAF). As heavy transport was a necessity to move the Ambulances before winter the teams were able to secure the use of a C130 Hercules aircraft to respond to the need.

“IFNA were aware that these vehicles were desperately needed by the community and reached out to our government and industry contacts to make it happen for the community at the request of Pikangikum Chief Shirley Lynne Keeper,” said Mathew Hoppe, IFNA CEO. The Tribal Council reached out to the Canadian Armed Forces about the potential of using a heavy lift transport aircraft to get the vehicles on site who immediately set plans in motion to work with the Community and IFNA to ensure the essential delivery operation flowed smoothly.

‘Thankfully the two ambulances were successfully delivered to Pikangikum. We appreciate the rapid and unprecedented response that we have received to our request for help and assistance. Pikangikum and IFNA have been working tirelessly on improving medical services in the community, and this is definitely a step in the right direction. This event highlighted the exposure faced by remote First Nation communities and why our work in this area needs to be accelerated, especially here in Pikangikum,” said Chief Shirley Lynne Keeper.

Nick Rhone, Director of IFNA’s IES program added that “we were working on replacing the medical transport in Pikangikum with our friends at KDSB but the existing pick-up truck being used for medical transport failed before we could arrange delivery using the winter road system and we were unable to utilize a planned barge delivery due to low water levels and the weight of the ambulances. The use of the C130 Hercules aircraft has been a blessing and helps ensure the safety of Pikangikum community members before the onset of winter.”

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Mathew Hoppe, IFNA CEO on behalf of Chief Shirley Lynne Keeper