Independent First Nations Alliance and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug File Human Rights Complaints in Response to Escalating Public Safety Crisis
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Posted by Shelby Percival
- Posted in BlogsNews
Pictured: Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation Coun. Jacob Ostaman. Photo by Jon Thompson, Ricochet Media.
On Friday, August 29, 2025, the Independent First Nations Alliance (“IFNA”) and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (“KI”) jointly launched a pair of human rights complaints at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (“CHRT”) and Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (“HRTO”). These two complaints seek accountability, reparations, and sustainable funding from Canada and Ontario, in the related areas of Fire Services and Emergency Medical Services.
The Complaint against Canada at the CHRT focuses on Canada’s chronic failure to equitably fund on-reserve fire safety services. The Complaint against Ontario at the HRTO accuses Ontario of discrimination for failing to ensure adequate Emergency Medical Service (“EMS”) in remote First Nations.
The two complaints – which follow on successful human rights complaints in the areas of on-reserve child welfare and First Nations policing – allege a pattern of discriminatory conduct by both levels of government. Canada and Ontario, instead of ensuring First Nations have the necessary resources to keep communities safe, have ignored the repeated, urgent calls to take action on both fire safety and EMS.
IFNA and KI are seeking sufficient, equitable funding levels and required resources to ensure on-reserve EMS and fire safety services comparable to what non-First Nations communities already receive. The two complaints seek widespread reform, as well as monetary damages for the harm caused by Canada and Ontario’s discriminatory conduct.
A recent news article by Jon Thompson, published on September 16, 2025, starts with a story shared by Roy Cutfeet, now the health director for Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, from when he was a volunteer “ambulance” driver. Roy’s story shared the heartbreaking situation that the lack of proper funding for emergency services left him in – upon finding an unresponsive woman, he had to ask her daughter to drive the ambulance vehicle so that he could attempt to save the woman’s life. Tragically, the woman passed away on the way to the clinic.
This news article (link included below) illuminates the crisis that is the result of inadequate funding. First Nation community members are doing all that they can to help their communities, while non-First Nation communities in Northern Ontario receive better access to emergency services. Budgets provided to First Nation communities are not enough to ensure equitable emergency services can be provided. Providing a First Nation with an ambulance, but not providing training on its use, funding to operate it, or considering that there is no indoor storage for the vehicle during wintertime, makes that ambulance, in effect, inoperable.
Falconers LLP is honoured to assist IFNA and KI in advocating for their rights and seek long-overdue accountability from the provincial and federal governments over these urgent public safety needs.
Related Documents:
- Summary of Complaint re. Emergency Medical Services
- Summary of Complaint re. Fire Services
- IFNA/KI, HRTO Complaint re. Emergency Medical Services (Aug. 29, 2025)
- IFNA/KI, CHRT Complaint re. Fire Services (Aug. 29, 2025)
Media Coverage:
- Jon Thompson, Ricochet Media (September 16, 2025) – “Northern Ontario’s EMS crisis, where even the ambulance is dangerous”
- Jon Thompson, Ricochet Media (September 4, 2025) – “Five Ontario First Nations file human rights complaints over ongoing states of emergency”
