Kashechewan evacuees plan Queen's Park, Parliament Hill protest
Over two thousand people relocated annually from flood-ravaged First Nation
Evacuees from Kashechewan First Nation will be heading even further south this week. Their destination: Queen's Park and Parliament Hill.
They'll be rallying at the provincial and federal legislatures to urge the governments to live up to their promise and speed up plans to re-locate the flood-prone First Nation.
Most of the 2500 people from Kashechewan have been flown out during the annual evacuation, and are staying in Timmins, Kapuskasing, Cochrane and other cities in southern Ontario.
Chief Leo Friday says there is a lot of anger as people prepare for the protests in Toronto and Ottawa.
"I don't know what they're going to do," Friday said. "I think they want to pitch their tents on the Parliament Hill. People are talking really hard, they want to make things happen now."
The federal government says progress is being made on moving Kashechewan, which it expects will be on a new site in 10 years time, a timeline that doesn't sit well with Friday.
"Asking the government to move and start making progress, instead of talking all the time," he said.
"I ask people from other communities to come down and show their support and ask the government to honour their agreements."
The Kashechewan rally at Queen's Park is scheduled for Monday, before moving onto Ottawa Tuesday.