Marten Falls First Nation declares state of emergency after shutdown of water treatment plant

A state of emergency has been declared in Marten Falls First Nation after the community's water treatment plant failed.

Community members in the remote First Nation in northwestern Ontario, about 440 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, had been without water for two days when the declaration was announced on Wednesday.

Marten Falls Chief Bruce Achneepineskum said community leaders are out of options to address the situation.

"Our critical services, nursing, police services, court services and school facilities plus other facilities we have are all shut down," he said. "All the housing units are out of water going on two days, and people don't have any other options right now."

A potential evacuation is being considered, he said.

Achneepineskum called on the provincial and federal governments to step in "like they do with the rest of Canada and Ontario."

"We're calling for more oversight and more training at the community level to actually let us have that training in the community."

Achneepineskum said he had not heard from the provincial and federal governments about their response to the situation, as of Wednesday afternoon.

CBC News contacted Indigenous Services Canada for comment on Wednesday but has yet to receive an answer.

Achneepineskum said the water treatment plant failure exacerbates other issues the community is facing, including the threat of a fourth wave of a COVID-19 pandemic, housing shortage and lack of adequate fire suppression resources.