2 weeks without phone service creates 'dire' situation for Shamattawa First Nation

Residents of Shamattawa First Nation in northern Manitoba have not had landline telephone service for over two weeks leading to an ongoing "dire emergency situation," Keewatin Tribal Council Grand Chief Walter Wastesicoot said. 

Shamattawa, about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is a member of the Keewatin Tribal Council, which represents 11 First Nations in northern Manitoba. 

In an emailed statement sent Thursday, Bell said a lightning strike on July 3 caused "significant damage" to its infrastructure and created the outage.

Calls can't be made or received on landlines and there is limited cell service in the community.

As the days go by, concerns about health and safety are growing. Shamattawa Chief Jordna Hill said there was already at least one health crisis involving an elder.

Earlier this week a woman was home alone, felt short of breath and couldn't call for help, he said. She hung a white towel out of her window, which was seen by someone driving by. 

The woman was taken to the nurse's station and medevaced out of the community a day later, he added.

"Somebody's going to die if nothing changes," Wastesicoot said.

Bell said it provided the nurse's station with a satellite phone for emergencies. But Hill said calls or faxes to confirm medical appointments such as surgeries aren't going through right now. 

"Patients are losing out big time," he said. 

Technicians were flown into the community five times since the outage was reported to assess the damage and plan repairs, according to Bell's statement. 

Bell said on Thursday, about 900 kilograms of equipment was flown into the community to begin the "complete network rebuild" needed to restore service.

Bell also said workers have given up vacation, evenings and weekends to get phone service back in "the next couple of days."

'Decades behind'

Hill and Wastesicoot said the landline infrastructure needed to be replaced a long time before the outage.

"Our communities are decades behind others in Canada," Wastesicoot said of the service. 

The lack of telephone service is just one of the issues Shamattawa is currently facing. In March, Hill declared a state of emergency after several suicides and a major fire destroyed eight homes in the community. 

Later that same month Keewatin Tribal Council issued a state of emergency due for all of its 11 member communities, which included Shamattawa.

The lack of telephone service could make the community less safe, Hill said. 

CBC News reached out to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) about what support they've provided the community. ISC said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada would have more information than their department.