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Indigenous services minister questioned about fire that killed toddler
First Nations chiefs link toddler’s death to chronic underfunding of on-reserve fire services and seek investigations amid $738.9 million federal funding announcement.
- On Thursday, First Nations chiefs demanded answers from Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty after linking a fatal house fire to federal underfunding, following the Monday death of Chief Donny Morris's three-year-old grandson in northwestern Ontario.
- Alleging Indigenous Services Canada systemically discriminates by underfunding fire services, the Independent First Nations Alliance filed a complaint in August 2025, claiming these dangerous conditions have long been ignored.
- During the meeting, Gull-Masty spoke for 12 minutes before acknowledging the child's death and announced a $738.9 million funding package, earmarking $55.6 million for emergency coordination.
- Chief Carla Duncan of Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation asked the minister how she would prevent further tragedies, while Chief Clifford Bull of Lac Seul First Nation called the loss "devastating" and preventable with proper training.
- The Canadian Human Rights Commission expressed sadness about the tragedy and noted a trend of using the complaints system to challenge service underfunding, while the alliance calls for a federal auditor general investigation.
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Indigenous services minister questioned about fire that killed toddler
OTTAWA — First Nations chiefs from northern Ontario demanded answers Thursday from Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty after they linked the death of a three-year-old boy to a lack of federal funding for fire services in their communities. On Monday, a house fire in a northwestern Ontario community took the life of Chief Donny Morris’s […]
·Toronto, Canada
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Total News Sources6
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Left
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources lean Left
60% Left
L 60%
C 40%
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