Trade war driving up costs for emergency equipment for northern Ontario First Nation

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A First Nation successful bluish Ontario says it's being priced retired of captious exigency and policing instrumentality arsenic commercialized tensions betwixt Canada and the United States thrust up costs.

Mississauga First Nation, located on the northbound enactment of Lake Huron, says federal assistance programs haven't kept gait with ostentation oregon planetary tariffs — forcing the assemblage to marque pugnacious fund decisions erstwhile trying to put successful exigency services. 

The outgo of specialized instrumentality manufactured in the U.S., specified arsenic drones for hunt and rescue and protective cogwheel for constabulary and firefighters, has importantly accrued owed to the commercialized war, according to Chief Brent Niganobe.

"Not a batch of that manufacturing happens successful Canada, and owed to that reason, we person to acquisition crossed the border. And present immoderate of that instrumentality that would help, particularly bluish communities, has go little attainable conscionable due to the fact that of the cost," helium said.

"Some of those costs person go rather significant, if not astronomical."

Niganobe said that the assemblage has secured national grants, similar the First Nation Infrastructure Fund from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and different backing to assistance support the community, but the commercialized warfare has made it hard to get equipment.

The process tin be unpredictable — some successful however agelong the national authorities takes to wage the First Nation backmost and successful however overmuch the instrumentality volition outgo by the clip it's purchased, said Niganobe.

"The mode we get reimbursed... is not ever successful a timely manner," said Niganobe. "So... we person to bash a small much owed diligence successful our readying ahead."

He said this puts First Nation communities successful a hard position: program months up without knowing if they'll person the afloat magnitude successful time, oregon hold important purchases that could impact information and exigency response.

Call for national review

Niganobe said unlike cities and towns,Indigenous communities often don't person the aforesaid fiscal buffer oregon entree to shared exigency services.

"We person little resources, truthful we person to bash a small spot amended readying for the twelvemonth and and person a amended thought of wherever those spending costs travel from," helium said.

"It takes a small much readying for smaller communities and First Nations to really program up with what we person and effort to bash the champion with what we what we have."

He explained that sometimes means cutting corners successful 1 country to marque country for indispensable cogwheel successful another.

"To deliberation that this tin beryllium a lifesaver, and immoderate of the [grants] can beryllium utilized for those exigency purposes. It's benignant of disappointing, knowing that we're not needfully going to get what we could retired of the [grants]," Niganobe said.

Niganobe said helium wants the national authorities to reappraisal however exigency backing is distributed and to see however planetary authorities — similar commercialized disputes — are impacting beingness connected the crushed for First Nations successful bluish Ontario.

Indigenous Services Canada has not yet responded to CBC's petition for comment.