The mayor of Niagara Falls, Ont., has issued an apology for comments made by a former city official who claimed Kashechewan First Nation evacuees were negatively impacting tourism.
During a June 23 city council meeting, Ken Todd, the city’s retired chief administrative officer who was tasked with developing an action plan to address homelessness in Niagara Falls, gave a presentation where he suggested that Indigenous evacuees were harming Niagara Falls’ reputation as the “jewel of tourism.”
In a recent statement, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said that while the intention of the presentation was to seek funding from other levels of government to provide “support for families and for the community,“ he is ”sorry" that the comments “caused hurt within the Kashechewan First Nation and broader Indigenous community.”
“I apologize and I take responsibility for that, as I stand by the positive intentions of the report. No disrespect was intended,” he said.
Diodati’s statement comes after he met with Chief Hosea Wesley, of Kashechewan First Nation, last week for what he described as an “open, personal dialogue.”
Members of the Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario have been displaced since January when the community’s drinking water was contaminated by sewage following multiple failures with the water and wastewater systems. Many of the displaced residents were relocated to hotels in Niagara Falls.
During the June 23 city council meeting, Todd suggested that 1,100 of the 1,700 evacuees from the community were relocated to Niagara Falls.
“One thing I will say is that I believe that the way that the whole evacuee situation with the Indigenous is not being handled properly by the federal and provincial government,” Todd said at the meeting.
“To me, that’s not fair. To me, this community wants to be, Mr. Mayor, Vegas North… We want to be the jewel of tourism in Ontario and unfortunately, a lot of the residents and people will see Indigenous people on the street, walking around, thinking they are homeless people from this community and they are not. And I think they deserve better. I don’t think children deserve to be playing their recess time in a parking lot beside the casino. I really truly think there is a better approach.”
He suggested a “purpose-built kind of facility in the province” where evacuees can go to “have a sense of community and not be forced to relocate into hotel rooms across the province.”
“But in spite of all that… at minimum there should be certain resources that come back to the community. Like the community is really getting nothing out of it.”
Wesley responded to the comments last month, noting the important distinction between displaced and unhoused.
“Our Elders, parents, and children have homes. They have a community. They have a culture and a deep connection to the land,” Welsey said last month.
“What they have lost — through no fault of their own — is the ability to safely return home because of the critical infrastructure failures.”
He noted that while they are grateful for the hospitality shown by those in Niagara Falls, the comments made by Todd have left some feeling unwelcome.
“If there is one conversation we should be having, it is this: How do we ensure that no other First Nation community is forced into a months-long evacuation because critical infrastructure has failed?” he said.
“That is the conversation the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada, and all Canadians need to have.”
A Solidarity Walk took place on July 3 in Niagara Falls in support of the Kashechewan First Nation.
In the statement released by Diodati, he said during the meeting last week, Chief Wesley was able to share his thoughts about Todd’s comments.
“Our intentions to gain support for families and for the community were good, but comments can be misinterpreted,” he said.
“That’s why the importance of open dialogue and communication cannot be understated. I am sorry that my comments caused hurt within the Kashechewan First Nation and broader Indigenous community.”
He said both himself and the chief are “on the same side, seeking stronger support to help displaced individuals.”
“We both listened and we both learned. It was a very good exchange. We will keep the lines of communication open as creating even stronger cultural relationships and friendships is more of a journey than a destination,” he said.
With files from Dan Bertrand, CTV News Northern Ontario
