Leaders from four Island Lake First Nations in northeastern Manitoba declared a regional public health emergency on July 9, 2026, calling for urgent action on a toxic drug supply, rising HIV and hepatitis C infections, and severe overcrowding affecting roughly 17,000 residents.
The Anisininew Okimawin Grand Council, representing Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point, and Wasagamack, made the announcement at a news conference in Winnipeg. Grand Chief Alex McDougall stressed that the crisis reaches across all four fly‑in communities. “This is not a crisis that affects just one Anisininew nation. It is a regional crisis,” McDougall said.
St. Theresa Point has been hit particularly hard. Band councillor Victor Walker reported that since 2017 the community has seen 63 HIV infections, 163 hepatitis C infections, and 449 syphilis infections. On June 9, 2026, St. Theresa Point recorded its first newly diagnosed AIDS case. Garden Hill councillor Harvey Little noted his community has logged 20 HIV diagnoses, 59 hepatitis C diagnoses, and 374 syphilis infections over the same period.
The emergency declaration highlights how a toxic drug supply, homelessness, and a lack of local treatment options are feeding the outbreak. “It sits at the intersection of a toxic drug supply, problematic substance use, HIV, hepatitis C, homelessness, and the breakdown of community safety that follows when people are denied access to care,” McDougall said.
One of the few resources in the area, the Manitoba Anisininew Mobile Addictions Network, is stretched thin. Program manager Kirsty Muller said there are about 60 people on a waitlist in Garden Hill alone. Since last September the program has started 109 opioid agonist treatment cases and handed out 364 harm‑reduction supplies, but it lacks the staff and funding to reach all four communities.
Overcrowded housing is making things worse. A Federal Court ruling found that Canada owes a fiduciary duty to provide adequate on-reserve housing, and St. Theresa Point councillor Victor Walker said one in four homes in his community is uninhabitable. “Housing and health are not separate emergencies. They are one,” Walker said.
The council is asking federal and provincial governments to formally recognize the emergency, provide multi‑year funding for addictions services, invest in a regional hospital and housing, and meet with Premier Kinew and federal officials within 30 days.
