Death in Cat Lake First Nation shaking up community: Ontario NDP MP

Most homes in Cat Lake deemed uninhabitable A state of emergency has been declared at Cat Lake First Nation in northern Ontario because of a health crisis caused by black mould.

OTTAWA -- Ontario NDP MP Charlie Angus says the death of a 48-year-old woman in Cat Lake First Nation is shaking up community residents and he doesn't know what it will take for the federal government to see the northern Ontario reserve is in a health crisis.

On Wednesday Angus said Cat Lake resident Nashie Oombash was desperate to get out of a home so infested by mould that it made her ill prior to her death this week.

He shared a letter from a doctor in Sioux Lookout, Ont., dated Jan. 21, saying that Oombash "has been having significant breathing problems when she is at home which is likely associated with the mould in her house."

The letter acknowledges that Cat Lake has a housing shortage but the doctor asked the band council to do what it could to find Oombash better housing. The letter doesn't say that mould was the cause of her underlying illness.

Cat Lake's band council has called the condition of housing on the reserve, about 400 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., an emergency. The federal government hasn't used that language but Indigenous Services Minister Seamus O'Regan has agreed that his department has to move faster to deliver materials for a new small housing complex and major repairs to existing units.

Angus also said there are discussions underway about bringing in a non-governmental organization, such as the Red Cross, to help.

O'Regan's office said the minister contacted community leaders on Tuesday night to express his condolences following Oombash's death. O'Regan has also agreed to visit the community to see the conditions first-hand.

Angus says he was shaken up by the state of the community during a recent visit and called the conditions "dangerous."