Indigenous services minister to announce $738M for health, emergency management

Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA — Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is expected on Thursday to announce a $738.9-million funding package for First Nations health care, governance and emergency management.

A draft news release shared with The Canadian Press says Gull-Masty is earmarking $55.6 million to build up community preparedness and emergency management co-ordination. The funds are not directly related to fire management but could help with operations such as wildfire support.

Gull-Masty’s department is under heavy pressure from First Nations leaders in northern Ontario who say her department is underfunding on-reserve fire services, resulting in unnecessary deaths.

On Monday, a house fire in a northwestern Ontario community took the life of Chief Donny Morris’s three-year-old grandson and left two others with serious injuries.

The Independent First Nations Alliance, a group of five First Nations that includes Morris’s own community, filed a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint in August 2025 alleging Indigenous Services Canada was systemically discriminating against their communities by underfunding on-reserve fire services.

The First Nations say that case has been languishing ever since and they have not received updates from the commission since they asked for one nine weeks after they submitted their complaint. They have called on the federal auditor general to investigate the commission.

The Canadian Press has reached out to the Canadian Human Rights Commission for comment.

Gull-Masty is scheduled to speak in front of northern Ontario First Nations chiefs in Toronto Thursday afternoon during a public Nishnawbe Aski Nation meeting.

The funding package she is set to announce also includes $400 million over five years for health services and digital health tools in remote communities, including supports for nurses.

“These investments are about supporting First Nations communities as they protect their people and strengthen the services families rely on every day. From health care to emergency response and governance, this funding will help ensure communities have the tools they need to keep people safe and build for the future,” Gull-Masty says in the draft news release.

“Our commitment is to continue working in partnership with First Nations and providing reliable support where it matters most.”

Chief Clifford Bull of Lac Seul First Nation, a member community of the Independent First Nations Alliance, told The Canadian Press Thursday the loss of Morris’ grandson was “devastating” and could have been prevented if communities had proper fire services and training.

“Our people continue to face real risks because of that. What we’re saying is enough is enough,” he said.

“We have been clear that lives are at risk if these conditions continue. This is not something that came as a surprise to our communities … How many more children have to die before something is done about this?”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2026.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press