First Nation evacuees fleeing wildfire face safety risks in Toronto, leaders say

First Nation chiefs and community members are highlighting the dangers that follow evacuees after they have fled northern Ontario wildfires, as they say those sheltering in Toronto hotels are facing elevated safety risks linked to drugs, alcohol and human trafficking.

Cat Lake First Nation Chief Russell Wesley says he worked with the province to evacuate more than 450 of his community members to Toronto last week, but already he wants to see them return home.

Wesley says the community north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., was not given autonomy to pick where residents were evacuated to and if he had the choice, he would have kept residents closer to home where they could maintain cultural practices such as fishing and hunting and minimize the disruption of their lives.

In a Toronto hotel off Highway 401, where Cat Lake residents are sheltering, he says the “social cost” of First Nations not having the power to manage their own evacuations has been laid bare.

Cat Lake social worker Chantal Wesley says she’s had sleepless nights worrying if all residents made it back to their rooms safely, and security guards have already had run-ins with “predators.”

Twelve of the 13 communities evacuated due to the nearly 180 wildfires raging in Ontario’s north are First Nations.

The social worker says some community members drink as a way of coping with the intergenerational impacts of the residential school system. She said these were already issues for residents in their remote community, but the danger has been exacerbated by the evacuation.

The same concerns have been echoed by members of the Neskantaga First Nation, who also moved to a Toronto hotel as wildfire smoke filled their homes and interrupted food and water deliveries to the fly-in community.

Chief Gary Quisess said there was a security incident at the hotel involving a young mother who was approached by a person in a vehicle, raising his concerns about potential human trafficking.

Joey Morningstar, a manager with ISN Maskwa, an Indigenous-led emergency management company providing wraparound services to Neskantaga during the evacuation, said safety issues related to alcohol and human trafficking are all too common after First Nation communities evacuate.

He said people have been lost to overdoses during previous evacuations because drugs and alcohol are more accessible in cities than in residents’ communities.

“They don’t have to be looking for it. It will find them in a lot of the cities, they will prey on the vulnerable,” Morningstar said.

Riley Yesno, an Anishinaabe scholar and member of the Eabametoong First Nation, said those who have fled wildfires are “climate refugees” in their own homelands and pushed back on the idea that evacuees must be “perfect victims.”

She said First Nation evacuees face expectations to act a certain way and be “grateful” for whatever support they receive.

Russell Wesley, the Cat Lake First Nation chief, said he’s planning to fly residents back home as soon as next week with help from the province, as wildfire risk near the community is now lower.

Chantal Wesley, the social worker, said she wants to return despite the risk.

“You have to pick which one’s more dangerous. Is it more dangerous for us to be in the (Greater Toronto Area), or is it more dangerous for us to go home and be with the fire?” she said. “There’s no right answer.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2026.

– With files from Jordan Omstead