Ottawa sending military to Pimicikamak Cree Nation

Ottawa will deploy a specialized Canadian Armed Forces team to Pimicikamak Cree Nation after a prolonged power outage forced thousands to evacuate; the team will provide assessments on water, sewage, power and logistics.

A prolonged power outage in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, northern Manitoba, caused frozen and ruptured pipes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate. Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski announced that cabinet agreed to deploy a specialized team from the Canadian Armed Forces to the community. The team will provide assessment and advisory support on water treatment and sewage systems, power generation, project management and logistics, and no arrival date was given. What is known: - The outage began after a power line broke in late December; service was briefly restored and then failed again during extremely cold weather. - At least 4,000 people have been evacuated to cities including Winnipeg and Thompson. - Officials say about 200 homes are considered unlivable and roughly 1,100 others are being assessed for damage. - The federal government has already provided generators, heaters, food and drinking water; the announced military team will focus on technical assessments and logistics. Summary: The announced deployment is intended to support technical assessments and logistics as Pimicikamak manages damage and large-scale evacuations. Undetermined at this time.