Dear Premier Ball, Prime Minster Trudeau and Minister Miller:
We as the elected leaders of the Innu of Labrador are writing to you to make an urgent request. Our request is that your governments use your legislative and regulatory powers and ability to make orders to make the following closures. These closures would of course need to be subject to the use by essential workers of airports, the highway and ferry services for medical and other emergencies, or for delivery or receipt of essential goods and services including but not limited to food, fuel and medical prescriptions.
(1) close down all commercial airports in Labrador including closure for intra-
provincial flights (e.g. between St. John’s and Happy Valley Goose Bay, between Labrador City and Happy Valley Goose Bay, etc.), (2) prohibit travel across the border of Quebec into Labrador along the Trans-
Labrador Highway, and (3) close the ferry services into Labrador.
The Councils of the two Innu communities in Labrador, which together have a population of about 3,000 people, based on our most recent counts, have been taking many precautions and steps to try and prevent the spread of COVID-19 into our communities. We shared some of that information on a call with Minister Marc Miller on April 2nd, and do appreciate the financial assistance from Indigenous Services Canada thus far to begin to take steps to try to prevent it from coming into our communities and to prepare for what might happen if it did.
We have been working hard to seek to have our own members following the public health advice being provided by Canada and the Province and our own public health officials in our communities. So far, we are not aware of any cases in our communities. So far, we understand, though it has not been officially confirmed, that there are a relatively small number (3) confirmed cases in Labrador and that at least some of those cases are in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, the community where we receive many of our goods and services from.
However, the measures we are able to take as First Nation leaders to try to protect our very vulnerable communities from COVID-19 are limited. We have no way to limit travel into airports (other than the one in Natuashish), or into the province along highways or on the ferries. The province and Canada are both aware of the fact that we have many elders and many members with diabetes and on dialysis and suffering from other problems including addictions. Many of us live in overcrowded housing, with many children and youth who will inevitably come into contact with our elders as we live in houses where, frequently, multiple generations live together under one roof. Self- isolation is virtually impossible for most of us. We have limited medical staff in our communities, and so we are very afraid of the onslaught of the COVID-19 disease if it were to come into our communities.
We are all painfully aware of the rising numbers of confirmed infections in Newfoundland, with a cluster of cases arising from two funerals in St. John’s. We also have been watching the ever-rising numbers in the province of Quebec and were especially concerned to learn on April 2nd that two Innu communities in eastern Quebec, Nutashkuan and Uashat, also now have confirmed cases. The curves are not flattening in Newfoundland and Labrador or in Quebec. Social distancing and handwashing and other public health measures are of course not able to completely prevent the spread. That is why we are proposing these steps while they are still available. We desperately want to keep the numbers where they are in Labrador and to lock out the disease from our communities and other communities in Labrador.
We fully appreciate that the Nunatsiavut Government, other communities in Labrador and NunatuKavut Community Council will have important views on this, and we fully appreciate the need for the Province and Canada to consult with them as well about this. We would welcome the opportunity to confer with the leaders of these governments and groups, as well as with your officials, about this request, for the good of all of Labrador.
Nin,
Grand Chief Gregory Rich Deputy Grand Chief Etienne Rich
Chief Eugene Hart Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Chief John Nui
Mushuau Innu First Nation
CC: Aubrey Gover, Deputy Minister, Indigenous Affairs (NL)
Deliah Bernard, Regional Advisor, Atlantic & Quebec, (ISC Minister’s Office) Dr. John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services (NL) Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Chief Medical Officer of Health (NL) Ms. Yvonne Jones, Member of Parliament for Labrador Mr. Perry Trimper, MHA, Lake Melville Ms. Lela Evans, MHA, Torngat Mountains Ms. Lisa Dempster, MHA, Cartwright to L’Anse au Clair Mr. Jordan Brown, MHA, Labrador West President Johannes Lampe, Nunatsiavut Government President Todd Russell, NunatuKavut Community Council Mr. Chad Letto, President of the Combined Councils of Labrador Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation Band Council Mushuau Innu First Nation Band Council Innu Nation Board of Directors
