Today, the Honourable Eleanor Olszewski, Minister of Emergency Management and Community Resilience and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, issued the following statement:
"The Inuit community of Kugaaruk, in Nunavut has declared a local state of emergency after a failure at the community's water-treatment plant.
Today, in my role as Minister of Emergency Management, I approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Government of Nunavut, on behalf of the Inuit community of Kugaaruk, for support with logistics and the transportation, distribution, and pumping of drinking water. To this end, the Government Operations Centre is working with federal and provincial partners, including the Canadian Armed Forces, to coordinate the response to the situation in Nunavut and mobilize all necessary federal resources.
On behalf of all Canadians, I want to express my solidarity with those affected by this event and sincerely thank everyone who are working tirelessly to manage this emergency."
