Overview
- Chief David Monias asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to deploy the Canadian Armed Forces, citing an escalating public health and safety emergency.
- Manitoba Hydro estimates electricity could be restored by about 6 p.m. Thursday as crews fully replace a roughly 1,000‑foot span using helicopters due to unsafe river ice.
- Pimicikamak Cree Nation declared a state of emergency, with evacuations by bus and plane to Thompson, Winnipeg and Norway House as hotels near the community reached capacity.
- The community connected a generator to bring the water treatment plant back online, but leaders report failing sewage systems, frozen infrastructure and a high risk of burst pipes once heat returns.
- Local leadership says the single decades‑old river crossing left the community vulnerable, renewing calls to reroute lines along the highway and requesting more resources after small heaters and generator use led to safety concerns, including a reported fire.