AMC Stands With Pimicikamak as Families Face Freezing Conditions and Failing Infrastructure
December 31, 2025
Treaty One Territory, Manitoba
AMC Communications
AMC Stands With Pimicikamak as Families Face Freezing Conditions and Failing Infrastructure
Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, MB (December 31, 2025) -The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) stands in full support of Chief David Monias and Pimicikamak Cree Nation as the Nation manages a state of emergency resulting from a prolonged power outage that has disrupted essential services and placed significant strain on citizens, leadership, and frontline responders.
The outage has created cascading impacts beyond the loss of electricity, affecting access to heat, water, sanitation, and emergency services during extreme winter conditions. As the situation continues, risks to public health and safety increase, particularly for vulnerable citizens. These impacts underscore how power failures in northern and remote regions can quickly escalate into full-scale emergencies.
The current situation reflects broader and long-standing challenges faced by First Nations across Manitoba when critical infrastructure fails. Repeated emergencies of this nature expose systemic gaps in planning, accessibility, and investment, particularly when essential services depend on aging or difficult-to-access infrastructure.
“This emergency highlights the consequences of infrastructure decisions that do not prioritize reliability, access, or long-term resilience in First Nations territories,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. “Pimicikamak Cree Nation has repeatedly raised concerns about the need to locate transmission lines along the highway. Those warnings were not acted on, and the Nation is now at risk because an aging transmission line is difficult to access and repair under current weather conditions.”
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs calls on the Province of Manitoba, Indigenous Services Canada, and Manitoba Hydro to engage directly and urgently with Pimicikamak Cree Nation leadership to ensure adequate emergency resources are in place and that clear lines of accountability are established. Addressing the immediate emergency must also be accompanied by concrete commitments to prevent similar crises in the future.
AMC will stand alongside Pimicikamak Cree Nation and advocate for coordinated emergency response, infrastructure accountability, and long-term solutions that uphold the safety and well-being of First Nations citizens across Manitoba.
For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
About the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
The AMC was formed in 1988 by the Chiefs in Manitoba to advocate on issues that commonly affect First Nations in Manitoba. AMC is an authorized representative of all 63 First Nations in Manitoba, with a total of more than 151,000 First Nations citizens in the province, accounting for approximately 12 per cent of the provincial population. AMC represents a diversity of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Nehetho / Ininew (Cree), Anishininew (Ojibwe-Cree), Denesuline (Dene) and Dakota Oyate (Dakota) people.