Chief and Council Update - October 24th, 2025

Chief and Council Update – October 24th,2025

Chief and council along with other members of Pikwakanagan’s Emergency Response Control Group (ERCG) hosted a meeting this week at the Makwa Centre to update our community on the State of Emergency (SOE) in Pikwakanagan, which was declared by Chief and Council in 2023 due to the Opiod Crisis.

The Emergency Response Control Group plans and coordinates AOPFN’s overall response during declared emergencies. The group is activated under the authority of, and with the participation of the Chief and Council and includes the Executive Director of Operations and key First Nation personnel.

Dozens of community members came out to the meeting, both in person and online. The purpose of the meeting was to remind community members of the circumstances that led to the declaration of the State of Emergency, to inform members of what the effect of calling the SOE had, all of the actions that have been undertaken since the declaration, what the situation is in Pikwakanagan now and what the next steps will be.

Following departmental updates and evaluation, the ERCG recommended that the State of Emergency should continue until at least March 2026 at which time the situation will be reassessed. This will also provide more time to work to ensure ongoing funding, staffing and programming are in place to support the progress that has been made over the past two years and to continue to address these challenges.