Indigenous Services Canada is still failing to fully address emergency response needs for First Nations communities as climate disasters intensify across the country, a new audit warns.
The Auditor General found “unsatisfactory progress” on about half of 34 recommendations made since 2015. Despite nearly doubling spending on Indigenous programs — from $13 billion in 2019 to $24 billion in 2024 — the department continues to struggle with emergency management, housing, healthcare and safe drinking water.
More than 560 emergencies, including wildfires and floods, hit First Nations between 2023 and 2025, forcing about 150 evacuations. But many communities still lack clear emergency agreements with provinces to get help with evacuations, firefighting, flood protection and emergency shelters, ensuring they receive the same support as other residents.
“In the absence of having agreements and knowing exactly who will do what in an emergency, it leaves a lot of uncertainty and concern in First Nations communities,” Auditor General Karen Hogan told Canada’s National Observer at a press conference on Tuesday.
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) does not handle emergency responses directly but coordinates support for Indigenous communities during crises by setting up emergency service agreements with provinces and groups like the Canadian Red Cross. The number of agreements has dropped from six to four emergency service agreements and five for wildfires, according to the latest report.
“It’s important to have these agreements before an emergency happens, so that if the First Nations community decides that they are unable to respond, they know exactly who to turn to, what to expect, when to expect it, and then they can iron out who pays for what afterwards. But you need to know who’s gonna do what in a crisis. And in the middle of it isn’t time to figure that out,” Hogan said.
Only Ontario has clear evacuation standards for food, health care and mental health supports — ISC has made no progress on expanding them in other parts of the country since 2022.
As per ISC records, the department holds bilateral emergency management service agreements with BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Yukon and Northwest Territories, and bilateral wildfire agreements with BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.
Hogan said many older agreements expired as ISC tried to create new, three‑party deals with provinces and First Nations. But few of those are signed yet, and some current agreements don’t include all communities — for example, Saskatchewan leaves out 38 of 70 First Nations.
She added that while the department has stepped up engagement with First Nations communities, it still relies on outdated approaches while expecting different outcomes.
“I think it’s time they rethink how they approach,” she said.
Beyond emergency response, the audit found continued problems with safe water, health staffing, housing and dental care. Long‑term water advisories dropped from 60 in 2020 to 35 in 2025, but nine have lasted more than a decade. Healthcare jobs remain about 21 per cent vacant in remote areas, and overcrowded housing persists. Hogan said lasting change will require steady attention. She pointed out that while there is often a surge of activity and an action plan after a report is published, focus tends to decline over time. “Sometimes, it’s because of political changes, priorities are reorganized,” she said.
She added ISC often “works in silos,” with each program managed separately and funding initiatives developed in isolation.
In an email statement to Canada’s National Observer, Carolane Gratton, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada and Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, said the departments plan to unveil a detailed action plan in spring 2026.
“Significant progress has been made on many of the recommendations in the follow-up report and we know that much work remains,” Gratton said.
Gratton said the lower number of agreements reported by the Office of the Auditor General reflects timing delays, not a reduction in support. Some agreements are renewed each year and may appear inactive if data is collected during the renewal process.
The department said First Nations continue to receive full emergency management services while agreements are renewed. ISC confirmed there are now eight bilateral emergency management agreements and seven wildfire agreements active across Canada.
ISC has updated all departmental and regional emergency management plans — including the development of new plans in three regions — Alberta, the Atlantic region, and Saskatchewan which had no previous coverage — to better guide decision-making ahead of disasters, Gratton added. The department now supports more than 300 full- or part-time emergency management coordinators across the country.
Gratton said the drop in provincial agreements reflects ISC’s shift from older bilateral deals to new, multilateral agreements developed between provinces and First Nations. None are final yet, but the groundwork is well underway, she said. In BC, for example, the first phase of a new multilateral deal wrapped up in January, creating 34 emergency coordinator positions and supporting more than 30 mitigation projects. Work is also advancing in Atlantic Canada, where several agreements are nearly complete.
“While formal multilateral agreements will take time to conclude, the groundwork and negotiations are advancing significantly across multiple regions, positioning ISC to meet the 2027 commitment,” she said. ISC said its approach is to work with First Nation partners in every region to create new joint agreements that cover both wildfire response and emergency management services. “As a result, it would be counterproductive to negotiate bilateral agreements with provinces and territories at the same time as pursuing multilateral ones, as that could impede progress, duplicate efforts, and send mixed messages to partners,” Gratton said.
– With files from Natasha Bulowski
