Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he is shocked to learn that residents of a northern Ontario First Nation live in poverty, some with dilapidated housing and no running water.
“My God, why didn’t someone tell me sooner?” a stunned Trudeau told reporters, his hand over his mouth.
“Is it possible this could be happening elsewhere—in other First Nations communities?”
The revelation comes after Trudeau visited Pikangikum, a community located 500-kilometers from Thunder Bay.
Trudeau is demanding officials begin a widespread study of First Nations living conditions and is vowing to begin addressing the situation sometime after the next three federal elections.
