Nation-Building Cannot Happen While Our People Are Dying: AMC Calls for Public Health Emergency
Press Release
Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, Manitoba (June 5, 2026) — The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on the Governments of Canada and Manitoba to immediately declare a public health emergency in response to the escalating opioid and addictions crisis impacting First Nations people across Manitoba.
The call follows the unanimous adoption of AMC Resolution MAY-26.05, Opioids and Addictions Crisis State of Emergency for First Nations People in Manitoba, during the AMC Special Chiefs Assembly. The resolution recognizes the addictions and opioid crisis as a public health emergency requiring immediate, coordinated, and long-term action grounded in First Nations priorities, healing approaches, and self-determination.
The urgency of the crisis has once again been highlighted by recent reports from Winnipeg first responders, who responded to 66 opioid-related calls in a single day and attended more than 800 opioid patients in April alone. The alarming increase reflects what First Nations leaders have been witnessing in their communities for years as families continue to lose loved ones to addiction, overdose, and toxic drug poisoning.
“The fact that first responders attended 66 opioid-related calls in a single day should be a wake-up call for governments,” said Grand Chief Kyra Wilson. “First Nations communities have been raising concerns about this crisis for years. These numbers confirm what our families and frontline workers already know: the situation has reached a level that demands an emergency response.”
First Nations leaders have repeatedly raised concerns about the devastating impact of opioid-related harms in their Nations, including rising overdose deaths, increasing addictions, homelessness, mental health challenges, and inadequate access to culturally appropriate treatment and recovery services.
The Chiefs-in-Assembly noted that First Nations people continue to experience opioid-related harms at significantly higher rates than non-First Nations populations and that existing responses have failed to meet the scale and urgency of the crisis.
“For too long, First Nations have carried the burden of this crisis while governments respond with piecemeal measures that fail to address the scale of the emergency,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “The Chiefs of Manitoba have spoken with one voice. We are calling upon Canada and Manitoba to recognize this crisis for what it is—a public health emergency—and to work with First Nations to develop and implement solutions that save lives, strengthen families, and restore hope.”
The AMC resolution references recommendations arising from the Provincial Court of Manitoba Inquest into the death of Lee Earnshaw, which identified significant gaps in addictions treatment, outreach, harm reduction services, and access to care throughout Manitoba. Chiefs are calling upon Manitoba and Canada to work collaboratively with First Nations to implement those recommendations and address longstanding systemic barriers affecting First Nations citizens.
The resolution further calls for immediate investments in First Nations-led solutions, including detoxification facilities, withdrawal management services, treatment centres, opioid agonist therapy programs, mental wellness supports, outreach services, and culturally grounded healing initiatives that reflect the unique needs of First Nations communities.
“Across the country, First Nations leaders are being invited to discussions about major projects, economic corridors, critical minerals, energy development, and the future prosperity of Canada,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “Yet many Chiefs leave those meetings and return home to communities struggling with addiction, overdoses, homelessness, and mental health crises. It is difficult to speak about prosperity when families are grieving and Nations are fighting to keep people alive.”
“We are attending nation-building discussions while simultaneously attending funerals. That is the reality many First Nations leaders are facing today,” said Chief Angela Levasseur, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation. “We cannot separate economic reconciliation from human survival. Before governments ask First Nations to participate in building Canada’s future economy, they must demonstrate the same urgency in addressing a crisis that is taking the lives of our people every day. Addressing the opioid and addictions crisis is not separate from nation-building—it is a prerequisite for it.”
The AMC emphasizes that any emergency response must respect First Nations jurisdiction and be developed in partnership with First Nations governments, communities, and service providers.
“A public health emergency declaration alone will not solve this crisis, but it would finally acknowledge the reality First Nations families have been living with for years,” said Grand Chief Wilson. “The question governments must answer is simple: if this level of death and suffering were occurring elsewhere, would they hesitate to act? First Nations should not have to fight to prove that our lives are worth saving.”
“The time for declarations, studies, and condolences has passed. The time for action is now.”
For more information, please contact:
Communications Team
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs
Email: media@manitobachiefs.com
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