Moose Cree evacuees readying to leave Barrie

Barrie Spirit Catcher in the spring in this file image. Wed., April 29, 2026. PHOTO: CTV NEWS BARRIE

Treacherous spring brings First Nations to Barrie for comfort

In Dash 8 planes they arrived in Barrie fleeing from the April rains.

The weather was warm for the first few days. Enough to melt the snow, but soon came the cooler weather with rain, and more rain.

Almost 300 Moose Cree First Nations arrived in Southern Ontario. Their home near Timmins, Ont. was flooded and they had had to evacuate.

“Moose Cree was never evacuated before,” said Paul Syrette, director of operations for ISN Maskwa. “It was a really challenging winter – they had to be evacuated due to flooding.”

If that sounds familiar – it is. But in Southern Ontario, we have the infrastructure, means and methods to mitigate the flooding.

Farther north, damage is severe and the resources to recuperate from disaster slim.

“The more vulnerable citizens have been staying in Barrie,” Syrette said. This includes women and children, a lot of elderly and medically vulnerable people and their families.

There is another evacuation point in Toronto near Downsview that will be empty by the end of the week, he said.

But Barrie still has about 200 First Nations people waiting to fly home next week.

By all accounts, the Moose Cree folks were well taken care of.

They had three meals a day, health and mental health supports and activities to alleviate the fear and boredom. Those who could, went to the Toronto Zoo and a Blue Jays game.

There were daily shuttles so the people could go shopping to area locations, Syrette said.

But why Barrie?

“The City of Barrie has been a very accommodating and supportive partner,” he said.

There are health supports here; we’ve done it before for wildfire evacuees.

“And if/when the need to evacuate First Nations communities due to any other natural disasters (fires/flooding) we will be using Barrie again,” he said.

As for the Moose Creek residents, after three weeks of living in a strange city in a hotel, we’re told everyone just wants to go home.

The adventure is over, spring is coming and it’s time to see how much work must be done, how much reconstruction, all while getting the debris cleared and the fridges restocked.

No one welcomes disaster, but it’s good to know Barrie welcomes evacuees when the going got tough. And our temporary guests are grateful.