Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer says he believes arson is behind a fire that destroyed the First Nation’s band office Monday.
Chaboyer says RCMP investigators on the scene also confirmed to him they believe the fire was likely deliberately set.
Nevertheless, he said the important thing now is to let a proper investigation take its course.
“It’s actually a serious matter and the RCMP are conducting an investigation,” Chaboyer said. “At the moment, we need to let that process take its course and we’ll act on it from there.”
Chaboyer said a trapper alerted officials of the fire around 5:30 a.m. and by 9 a.m., when the Carrot River Fire Department arrived, the building was effectively gone.
Up to this point, the Cumberland House Fire Department had been battling the blaze but does not really have the capacity to combat a fire of this size, he said.
The building housed a number of services critical to the First Nation including daycare, finance, housing, income assistance and post-secondary student support.
Chaboyer said on Tuesday band officials were in the process of letting community members know these services will still be offered, just out of different buildings for the time being.
“Today’s pretty much day one of the rebuild and we want to ensure that our employees are still employed and services are still ongoing.”
The Cumberland House Chief said the band office was constructed in the 1980s and employs about 20 people.
Also lost in the fire were a number of important historical records including land claims maps and photos of elders and former leaders.
Chaboyer said, fortunately, most existing files are stored in a database that can still be accessed.
He said the community is also being assisted by Indigenous Services Canada and Prince Albert Grand Council’s First Nations Emergency Management Team as it deals with the aftermath of the fire.
(PHOTO: Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer. File photo.)