First Nations fire underscores need for better infrastructure: Trudeau

EDMONTON – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered his condolences to the Pikangikum First Nation following a house fire that is believed to have killed nine people.

Trudeau says his government will continue to work with provincial and indigenous leadership to provide better infrastructure on reserves.

Speaking in Edmonton, Trudeau pointed to the more than $8 billion earmarked in last week’s budget in support of aboriginal communities.

He said securing the future for First Nations isn’t about “the moral right thing to do.”

He said it’s about investing in all of Canada.

Police say the fire broke out late Tuesday in the remote community near the Manitoba-Ontario boundary.