Niagara Falls, Ont., mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees

The mayor of Niagara Falls, Ont., has apologized for comments about Kashechewan First Nation evacuees made during a recent council meeting that discussed homelessness in the city.

The city has been hosting in hotels hundreds of evacuees from the First Nation for almost six months after a water crisis in the northern Ontario community forced them to leave their homes.

Niagara Falls’ former chief administrative officer Ken Todd said in a presentation to city council on June 23 that many residents think Indigenous people staying in the community are homeless when they see them congregating or walking on the street.

Kashechewan First Nation Chief Hosea Wesley said the comments left many evacuees feeling unwelcome in their host community.

Wesley said the evacuees have been living through “one of the most difficult chapters” in his community’s history as families are forced from their homes because of failures in essential water and wastewater infrastructure.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said he invited Wesley to a meeting last week and apologized.

“Our intentions to gain support for families and for the community were good, but comments can be misinterpreted. That’s why the importance of open dialogue and communication cannot be understated,” the mayor said in a statement.

The Niagara Falls Review reported that Diodati said in an interview after the council meeting: “You can’t expect our social services at the region, you can’t expect our communities, to absorb thousands of people that aren’t part of our community.”

Diodati said in his statement that he did not mean to be disrespectful.

“I am sorry that my comments caused hurt within the Kashechewan First Nation and broader Indigenous community. I apologize and I take responsibility for that, as I stand by the positive intentions of the report (to council).”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2026.