Via CBC News: Kashechewan children's skin lesions not caused by water: health minister. Click or tap through for the full report, a video, and some appalling photographs. Excerpt:
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says an outbreak of skin lesions among children at Kashechewan First Nation in northern Ontario is not the result of the community's water, as some have suggested.
"The water has been tested as recently as last Tuesday and we know that it meets all of the appropriate standards for safety in drinking water and for water to be used for other purposes," Philpott said Monday.
She would not give any specifics about the case, but said that one possible cause of the lesions is an infectious condition.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler disagrees that the water can be ruled out.
"I think if you spoke with a council member of a community member from Kash they would tell you differently. What we hear today is that community members are to the point now where they don't trust the water coming from their taps to even bathe or do their laundry, so I think there's a real need for an independent and outside assessment and inspection of their water system."
Three children have been removed from the First Nation near James Bay, including a five-month-old recovering from open-heart surgery, to get medical help.
A total of 16 children with acute cases of skin infection have been identified as in need of immediate help, said Timmins–James Bay MP Charlie Angus.
