Indigenous wildfire evacuees were allegedly targeted by human traffickers, separated from their families and denied basic hotel services during mass evacuations, according to a new report submitted to Parliament.

Federal Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle said existing emergency systems resulted in “human rights violations” during the 2025 evacuation of approximately 40,000 people from 88 First Nations.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Houle’s report, Maintaining The Right To Housing In A Changing Climate, was based on interviews with the Canadian Red Cross, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, federal departments, tribal councils and First Nations.

Some evacuees were temporarily housed in gymnasiums, arenas and community halls without consideration for age, health, disability or family circumstances.

“Elders and some who were medically fragile were sleeping on cots for days before being accommodated in a hotel,” Houle wrote.

The report said officials failed to coordinate with First Nations leaders, meaning critical information about individual families was not shared. In some cases, alleged abuse victims were housed in the same reception centres as their alleged abusers.

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“Families were routinely separated,” Houle wrote. “The gap in communication and coordination compromised their safety and the dignity of people who were already vulnerable.”

First Nations leaders also reported that some communities refused to receive evacuees because of capacity concerns, missing agreements or competing demands. Others would accept evacuees only if families were scattered across multiple locations.

In Manitoba alone, the Red Cross booked 275,000 hotel nights. However, Houle said Indigenous evacuees frequently received fewer services than paying guests.

Some hotels allegedly prohibited evacuees from using pools and gyms. Others required them to collect meals through back entrances and barred them from restaurants.

The report also documented complaints of limited toiletries and towels, a lack of traditional foods and no designated spaces for cultural practices.

Elders using mobility aids were sometimes assigned rooms on upper floors despite requiring ground-level accommodations. Houle said conditions became so unbearable for some evacuees that they slept in vehicles or camped outside.

The most serious allegations involved criminal gangs gaining access to hotels housing displaced First Nations residents.

“First Nations women, children and youth became magnets for human traffickers who, along with drug dealers, gained easy access to the hotels they were staying in,” Houle wrote.

The report said many evacuees returned to their communities sick or in worse health than before the evacuations.

However, it did not identify any hotels, communities or alleged perpetrators by name. It also did not explain whether the allegations were reported at the time to local police, the Red Cross or the Department of Public Safety.