{"id":106488,"date":"2026-07-03T12:34:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=106488"},"modified":"2026-07-03T12:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:36:45","slug":"niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\/","title":{"rendered":"Niagara Falls mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com NIAGARA FALLS \u2014 Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati has apologized after comments made about Kashechewan evacuees were widely criticized by First Nations leaders in Northern Ontario. Earlier this week, Diodati met with Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley to talk about the June 23 presentation on the city&#8217;s Unhoused and Vulnerable Populations Action Plan, during which it was said people assume First Nations evacuees are homeless. SEE: First Nations leaders reject \u2018homeless\u2019 label for Kashechewan evacuees in Niagara Falls In a statement issued today (July 3), Diodati said the meeting gave both leaders a chance to talk openly about how the recent comments were received. &#8220;Our intentions to gain support for families and for the community were good, but comments can be misinterpreted,&#8221; he said&#8230;. <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F07%2F03%2Fniagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com NIAGARA FALLS \u2014 Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati has apologized after comments made about Kashechewan evacuees were widely criticized by First Nations leaders in Northern Ontario. Earlier this week, Diodati met with Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley to talk about the June 23 presentation on the city&#8217;s Unhoused and Vulnerable Populations Action Plan, during which it was said people assume First Nations evacuees are homeless. SEE: First Nations leaders reject \u2018homeless\u2019 label for Kashechewan evacuees in Niagara Falls In a statement issued today (July 3), Diodati said the meeting gave both leaders a chance to talk openly about how the recent comments were received. &#8220;Our intentions to gain support for families and for the community were good, but comments can be misinterpreted,&#8221; he said.... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F07%2F03%2Fniagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Niagara Falls mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Niagara Falls mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com NIAGARA FALLS \u2014 Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati has apologized after comments made about Kashechewan evacuees were widely criticized by First Nations leaders in Northern Ontario. Earlier this week, Diodati met with Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley to talk about the June 23 presentation on the city&#8217;s Unhoused and Vulnerable Populations Action Plan, during which it was said people assume First Nations evacuees are homeless. SEE: First Nations leaders reject \u2018homeless\u2019 label for Kashechewan evacuees in Niagara Falls In a statement issued today (July 3), Diodati said the meeting gave both leaders a chance to talk openly about how the recent comments were received. &#8220;Our intentions to gain support for families and for the community were good, but comments can be misinterpreted,&#8221; he said.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/03\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T16:34:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T16:36:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Niagara Falls mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T16:34:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T16:36:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":566,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/03\\\/niagara-falls-mayor-apologizes-for-comments-about-kashechewan-evacuees\\\/\",\"name\":\"Niagara Falls mayor apologizes for comments about Kashechewan evacuees - 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Earlier this week, Diodati met with Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley to talk about the June 23 presentation on the city&#8217;s Unhoused and Vulnerable Populations Action Plan, during which it was said people assume First Nations evacuees are homeless. 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