On March 1st of last year, BMO Financial Group was working with Inuit Tapiriit kanatami to ensure that personal protective equipment was available to communities across Inuit Nunangat that needed it most. More than 113,9000 masks and 563,000 wipes and 438 gallons of sanitizer was delivered to help protect Inuit during the pandemic in Nunavut, Nunavik, Inuvialuit region and Nunatsiavut.
ITk was pleased to make connections between Inuit regions and corporate partners such as BMO that had the means to help our communities, said Natan Obed, President of ITk.
Inuit are especially vulnerable to severe impacts from COVID-19 of long standing iniquities affecting among other things, the ability of many Inuit to access clean water and adequate housing for isolating if the virus is suspected or confirmed.
Obed said we all have a role in addressing these gaps, and I am grateful to the team of BMO for the contribution of personal protective equipment for Inuit regions.