The Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs calls for government action to protect First Nations affected by extreme weather in the province.
Sixteen Manitoba First Nations have required flood assistance this spring, including Peguis, Roseau River, Sagkeeng, Pauingassi, Long Plain, Ebb and Flow, Pine Creek, Sapotaweyak Cree Nation, Sandy Bay and Rolling River, according to Indigenous Services Canada.
“This year, First Nations citizens are being evacuated at an alarming rate due to above-average rainfall and extremely cold temperatures,” said Acting Grand Chief of the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs Cornell McLean of the First Lake Manitoba Nation.
“We continue to urge the government to engage with First Nations to protect our nations, lands and territories so that we are not in a perpetual state of crisis.”
This is not the first or last spring that First Nations will face extreme weather, he said.
The biggest challenge of the ongoing flooding has been the displacement of First Nations members from their homes and communities. Many have been forced to move to Winnipeg or Brandon for an undetermined amount of time until they can return home safely.
“Living in a big city, everything you do costs money. There’s so much money they have with the cost of food, the cost of gas, especially when they’re swarmed in a small room with several family members,” McLean said.
Some families return to their homes to find them moldy and uninhabitable.
As extreme weather intensifies, McLean said he believes climate change will have lasting effects on First Nations.
Speaking of what he has seen in the Interlake region, McLean said that when it comes to natural disasters, First Nations have faced floods, tornadoes, ice storms, fires and other crises.
He said the province must provide flood mitigation and recovery infrastructure. This includes allowing First Nations to access funds offered to municipalities for road reconstruction, rehabilitation and conservation projects. This $15 million in provincial funding is distributed among Manitoba’s 137 municipalities on a per capita basis.
In a statement to The Sun, a provincial spokesperson said the First Nations are under the control of the federal government through Indian Services Canada, but plans to work with First Nations and federal partners on long-term infrastructure solutions in First Nations to better address possible future flooding.
Indigenous Services Canada previously invested $80 million to protect Manitoba First Nations from flooding and recently renewed a one-year agreement with the Canadian Red Cross to support Manitoba First Nations in managing flood responses and evacuations .
Rolling River First Nation has experienced more severe flooding this spring than in recent years, Chief Wilfred McKay said.
“The water was higher. The river was pushing an inch inside our bridges,” McKay said.
There are three bridges in the community that are in daily use, all of which were affected by rising waters in the area. School buses and tanker trucks were rerouted during extreme weather as it was deemed unsafe to cross the bridges when the waters were high.
Some basements were also flooded.
Rolling River had declared a state of emergency, which is now over, but the community is concerned about the viability of the three bridges now that the flooding has receded, he said. He wants the bridges, which are made of wood, to be made of steel.
“We want our bridges to get to a level where the water doesn’t hit the bridge and possibly wash it away,” McKay said, adding that roads near the bridges also need improvement.
The most essential bridge to replace is the central bridge, the oldest in the community, and the chief and council want to see the infrastructure improvements take place over the summer. One of the structure’s beams snapped in half and requires replacement, he said.
“That’s what we want as the head and council of Rolling River. We want steel bridges,” McKay said. “The useful life of a wooden bridge is 50 years and ours are there.”
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Reference-www.brandonsun.com