First Nations people rally for housing as class action suit heard in Winnipeg
About 100 people rallied downtown as a class action lawsuit that accuses the federal government of failing to address the housing crisis on First Nations was front and centre in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday.
'Some of the houses are deplorable, they're not livable, and a lot of our people, they have no choice but to live there,' said St. Theresa Point First Nation Chief Raymond Flett outside the Anishininew Okimawin building on Broadway.
St. Theresa Point First Nation in Manitoba and Sandy Lake First Nation in northwest Ontario filed the suit in 2023. More than 100 First Nations have signed on. The case is being heard this week in federal court. The suit seeks $5 billion in damages.
ALEX LAMBERT / FREE PRESS
Rally participant Chloe Kakepetum (left) hugs Myrna Mawakeesic, who says she developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease because of the constant flooding her house gets every spring in Sandy Lake, Ont. The rally, in support of a lawsuit against the federal government, was at Anishininew Okimawin on Broadway.
Flett said Ottawa has failed to provide adequate housing on First Nations.
'A house, even though it's not that old, but the material used to build that house is cheap material — they don't last,' said Flett. 'Most of the houses only have two or three bedrooms… that is not right for us, a lot of families they have four adults, five children living in a house.'
He said its hard for residents to maintain houses in small communities because of the lack of resources.
'You have a broken door and want to fix it? We can't just go to the store and buy it,' Flett said. 'You have to fly it in, and that's extra, a lot of extra money that we don't have.'
Former St. Theresa Point chief Elvin Flett, and Toronto-based firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP filed a statement of claim in June 2023 that alleged Canada 'deliberately underfunded housing on reserves,' while simultaneously isolating First Nations by imposing restrictions on their ability to provide housing for themselves.
'They're the ones that put us in there in the first place, they have to honour that,' said Raymond Flett.
The chief wants to see an equal partnership with the Canadian government to improve housing and development. Flett said he is hopeful it will happen.
The statement of claim said of the 646 houses in St. Theresa Point, 25 per cent should be condemned due to severe decay and rotting. It also said more than half of the houses in Sandy Lake require major repairs.
One woman from Sandy Lake said she developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease because of the poor condition her house is in. She said she has had trouble breathing for years because her house floods every spring.
'We want our kids to have better housing than what we have right now,' said Myrna Mawakeesic, 57, who was also part of the rally.
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Another rallygoer said she wanted to help make a difference.
'Monkey see monkey do, when you see someone fighting for something that they like, then you'll get inspired by something you like,' said 18-year-old Kariya Kakepetum, who is also from Sandy Lake. 'What I love is my community.'
Canada argued in its 2024 statement of defence the country 'does not owe any legal obligations or duties to build and maintain houses on-reserve. The claim should be dismissed.'
St. Theresa Point, 465 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, is one of four First Nations that make up the Island Lake region in northeastern Manitoba. The community of 5,200 people is accessible by plane or ice road for six weeks out of the year.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
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