WINNIPEG -- Lake St. Martin residents have been out of their homes since a flood devastated the community in 2011. While some have returned to newly constructed houses, 991 people are still waiting for a place to live, 400 of them children.
Where they will wait has now become very uncertain. CTV News has learned the federal government is cutting them off.
Ottawa has sent letters to evacuees telling them rental expenses and evacuee benefits will end on Dec. 31, 2019. "A lot of people got those letters to go home," said evacuee Rose Forbes. "And we have no house to go home to."
Lake St. Martin Chief Adrian Sinclair says the recent storm, and other factors have delayed the completion of houses on the First Nation.
He says the homes won't be complete until the end of March -- three months after the federal government's cut-off date.
"They're not living up to the old agreements," said Sinclair. "But we have to follow their agreements or it's their way or the highway. And that's not right to the community members that are going to be left here."
In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada writes:
"Letters are going out to heads of households for these band members to inform them that all the homes in the rebuilt community will be ready by December 31, 2019. With the evacuation ending, it’s expected evacuee benefits will end December 31, 2019.
Regarding a housing waiting list, Chief and Council are responsible for assigning band housing and it would be best to contact them directly."
Chief Sinclair says he will go to Ottawa to ask the federal government for more time. But for now, time for evacuees like Rose Forbes is rapidly running out.
