The bill for this year's record flooding in Manitoba has already cost federal taxpayers millions -- and that will only go up.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada says the tab for hotels and expenses for flood evacuees already sits at $23 million.
About 2,100 people from eight Manitoba First Nations still haven't been able to return home because of flooding.
Half are from the Lake St. Martin First Nation near Lake Manitoba -- a reserve Ottawa says will have to be moved permanently to higher ground.
Jeff Solmundson with Aboriginal Affairs says the evacuation costs are unprecedented, just like this year's flooding.
Manitoba's aboriginal affairs minister says the money could have been better spent putting people into temporary housing rather than in Winnipeg hotels.
