Thank you. Meegwetch. Good evening.
[Witness speaks in Ojibwa]
I am here tonight to speak to you about the dire situation in first nations communities related to housing and infrastructure.
In Manitoba we have 64 first nations, and 31 of them are remote or isolated. They rely on winter roads for access, for supplies, but with climate change these are lasting for less time. They are often unreliable and unpredictable.
There are substandard and deplorable housing conditions in first nations communities. Recent environmental disasters affecting first nations communities, such as flooding, especially the flood of 2011, and forest fires, have just made this worse in Manitoba. Two first nations have been forced out of their communities due to floods, and are facing great hardships in temporary housing or hotels in Winnipeg and other urban centres. They have been there for over four years now. Many of them are passing on, are dying.
We are facing a housing crisis in our communities. The government knows this. A recent report identified that between 2010 and 2034, there will be a housing shortfall of 130,197 homes, that an additional 11,855 homes will be required to replace existing ones that are inadequate, and that at least 10,000 will need major repairs.