[Witness spoke in Ojibwa as follows:]
Ahaw boozhoo Makateginibik Indizhinikaaz Makwa Doodem.
[Ojibwa text translated as follows:]
Hello. My name is Black Snake. My clan is Black Bear.
[English]
My name is Debbie Lipscombe. I am from the bear clan and my home community is Wazhashk Onigam, Rat Portage.
I'd like to acknowledge the members of the committee and other dignitaries here today. I appreciate the invitation to be here to speak to the importance and significance of the federal government and Anishinabe nation working together as treaty partners in Treaty No. 3 emergency management.
This parliamentary committee hearing is incredibly timely today. Across Treaty No. 3 territory, we are faced with historically high water levels that are only expected to continue to rise over the next few weeks. Currently, Grassy Narrows First Nation has been evacuated to Thunder Bay, and many other communities are partially evacuated and sheltering in alternative locations. Many Treaty No. 3 communities are also experiencing continued erosion, loss of land and infrastructure loss, such as our water treatment plant in Wabauskang. Several communities are likely to lose houses along the shoreline and even suffer intense damage to critical band infrastructure. The destruction of these homes comes on the heels of the current housing crisis.
In order to work proactively, Treaty No. 3 is currently undertaking GIS mapping of emergency areas and resources, and taking on flood vulnerability studies to inform future planning and water regulation. Evacuations of communities and people can be incredibly difficult for a community, and we are now operating in the second year of large evacuations. We had fires last year, and this year we're facing floods.
It's important to note that Treaty No. 3 territory extends over both Ontario and Manitoba. Treaty No. 3 has worked with our relatives in Treaty No. 9, Treaty No. 1 and Treaty No. 5 to put political protocols in place to support each other in evacuation scenarios. During evacuations, families and communities oftentimes want to go west, as opposed to east, in order to be with family, friends and other relations. For us, sometimes, there's a language barrier when our communities are evacuated to the east, as opposed to the west.
This can be difficult to resource due to federal and provincial regulations in border crossing and resourcing. Even as we work together through funding and emergency management, Treaty No. 3 still needs further expertise, infrastructure and resources to plan for future events. Flooding continues to demonstrate the importance that, as treaty partners, the Anishinabe nation and Treaty No. 3 are equal partners in decision-making in water regulation management.
We are not merely an interest group that can continue to take the brunt of the negative impacts of these conditions, which impede our inherent and treaty rights. It is through the harmonization of our traditional laws and knowledge with western science that we can continue to build upon the relationship, as outlined in the treaty.
I thank each of you for being here and I appreciate my time to share experiences with you today.
Meegwetch.