It’s been even more difficult for residents of an isolated First Nation to access clean water, food and supplies after their only ferry broke down nearly two weeks ago.
Shoal Lake 40 First Nation along the Manitoba-Ontario border has been under a boil-water advisory for 19 years and was cut off from the mainland a century ago. The ferry is currently the only form of transportation between the reserve and the mainland in the summer months.
A new engine is on the way, but the parts are not expected to arrive until sometime next week. In the meantime, people are relying on small, private boats to taxi them on and off the island.
The community’s chief says it’s frustrating and a huge challenge to get people the goods and services they need.
The ferry has broken down in the past and effectively stranded residents. In 2015, the reserve declared a state of emergency after the vessel failed inspection.
The broken ferry further isolates Shoal Lake, which became an island in 1917 after a nearby channel was severed in order to bring drinking water to Winnipeg. In 1997, Shoal Lake was put under boil water advisory when cryptosporidium was detected in the lake. Since then, residents have to travel by boat in the summer or take a treacherous ice road in the winter to get clean water. The journey becomes precarious as the seasons change, and at least nine people have slipped through winter ice and died in the last 16 years.
Last December, all three levels of government pledged $30 million to fund an all-weather road that would connect residents to the mainland year-round. The road has not been built yet.
With files from the Canadian Press and a report from CTV Winnipeg
