The last of 22 modular homes have finally arrived in Attawapiskat, where a housing emergency kept some residents in tents and sheds as winter temperatures plummeted.
The intense cold and rugged terrain has made it difficult to install the homes in the remote northern Ontario community, and residents will likely have to wait until mid-March to take possession.
The severely cash-strapped community also cannot afford to furnish them. But that's where the charity True North Aid has stepped in.
The group is hoping to raise funds to make the homes livable.
"We have managed to raise sufficient donations to outfit the first eight homes, but we really need help from the public so that no one gets left out," a spokesperson told CTV News by email.
The same truck drivers who shipped all 22 modular homes are transporting the furniture for free to Moosonee, south of Attawapiskat, on the shores of Hudson Bay.
Drivers have used ice roads to reach Attawpiskat. The roads are only open for about two months of the year, and warmer temperatures during that period can make them unusable.
But the same frigid temperatures makes it difficult for crews to build foundations for the homes.
Meanwhile, a financial tug-of-war between the First Nation and the government remains unresolved.
Last fall, the federal government appointed a third-party manager to run Attawapiskat's finances. The community sought an injunction to remove the manager but it was turned down by a federal court judge.
