Sandy Bay First Nation struggles with dilapidated homes as temperatures plummet

CTV National News: Struggle for warmth Residents of the Sandy Bay First Nation struggle to keep warm throughout the coldest months of the year. CTV's Jill Macyshon reports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau renewed his promise to address the urgent needs of Canada’s indigenous communities on Thursday, saying Ottawa is “progressing” on 94 recommendations brought forward by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission one year ago.

His words are cold comfort to members of the Manitoba’s Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, where minus 30 degree temperatures are freezing families inside badly dilapidated homes without proper heat.

The federal government has promised $554.3 million over the next two years to address the housing crisis on Canada’s first nations, with $270 million set to be rolled out this fiscal year to bankroll 3,174 housing units.

Only four are currently being built in Sandy Bay. Those won’t be ready for months. Chief Lance Roulette has said there are 477 people in need of new homes -- an undertaking he estimates would cost at least $80 million.

“I’m just asking for anything,” Clint McIvor told CTV News. “From blankets to clothing, anything. Pretty much anything. These people have nothing.”

McIvor documented the state of a crumbling, rat-infested, three-bedroom trailer in a video posted to YouTube in October. The footage shows backed up sewage, walls riddled with holes, a profusion of mould, and a severely rotting foundation supporting the home were 10 people lived.

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“The smell of sewage is so bad -- it’s horrible,” McIvor says in the video. “I don’t know how anybody can live like this… These people are suffering. There’s no heat. Sewage is backed up. Rats are crawling in, scratching at the kids at night.”

An Ontario construction firm stepped in to replace the home, but most in the community have not been so lucky. Most families rely on social assistance. They have no money to replace broken doors and windows.

Many have had to get creative in order to stay warm with the arrival of the fierce Manitoba winter. Blankets shore up gaps in doors and walls to keep out the cold. Stoves double as heaters. One home has no choice but to leave a window open in the bitter cold to let the putrid stench of raw sewage from a broken pipe escape.

“It gets pretty cold, mostly at night. Because there is no heat,” said resident Perry Desjarlais.

The housing shortage in Sandy Bay has forced residents to make use of every inch of warm, liveable space. Fourteen people share one of the houses. It doesn’t have a working toilet.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennet confirms 10 more new homes have been promised to Sandy Bay, without detailing when they would arrive.

The bitter cold has residents desperately seeking anything they can use to keep warm. Trish Houle has repeatedly asked the band council for help, but nothing has been done.

“I’ve asked multiple times, but they just old me no supplies or they wouldn’t send anyone at all,” she said.

With a report from CTV’s Manitoba Bureau Chief Jill Macyshon