Lake St. Martin First Nation residents still waiting to go home after nine years

File image of Lake St. Martin, 2011.

Winnipeg — Some residents of Lake St. Martin have been waiting nine years to return home, since a flood destroyed the land in 2011.

Now the First Nation says some residents are worried they won't have a home to which they can return.

"My community has been fractured for nine years and the rebuilding of the community is far from complete," Lake St. Martin Chief Adrian Sinclair said in a news release. "My people want to come home to a safe, healthy community to resume their traditional way of living, but there are no jobs, no healthcare facilities, no social services."

The First Nation also fears when the homes under construction are completed in March of 2020, there will still be 314 families with no home to return to on reserve.

Sinclair called on the federal and provincial governments to meet with the First Nation to develop a plan to finalize the rebuilding of the Lake St. Martin community.

In a written statement to CTV News, a spokesperson from Indigenous Services Canada said 475 residents have returned to the rebuilt community as of Dec. 11, 2019, adding 280 homes are ready to be moved into.

By the end of March 2020, the spokesperson said the community will have 350 housing units in total.

The government said so far more than $199 million has been spent on utilities including road, water and sewage, a K-12 school, a new public works garage and fire hall. There is also a temporary band office which has space for health programming, thought the spokesperson said discussions about a longer-term facility are ongoing.

But the First Nation community says even with the homes built so far, there will still be 314 families who will not have housing.

"Canada and Manitoba are well aware that the First Nation evacuee families have grown since 2011 flood," the First Nation release said. "There is a significantly greater population, and more new young families."

The First Nation is also calling for a permanent band office, healthcare facility and band constable police station, as well as emergency services infrastructure, youth recreational spaces and religious and cultural facilities.

The release said the restoration of the community graveyard has yet to be completed.

The First Nation also said some families are worried they may lose their support benefits from the federal government, to which the Indigenous Services spokesperson replied, "The Government of Canada will not send any evacuee home or remove benefits while their housing unit is still under construction."

The spokesperson said it would be inappropriate to comment further on the issue as legal action launched by the First Nation remains before the court.