Bear Paw News Wire, July 1 5, 2013

Author:BearPaw Legal Education & Resource Centre (BLERC)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Aboriginal, First Nations, Indigenous, Native

A Lake St. Martin resident steps on sandbags on the flooded First Nation in 2012. Researchers say the reserve's new site is just as prone to flooding as its old one.

University of Manitoba academics warn a new relocation site for First Nations flood evacuees is just as prone to flooding as the reserve that was submerged in the flood of 2011.

Natural Resources Institute associate professor Shirley Thompson and research associate Myrle Ballard say Lake St. Martin evacuees are about to be relocated on land they'd lose to the next major flood.

First choice, worst choice

University of Manitoba academics used agricultural soil surveys to examine three sites proposed for the relocation of the Interlake Lake St. Martin First Nation. They concluded the site chosen for relocation, called the Halaburda site, is flood-prone and the worst of three locations considered for the new reserve lands. Here's what they found:

• Halaburda site: Next to the existing flooded out reserve is 830 feet (253 metres) above sea level. The soil is peat, flooded in the past and prone to flooding. Agricultural capability shows excessive moisture. Property is 388 hectares. Homes promised next year. Risk for flooding is high, with $250-million provincial projects to build flood-fighting channels. Access is by Provincial Road 513, off Highway 6.

• Karen Price site: 65 km south of Lake St. Martin, 863 feet (263 metres) above sea level. Soil is sandy, good for drainage. Land is suitable for agriculture. Moderate to low flood risk. No plans for homes. Owned by LSM band. Highway 6 access, 55 hectares.

. Grahamdale site: 75 km south of Lake St. Martin 920 feet (283 metres) above sea level. Sandy, good drainage, suitable for residential development. High ground but limited moisture for agriculture. Low flood risk. Private land, previously on the market. Access is via a dirt road five kilometres off Highway 6. Road is prone to flooding. Considered remote. 259 hectares.

After nearly two years of land deals that fell through at the last minute, representatives for the federal and the provincial governments and Lake St. Martin announced in May they had a new place to live.

The new site, a combination of provincial Crown land and land purchased from two farming families, sits next to the existing reserve but on slightly higher ground. Both levels of government dismissed the academics' misgivings and First Nations leaders could not be reached for comment.

Residents of Lake St. Martin were forced from their homes in May 2011 and have been unable to go home. Chronic flooding over several years left most homes uninhabitable and the ground saturated. Ottawa has spent more than $70 million housing and feeding evacuees from Lake St. Martin and five other First Nations since the 2011 flood. About 1,074 are from Lake St. Martin.

The two academics have stepped forward with the following misgivings:

The ground is higher, yes, they said, but not by much. Provincial agricultural soil surveys show the land is poorly drained and peaty. With construction of the province's two $250-million flood-fighting channels in the area, the academics believe ground-saturation levels will rise and with it the risk of overland flooding.

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