Ottawa promises to clean up water, offers to move aboriginal community

[Blackbear]

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FROM: CBC NEWS ONLINE
_http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/27/kashechewan-scott051027.ht
ml_
(http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...ott051027.html)

Ottawa promises to clean up water, offers to move aboriginal community
Last Updated Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:54:53 EDT
_CBC News_ (http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html)

Ottawa has offered to relocate the entire aboriginal community of Kashechewan
in northern Ontario to higher ground.
* INDEPTH: _Boil-water advisories_
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/wa...radvisory.html)

[Blackbear]

Andy Scott
The offer was made during a meeting between native leaders and Indian Affairs
Minister Andy Scott on Thursday night.

There has been no formal reaction yet from the leaders of the Cree reserve
ion the shores of James Bay that has been at the centre of a political storm
for the past week because of a contaminated water crisis.
* INDEPTH: _Aboriginal Canadians_
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/aboriginals/)
Prime Minister Paul Martin has promised to clean up the E. coli contaminated
water. "We are very concerned about this totally unacceptable situation,"
Martin told the House of Commons.
The Opposition demanded repeatedly during question period Scott resign.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper called Scott "incompetent."
Harper criticized Scott for visiting the community in August and refusing to
drink the water, and then doing nothing for eight weeks after his return to
Ottawa.
Calgary Conservative Jim Prentice backed Harper, saying: "While the people of
Kashechewan were being poisoned by E.coli and hepatitis, this minister
slept."
Martin defended his cabinet minister, accusing the Opposition of being
insincere.
"We've had cabinet meetings with aboriginal leaders, we've had round tables
... day after day, this Opposition has said nothing for aboriginal Canadians,
day after day, they have voted against every single proposition we've had for
aboriginal Canadians."
Earlier in the day, Scott shouted down questions by reporters over whether he
will resign after emerging from a cabinet meeting. Dozens of residents on
the Cree reserve have had to leave the community to get medical treatment.
The minister has been under scrutiny since the Ontario government decided to
fly dozens of people from Kashechewan to Sudbury, 650 kilometres to the
south. They are being treated for skin rashes and other medical problems
aggravated by five years of on-and-off water contamination. Another 175 people are
scheduled to be flown out Thursday night.
Scott told CBC News that he met with representatives from Kashechewan in
mid-August to discuss what should be done with the water treatment plant that
seems to be at the root of the problem.
A young protester draws attention to Kashechewan's water woes. (File Photo)
"The community said they wanted no more Band-Aid solutions," Scott said about
why he did not take immediate action to fix the problem. "They wanted to
live like the rest of Canada, and I agreed with that ...
Scott also rejected criticism of Ottawa's decision to put an intake pipe for
the water treatment plant downstream along the Albany River from the
reserve's sewage lagoon.
"The problem is the community is within tidal waters, so within the course of
the day, the tide comes up and reverses the flow," he said.
The federal government did not ignore the immediate problems at Kashechewan
while it worked on a long-term plan for the community, Scott insisted. Ottawa
sent in extra water engineers, more health officials and "thousands – I think
16,000 – 18-litre bottles [of water] a day."
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has accused the federal government of being
"missing in action" in addressing the problems at Kashechewan and other native
communities living under boil-water orders.
Scott denied that Ottawa has neglected its duties on Canada's reserves,
saying that in 2003 it initiated a $1.6-billion, five-year plan to improve water
services.
* INDEPTH: _Boil-water advisories_
(http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/wa...radvisory.html)


That kind of talk did not go over well with Phil Fontaine, leader of the
Assembly of First Nations.
. "It needs to be addressed immediately. We can't afford to wait ...,
Fontaine said in Ottawa on Thursday
"There are at least 100 First Nations communities that are in a boil-water
situation. There are at least 40 of those in Ontario."
Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday called it a "travesty." "If [the federal
government] had listened about four years ago, this would have been prevented."
In 2001, he said, Kashechewan commissioned an engineer to look at its
problem-plagued water service and other infrastructure in the community. The report
was handed to Scott on Aug. 17 – it was the community's second meeting with
the minister concerning its critical water situation.
"We did the study ourselves, with our resources," he said. "At that time and
to date, we never got anything from the government ...

[Blackbear]

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FROM: THE TORONTO STAR NEWSPAPER

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Hot dogs cost $11.19 on reserve
Low incomes, high prices are among Kashechewan's enemies

RICHARD BRENNAN
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU

KASHECHEWAN RESERVE—Daily life here revolves around a few places, but none
holds the kind of grip on residents that the Northern Store does.
It is the only game in town, the modern-day version of the Hudson Bay
trading post. But instead of fur changing hands, it's cold hard cash — and lots of
it.
A jar of Cheese Whiz costs $17.39, a box of concentrated Tide fetches
$21.89, a package of 30 diapers sells for $21.99, a 24-pack of Cottonelle, $19.39
and wieners, $11.19.
"Remember, we have to fly this stuff in," said a manager, who prefaced this
by saying he's been told not to talk to reporters.
Most people on the reserve, about 450 kilometres north of Timmins, get by on
welfare, shared 80-20 by Ottawa and the province respectively, and find it
tough to get by. Many make ends meet by sharing the wild game brought home by
the few who still hunt and carry on a traditional way of life.
"Everything in that store is so expensive," said Peter Wesley, a janitor at
the local elementary school, which is closed because of the E. coli scare.
"We spend between $300 to $400. That lasts about four to five days and we are
just buying dry goods and maybe some cheap meat like bologna.
"It's been like that since I've lived here and I've lived here all my life,"
said Wesley, who has 10 people living in his home, a house that five people
would find crowded.
In the winter the natives can get slightly cheaper food brought in on
seasonal roads from Moosonee, about 125 kilometres away.
While people don't have far to drive — it might take 15 minutes to drive
around the reserve — they face high prices for gasoline, which recently sold for
$1.85 a litre.
James and Bernice Koosees, who both work, say they find it very difficult to
make ends meet. He works at the elementary school as a teacher's assistant
and she works at the high school as a guidance counsellor.
"The prices in our store keep going up and up every month. The cost of
living in our community is too much and that's why our people are hungry. They
can't afford to eat nutritious stuff," Bernice said.
Her concern over prices easily slides into her concern for the children who
aren't getting an education because the elementary and high school are
closed.
"The children need that education. They kids are even talking about going
back into the school despite the water because they are getting behind. Some
students graduate this year and they want to finish it off. They need to
graduate," she said.
Dan Larose, a Grade 8 teacher in his second year at Kashechewan, is asked
why he chose to live in a remote area like this, where the young people appear
to have no future.
"I'm here for the kids. I saw last year the difference I was making and
that's why I came back. It's amazing to see the self-esteem rise in these kids,"
the 34-year-old Sudbury native said.
"I'm teaching them that Kash is not the end-all and be-all, that there is a
whole different world out there. ... As far as I'm concerned, I would love to
see those kids graduate from university in (a bachelor of education) program
and take over my job."
Kashechewan is supposedly a dry reserve, meaning that alcohol is not
permitted, but all it really means is that it sells for prices that would make
bootleggers in southern Ontario blush.
A mickey sells for $50 to $80, while a 26-ounce bottle of liquor goes for
more than $100. In the summertime, an ice-cold can of beer will fetch $10.
"Alcoholism is a problem for so many people," said Douglas Wesley, 43, his
broad shoulders framed by the doorway to his home.
Wesley is familiar with the disease. He's headed to Thunder Bay for his
fourth attempt to deal with his addiction. His wife Giselle, 47, has also been
away trying to kick the habit.
Over at the band office, charts and graphs cover the walls where David
Wesley, the economic development officer, is trying to make Kashechewan a better
place to live. But even for this upbeat individual, it seems like a losing
battle.
If someone opens up a takeout restaurant in his or her home it's considered
major economic development.
"Life is very poor here," he said. "There are unhealthy living standards.
There are overcrowded conditions ... the houses don't meet building code
standards. Inflation is very high. People cannot save money. We don't even have a
bank."

[chazziff]

shyt ... i currently live on one of the first nations mentioned in some of these articles .. the great and infamous (thanks to our government - but that's another issue or the start of this issue ... who knows for sure?!?) Poundmaker Cree Nation in north central saskatchewan.

and i haven't drank from the water coming from the taps since i was before i was 15 and i am now 33. we have been constantly under a boil water advisory for many reasons for many years. and have had to wash myself and my children in water that comes out of the faucet sometimes looking like tea. sometimes it smells like rotten eggs, other times like javex straight out of the jug (clorox for you american ppl). sometimes there's grass and other unnatural items in it ... things that shouldn't be coming out of your faucet.

for years i have dealt with skin conditions with myself and my children - sometimes sooo bad that my daughters couldn't stand because of the sores.

for some time before i got work and was on welfare, a whole whopping $240 for the whole month, i had to pay $15 a week ($60 a month) for bottled water and not to include the gas to go get this water. constantly having to monitor how much water you are using. but now that both me and my husband work we "splurged" and got a reverse osmosis water system for our house but i still get the water tested to "make sure."

not everyone can afford to do this on their own and i still know of ppl who drink from the faucet here and now just because they can't afford to buy the bottled water. they don't even BOIL it first - some have conditioned themselves to the water. but others no - my nephew drank from the faucet at a friends house last summer and fell gravely ill and had to be hospitalized for a week or two...this after drinking a small glass of water ...

i'm not going to hold my breath waiting for the federal/provincial/band government to do anything soon for any of the communities on the lists ... if i was after the first advisory i'd be long gone ...

[Blackbear]

Chazziff, you guys are in my prayers. I know how serious this water deal must be because I have experienced a small bit of it myself.

THANK YOU for talking about this too. I was getting kinda miffed last night because this is the second time I've posted about this and the last posting only got 6 views and this is a serious issue! This is one that more people need to be aware of in my opinion, and no one even had a word to say about it... but hey, white people at powwows has always been more important right?

[chazziff]

thanks blackbear - it pisses me off too. but hey for now there's nothing really i can do about other than what i have. it's not only native communities that have these problems with water - there's a lot of small non-native communities out there that have e. coli in their water ...

nobody talked bout this until now, maybe something will be done. i was kinda shocked when i read that a first nation in sask (yellow quill) has a state the art water system for their members. i had to go there a couple of years ago for my grand-nephew's funeral and it was POOR community (to put it nicely). i guess it kinda matters WHAT you ask for - it was probably funded by INAC or at least partly. we finally got a waterline put in last year that runs the length of the reserve. we had a sistern until then and had to have water delivered by a truck once a week.

the only ones that suffer in this situation are children. there is a high mortality rate for native infants in this country - maybe this could be one the contributing factors ....

[fancy_shawls_225]

Okay, this is relaly annoying, I just wrote a reply and I couldn't post it,so I will write it again and post it later

[Blackbear]

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FROM: CANADA.COM NEWS NETWORK - NATIONAL NEWS SECTION

_http://www.canada.com/news/national/story.html?id=aa1a7ec2-e752-4559-b9e5-cc1
9ce0f6aad_
(http://www.canada.com/news/national/...5-cc19ce0f6aad)

240 Ontario Reserve Residents Headed For Ottawa; Search On For More Shelter
Steve Erwin Canadian Press

Sunday, October 30, 2005

1 | _2_
(http://www.canada.com/news/national/...e0f6aad&page=2) | _NEXT >>_
(http://www.canada.com/news/national/...e0f6aad&page=2) A
native girl walks past moose heads on the Kashechewan native reserve in northern
Ontario, Oct. 29, 2005. (CP/Jonathan Hayward)
KASHECHEWAN FIRST NATION, Ont. (CP) - About 240 residents of this northern
Ontario reserve were told Sunday that they will be evacuated to Ottawa but
nearly 200 others were still waiting for news.
Flights to the nation's capital will begin Monday and residents will be
evacuated according to medical priority.
The 240 residents were on a waiting list of more than 400 people who wanted
to leave the reserve for medical treatment and assurances of clean drinking
water.
It's been more than two weeks since E. coli was discovered in the reserve's
water supply and chlorine to kill the bacteria has worsened skin infections
such as scabies and impetigo.
Meanwhile, the search was on for more Ontario communities who can receive
evacuees.
Municipalities such as Sudbury and Cochrane accepted many of the 500 people
who left the 1,900-resident reserve last week but they ran out of shelter.
After the evacuees reach Ottawa there will still be approximately 190 people
waiting for flights this week. Toronto has been rumoured as a likely
destination.
"There's a problem finding communities with the facilities to handle the
people from Kashechewan," said Sgt. Peter Moon of a Canadian Ranger patrol group
that is co-ordinating the evacuation of nearly half the community.
Ottawa has offered undisclosed hotels and motels - which is what's needed to
house people over a long period since it could be weeks, if not months,
before residents are allowed to return to Kashechewan, located on the southern
shores of James Bay.
"If these people are going out for a long-term evacuation, they don't want to
be in big gymnasiums," Moon said. "You've got families, you've got pregnant
mothers, you've got mothers breast-feeding children. They need a degree of
privacy and comfort."
Those still remaining in Kashechewan are relying on bottled water shipped in
by the federal government for consumption, though many residents are using
taps and faucets for bathing.
There is a more than adequate supply of bottled water and the military is
setting up a water purification unit in a Kashechewan creek that could turn
dirty water into an indefinite supply of clean drinking water.
But some residents on the waiting list to leave are getting impatient.
"This is my third day waiting now," grumbled Rachel Monias, who wants
check-ups for her three-year-old daughter and six-month-old baby boy.
Her son has a rash on his chest.
"I don't know what it is," Monias said.
Others don't want to leave, worried that abandoned homes and belongings make
easy targets for thieves.
"I don't want to leave my stuff, my valuables, behind," said Noah Wynn.
There has been quiet speculation that some are asking to get on flights for
what amounts to a free trip out of the isolated reserve. The evacuation is not
mandatory.
But Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday insists people are in urgent need of care.
At the local Sunday church service, Friday gave a sermon to just three people
in the 100-seat building. The minister was evacuated last week.
"Pray for all those evacuated. For those in Cochrane, and for those in
Sudbury. Pray for the sick and the elderly," Friday read from a pulpit at St.
Paul's Anglican Church.
It's unclear when residents can return to Kashechewan, but Friday hopes that
determination will be made soon.
"As soon as that (water treatment) plant is fixed up, we'll know," he said.
Provincial environment and health ministry officials will get a better grip
on when residents can return based on a report being filed by Jim Smith,
Ontario's chief drinking water inspector. But that report may take as long as two
weeks to prepare.
Smith and a team of water system and sewage treatment experts have been
assessing source water that goes into the plant and its effect on drinking water,
as well as any mechanical problems at the plant.
A boil-water advisory by Health Canada remains in place for Kashechewan and
dozens of other northern Ontario reserves.
"What needs to be done to lift the advisory is ensuring that the water system
can reliably provide clean water - a day, a month, a year from now," Smith
said.
There has been speculation that at least some evacuees who have left
Kashechewan have been diagnosed with gastrointestinal conditions related to E. coli.
But officials here won't confirm whether the bacteria blamed for deaths of
several Walkerton, Ont., residents several years ago has been detected.
© The Canadian Press 2005

[Blackbear]

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FROM: CBC NEWS ONLINE
_http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/30/kashechewan051030.html_
(http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...wan051030.html)
McGuinty visits Kashechewan evacuees
Last Updated Sun, 30 Oct 2005 17:39:17 EST
_CBC News_ (http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html)

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty made a surprise visit to Sudbury Sunday to
visit some of the evacuees from the Kashechewan reserve.
He spent about 45 minutes chatting with roughly 30 evacuees.
A dump truck carries boxes of bottled water into the Kashechewan native
reserve in northern Ontario Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005. (CP Photo/Jonathan Hayward)
Up to 1,000 people from the Kashechewan First Nation may be evacuated from
the remote community because of medical problems resulting from tainted water.
The federal and provincial governments share jurisdiction in the Cree
community of 1,900 on James Bay.
On Sunday, residents were waiting for the military to set up a water
purification unit.
Canadian Forces personnel arrived in Kashechewan on Saturday, but they said
clean water may not start flowing until Monday because of the time needed to
set up the equipment.
Once the unit is at full capacity, it will be able to produce 50,000 litres
of purified water a day.
Ontario has sent its Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT) to Sudbury to
help deal with the health needs of the evacuees in the city.
EMAT, a team of emergency health-care professionals, has a self-sufficient
56-bed field unit with equipment and supplies, a communications centre,
electricity and water, the government said.
About a quarter of the 1,900 residents have been airlifted to the northern
Ontario communities of Timmins, Sudbury and Cochrane because of E. coli in
their drinking water.
Another 230 residents will be flown to Ottawa on Monday.
Meanwhile, there is a waiting list of 430 people who want to leave to get
medical treatment, or just access to clean water.
* FROM OCT. 25, 2005: _Ontario to airlift 1,000 from Cree reserve_
(http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...wak051025.html)


* FROM OCT. 28, 2005: _Cheers greet news that reserve will be moved _
(http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...reaction051028.
html)
* FROM OCT. 28, 2005: _Ont. seeks places for Kashechewan evacuees_
(http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/natio...uation051028.h
tml)
Ontario's drinking water inspector, Jim Smith, has said his report on
Kashechewan's water supply will be handed over to environment ministry officials on
Monday.
Smith said his recommendations could help determine when residents can return
to the reserve, 450 kilometres north of Timmins.
Kashechewan became a national embarrassment for the federal and Ontario
governments last week as its leaders travelled to Ottawa, then Toronto, to draw
attention to the state of their water.
The province ordered an evacuation because of residents who needed treatment
for skin conditions that included scabies and impetigo, which are aggravated
by over-chlorination of the water.
The government said the use of EMAT is a first since the unit was established
in 2004.




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FROM: THE TORONTO STAR NEWSPAPER

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Reserve Evacuation Resumes


STEVE ERWIN
CANADIAN PRESS


(http://ads.thestar.com/click.ng/site...edesc=windowad) CHARLA JONES/TORONTO STAR Residents of the
Kashechewan Reserve begin boarding a plane that will evacuate them to other
locations in Ontario.



KASHECHEWAN FIRST NATION, Ont. - About 240 residents of this northern
Ontario reserve were told today they will be evacuated to Ottawa, but nearly 200
others were still waiting for news.
Flights to the nation's capital will begin Monday, and residents will be
evacuated according to medical priority.
The 240 residents were on a waiting list of more than 400 people who wanted
to leave the reserve for medical treatment and assurances of clean drinking
water.
It's been more than two weeks since E. coli was discovered in the reserve's
water supply, and chlorine to kill the bacteria has worsened skin infections
such as scabies and impetigo.
About 30 more Kashechewan residents were evacuated Sunday to nearby
reserves.
The search is still on for more Ontario communities who can receive
evacuees.
Municipalities such as Sudbury and Cochrane accepted many of the 500 people
who left the 1,900-resident reserve last week, but they ran out of shelter.
After the evacuees reach Ottawa there will still be approximately 190 people
waiting for flights this week. Toronto has been rumoured as a likely
destination.
"There's a problem finding communities with the facilities to handle the
people from Kashechewan," said Sgt. Peter Moon of a Canadian Ranger patrol group
that is co-ordinating the evacuation of nearly half the community.
Ottawa has offered undisclosed hotels and motels - which are needed to house
people over a long period since it could be weeks, if not months, before
residents are allowed to return to Kashechewan, located on the southern shores
of James Bay.
"If these people are going out for a long-term evacuation, they don't want
to be in big gymnasiums," Moon said. "You've got families, you've got pregnant
mothers, you've got mothers breast-feeding children. They need a degree of
privacy and comfort."
Those still remaining in Kashechewan are relying on bottled water shipped in
by the federal government for consumption, though many residents are using
taps and faucets for bathing.
There is an adequate supply of bottled water, and the military is setting up
a water purification unit in a Kashechewan creek that could turn dirty water
into a supply of clean drinking water.
But some residents on the waiting list to leave are getting impatient.
"This is my third day waiting now," grumbled Rachel Monias, who wants
check-ups for her 3-year-old daughter and 6-month-old son.
Her son has a rash on his chest.
"I don't know what it is," Monias said.
Others don't want to leave, worried that abandoned homes and belongings make
easy targets for thieves.
"I don't want to leave my stuff, my valuables, behind," said Noah Wynn.
There has been quiet speculation that some are asking to get on flights for
what amounts to a free trip out of the isolated reserve. The evacuation is
not mandatory.
But Kashechewan Chief Leo Friday insists people are in urgent need of care.
At the local Sunday church service, Friday gave a sermon to just three
people in the 100-seat building. The minister was evacuated last week.
"Pray for all those evacuated. For those in Cochrane, and for those in
Sudbury. Pray for the sick and the elderly," Friday read from a pulpit at St.
Paul's Anglican Church.
It's unclear when residents can return to Kashechewan, but Friday hopes that
determination will be made soon.
"As soon as that (water treatment) plant is fixed up, we'll know," he said.
Provincial environment and Health Ministry officials will get a better grip
on when residents can return based on a report being filed by Jim Smith,
Ontario's chief drinking water inspector. But that report may take as long as two
weeks to prepare.
Smith and a team of water system and sewage treatment experts have been
assessing source water that goes into the plant and its effect on drinking water,
as well as any mechanical problems at the plant.
A boil-water advisory by Health Canada remains in place for Kashechewan and
dozens of other northern Ontario reserves.
"What needs to be done to lift the advisory is ensuring that the water
system can reliably provide clean water - a day, a month, a year from now," Smith
said.
There has been speculation tha