Peguis increases pressure for help with flood-caused health, housing crises days after naming governments in $1-B lawsuit

Just days after filing a $1-billion lawsuit over years of catastrophic flooding, Peguis First Nation Chief Stan Bird turned up the heat Tuesday over the health and housing crises making life unlivable on Manitoba’s largest reserve.

Bird said he was declaring a “state of emergency” to draw attention to the long-term suffering brought about by repeated destructive and disruptive flooding in the Interlake community located about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg on the Fisher River.

Bird’s declaration doesn’t automatically trigger additional federal or provincial funding or resources, or provide any additional powers under federal or provincial law.

“These floods have not only damaged our physical environment, but have deeply penetrated the mental health and social fabric of our community,” he told a news conference Tuesday.

“The scars left by these waters are not visible only on buildings alone, but are evident in the eyes and hearts of our people.”

Bird asked Ottawa and Manitoba for additional health and housing supports, while repeating a call for permanent flood protection.

Major floods, including a record disaster in 2022, have displaced hundreds of residents, caused significant damage to homes and disrupted children’s education.

About 4,000 of the community’s 11,700 registered members live on reserve land, which Peguis was forced to move to in 1907, after an illegal surrender of rich farmland.

Last week, Peguis filed a lawsuit against federal Attorney General Arif Virani, the Manitoba government and the rural municipalities of Bifrost-Riverton and Fisher.

The RMs are located upstream from Peguis, which is seeking $1 billion in damages.

“The lawsuit is one part of what we’re trying to do here,” said Bird. “The state of emergency is to draw attention to the living conditions of our people and the fact that we’ve been pushed aside.”

A separate class-action lawsuit — involving band members — was also filed in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench last week. It is seeking more than $250 million in damages.

Three representative plaintiffs claim they or family members have suffered physically, mentally or financially, after being forced to flee structurally unsound or mould-contaminated homes.

The plaintiffs claim some deaths by illness, addiction or suicide were linked to past floods.

Last fall, Ottawa signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize long-term flood protection and recovery for Peguis. Bird said there has been no progress.

The First Nation’s lawsuit is seeking an injunction requiring Canada to immediately build or provide immediate funds for the community to build flood protection.

It is seeking compensation for all financial losses incurred in 2022 and expenditures for flood protection and repairs.

Peguis claims Ottawa and Manitoba breached treaty or other obligations by failing to protect reserve lands from disasters. The governments supported land-clearing and drainage work in the RMs that led to flooding, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges the defendant RMs “approved and permitted” or failed to prevent the development of the drained wetlands to improve agricultural land, while exposing Peguis to flooding.

Bird said Peguis hasn’t been afforded the same protections as communities on the Red or Assiniboine rivers, despite similar flood risks.

Peguis said about 550 residents are still displaced after the Fisher River spilled its banks in the spring of 2022. An additional 235 members have been displaced since floods in 2014 and 2017.

Bird said some families had no choice but to return to condemned homes, because they had nowhere else to live.

The estimated cost of repairing, replacing or moving about 500 homes that flooded in 2022 is more than $275 million, according to the First Nation.

It said the costs of repairing infrastructure and building permanent flood protection are still being assessed.

Peguis said water peaks have risen by about 30 per cent since forested land was converted to farmland and wetlands were drained between 1966 and 2021.

The community now averages one flood every two years, the lawsuit said.

The allegations in the lawsuits have not been proven in court. The defendants have not filed statements of defence.

Premier Wab Kinew and Bifrost-Riverton Reeve Brian Johnson have said they cannot comment on active court proceedings. Fisher Reeve Shannon Pyziak said the matters were referred to the RM’s insurer.

Ian Bushie, Manitoba’s minister of municipal and northern relations, said the government will work with Peguis and Ottawa to find solutions for flood protection and mental-health needs.

He said the government will contact Bird in the near future to continue discussions.

Indigenous Services Canada said it continues to support Peguis.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca