By Chris Jaster
People on the Nekaneet First Nation are frustrated and upset they haven’t received help to fix their homes after a flood hit the reserve on June 18.
Fifteen houses received flood damage — including basements and crawl spaces full of water — and residents are upset because nobody told them where to go to get help.
“Right away I called the Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) and informed them of the calls I was getting regarding the flood,” said Chief Alice Pahtayken. “They told me the ministry handles all the disasters. I don’t know what ministry. They didn’t specify anything for me.”
With everything going on, Pahtayken put Lori Davis in charge of co-ordinating the community’s flood relief. Davis managed to get in contact with the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, which operates the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP), but she had a hard time finding straight answers there too.
“When I phoned to PDAP to talk to them, they had to shuffle me around to a number of different areas before they could finally find somebody who could answer my question, which was ‘Whose jurisdiction are we? Whose responsibility is it to come out here and do something for the reserve?’” she said.
Davis claims she finally was put in contact with the right person, and a representative came to the First Nation to distribute PDAP application forms three weeks after the flood.
INAC, PDAP and band council representatives met in person on July 30, where the first five PDAP claims were filed from the Nekaneet First Nation.
Tom Young, executive director of protection and emergency services for the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, said the ministry has always been aware of Nekaneet’s flood problems and has been in contact with the council for numerous weeks.
“When the flooding first occurred, some of our staff were out there in the rural areas and in the community of Maple Creek,” he said. “We were aware of Nekaneet as well. I can’t tell you what the discussion was, but our presence was known by people in the area.”
Rod Desnomie, the regional spokesperson for INAC, also claims his organization was in contact with the Nekaneet First Nation since the flood hit.
He said INAC sent a project team out to the reserve to analyze the damage to the community’s infrastructure, which it deemed a priority.
INAC set aside $300,000 to pay for repairs needed to the First Nation’s roads, main power lines, natural gas lines and water supply that were damaged by the flood.
“The team took several actions and that included engineering services were consulted to open the roads and to address washed-out culverts and apply additional gravel to the roads,” he said.
“As well, a contractor was brought in and continues to be involved in this process. Through this contractor material has been ordered to run an additional water line from the community school to several homes, which should address any current water issues.”
As of July 30, Davis said there were still seven places without water and she believes there’s a leak somewhere in the line.
Although Davis agrees the repairs are needed to the infrastructure, she, like many members of the community, is frustrated with how long it is taking to get the houses repaired.
“We’ve been over a month here,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like they want to move. Do they not know what to do? I don’t understand it. I don’t know what the problem is as far as them taking their time.
“I was out there and one lady was crying. She was devastated. She had four feet of water in her basement and there was nobody there to help.”
Representatives from Nekaneet went to Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), Trans-Canada Pipeline and the Red Cross to help them out since they didn’t feel INAC was doing enough. Those three organizations donated supplies like dehumidifiers and pumps to get water out of basements.
Friday’s meeting showed promise that communication will improve between the First Nation, INAC and the Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing. Davis, however, thinks some of the things the First Nation was asked to do is a little too much.
“The inspectors that came out, he was good for identifying the damage of the flood … but they want me to come up with a cost for what it will take to fix these houses up to the way they were,” she said. “How do you do that if they haven’t given you their inspection report? You can’t keep things flowing if you don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Young, who recommends residents fill out and submit their PDAP forms as quickly as possible, and Desnomie said their respective organizations will continue working with Nekaneet First Nation to help rebuild the community.
“We continue to be in contact with the First Nation. Our people are still going out there and we’re working together to get the First Nation back on their feet and to help rebuild that community and get those issues resolved,” said Desnomie.