Governments must come to the aid of Attawapiskat

The Daily Press:

The majority of the time, we are proud to be Canadian. Worldwide, we are known as a caring, generous nation. We enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, and generally take care of our friends and neighbours who are experiencing troubled times.

But the situation that is unfolding in Attawapiskat brings shame to our great country.

Recently, the community declared a state of emergency over its deplorable housing conditions. A recent trip to the remote Northern community by Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus and MPP Gilles Bisson showed just how dire the situation has become.

Angus saw people living in uninsulated tents, wood sheds and homes infested with black mould. Many of the homes he and Bisson visited lacked plumbing, forcing people to use buckets. Where there was plumbing, the water is so corrosive it's rotting the pipes. More than 90 people live in a series of work trailers donated to the community by De Beers two years ago, in response to a sewage overflow that rendered many homes unliveable. These temporary homes have become permanent homeless shelters.

A number of the community's Elders — the most respected people within the First Nation — are living in storage sheds.

With harsh winter weather conditions poised to close in on the Far North, there are hundreds of homeless people in Attawapiskat.

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