When winter set in with a number of families housed in tents and sheds with no plumbing or furnaces, the band council in the small Northern community of Attawapiskat made a desperation move of declaring an emergency – not for the first time.
In 2009, emergencies were declared twice, the first time when a number of people became sick from fumes after the demolition of the school, and the second when several families had to be evacuated when wastewater backed up.
This time the emergency made national and international headlines – people in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, shown living in appalling conditions made worse by sub-zero temperatures.
Those of us who live in Canada's south – and despite the dreaded “lake effect” snow, our climate is not extreme compared to James Bay – were horrified at the thought of families spending the winter in tents and unheated sheds with no running water, using a bucket for a toilet, and a wood stove for heat.
The response to the plight of the people of Attawapiskat has been mixed. The Red Cross went in with Arctic sleeping bags. A number of organizations and communities have taken up collections for the people. Questions are being asked about how people are allowed to live like that in Canada, as well they should be.
At the same time, it has not gone unnoticed how many of those substandard homes have satellite dishes. There may not be indoor plumbing, but there is invariably a large-screen television. And the community may not have enough houses, but there is a hockey arena. Comments on the televisions and arena have been somewhat uncharitable in a guarded sort of way.
There was nothing guarded about the federal government's initial response to the emergency. They immediately sent in the accountants. The books show a lot of money has been poured into the area by the federal government, raising questions about use and abuse of funds.
To one who is not an expert in dealing with this sort of emergency, and who has never been to Attawapiskat or any similar community in the James Bay area, this seems roughly akin to calling the fire department to deal with flames shooting out the roof, only to have the responders start sniffing around for the cause of the blaze instead of putting out the fire. Surely the appropriate thing to do is deal with the immediate threat to life and limb, then track down the cause.
In the case of Attawapiskat, the humane response would be to get the people safely into decent quarters, then look at the books.
As the saying goes, when you are up to your ears (or other parts of your anatomy) in alligators, it is difficult to remember your initial objective was to drain the swamp. It is a matter of setting appropriate priorities. During the initial phase of any emergency, the focus has to be on public safety and health. Even those of us who have done a bit winter camping would prefer not to imagine spending a long, sub-Arctic winter in an unheated shed with no bathroom. Make no mistake, this is a health emergency. Overcrowding combined with poor sanitation provides ideal conditions for an epidemic.
There comes a point when long-term planning must come into play, to prevent the community from wobbling from emergency to emergency. Perhaps the answer lies in education, in better financial management, in better oversight of the community's finances, or even rewriting the sadly outdated Indian Act – or all of the above. Perhaps it is time to look at the viability of communities like Attawapiskat in our far north, accessible only by air, and perpetually troubled by the need for safe drinking water and modern amenities like indoor plumbing.
But right now the need is for housing. Trailers are being brought in to replace the tents and sheds – it is about time.
- The Wingham Advance Times