GovernmenthasLongRoadAheadonAddressingFirstNationsHousing

pounded by a lack of action, and this may negativelyaffectasubstantialportionoftheIndigenous populationfordecadestocome.

During the 2015 election that brought the currentLiberalgovernmenttopower,theymadea veryclearpromisethat,by2030,theywouldclose the housing and infrastructure gap felt on Indigenouslands.It'savitalgoal,butgoalsneedto be met with reality, including appropriate funding and clear yardsticks with which to measure progress. Unfortunately, that goal is nowhere near completion if the government's own numbers are anythingtogoby,astheyaregrosslyunderfunding programsneededtoclosethatinfrastructuregap.

The Assembly of First Nations and The Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy (IFSD) at the University of Ottawa examined this very issue a year ago, pegging the required funding to address infrastructure and housing shortfalls to meet this stated goal at a total investment of $40$60billion.Sohowmuchhasbeenspentaddressingtheseshortfallssofar?Theyhaveonlyinvested $2.37 billion since 2015! Although the Federal Budgetearmarkedanadditional$4.3billionforthe next 7 years, the AFN and IFSD study indicates thatit'sameretenthofwhatisneeded.

Thisputsthegovernment'sownstatedaim of addressing these housing and infrastructure goalsbyastaggering58to141yearstoinmeeting currentneeds.TheAFNandIFSDstudyalsonotes that it will take an additional investment of $16 billiontoaddressfuturehousingandinfrastructure requirements on First Nation, Inuit, and Métis lands.Ifwecan'tevengettothepointwhereweare addressing current needs appropriately, and in a timely fashion, future generations will continue to beforcedtoliveinsubstandardhousing.

TheupcomingBudget2023needstomake FirstNations,Inuit,andMétishousingapriorityas it is vital that we address these funding shortfalls with real action. We need an Indigenous housing strategy that's more than just piecemeal, projectbased funding models and move toward strategies withlong-term,predictable,sustainablefunding.It is no longer acceptable to allow a significant numberofIndigenouspeopletoliveinsubstandard housing.

Article 21 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that “Indigenous peoples have the right, without discrimination, to the improvement of their economic and socialconditions,including,interalia,intheareas ofeducation,employment,vocationaltrainingand retraining, housing, sanitation, health and social security.” Ensuring that Indigenous peoples have access to adequate, appropriate, sanitary, affordable housing is vital to adhering to the declaration and ensuring we move away from the decades of colonialism that has placed too many in the situationtheyfindthemselvesin.

LegouvernementaunlongcheminàparcourirpourréglerlaquestiondulogementdesPremièresNations

LesPremièresNations,lesInuitsetlesMétis demeurent aux prises avec des conditions de logement déplorables. Trop de maisons sur le territoiredesPremièresnationssontdépourvuesd'un accès adéquat à l'eau potable. De nombreuses maisons ont des problèmes de moisissures qui peuvent entraîner toute une vie de problèmes de santé.Lespersonnesvivantdanslesréservesont40 fois plus de risques de contracter la tuberculose que les populations non autochtones nées au Canada, ce qui s'explique en grande partie par des logements surpeuplés et mal ventilés. Le logement des Autochtones est un problème grave auquel il faut s'attaquerimmédiatement.

Selon Statistique Canada, les populations autochtonesontconnuunecroissancede9,4%entre 2016 et 2021, soit une croissance environ deux fois plus élevée que celle des populations non autochtones. Les statistiques montrent également qu'en 2021, un sixième desAutochtones vivait dans unlogementnécessitantdesréparationsimportantes, 17 % d'entre eux vivaient dans un logement surpeuplé et un cinquième des Autochtones vivait dansunménageàfaiblerevenu.Sinousnerelevons pas rapidement le défi de garantir un nombre suffisant de logements, les problèmes continueront d'êtreaggravésparl'inaction,cequipourraitavoirdes répercussionsnégativessurunepartieimportantede lapopulationautochtonepourlesdécenniesàvenir.

Lors de l'élection de 2015 qui a porté au pouvoir l'actuel gouvernement libéral, celui-ci a fait la promesse très claire de combler, d'ici 2030, le déficitdelogementsetd'infrastructuressurlesterres autochtones.Ils'agitd'unobjectifessentiel,maisilne doitpasresterunvœupieux.Ilfautnotammentquele financement soit approprié et il doit y avoir des critèresclairsquipermettentdemesurerlesprogrès. Malheureusement,cetobjectifestloind'êtreatteintsi l'onencroitlespropreschiffresdugouvernement,qui sous-finance nettement les programmes nécessaires pourcomblercedéficitd'infrastructures.

L'Assemblée des Premières Nations et l'Institut des finances publiques et de la démocratie (IFPD)del'Universitéd'Ottawasesontpenchéssur cette question il y a un an, estimant que le financement nécessaire pour combler les lacunes en matière d'infrastructures et de logements afin d'atteindre l'objectif fixé représenterait un investissement total de 40 à 60 milliards de dollars. Combien a-t-on dépensé jusqu'à présent pour combler ces lacunes? Ils n'ont investi que 2,37 milliardsdedollarsdepuis2015!Bienquelebudget fédéral ait prévu 4,3 milliards de dollars supplémentaires pour les sept prochaines années, l'étude de l'APN et de l'IFPD indique qu'il s'agit à peinedudixièmedecequiestnécessaire.

Cela retarde l'objectif fixé par le gouvernement lui-même de régler les problèmes de logements et d'infrastructures d'un nombre d'années aussiahurissantque58à141anspourrépondreaux besoins actuels. L'étude de l'APN et de l'IFPD indique également qu'il faudra un investissement supplémentaire de 16 milliards de dollars pour répondreauxbesoinsfutursenmatièredelogements et d'infrastructures sur les terres des Premières Nations,desInuitsetdesMétis.Sinousneparvenons mêmepasàrépondreauxbesoinsactuelsdemanière appropriée et en temps opportun, les générations futures continueront d'être contraintes de vivre dans deslogementsinsalubres.

Le prochain budget de 2023 doit faire du logement des Premières Nations, des Inuits et des Métis une priorité, car il est essentiel de remédier à ces manques à gagner par des mesures concrètes. Nous avons besoin d'une stratégie de logement autochtone qui ne se limite pas à des modèles de financementaucoupparcoup,baséssurdesprojets, et qui s'oriente vers des stratégies avec un financement à long terme, prévisible et durable. Il n'estplusacceptabledelaisserunnombreimportant d'Autochtonesvivredansdeslogementsinsalubres.

L'article 21 de la Déclaration des Nations Uniessurlesdroitsdespeuplesautochtonesditceci: « Les peuples autochtones ont droit, sans discriminationd'aucunesorte,àl'améliorationdeleur situationéconomiqueetsociale,notammentdansles domainesdel'éducation,del'emploi,delaformation et de la reconversion professionnelles, du logement, de l'assainissement, de la santé et de la sécurité sociale».Ilestessentieldeveilleràcequelespeuples autochtones aient accès à un logement adéquat, approprié, salubre et abordable pour respecter la Déclaration et de nous éloigner des décennies de colonialisme qui ont placé un trop grand nombre d'entre eux dans la situation dans laquelle ils se trouvent.

Cont’dfromP.2 well north of where the majority of freezing rain fell, as snow mixed with ice pellets and freezing drizzle caused slippery roads. In the Ontario Provincial Police Eastern Region, 16 crashes occurredonHighway401alone,whichwasclosed fortwohoursjustwestofKingston.Schoolbusses were cancelled Friday morning in many regions including Lambton, Huron, Grey, London, Waterloo, Pell, Durham, Prince Edward and Hastings, Dufferin, the Kawarthas, Renfrew and Algonquin. Hydro One reported 9,500 outages fromthisevent.

February 22-23: Round Two: Freezing Rain and SnowforSouthernOntario

A major winter storm struck southern Ontarioontheeveningofthe22nd,withsnow,ice pellets, freezing rain and strong winds. Freezing drizzlefollowedthestorminnorthernareasonthe 23rd. The swath of highest ice accretion amounts due to freezing rain occurred fromWindsor-Essex County and just south of London to southern portionsoftheNiagaraPeninsula.Extensivepower outages occurred in the areas near Lake Erie and numerous trees and power lines were downed in a swath from Windsor and Essex County though Elgin and Norfolk. Hydro One restored power to over100,000customersandlocalutilitiesrestored power to an additional 25,000 customers in the

Windsor area. Highway 3 was closed near St. Thomas due to downed trees and power lines. A longdurationperiodoficepelletswasobservedfor areas from Huron-Perth and northern parts of Middlesex County to Kitchener-Waterloo and Hamilton,creatinghazardoustravelconditions. Meanwhile, heavy snow, mixed at times with ice pellets, created horrendous travel conditionsfromthewesternandnorthernGTAand eastward to the Kingston area. Snowfall and ice pelletamountsof15to20cmwerereportedinthose areas, with more than 200 collisions reported on GTAhighways.

Thiswasthelargestsingle-daysnowfallfor Toronto PearsonAirport this winter. Schools were closed in Windsor and Essex County, Niagara, Halton, London, Hamilton, and Waterloo on the 23rd and school busses were cancelled in most other affected areas including Toronto and surroundingregions.

February 27-28: Round Three: Another Wintry MixforSouthernOntario

A low pressure system brought another round of mixed precipitation including rain, freezingrain,icepelletsandsnowtotheprovince. Thunder Bay, Wiarton, Brussels, Kitchener, Hamilton, Burlington, Trenton, Kingston and Ottawa each received between 10 and 15 cm of snowfall. Numerous collisions occurred across southern Ontario highways, with public transit experiencing significantdelays.Icepelletsanda few millimetres of ice accretion from freezing rain were reported overtheGolden Horseshoe, southwestern and central Ontario. Wind gusts of 76 km/hand80km/hwerereportedin

Chatham and Toronto Island, respectively. Pelee Island, Windsor, Belle River, Tecumseh and Amherstburgeachreceivedbetween31and39mm ofprecipitation,whichwaspredominatelyrainfall. Onthe28th,therewereschoolbuscancelationsin Waterloo,Peel,Durham,Sudbury,Grey-Bruceand manyothersineasternOntario.Someschoolswere closed in Huron, as well. Power outages were reportedinVaughnandChatham.

IceConditionsintheGreatLakes

ThecombinedGreatLakesicecoverageon February1st,2023was13.0%,almostathirdofthe climatological average of 33.0% for the start of February. Above normal temperatures across the GreatLakesfortheentiremonthdidnotallowiceto form at the climatological pace, resulting in lower than average ice concentrations, especially in the southernGreatLakes.LakeEriestartedthemonth withabout12%icecoverage,whiletheaverageice cover for Lake Erie at the start of February is just over55%.LakeOntariowas3%icecoveredatthe startofthemonth,whileitsclimatologicalaverage is near 16%. Lake Superior started the month at 10%, and its average at the start of February is almostthreetimesthatat28%. Totalconcentration overtheGreatLakesfortheweekofFebruary12to 19thwas6.8%,whichtiesthisyearaslowestwith 1998, which had 6.8% ice covered as well. The averageicecoverageforthistimeperiodisjustover 40%. This is significant, as ice coverage on the GreatLakesisusuallyclosetoitspeakatthistime ofyear.Therefore,evenifwegetmorecoldweather laterinMarchasispossible,thetrendisforicetobe decliningatthattimeofyear.

OutlookforMarch

Near-normal temperatures are most likely forthefirsthalfofMarch.Thecurrentforecastfor MarchBreakhasbelow-normaltemperatures,with below-normal temperatures possible for the following week, as well. As usual regarding forecast precipitation anomalies, there is no clear signalforthemonth.

Lastweekssolutions

Moments In Time

On March 16, 1834, Charles Darwin, on the HMS Beagle,anchoredintheBritish-ownedFalklandIslands forthefirsttime,tocarryoutazoologicalsurvey.Atfirst unimpressed by the desolate landscape, he soon discoveredfossilsofabout400millionyearsold,mostof which are now housed in London's Natural History Museum.

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