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Wawatay News
FEBRUARY 2, 2012
ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ
Crowded houses, shacks frame life in North Community tour highlights difficult living conditions on Ontario reserves Rick Garrick Wawatay News
As Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with First Nation leaders Jan. 24 in an awardwinning building in Ottawa, Elders in communities across northern Ontario were making do with tiny plywood, chipboard and log shacks for homes. “I live here on my own,” said Mishkeegogamang’s Tommy Spade about his 12 by 14-foot chipboard and plywood home. “I don’t mind living in this kind of shack. I used to raise my family in this kind of house and I was born like that.” The long-time community school bus driver moved into the shack to provide more space for his children and grandchildren, who are living nearby in his old house. “We’ve got two families living there,” Spade said. “When I was sleeping at night time, I couldn’t go to sleep early; my grandkids were running around and making too much noise.” Spade built the shack with about $1,100 worth of lumber supplies and insulation. “I burn about four cords a year, maybe,” Spade said, estimating the cost to heat his small home. “It isn’t very much.” A family in Kasabonika also made a similar decision to provide more living space for their children and grandchildren by building first a smaller home next to their original home, and then later an even smaller home. “They’ve been living here for quite a while now,” said
photos byRick Garrick and Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News
ABOVE: Mishkeegogamang’s Tommy Spade built his 12 by 14-foot chipboard and plywood home to provide more room for his children and grandchildren, who are living nearby in his old house. LEFT ABOVE: Eabametoong’s Rebecca Drake is planning to leave her community within the next month to find a better life for herself and her five children in Thunder Bay. She and her children have been living with her parents for seven to eight years. LEFT BELOW: Inside a house in Mishkeegogamang.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy, who translated for the two Elders during a Jan. 17-18 NAN media tour to five communities. “They built these two structures on their own efforts with no help from the band. And they use extension cords from next door for power.” Beardy pointed out there wasn’t any running water in the 12 by 16-foot home, which has some insulation in the walls but no insulation in the bare split-
log rafter and roof sheathing ceiling. “They get the water truck to haul in some drinking water for them,” Beardy said. “When they put enough wood in (the wood stove) it’s nice and warm. But you have to keep the fire going all the time.” The Elders’ grandson wishes there were better wiring and running water in his home, the first smaller home built. “We can’t use too much electronics,” Waylon McKay said. “If
we do, the power could go out.” The Crown-First Nation Gathering took place in the recently named John G. Diefenbaker Building, which was opened in August 1958 by Princess Margaret and won the Massey Medal for design in 1959. Although Harper spoke during the gathering about former prime minister Diefenbaker’s efforts to extend the right to vote to First Nation band members living on reserve in 1960,
Eabametoong’s Rebecca Drake plans to leave her reserve within the next month to find a better life for herself and her five children, aged seven and under, in Thunder Bay. “I’m hoping for a better life than what they got here,” Drake said. “I want them to finish school. I want them to be happy.” An only child, Drake and her children have been living in a small two-bedroom home with her parents for seven to eight
years. “I want to get out of here,” Drake said. “My parents are the only ones there for me. I’m a single parent — I try to do my best.” Drake is planning to go back to school and work towards becoming a Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service officer. “I’ve been wanting to do that for so long already,” Drake said. “I know it’s going to take time but it’s something I look forward to.”
sgdn “Ask the NWMO” is a question-and-answer feature that will be appearing on a regular basis in this spot. This is your opportunity to pose questions directly to NWMO staff about Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel over the long term. Communities are in the early stages of learning more about that plan, which requires that the used fuel be safely and securely contained and isolated in a deep geological repository in a suitable rock formation. Do you have questions about how used nuclear fuel is safely transported? Do you want to know more about how the storage site would be built and how it would operate? Are you unclear about environmental safeguards or the impact on the local economy? Ask! The NWMO wants you to have the facts. We look forward to hearing from you.
Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel is a long-term infrastructure project that will cost from $16 billion to $24 billion to implement. You have a right to accurate information from qualified people. The NWMO has those people, and they want to answer your questions. Ask whatever is on your mind—there is no such thing as a bad question. Space is limited, so we can only take on one or two questions in each edition. When a lot of questions are asking the same thing, we will group them together under a topic or theme. To forward questions: Email the NWMO at learnmore@nwmo.ca.
www.nwmo.ca
Background In May 2010, the NWMO published a process for identifying an informed and willing community to host a deep geological repository for storing Canada’s used nuclear fuel. The NWMO anticipates that it will take between seven and 10 years to decide on where to locate the repository and associated facilities. Learning about the project does not commit a community to anything. Learning enables the community and surrounding areas, including Aboriginal people, to understand the project and to have informed discussions. “Ask the NWMO” is an advertising feature published regularly in community newspapers to respond to readers’ questions about Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel over the long term. The NWMO welcomes your queries.
« Demandez-le à la SGDN » est un encadré publicitaire de type question-réponse qui paraîtra régulièrement à cet endroit pour vous permettre de poser vos questions directement au personnel de la SGDN au sujet du plan canadien de gestion à long terme du combustible nucléaire irradié. Des collectivités en sont aux premiers stades d’apprentissage sur ce plan, qui exige que le combustible irradié soit confiné et isolé de manière sûre et sécuritaire dans un dépôt géologique en profondeur construit au sein d’une formation rocheuse appropriée. Avez-vous des questions concernant le transport sûr du combustible nucléaire irradié? Voulez-vous en savoir plus sur la façon dont le site de stockage sera construit et exploité? Avez-vous des doutes par rapport aux garanties environnementales ou les incidences sur l’économie locale? Demandez-le! La SGDN souhaite vous renseigner et a hâte de vous entendre.
Le plan canadien de gestion du combustible nucléaire irradié est un projet d’infrastructure à long terme dont la mise en œuvre coûtera 16 à 24 milliards $. Vous avez le droit d’obtenir des renseignements précis de personnes compétents. La SGDN emploie de ces personnes, et elles sont prêtes à répondre à vos questions. Demandez tout ce qui vous vient à l’esprit — les mauvaises questions n’existent pas. Comme l’espace est limité, nous ne pouvons accepter qu’une ou deux questions par édition. Lorsque plusieurs questions concernent la même chose, nous les regrouperons sous un même sujet ou thème. Pour transmettre vos questions : Faites parvenir un courriel à la SGDN à ensavoirplus@nwmo.ca.
Contexte En mai 2010, la SGDN a publié un processus qui vise à identifier une collectivité qui acceptera en toute connaissance de cause d’accueillir un dépôt géologique en profondeur où sera stocké le combustible nucléaire irradié canadien. La SGDN prévoit qu’il faudra sept à 10 ans pour décider où seront construits le dépôt et les installations associées. Le fait de se renseigner sur le projet n’engage en rien une collectivité. L’apprentissage permet à la collectivité et aux régions voisines, ainsi qu’aux peuples autochtones, à comprendre le projet et à avoir des discussions éclairées. « Demandez-le à la SGDN » est un encadré publicitaire qui paraîtra régulièrement dans les journaux de la collectivité pour répondre aux questions que se posent les lecteurs sur le plan canadien de gestion à long terme du combustible nucléaire irradié. La SGDN attend vos questions.