Attawapiskat Children Living in Squalor
08/12/2011 – After it was revealed that families on the Attawapiskat reserve lived in squalid living conditions, new decisions on how to improve the situation have been discussed.
The housing crisis in Attawapiskat has been at the forefront of Canadian media attention since last month and over the past week as aboriginal and federal government leaders prepare to meet in Ottawa.
The Attawapiskat reserve declared a state of emergency in October due to appalling housing conditions that had residents subsisting in tents and shacks for two years without heating, electricity and indoor plumbing—amenities we certainly take for granted outside of aboriginal communities here in Canada.The northern Ontario reserve has reportedly received $90 million in investments since 2006—investments that do not appear to have met the urgent health, sanitation and safety needs of the population.
“Due to the squalid housing conditions on the reserve—cold, mould, smoky air from wood burning stoves—[kids in Attawapiskat] suffer from frequent respiratory infections, ear infections, strep throat and rashes. Due to overcrowding, neglect and abuse, they suffer from mental-health issues,” wrote Tasha Kheiriddin in the National Post last week.
The crisis in Attawapiskat shows that international development is not simply a topic for struggling nations in the Global South; but it has an oft-forgotten relevance here at home on Canadian soil, too.
Even outside reserves, some 60 per cent of aboriginal urban dwellers are suffering higher rates of poverty, hunger, substandard housing and disease. A Senate report released yesterday further demonstrated that seven in ten aboriginal youth have not graduated from high school. Many First Nations youth who do attend school find themselves using poorly equipped libraries, science labs and athletic facilities.
Former Canadian prime minister, Paul Martin, has spoken out on the issue, putting education at the root of the crisis. As such, efforts to improve the situation must begin with schooling.
“20-40 per cent less money is spent on education in primary and high school on reserves, compared to what provinces spend in their jurisdiction,” Martin told CTV News. “Most Canadians would not send their children to the kind of schools that Ottawa asks Aboriginals or First Nations to attend on a reserve,” he added.
Jacques Marion, a third-party manager, was appointed by the government to help resolve the crisis. Mr. Marion is under contract to manage the reserve’s financial accounts until mid-2012, with a pay of about $25, 714 per month for seven months.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister, John Duncan, sent chief Theresa Spence a letter yesterday that presented two options for dealing with the housing situation in the short-term. The first was to work with Jacques Marion to retrofit the existing dwellings. The second was to evacuate all persons living in tents and shacks until 15 modular homes arrive to house them. The arrival of the homes depends on the opening of the winter road, which would take about two months, the CBC has reported.
“We’ve been working on a plan around the clock … to ensure residents, especially children, have warm, dry places to sleep,” said Minister Duncan yesterday.
National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, has responded positively to the attention and wave of donations concentrated on Attawapiskat.
“Together we can close the chapter of a very dark period of our history and turn the page to write a new chapter filled with hope and promise for our children and their children to come,” he said.
