Resolution No. 2005-09-25
Housing Emergency in Mushkegowuk Territory
WHEREAS the Mushkegowuk People have historically shared our ancestral lands of the Mushkegowuk Territory with the people of Ontario and Canada in exchange for promises of support and assistance; and
WHEREAS, despite the sharing of Mushkegowuk ancestral lands, and despite the past promises of governments, many Mushkegowuk people and communities have never had access to the quality of housing enjoyed by most others in Ontario and Canada;and
WHEREAS in Mushkegowuk communities such as Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany the number of houses available and the quality of houses available is far lower than would be tolerated in any Ontario or Canadian non-native community, and has been for many years; and
WHEREAS Canadians as a whole have come to enjoy and expect a house for 2.5 persons per household on average, while our northern Mushkegowuk communities are overcrowded to the point of averaging more than 6 persons per house; and
WHEREAS the majority of houses being used in northern Mushkegowuk territories are not only overcrowded, but are also by official technical standards "uninhabitable", or have major structural and plumbing/wiring
deficiencies, and many are serious safety hazards; and
WHEREAS hundreds of Mushkegowuk families are unable to obtain the basic housing which most Canadians take for granted, and have no choice but to crowd two or three generations into houses that are too small and are unfit for habitation; and
WHEREAS families forced to live in housing conditions of great overcrowding and serious disrepair suffer increased health problems among infants and young children, and poor learning conditions for school children, and greater social stress for mothers and families, and a loss of hope for the future, all of which contribute to numerous unnecessary social handicaps and difficulties; and
WHEREAS the governments of Canada and Ontario by their failure to keep their commitments to the Mushkegowuk people are condemning half a generation of Mushkegowuk children to a childhood of underpriviledge and a future of disadvantage; and
WHEREAS over 100 houses in Mushkegowuk territories are uninhabitable by official standards and should be immediately condemned and replaced, but are still being used by families who have no other choice; and
WHEREAS a further more than 500 houses in Mushkegowuk territories require immediate major repair and renovation to meet basic standards, but are presently being used in that condition by families who see no hope for repairs, because they have no other choice; and
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WHEREAS if all the 600 presently uninhabitable houses or seriously deficient houses mentioned above were immediately replaced, there would still be a further shortage of more than 500 new houses in Mushkegowuk territory, by INAC's own housing standards -standards which are themselves inadequate by the average standards in Canada as a whole; and
WHEREAS the Mushkegowuk population would, by Canadian average standards, require and be housed in 2,200 housing units, the Mushkegowuk people have only 600 safe and liveable houses, and thus must do without 1,600 houses that other Canadians would expect; and
WHEREAS instead of immediate and urgent action by Canada and Indian Affairs to build hundreds of new houses as rapidly as possible, Canada and Indian Affairs have adopted new policies that make new housing construction more difficult, by shifting financial burdens to First Nation governments and members, who do not have financial resources; and
WHEREAS a best estimate of the cost of replacing, repairing, and supplementing the housing supply in Mushkegowuk territory totals $170,000,000.00.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mushkegowuk Chiefs in Assembly acknowledge the tragic and unfair burdens being experienced every day in the lives of the hundreds of families in Mushkegowuk Territory who are being deprived of basic shelter needs; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Mushkegowuk Chiefs in Assembly hereby recognize that the housing conditions of the
Resolution No. 2005-09-25, Page 3
northern Mushkegowuk violate basic Canadian and international standards, and declare a "State of Emergency" In housing in Mushkegowuk territory; and
FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Prime Minister and Government of Canada immediately declare an allocation of $170,000,000.00 in emergency relief funding to be made available forthwith for an emergency housing relief for families in Mushkegowuk territory.
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