Manitoba First Nation files $1B lawsuit for flood damages against 3 levels of government

Four major floods over the past thirteen years destroyed hundreds of homes at Peguas First Nation. Hundreds of residents remain evacuees, and many homes still standing are damaged, like the one where Jesse Cochran lives with his family. There’s black mold on pretty much all of the wood underneath our house, and we just learned to manage it because there’s we don’t have anywhere else to go. Peg was Chief Stan Bird says. The First Nation tried for years to secure funding for permanent flood protection. Now it’s turning to the courts. We’re at the table talking again with no clear solution insight, It’s more talk. So we need to look after our own interests as a people and as a community. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Pegwa seeks a billion dollars in damages. It argues the feds and province failed to prevent the floods or help Pegasus recover from them, creating what it calls intolerable living conditions. The First Nation also argues Canada and Manitoba failed to fulfill treaty obligations by not providing Pegasus with a sustainable and tolerable living environment, safe and secure from flooding disasters through adequate permanent flood protection. For the reserve land Peg was also seeks damages from 2 municipalities upstream, Fisher and Bifrost Riverton. There’s been a substantial reduction in water storage through the loss of wetlands and forest lands, and an improvement in drainage, which essentially accelerates and exacerbates the flooding problems. Pegasus has struggled with flooding for more than a century. In 1907, the First Nation was forced off higher in drier land near Selkirk. We just want Manitobans and Canadians to. To recognize the situation that we were put in and it’s not by our own doing, but it’s something that we have to face and try to deal with every year. The defendants in the lawsuit deferred comment, including Manitoba Premier Wabcano. We don’t talk about matters before the courts. No statements of defense have been filed in this case. Bartley Kivas, CBC News Winnipeg.