Asbestos plan angers Manitoba native leader
Ottawa is spending more than $360,000 to remove asbestos from military homes in Manitoba but it's not paying to remove asbestos from First Nations' homes in the province.
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Before renovating military homes, the Department of National Defence tests them for hazardous materials. As a result of those tests, the military has just awarded a contract to remove asbestos-contaminated Zonolite insulation from 17 homes at Canadian Forces Base Shilo, 35 km east of Brandon.
"The vermiculite containing asbestos is being removed from these units because they are part of a major renovation project to extend the life of the homes for about 20 to 25 years," said Col. Stewart Moore, an assistant deputy minister with Defence.
"The vermiculite insulation is being removed because it would, in the course of those renovations, be disturbed and exposed to the interior environment, and therefore present a health hazard to contractors working inside."
Moore admits the cleanup of the homes will be extensive, with a price tag of more than $360,000 â more than $20,000 per home.
The news angers Dennis Whitebird, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Whitebird says the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs has refused to help about a dozen First Nations families in Manitoba who have the contaminated insulation in their homes.
- FROM MARCH 16, 2005:No help for man with Zonolite in First Nations home
However, Whitebird believes the military's approach could help in the lawsuit launched by a Manitoba First Nations family against the federal government. Raven Thundersky is suing Indian and Northern Affairs after she and several of her family members became sick after living in a home with Zonolite insulation at the Poplar River First Nation.
"I think they're acknowledging that is a major concern. It's a health risk and they're doing something about it," he said. "But on the other token, if it deals with First Nations, it's not a priority."
An estimated 300,000 homes across Canada contain Zonolite vermiculite insulation. Health Canada says if the insulation is disturbed, exposure to the asbestos can cause scarring of the lungs and some forms of cancer. If the insulation is not disturbed, officials say, it should cause no health problems.