2011 flood evacuees rally at Manitoba Legislature to get provincial leaders to listen

More than a dozen 2011 flood evacuees from Lake St. Martin First Nation and Little Saskatchewan First Nation were on the steps of the Manitoba Legislature Friday afternoon to remind provincial leaders that it has been almost five years since they were forced from their homes due to flooding.

It was pouring rain for much of the protest, but the demonstrators were resolved to have their message heard in the lead up to the provincial election on Tuesday.

Bertha Travers, who was forced from her home on the Little Saskatchewan First Nation said she hasn't heard one leader of any political party talk about the flood evacuees during this campaign. "It's very devastating, there is a lot of depression. There's a lot of people that, I guess there is loss of hope. How can you hope for something when nothing is being done and nothing is being said?" said Travers.

Both the federal and provincial governments promised $495 million last July to build a permanent outlet to move water out of Lake Manitoba and into Lake Winnipeg to help ease flooding around communities like Lake St. Martin and Little Saskatchewan.
 
Lake St. Martin First Nation held a groundbreaking event at a new location just north of the old reserve land where the community is beginning to rebuild from the ground up. More than 1,900 residents from the Lake St. Martin area are still out of their homes.  Many have been living in hotels and apartments in Winnipeg since the flood.

Diana Traverse, who was also at Friday's rally, explained that she was living in Lake St. Martin when it was evacuated but because she is from another First Nation, she hasn't been entitled to emergency housing.  She has been forced to stay with family. "There are people here in Winnipeg that are flood evacuees from 2011 and nothing is being done about that. Our people want to go home. It's five years and we're displaced," said Traverse.