MP says flood damaged homes from Manitoba reserve may have been sold

WINNIPEG – The member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake says 49 condemned homes on a Manitoba First Nation hit by flooding in 2011 may have been sold off and moved.

James Bezan says the allegations are serious and an investigation has been launched.

Lake St. Martin Chief Adrian Sinclair insists he hasn’t done anything wrong and that he has the legal right to sell damaged homes for money.

He says the money raised from the sale is being used to clean up the community.

The federal government had committed to paying nearly $2 million to have the condemned homes on Lake St. Martin First Nation destroyed.

Bezan says the federal Aboriginal Affairs Department has put an immediate halt to any further transfer of funds under its contract with the band until the investigated is completed.

He also says any evidence of criminal wrongdoing will be forwarded to the police.

“There were 133 condemned homes, approximately 80 homes that have been demolished, leaving possibly 49 homes sold,” said Bezan.

Manitoba’s top chief says people should not rush to judgment until all the facts come out.

“If a unit is still viable and there is a market out there for it and the community has to make sound business decisions, I think we have to give the benefit of the doubt at times to the decision makers,” said Derek Nepinak, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Colin Craig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said both the federal government and the chief of Lake St. Martin First Nation need to be held accountable.

“The feds need to explain how they came up with the figure of $2 million – what due diligence they did – and the band needs to explain how on earth they’re selling people’s homes while their belongings are still in it and what’s happening with that money,” said Craig.

Earlier this week, CTV News reported one resident returned to the reserve earlier this month to find his home had been ripped from its foundation and shipped to a community nearly 300 kilometres away with his belongings still inside the house.