Hundreds of people in a native community west of Calgary were being urged to leave their condemned homes on Saturday because of asbestos contamination.

Officials discovered the asbestos following a fire in one of the homes on a Tsuu T'ina Nation settlement known as Black Bear Crossing.

The former military housing units on the Tsuu T'ina reserve have been occupied by squatters since 1998.
(CBC)

Morton Paulsen, a spokesman for the Tsuu T'ina Nation, said he's concerned some people may have been exposed.

"Because of the deterioration of many of these units, Health Canada thought further investigation was necessary to determine if there was an airborne threat," he said.

He said the issue was first brought to the public's attention in 1998 when the military abandoned the houses and people started to move in.

Tsuu T'ina reserve resident Greg Noel plans to stay put, believing the asbestos scare is a tactic to facilitate construction of a casino.
(CBC)

The chief and council at the time warned people not to move into the dilapidated units, but eventually hundreds of residents squatted in the homes because of a housing shortage. 

As many as 800 residents have lived in the homes over the past decade.

The band council would not let media on the reserve Saturday, but said it has found temporary accommodations for more than 600 people.

'Scare tactic'

But some residents said they felt they were being pushed out because of the council's plans to develop the area. The band has already begun construction on a casino near the homes.

Greg Noel said he was ignoring the evacuation order because he didn't believe there was any increased health risk.

"It's kind of a scare tactic," he told CBC News on Saturday. "They wanted everybody out in the first place."

Health Canada officials said more tests are still to be done over the next few days.

Despite the effort to convince residents to leave voluntarily, Paulsen acknowledged the health risk was minimal.

"The only danger is if that asbestos becomes airborne because the asbestos is moved or otherwise disturbed," he said.