A convoy of modular homes left languishing in Moosonee instead of being en route to desperate residents in Attawapiskat could ship out by the end of this week.

Eight of the homes were meant to be on the trucks that left Sunday night when the 300-kilometre ice road opened to heavy trucks, but the homes still remain in Moosonee. They are meant to be installed in the First Nations community of Attawapiskat, where residents are facing a severe housing shortage

Clarence Boudreau, the president of EHL Homes, which is responsibile for transporting the modular homes to Attawapiskat, said he hoped to get the buildings rolling north as soon as the trailers are available to do so.

"Obviously the tractors had to go on the road and haul other material, so whatever other material they were going to haul, we are hoping we can get that slot open for us," he said, adding that the next open slot will likely be Friday.

A modular home that was bound for Attawapiskat. (CBC)

The delay was apparently due in part to a problem with payment for working on the sites for the homes, said Charlie Angus, the MP for Timmins-James Bay.

The community's finances are under the control of a third-party manager, but the band was challenging that government imposition in court.

A federal judge said on Friday that the government-appointed money manager would remain in place, and was responsible for paying the bills for the band.

Angus said he hopes the homes will move shortly now that the set-up and transportation fees are being paid.

"As of late yesterday, [the third-party-manager] finally wrote the first cheques, so I'm hoping that we will start seeing some movement there," Angus said Tuesday.

Shipping company says drivers reassigned

A federal judge said on Friday that the government-appointed money manager would remain in place, and was responsible for paying the bills for the band.

Boudreau said on Monday that the reason for the delay was that some of the lots in the community were not yet ready for the homes to be put into place.

"[EHL Homes] says the first shipment of eight homes has been given the OK, but drivers were reassigned yesterday when the delay happened," said CBC's Megan Thomas, reporting from Sudbury.

A new driver schedule is being worked out now, she said.

A total of 22 modular homes need to move up the ice road over the winter season for delivery to Attawapiskat. That alone is expected to take more than a week of trips back and forth,

The federal ministry of Aboriginal Affairs has not commented on the delay.