More Attawapiskat homes en route over ice road
CBC News
Posted: Feb 14, 2012 6:08 AM ET
Last Updated: Feb 14, 2012 6:12 PM ET
The kitchen in one of the new modular homes destined for Attawapiskat: two more of the 22 homes were to begin the trip to the remote community on Tuesday. (Aboriginal Affairs )
A convoy carrying two more modular homes for the people of Attawapiskat is on its way to the native community facing a housing crisis.
The flatbed trucks left earlier Tuesday from Moosonee, Ont., on their 300-kilometre trip along the ice road.
The shipment of much-needed housing is a promise from Ottawa the people of the troubled Ontario First Nations community have been waiting to see fulfilled for some time, reported the CBC's Megan Thomas, who was travelling with the convoy.
The federal government promised the new homes after the community declared a state of emergency last fall.
However, the convoy was delayed for an hour on Tuesday, after one of the trucks had mechanical problems.
The convoy stopped about an hour past Moosonee, Thomas reported.
"A mechanic had to come up from Moosonee, but he was able to get the truck back on the road," said Thomas. "So we are moving again up towards Attawapiskat."
Wally Turner, operations manager for the ice road, said five units have made it to Attawapiskat so far.
"The road is good for them," he told CBC News. "The drivers are taking their time, being really cautious."
Unclear when lots will be ready
The transport is part of a fleet of trucks that moves cargo north across a road crafted from ice and snow. The ice road season is a lifeline for moving fuel and supplies to Ontario's far north.
Each trip takes about eight hours to cover the 300 kilometres north to Attawapiskat. The drivers then have to make a return trip before a fresh crew can load up the next set of houses.
Before the ice road season ends, a total of 22 homes have to be transported. Turner believes they will all make it before the spring melt.
"We normally run, in a good year, right until the end of March," he said. "But again, Mother Nature has her own way of doing things here, and that's pretty well our boss. She dictates what goes on on our road."
At Attawapiskat, work is underway to prepare lots for the 22 new homes, Thomas reported. It's not clear how long it will be before people can move in, however.
The homes were built in Fredericton by Maple Leaf Homes, a company that specializes in cold climate construction. In the past, the company has built homes for mining camps in Northern Canada.
Share Tools
Omnibudget Liveblog: C-38 goes to committee -- and subcommittee, too! by Kady O'Malley May. 28, 2012 6:01 PM Bill supporters dominate first day's witness list
Top News Headlines
- B.C. police shooting video sparks calls for new probe
- Amateur video of the shooting of a mentally ill Vancouver man five years ago has prompted calls for B.C.'s police complaint commissioner and Crown prosecutors to take another look at the case. more »
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- A Japan-bound Air Canada Boeing 777 made an emergency landing at Toronto's Pearson airport on Monday, after one of its engines failed. more »
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Quebec student talks resume amid continuing protests
- A new round of negotiations between students and Quebec's Liberal government over the province's tuition-fee crisis extended into the night, while thousands took to the street in protest, leading to dozens of arrests. more »
Latest Politics News Headlines
- CP Rail union, Tories battle over collective bargaining
- The federal Conservatives are defending their plan to force striking Canadian Pacific Railway employees back to work as a way to keep the economy on track, while the union representing 4,800 workers says their collective bargaining rights are under attack. more »
- Opposition vows to keep up pressure on budget bill
- Opposition MPs returned to Ottawa this morning after a week in their constituencies and said Canadians aren't happy about the budget bill. The Liberals and NDP promised to keep trying to get the Conservatives to back down on it. more »
- Tory MP asks Supreme Court to uphold Toronto riding result
- Conservative MP Ted Opitz will appeal an Ontario Superior Court decision overturning the 2011 federal election result in Toronto's Etobicoke Centre. more »
- Mulcair softens message before Alberta oilsands visit
- Tom Mulcair is dialling back the NDP's anti-oilsands rhetoric as he prepares for his first visit to Alberta's massive, unconventional petroleum deposits. more »
The National
The House
- Qc students open the door to compromise May. 28, 2012 3:37 PM This week on The House, Evan Solomon explores the ongoing student protests in Quebec. The conflict that began as a disagreement between certain student associations and the provincial government over tuition hikes seems to have morphed into something larger. Evan talks to Leo Bureau-Blouin, the president of Quebec's College Student Federation, about the ongoing dispute. Then, Quebec's Finance Minister Raymond Bachand talks about what it will take to resolve the conflict, and if an election is the only solution.
- Evolution skeptics will soon be silenced by science: Richard Leakey
- 'Engine shutdown' forced Air Canada jet to land
- Richard Branson suggests naked kitesurfing to premier
- RCMP commissioner pledges to rid force of 'bad apples'
- Man, woman shot dead in Burnaby restaurant
- Thunder Bay flooding causes state of emergency
- 7 mutilated cats found in Vancouver suburb
- Newly discovered malware most lethal cyberweapon to date
- Coast guard cuts prompt formal B.C. complaint
