Peguis First Nation declared a state of emergency

So we have to use these buckets in order to keep the floors dry. It’s moving day for Aaron Cook and Shania Stevenson. This young Pegasus couple isn’t getting a dream home, but this empty room in a makeshift homeless shelter. I talked to housing to that. They said they were going to give me a bed. This is a condemned former school. The roof is leaking and there’s mold on some of the panels. Yet because the housing situation is so acute, a pet was it’s being used as a homeless shelter. Right now, eight people are living here. The conditions are less than ideal for Shania Stevenson. Pretty tough I would say. Especially for someone who has asthma too, or for Jace Garson, who’s unable to stay with his children. I can’t bring my kids and all that here because it’s condemned in here. The conditions in many Pegasus homes aren’t much better. Hundreds have been condemned due to damage incurred during floods in 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2022. Hundreds more need to be repaired or replaced. The shortage of adequate housing means 784 Pegasus residents. Bring Those floods cannot return home because there’s nowhere for them to live. Our community has endured devastating floods. With the most recent in 2022, which has left a lasting impact, Pegasus chief Stan Bird filed a $1 billion flood damages lawsuit last week against the federal and provincial governments and two municipalities upstream. Today, he declared a state of emergency to demand immediate action on housing and flood protection. When you look at other countries, for example, when an event of catastrophic, of a catastrophic nature happens, there’s some form of intervention. Young people aren’t the only ones affected at Pegasus. Alice Thomas is a Pegasus elder. The foundation on her home is shifting and her basement has mold. She said she hopes she can get a new house on a high ridgeline so she won’t have to spend any more time living in Winnipeg hotels during future floods. The last time we flooded. We iOS moved five times in one month, Thomas says. It’s hard living in hotel rooms. It was chaos. Every time I was settled in my room, I had to move. Chief Byrd says the housing shortages had spin offs, including a spike in mental health crises and domestic violence. CBC News has asked for comment from Indigenous Services Canada and the provincial government. Bartley Kivas, CBC News at Pegasus First Nation.