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CCPA
CANADIAN CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES
MANITOBA
COVID-19,
First Nations and
Poor Housing
“Wash hands frequently”
and “Self-isolate” Akin to
“Let them eat cake” in First
Nations with Overcrowded
Homes Lacking Piped Water
By Shirley Thompson, Marleny
Bonnycastle and Stewart Hill
MAY
2020
COVID-19, First Nations and Poor Housing: About the Authors
“Wash hands frequently” and “Self-isolate” Marleny M. Bonnycastle is an Associate Professor at
Akin to “Let them eat cake” in First Nations with the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Social Work in
Overcrowded Homes Lacking Piped Water Winnipeg and worked for five years at the Northern
isbn 978-1-77125-505-9 Social Work Program. During that time, Marleny
developed relationships with northern communities
May 2020 that contributed to the development of her research.
Currently, Marleny is a co-researcher of the Mino
Bimaadiziwin partnership. She is also a research
This report is available free of charge from the CCPA
associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy
website at www.policyalternatives.ca. Printed
Alternatives – Manitoba.
copies may be ordered through the Manitoba Office
for a $10 fee. Stewart Hill is a PhD Candidate at the Natural
Resources Institute who is also working as a Senior
Research and Policy Analyst at the Manitoba
Help us continue to offer our publications free online. Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), the Manitoba
We make most of our publications available free northern Chiefs organization. Mr. Hill is from the
on our website. Making a donation or taking out a God’s Lake First Nation, and was born and raised
membership will help us continue to provide people in northern Manitoba at God’s Lake, and is able to
with access to our ideas and research free of charge. speak his Cree language fluently. His dissertation
You can make a donation or become a supporter researches and asserts governance over land
on-line at www.policyalternatives.ca. Or you can and water in the traditional territory of his home
contact the Manitoba office at 204-927-3200 for community of God’s Lake First Nation. The input
more information. Suggested donation for this and views shared in this article by Mr. Hill in no way
publication: $10 or what you can afford. reflects views or opinions of the MKO, but rather,
are the views, observations and opinions of Stewart
Hill as an academic PhD student of the University of
Manitoba.
Shirley Thompson is an Associate Professor at the
Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba.
Dr. Thompson is the principal investigator of the
Unit 301-583 Ellice Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3B 1Z7 Mino Bimaadiziwin partnership, which is building
capacity and houses in Northern Manitoba thorough
tel 204-927-3200
partnerships for community-led post-secondary
em ail ccpamb@policyalternatives.ca
education in Garden Hill and Wasagamack First
Nations. Also, an Indigenous Food Sovereignty
community college program was planned for
Brokenhead First Nation to start in May 2020 but
disrupted by COVID-19. For more information check:
http://ecohealthcircle.com/.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Northern Manitoba First Nations
communities, co-researchers, participants in our
projects and friends for joining us in learning in
your lands and territories. We are grateful for the
opportunity to do this work on these lands.
We pleased to acknowledge the generous financial
support of the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada through the Mino
Bimaadiziwin partnership’s Northern Teaching
Lodge grant and the Manitoba Research Alliance
grant: ‘Partnering for Change – Community-based
solutions for Aboriginal and inner-city poverty’.
Introduction
Emergency measures are deemed universally nec- many systems, including the health care system
essary to prevent the transmission and control of and the food supply system, have been seriously
COVID-19. Around the world, people are asked to: disrupted. However, not only cracks but an abyss
wash hands often, maintain physical distance and is visible in First Nation communities. Before
quarantine in your shelter (WHO, 2020, Health COVID-19, government underfunding of housing,
Canada, 2020). These are effective measures to slow water infrastructure, education, roads, health,
down the transmission of the virus (WHO, 2020) and other services on reserve, compromised the
but in communities with overcrowded homes that well-being of First Nation people on reserves for
lack piped water and with no hospitals — how can many decades (Palmater, 2019; Elash & Walker,
Canada make this pipe dream a reality? 2019). Public health tenants of safe and healthy
This article analyzes Canada’s directive to living conditions that meet basic needs for suf-
isolate-in-place and to wash your hands to re- ficient water, shelter and food, etc., fall short on
duce public health risks from COVID-19 con- many Canadian First Nation reserves (Ander-
sidering the triple jeopardy faced by many First son et al., 2016; Pritty, 2018). This article looks
Nations — health, health care and infrastructure. at the health of people on First Nation reserves
Many First Nations in northern Manitoba are to determine their vulnerability to COVID-19
discussed, with a special focus on two remote in light of the existing health services and the
northern reserves, Wasagamack and Garden available infrastructure. Further, the health risk
Hill First Nations in Island Lake. Now is an ex- from housing and water infrastructure issues in
traordinary time when COVID-19 has exposed First Nations are discussed before concluding
the cracks in the fabric of globalized society. So with some policy recommendations.
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 1
Health and Health Care of People on
First Nation Reserves
According to the Public Health Agency of Can- the risks, from overcrowded housing on First
ada (PHAC), people with certain pre-existing Nation reserves for COVID-19 transmission, are
health conditions and individuals with weaker great. Another example is viral hepatitis, which
immune systems, as well as older people, are is spread by contaminated water and food, being
more at risk of developing complications from universal on many reserves by age 20 (Minuk et
COVID-19 (Statistics Canada, 2020). Disease rates al., 2003), linked to the inadequate water sys-
on First Nation reserves are many times higher tems. The transmission of viruses from inad-
than the rates for other Canadians. For example, equate infrastructure on First Nation reserves
age-standardized prevalence rates for diabetes in for housing and water is very concerning for
Canada are 17.2 per cent for First Nation people COVID-19 and was implicated in the high rates
living on-reserve, 10.3 per cent for First Nations of H1N1 on reserve.
people living off-reserve, and 7.3 per cent for Mé- The H1N1 crisis sent a wake-up call in 2009
tis people, compared to 5 per cent for the gen- of the deadly impacts of pandemics without ad-
eral population (Crowshoe et al., 2018). As well, equate infrastructure on First Nation reserves.
hospitalization for asthma and respiratory tract One of Manitoba’s 17 remote fly-in communities,
infections are higher for First Nations people on Garden Hill First Nation (population 4074 at the
reserve than other Canadians (Carrière, Garner time) (INAC, 2013), had hundreds of people sick
& Sanmartin, 2017). from H1N1 and three of the 11 Manitobans (27
Higher rates of contagious diseases on First per cent) who died from H1N1. The government’s
Nation reserves are linked to infrastructure issues immediate response to the epidemic was sending
(Statistics Canada, 2020). The crisis of overcrowd- in body bags with only minor improvements to
ed housing on First Nation reserves correlates improve water access, which will be discussed
with higher rates of many diseases, including a further in this paper.
50 times higher prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) The health care needs of First Nations are
for people on First Nation-reserves compared presently not met on their reserve or nearby.
to other Canadians (ISC, 2020b). Considering Most First Nations located in isolated or remote
COVID-19 is much more contagious than TB, areas have smaller health care facilities, such
2 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBAas nursing stations. Typically the lack of hos- The facilities to isolate sick people on First
pitals and doctors necessitates people living on Nation reserves are limited, according to Gar-
reserves to travel far distances to meet all but rison Settee, Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewati-
basic health care needs (Statistics Canada, 2020, nowi Okimakanak (MKO), a political advocacy
FNIGC, 2018). The lack of nearby hospitals, par- organization that represents 26 Northern Man-
ticularly for communities lacking access roads, itoba First Nations. Chief Settee commented:
are barriers to health care, with one in ten First “The overall shortage of buildings in which we
Nations people living on reserve having unmet can set up field hospitals or self-isolation units is
health care needs in the preceding 12 months coming up daily as a concern for Northern First
(FNIGC, 2018). Those in remote communities, Nations” (Graham, 2020).
who would need ventilators or acute care for Therefore, people on First Nation reserves
COVID-19, must fly out for emergency medi- are in double jeopardy having more health is-
cal care, presenting a bottleneck for not only sues but less access to health services (Statistics
airplanes but also, in many cases, for helicop- Canada, 2020). With health vulnerabilities and
ters to reach the airports. For example, three barriers to accessing health care, prevention of
of the Island Lake reserves need a helicopter to COVID-19 is critical. However, do First Nations
transport people to the airport, during the two have the water and housing infrastructure to
months or more of ice-break-up/freeze-up (May follow public health advice to prevent diseases,
and November typically). for example, to wash often?
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 3Frequently Washing your Hands while
Rationing and Running out of Water
Washing hands is vital to prevent COVID-19, but and Saskatchewan, respectively, plus 5 per cent
what if the water is contaminated or of insufficient having no water system (Neegan Burnside Ltd,
quantity, so that people run out of water? Water 2011). Meanwhile, across Canada’s First Nations,
systems on First Nations reserves, according to the rate is much lower at 13.5 per cent cisterns,
the National Assessment of First Nations Water and 1.5 per cent having no water system (Neegan
and Wastewater Systems (Neegan Burnside Ltd, Burnside Ltd, 2011). Truck delivery of water is
2011), harbor considerable risk, with 73 per cent easily disrupted under normal conditions, with
of water systems on First Nation reserves being constant reports of shortages of water, but the
either high risk (39 per cent) or medium risk (34 COVID-19 emergency brings further disruption
per cent). Boil water advisories are common. hazards. Although First Nation water systems,
Disruptions in supply also occur, for example like all water systems, need to be reliable and
Wasagamack’s water treatment system breaking sustainable under all conditions, in Manitoba,
for a week in May 2020 during COVID-19, with only 2 per cent had an emergency response plan.
no water supply to the health centre and com- As well, only 4 per cent had a source water pro-
munity (N. Whiteway, personal communication, tection plan, 5 per cent had a maintenance plan,
May 07, 2020). These risks, though high, are un- and 26 per cent had a certified backup operator
derestimated as the First Nation risk appraisal (Neegan Burnside Ltd, 2011), which shows the
overlooked the risks for cisterns and barrels. In weaknesses in these systems.
terms of water quality, the contamination of In northern Manitoba, many First Nation
cisterns is the leading cause of boil-water advi- homes have cisterns that run out of water fre-
sories in First Nations communities (Moffatt & quently. For example, 50 per cent of their homes
Struck 2011; Baird, Summers, & Plummer, 2013; run dry, according to Chief Larson Anderson
Farenhorst et al., 2017). from Norway House: “About half of the homes
Hauling water is mostly a prairie-Province in Norway House are often left without water
problem with the truck-to-cistern drinking for one to 10 days, because of overcrowding and
water supply chain reaching 31 per cent and 21 tanks that quickly run dry” (Grabbish, 2020). In-
per cent cisterns in First Nations in Manitoba sufficient trucks to keep up with the water de-
4 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBAFigure 1 Water Supply by Pail, Cistern or Pipe in Garden Hill Homes (n=384)
0%
21%
Pail
Cistern
52%
Piped Water
Not Stated
27%
SOurce: Barkman, Monias & Thompson, 2018
mand creates water shortages or with the sewage a low-cost band-aid solution, with First Nation
truck, overflowing sewage (Harper, Whiteway & Employment and Training having to fund the lo-
Thompson, 2018). Also, the quality of water is a cal workers to retrofit the homes. Between 2011
concern. Cisterns are easily contaminated by soil, and 2016, 769 housing units were retrofitted with
groundwater, as well as rodents. To decontaminate cisterns in Island Land (MB Partnership, 2020),
necessitates regular cleaning, but First Nations with some homes not receiving cisterns for vari-
lack adequate budgets to clean these confined ous reasons (e.g., lack of electricity, broken cis-
spaces (Lebel & Reed, 2010; IAND, 2006). Con- tern, housing not up to code or mobile home, etc.)
tamination of cisterns can occur at many points (Harper, Whiteway & Thompson, 2018). Then, in
along the chain, at initial treatment, the trans- 2018, 21 per cent of the 384 houses surveyed in
portation process, transfer to barrels or cisterns, Garden Hill First Nation used barrels, and 27 per
microbial growth in the cistern, and the house- cent used cisterns (Barkman, Monias & Thomp-
hold distribution system (Bradford et al., 2018). son, 2018). See graph 1. Based on this survey, the
However, other houses have no running water. CBC reported 180 households were without run-
The lack of water service, to many homes, was ning water (Elash & Walker, 2019).
considered a factor in H1N1 deaths in Garden Hill Homes in many other First Nations lack run-
First Nation (Elash & Walker, 2019). Before the ning water. According to a survey with 87 of 200
H1N1 epidemic, Garden Hill First Nation lacked households at South Indian Lake First Nation
any water service to most homes (Thompson, (Statistics Canada, 2016), 33 per cent use barrels
Thapa & Whiteway, 2019). To improve water ac- for water without any water service (Thompson
cess to homes after H1N1, the Federal government & Pritty, 2020). Barrels provide less than 500
paid for water and sewage cisterns. Cisterns were gallons of water, which typically run out of wa-
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 5ter after a few days, even with rationing. As well, Nation water systems to be reliable and sustain-
in South Indian Lake First Nation, 47.5 per cent able under all conditions. Cisterns and barrels
of homes use “honey buckets” or “slop buckets”. are only a temporary measure, until piping can
Homeowners typically dump these buckets in be installed, as the cisterns compromise the
their back yard, which provides an on-going quality and quantity of water. The Office of the
source of contagion. Similarly, the 2018 survey Parliamentary Budget Office (2018) calculated
of 384 houses in Garden Hill First Nation found that a minimum cost of $3.2 billion is required
21 per cent relied on honey buckets with another for First Nation on-reserve water systems to be
27 per cent having sewage cisterns (Barkman, at the same standards as Canadian communi-
Monias & Thompson, 2019). ties. This investment is necessary to help prevent
Therefore, to wash hands regularly to pre- future pandemics but also to improve health on
vent COVID-19 requires upgrading of the First reserves overall.
6 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBASelf-Isolation and Physical Distancing in
an Overcrowded House
The Public Health Agency of Canada recom- First Nations, according to Table 1, with per-
mends that people isolate at home if they may son/room rates 24 times and 22 times Canada’s
have COVID-19 (ISC, 2020a). However, this pub- average. In St. Theresa Point First Nation, the
lic health advice is difficult to adhere to in over- chief reported cases of 23 people live in a two-
crowded homes on First Nation reserves. Grand bedroom home where “they had to take turns
MKO Chief Garrison Settee stated: “…with the sleeping” (Puxley, 2016).
COVID-19 pandemic; however, we do need to pay With limited housing available on First Na-
attention to the lack of housing as it directly im- tion reserves, grown children, with offspring
pacts our ability to follow public health advice and spouses, often have few choices but living
designed to mitigate the impacts of the virus on with their parents. One-quarter (25.4 per cent)
the vulnerable citizens in our communities” (Gra- of people living on First Nation reserves lived in
ham, 2020). Overcrowding is associated with a multigenerational households in 2016, which is
higher risk of the spread of infectious diseases, four times the rate of non-Indigenous popula-
such as COVID-19. tion (6.1 per cent). Grandparents living alongside
Overcrowded housing is a common issue on their children and grandchildren create a greater
reserves (Brandon & Peters, 2014; Bonnycastle, risk of viral exposure to older Indigenous adults,
Simpkins, & Siddle, 2016). In 2016, 37 per cent of an at-risk group for severe COVID-19 symptoms.
First Nations people on reserve lived in unsuit- The physical condition and quality of a home,
able housing, compared to 8.5 per cent for the including the state of repair, allergens, and mold,
non-Indigenous population, according to the are associated with an increased risk of the spread
National Occupancy Standard (NOS). Housing of infectious diseases (Statistics Canada, 2020).
suitability — a measure of crowding — refers to The percentage of homes in need of major repairs
whether the dwelling has enough bedrooms for was highest among First Nations people living
the size and composition of the household (Sta- on reserve (44.1 per cent). For example, a 2015
tistics Canada, 2020). In remote First Nations, survey on housing, completed by 408 Nisicha-
NOS rates are higher yet, at approximately 53 wayasihk Cree Nation houses (formerly known
per cent for both Wasagamack and Garden Hill as Nelson House) community, found 58 per cent
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 7Table 1 The State of Housing in Two Remote First Nations Compared to Canada
Housing Issue Canada Wasagamack Garden Hill
More than 1 person/room 1.9% 45.6% (24x) 42.6% (22x)
Rooms/dwelling 6.2 4.4 4.7
Housing Unsuitable (NOS) 8.5% 52.6% 53%
Major Repairs needed 6.5% 82.6% (13x) 61.8% (9.5x)
Not Suitable 4.9% 52.6% (11x) 54.5% (11x)
NOTE ( X)- Times or multiplication of the rate for Canada.
Source Statistics Canada, 2016.
have mold problems (Nisichawayasihk Housing on reserve at higher risk from COVID-19. The
Authority, 2015) and 52 per cent needed major Assembly of First Nations (2020) estimates an
repairs (Statistics Canada, 2016). additional 130,000 housing units are needed by
The Federal government management of re- 2030. Four out of every five on-reserve house-
serve housing started in the 1960s and 1970s. holds live in homes that need significant repairs,
Due to a lack of planning for population growth, and are below the standard for adequate housing
maintenance, and repair, these homes were over- (Lgui, 2019). To deal with the housing deficit, a
crowded and in disrepair by the 1980s (Belanger, Treaty, Indigenous, and human “rights-based
2016). Harold Calla, Executive Chair, First Na- approach” needs to be the foundation of the
tions Financial Management Board, describes First Nation Housing strategy (AFN, 2020). The
First Nation reserve housing deficit as surpass- United Nations Rights for Indigenous Peoples
ing $3 to $5 billion (Senate Committee on Ab- (UNDRIP) Article 23, calls for an Indigenous-
original Peoples, 2015) and the infrastructure led approach:
deficit of $45 billion to $50 billion (Cala, 2017).
Indigenous peoples have the right to determine
This overcrowding on reserves results in First
and develop priorities and strategies for
Nation people having a higher incidence of pre-
exercising their right to development. In
carious housing or homelessness (e.g., living in
particular, indigenous peoples have the
homeless shelters, transitional housing, or resi-
right to be actively involved in developing
dential facilities for victims of abuse) (Statistics
and determining health, housing and other
Canada, 2020).
economic and social programs affecting them
In conclusion, Federal Programs do not pro-
and, as far as possible, to administer such
vide adequate, safe, and healthy housing on First
programs through their own institutions.
Nation reserves, making First Nation people
8 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBAStates of Emergency Declared by First
Nation Communities
First Nations leaders have declared states of emer- from Gull Lake First Nation caught COVID-19
gencies to protect their First Nation communi- after 17 people at the nearby mine contracted
ties, knowing that their lack of infrastructure it (Walters, 2020). But First Nations leadership
is a death sentence under COVID-19 (Hatherly, can be credited with keeping the virus out of
2020). Proactively, First Nations erected barri- northern communities. As of May 10, 2020, 175
cades in most remote First Nation communities positive COVID-19 cases are confirmed on First
in mid-March to limit outsiders coming in with Nations reserves in provinces (with British Co-
contagion (Hatherly, 2020), including Northern lumbia at 39, Alberta at 29, Saskatchewan at 35,
Manitoba. Ontario at 41 and Quebec at 31), resulting in 17
The chiefs of northern Manitoba First Na- hospitalizations and two deaths (ISC, 2020c).
tions called on the Province to cut off travel to Lockdowns have effectively prevented the trans-
northern Manitoba, which was initially rejected. mission from reaching remote communities and
However, later on, April 17, 2020, the Province did Nunavut to date.
enact a “travel ban for northern Manitoba (north Without immunity to European contagions,
of the 53rd parallel), with exceptions for essen- the remote Anishiniwuk and Ininiw (previous-
tial travel” (APTN, 2020). Despite this, HudBay ly described as Oji-Cree and Cree, respectively)
mining operations are business as usual, accord- communities were able to survive smallpox and
ing to the HudBay spokesperson, as “traveling other disease plagues on their land. With suste-
north for employment and the delivery of goods nance (food, fish, medicines, etc.) from the land
and services are exempt” (Hatherley, 2020). Re- and by applying physical distance through liv-
source development projects continue to have ing on their traplines in their vast traditional
workers travel in and out of northern Manito- territory, they were able to survive (Thomp-
ba, despite First Nations calling for a shut down son, Whiteway & Harper, 2019). To deal with
of their operations (Haverley, 2020). The nega- COVID-19 many First Nations are sending out
tive impact of workers from resource industries hunters and fishers to their traplines to both
nearby to First Nations is evident in Northern provide physical distancing and obtain food
Ontario’s Gull Lake First Nation. Six people from the land. Supports for wild foods (fish-
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 9ing nets, gas, seeds, and tarps for living on the in the community, as well as abundant wildlife
land) will help to provide continuous supplies of and vast areas, wild foods provide a significant,
traditional food to people living on reserve and sustainable source of food, to supplement com-
the land. With many skilled hunters and fishers mercial foods.
10 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBAPolicy Recommendations
Preventing contagions reaching at-risk First Nation including Indigenous people from COVID-19,
reserve communities, until a vaccine is achieved, none are Indigenous organizations, and most
is the key way to stop transmission of COVID-19. do not serve First Nations or rural Indigenous
First Nation leadership’s decision to lock down communities (Levi & Robin, 2020). Further,
borders and erect barricades should be fully re- the $305 million fund established by the fed-
spected and supported. Mechanisms to achieve eral government for Indigenous communities
collaboration among all service providers, (e.g., to address COVID-19 for “emergency” and “tem-
health workers, RCMP, mental healthworkers, porary” proposal funding was not at the scale
construction workers, resource workers, etc.) to or proportionality available to other communi-
support First Nation leadership COVID-19 plan, ties (Levi & Robin, 2020). Food security needs
including lockdowns, are needed. To enforce the urgent attention as roughly half (50.8 per cent)
northern travel ban, a checkpoint at Grand Rap- of households in First Nation reserves (FNIGC,
ids, which is the gateway to the north, would help 2018) experienced food insecurity and 75 per
prevent non-essential workers (Wallace, 2020). cent in remote and northern communities,
The lack of infrastructure and vulnerability of prior to COVID-19 (Thompson et al, 2012). This
First Nations has to be considered in every deci- means most households had inadequate or un-
sion by every level of government, which neces- stable access to nutritious food due to financial
sities reclassifying resource extraction workers constraints, before COVID-19, compared to 1 in
(e.g., workers at HudBay and Keeyask Dam) as 8 Canadians (4.4 million Canadians). Food se-
non-essential, in close vicinity to First Nations curity will only get worse with COVID-19. Sus-
to shut down. tainable supports to keep these communities
As well, in the short term, special funding fed and with drinking water require supports
has to be put in place through Indigenous-led for fishing, hunting, store-bought food and gas
organizations for dealing with the lack of in- for extra water delivery. First Nations require
frastructure. Although $100 million was given aid in the billions to prevent a massacre (Levi &
by the Canadian government to charities to Robin, 2020). For the long term, local capacity
deal with the urgent food needs of Canadians, building and billions in infrastructure spend-
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 11ing is needed to ensure communities can sus- must be done in partnership with First Nations,
tain basic needs, including water, housing, and to build capacity, social enterprise and support
food (Palmater, 2019; Levi & Robin, 2020). This self-determination.
12 c anadian centre for polic y alternatives —
M ANITOBAConclusion
Asking people to wash their hands and isolate enous peoples from traditional lands, cultures,
in overcrowded homes without running water is and lifeways; racism, exclusion, and economic
like asking people, unable to afford bread, to eat marginalization; and legislation, policies, and
cake. Washing hands regularly and self-isolating practices have undermined the collective and
provides limited means for prevention in First individual well-being of Indigenous peoples
Nations communities due to their lack of critical (Thistle, 2017). Indigenous peoples’ poor health
infrastructure (Belanger, Weasel Head, & Awo- outcomes are from the infrastructural inequali-
soga, 2012). With the overcrowding of homes, wa- ties and regional underdevelopment generated
ter issues, and lack of infrastructure, particularly by colonialism (Christensen, 2016).
in remote and northern communities, just one The root of the health inequity needs to be
COVID-19 case on a reserve has huge potential to addressed to prevent dire consequences from
spread widely and devastate the community. Ad- pandemics by shifting policy, major investments
equate resources are required for First Nations to in capacity building and infrastructure funding.
build local capacity and infrastructure for homes, A change in governance to Indigenous self-gov-
water, and other necessary infrastructure. This ernment is needed to bring about reconciliation
price tag, even in the short term, has to go beyond and adequate infrastructure for First Nation re-
$305 million for emergencies into the billions of serves to protect the health of Indigenous peoples.
dollars. With the large infrastructure deficit, bil- Indigenous people hold the answers to their
lions are required to ensure water; housing and own well-being. Restoring self-governance and
food systems are safe, sustainable, and healthy. stewardship of traditional territories by the Indig-
The First Nation infrastructure crisis is more enous peoples of Canada is needed. The tremen-
than a building problem or a health problem dous wealth from the natural resources in their
for COVID-19 transmission and health care. It ancestral territories should benefit Indigenous
is a colonial systems’ problem. The historic and peoples to ensure healthy infrastructure in First
present-day displacement and removal of Indig- Nations (Thompson, Thapa & Whiteway, 2019).
COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 13References
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COVID -19 , Fir st Nations and Poor Housing 17Unit 301-583 Ellice Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3B 1Z7 tel 204-927-3200 em ail ccpamb@policyalternatives.ca WEBSITE www.policyalternatives.ca
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