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Dave Martens is working on rebuilding his poultry farm and his home, which he hasn't been able to live in since the Sumas Prairie region east of Abbotsford, B.C., was hit by floods triggered by historic rainfall in November. "Currently I'm at the point of trying to dry things out still," said Martens of the two farm houses he owns, one of which he lives in. "You hear people talk about people being back in their homes and things like that. That might be true for some, but not the majority."
Long Plain First Nation had to call on help from its neighbours over the weekend after its water supply ran dry on Friday. Now as tanker trucks haul water from nearby Portage la Prairie to replenish the First Nation's reservoir, leaders in the First Nation are searching for a long-term solution. "I think people are quite concerned by it," Chief Dennis Meeches said about the persistently hot and dry conditions, which drained aquifers that feed the community's reservoir.
A glaring example of this is the number of First Nations communities still dealing with long-term drinking water advisories. While the federal Liberal government pledged in 2015 to end all drinking water advisories by March of this year, 52 long-term advisories were in effect in 33 First Nation communities as of early April. According to Gale, Indigenous communities are increasingly taking matters into their own hands in leading and partnering in infrastructure projects. However, those projects tend to be small in size, typically valued at less than $25 million.
