The houses in the village all have mould

[Guest guest]

By JONATHAN WOODWARD AND MARK HUME

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/200511

01/BCRESERVE01/TPNational/Canada

Canada

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 Page A9

VANCOUVER -- Chief Bob Chamberlin is tired of seeing his people

live in sickness and poverty.

More than a year after federal government officials visited the

small, remote village of Gwayasdums, on the northeastern coast of

Vancouver Island, where inhabited houses are condemned as unlivable

and the water is undrinkable, plans are still being drawn up to

resolve the problems.

Mr. Chamberlin, chief of the Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwaw-ah-mish First

Nation, said that while the government is making efforts to build a

new water-treatment plant and provide housing, the bureaucratic

process is grinding slowly.

" As we stumble through this process we have people dying, " he said,

referring to the recent deaths of several elders from acute

respiratory distress syndrome.

" The houses in the village all have mould, some have leaking roofs,

some have such unsafe wiring the power has been shut off, " Mr.

Chamberlin said yesterday. " When I see how fast the government moved

on Kashechewan, I'm wondering why they can't do the same here. This

is an emergency. "

The 30 people of Gwayasdums, on Gilford Island about 60 kilometres

east of Port Hardy, have been living on bottled water for the past

eight years because salt water has contaminated their wells.

A new well has been dug but the water from it will have to be

treated, and a proposed new treatment plant has not yet been built.

Mr. Chamberlin said even when it is in place, the village will have

a hard time coming up with the $18,000 annual maintenance fees

because few people in Gwayasdums have work.

The children and grandchildren of one resident, , used

to share his house. But when the toddlers fell ill with respiratory

diseases and sores from showering in the contaminated water, they

left for nearby Port McNeill.

That was four years ago. Today, a sign on Mr. 's door warns

visitors to stay away because of the mould and the health hazards.

Friends and family still visit, he said, without the face masks the

doctors say they should wear just to be in the house, because their

houses are mould-ridden, as well.

" Pretty much everyone's house is the same, " he said.

Everyone's young children have had to leave, sapping the youth of

the reserve, Mr. said.

" There are no children in the village any more. They've all moved

out because of the conditions in the houses. "

Ken Mc, manager of the special services unit of Indian and

Northern Affairs Canada, said the government is aware of the

problems at Gwayasdums and is working to resolve them.

Funding has been secured for new housing and for the water-treatment

plant, but he said the Kwicksutaineuk-ah-kwaw-ah-mish First Nation

has not completed its community plan.

" I think the band is struggling a bit [with its organizational

skills], " Mr. Mc said.

He said the process would be faster and simpler if the government

simply built the houses and the plant, but if first nations aren't

involved in the planning and development, then they won't develop

any skills.

Dorothy Hawkins, 30, who left for Port McNeill with her five

children a year ago says she's likely not going back to Gwayasdums.

Last November, her one-year-old daughter was breathing through a

respirator, she said; now, all of her children are healthy.

" I've made the right choice for my children, " she said.

Mr. said he's been living in his house for four years since

he sent his children away. It's frustrating, he says, that nothing

has been done.

" Hopefully, one of these days, they'll say, 'Enough promises, we'll

get it done,' " he said. " One of these days. "