Little Saskatchewan flood evacuees closer to returning

Flood evacuees from Little Saskatchewan First Nation are closer to returning home.

The Province of Manitoba and the federal government’s aboriginal affairs department have inked an agreement that could see some evacuees in homes as early as this summer.

Muriel Woodford was displaced from the community after the flood in 2011.

"They keep giving us a date when we’re going to be going back, but the thing is, we don’t know who to believe anymore," said Woodford.

The deal calls for 200 of 360 remaining evacuees from Little Saskatchewan First Nation to be set up in new homes on their reserve.

Those 40 homes were set up in a temporary village near Gypsumville and cost the province and feds a whopping $12 million.

Woodford said there has been a lot of confusion about who will get to move into those homes.

"I have children. If I get a house for myself and my disabled son, I’m not going to leave my other children behind in Winnipeg," she said.

Further complicating the process is a plan to move most of the reserve to higher land.

Little Saskatchewan is located in a low-lying area that is prone to flooding.

The First Nation’s leadership has selected new land and the federal government is currently working to have the land deemed part of the reserve.