Move northern Ontario reserve south to Timmins, says adviser

A special adviser to the Indian affairs ministerrecommends relocating a troubled northern Ontario reserve hundreds of kilometres south to the outskirts of Timmins, saying it would give residents a "fresh start."

Alan Pope, a lawyer in Timmins and a former Ontario cabinet minister, was hired by the federal government to report on the problems facing theKashechewan Reserve.

Residents of the reserve, about 450 kilometres north of Timmins,were forced to leave the community twice in the last 13 months because of tainted drinking water, rotting homes and spring floods.

Pope said he spent the past five months meeting with band council leaders, holding public forumsand going door to door in the community to get a sense of people's specific concerns.

The report contains more than 50 recommendations on the community's finances, water and sewer systems, health care, education and employment situation, he said. The final document was reviewed by local leaders and elders, who made specific additions to the report.

The report suggests a number of options, including moving the reserve to theoutskirts of Timmins, moving itto higher ground about 30 kilometres away or keeping the reserve in the same place. The reserve is on the northern shore of the Albany River inJames Bay.

Pope said he would prefer to see Kashechewan residents relocated to the outskirts of Timmins, while maintaining ownership of their traditional lands, where the reserve currently sits.

"The reserve on the Albany River would continue to be theirs to hunt and fish," he said.

Pope said he believes the Timmins plan offers the community the best chance at long-term sustainability and economic potential.

Living on Timmins's outskirtswould give Kashechewan residents the economic benefits of a city, access to regional hospital facilities and community health-care programs, as well as improved police and fire services, he said.

It also would offer more educational and employment opportunities, existing municipal infrastructure and a "fresh start," said Pope.

"For that reason, I thought a regional centre like Timmins… provided the best option."

Residents to debate report

Aboriginal leaders were cautious, saying they haven't had much time to fully study the report.

Kashechewan First Nation Chief Johnathan Solomon said he'll bring the report back home to begin a full consultation process.

"It's an opportunity to start a process where we begin to have the wheels rolling in regards to moving forward," he said.

Stan Louttit, grand chief for the Mushkegowuk Council, said he's concerned the recommendations will become lost in a bureaucratic maze or shuffled aside if the Conservative minority government falls within the next year.

"How do we make the commitment because government ministers don't have to support another [government's] commitment," said Louttit.

Thereport was delivered to federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice in Ottawa on Wednesday night. Along with aboriginal leaders, Popereviewed thedocument at a news conference Thursday morning in Ottawa.

Pope said his recommendations could have implications for other troubled remote aboriginal reserves across the country.

"I acknowledge that it is a political debate that might be started out of this report," said Pope.

A delegation from the reserve that met with Prentice to discuss the report will return to Kashechewan to present it to the community and ask for its response.

Many want to move: resident

Rebecca Friday, a mother of six who has lived on the reserve for 40 years, said most people who live there do not want to stay. She said she feels a connection to the community, but wants to move because the area tends to flood every spring.

"I am scared now, because the one in the spring was really dangerous, so I wouldn't feel safe here in my community. They have to do something about it."

Friday said she thinks a decision about the future of the reserve has to be made soon, and she does not want people to be evacuated from their homes again.

In October 2005, the province evacuated thecommunityafter water on the reserve was found to be contaminated with E. coli. Residents were taken to a number of cities, including Ottawa, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timmins, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie.

The evacuation is estimated to have cost $16 million.