Kashechewan spring flood risk 'intolerable,' report says

The chief of the Kashechewan First Nation is calling on Ottawa to help find a solution to end the annual spring flooding that threatens the remote community on Ontario's James Bay coast.

At Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning, Derek Stephen released the results of an engineering report that deems the protective dike that separates the reserve from the powerful Albany River inadequate.

When I talk to young kids at the school, the first thing they mention is they would like the community to move.- Derek Stephen, chief, Kashechewan First Nation

"The report by experts who understand the issues of dike and dam construction have warned that the deteriorating condition of this dike wall has placed the community at 'intolerable risk,'" said Charlie Angus, member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay.

"If there was a sudden rise of water, lives could be put at risk."

Constant evacuations endured by the community in recent years hurt young people the most, because their schooling is interrupted, Shephen said, adding the situation has contributed to high rates of depression and suicide attempts.

Stephen said several young people have attempted suicide in the last few years, but there have been no deaths.

"When I talk to young kids at the school, the first thing they mention is they would like the community to move," he said.

Kashechewan has long struggled with spring flooding. There have been several partial or full evacuations of the community over the past decade, including last May when more than 1,500 people were airlifted to other Ontario cities.

Housing and feeding that many people in other communities cost $280,000 a day, Stephen said at the time. 

History of flood woes

The issue of whether to move Kashechewan to higher ground has been a longstanding one. A report in 2006 suggested relocating the community to the outskirts of the city of Timmins, nearly 500 kilometres to the south. 

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That idea was met with resistance in the community, and the former Liberal government came up with a plan to spend $500 million to move it 30 kilometres away to higher ground. However, critics note the money was never actually budgeted. The incoming Conservative government then reached an agreement with the band to spend $200 million on flood protection.

"That never happened," Angus said, adding the community has received about $97 million, but $50 million of that has gone to emergency evacuations or continual repairs to areas that flood year after year.

"There is no other non-aboriginal community in this country that would be left at such risk," he said. "We are calling on the federal government to work with the community. We need a long-term plan for Kashechewan."

Stephen said his community wants to be moved to nearby higher ground, but there is still no interest in relocating to the Timmins area.

The other remote James Bay Coast communities of Fort Albany and Attawapiskat have also been forced to airlift residents out in previous years because of the flood risk from the river system each spring.

Read the engineering report here.