Developing an Effective Drainage System
Despite its name, the French drain may not have come from France. In his 1859 book, Farm Drainage, Henry Flagg French popularized the use of trenches filled with gravel or roofing tile to drain surface water off farm buildings, while protecting the surrounding soils from erosion. Improvements over the years include the use of manufactured pipes, embedded in gravel, to allow the water collected to flow freely. READ IT HERE
A key goal for Sylvia Olsen was to establish a national First Nations Building Inspector program in education, an accredited course in housing management, and Olsen was involved with Nancy Hamilton at Vancouver Island University (VIU) in developing the curriculum for housing managers to become certified First Nation housing inspectors. Olsen knows there is a patchwork of regulations in First Nation housing. There is no national building code on-reserve and regulations about housing are done reserve by reserve. READ IT HERE
Teleinspections for Remote First Nations Communities
Ottawa – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde said Aug. 30, 2016, that a detailed investigative report by the Globe & Mail outlining the troubling state of fresh water systems in First Nations communities across Canada points to the urgent need for all levels of government to take immediate action to dramatically improve First Nations access to clean drinking water. READ IT HERE
“On behalf of the Chiefs of Ontario I want to pass along our condolences to the family and community of Pikangikum,” said Ontario Regional Chief Day. “Our people are living in substandard living conditions and this is the result: a fire that claimed the life of seven people, three of them children. We need to bring our communities into the 21st century. Substandard is not a standard that we can live with any longer.” READ IT HERE
Immediate Investments Needed to Secure Safe Water Systems in First Nations Communities
Housing and Infrastructure
Wood said at the time they needed 30,000 houses in the province. In addition, “Major renovations are required and we identified a cost of about $40,000 per unit in repairs. We have 1,300 condemned units still occupied.” Housing costs present AMC with daunting figures, READ IT HERE
A tribute to my buddy, Bud
Pikangikum House Fire Tragedy
Aug. 24, 2016 - After two years of formal planning, consulting, designing and working closely with the Ministry of Education and community partners, the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board announced it has awarded the contract work to begin immediately. READ IT HERE
Richard “Bud” Jobin passed away on December 10, 2015, at the young age of 61, after a short illness. We’ve lost a friend and close colleague who was a strong voice for First Nations building inspectors. He was passionate about trying to make change, and ultimately improving living conditions for all First Nations communities. Back in 2001, I met Bud at a meeting in Ottawa. There he was, along with other leaders from the First Nations housing-inspection sector, meeting to talk about how to improve capacity for inspectors. READ IT HERE
For most of Canada, conducting Building inspections is not a challenge. However, conducting inspections for new homes in many First Nations is not always possible. When this happens, homes are not constructed to national building code requirements and will need major repairs in a few years. This is especially a problem in First Nations remote communities. READ IT HERE
She sleeps on the streets, her head resting on a worn out cream leather handbag, its contents spill from the broken zip, an array of dirty clothing. What do you do when you cannot look at a face? There is a homelessness of soul in the ungodly manner of those who walk past her, striving only to see a glimpse of her bare bony arched feet that bleed into the blisters and callouses of a life barely lived. In the background street music fills a silence, drumming like a hammer to the nails of a coffin READ IT HERE
The Girl With No Shoes
Indigenous Peoples' Housing Crisis in Manitoba
We believe it fitting to share this tribute by John Kiedrowski