Canadian Government Fails Millbrook Families Yet Again

Millbrook First Nation Indian band evicting residents. All non-native residents will be forced to leave their homes behind without compensation. Canadian government and Nova Scotia provincial government so far refuses to provide assistance.

Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada – April 11, 2003 – With the July 1 eviction deadline nearing for non-native Millbrook families it is becoming increasingly clear that the federal and provincial government have no real concern about the outcome of the situation.

A few short weeks ago Nova Scotia officials went on record stating that no one would be left homeless because of the Millbrook closure and that there was assistance for all families who wished to apply for the fast tracked emergency help programs being made available. Since then, one family applying for the guaranteed assistance from Nova Scotia learned that they would be eligible for only $30 a month which comes nowhere close to offsetting the cost of the higher rent they would have to pay elsewhere or the loss of equity in their home. Other families that have applied in recent days have been told that there is a three week waiting period for an appointment to fill out the application and that there was no promise that the completed application would be looked at within the next four months. Unfortunately, four months to wait for "fast tracked" assistance goes well beyond the July 1 eviction date.

Colchester County and the Town of Truro have written letters to Ottawa and Halifax requesting help for these families but have yet to receive responses. The United Nations Human Settlement Programme briefed federal government officials about this crisis in February and was promised that a report would be sent by Ottawa within ten days of the briefing regarding what actions would be taken to deal with the situation. As of today, no report has been received at the UN. A director of the Human Settlement Programme will be meeting with federal officials this week to re-request the promised report of action.

"I cant imagine any situation where a government wouldnt want to help its citizens in times of need," said Jan Steen, volunteer of Canadianhomeless.org and friend to one of the affected families. "If representatives say its a question of money, what about the national and provincial budget surpluses that have been boasted of in recent months? And where did Ottawa come up with the $100 million to send to Iraq to help in its rebuilding after the war or the $53 million given to uninsured flood victims by Nova Scotia? I see this as no different than losing your home to a flood, except instead of nature causing the disaster its a group of people wanting to build a housing development."

Mary Urquhart, one of the soon to be evicted non-native Millbrook residents has had a lot of positive words given to her by locals that have been following the problem. "All of the people I run into these days have said how unfair were being treated by all sides in this eviction. I do remember reading one editorial in the local paper not long ago from a man who said eviction is part of life and to get over it and stop asking for help from the government. I say to him that its one thing to be kicked out of a home that you rent with your only concern being which new landlord is going to get your monthly rental cheque. Its another to be forced out of a home that you own and not have the opportunity to even sell it to recoup your losses and move on. Some of these places have over $15,000 of equity in them and thats a lot to just walk away from when in normal circumstances the value could be used towards purchasing or renting another residence."

Is this the last time a situation like this will happen? According to the Confederacy of Mainland Mikmaq, a comprehensive land claim has been filed in which they lay claim to the entire province of Nova Scotia – "all land within the province of Nova Scotia including all inland and adjacent waters" (www.cmmns.com). If any part of this claim goes through will other families lose their homes without being able to receive compensation for their losses like the Millbrook families? Are the non-native residents of Millbrook the first in a line of many to come that will be ignored by the provincial and federal government as they are kicked out onto the street?

In a March 25 article in the Truro Daily News, Chief Lawrence Paul stated that violence could erupt between natives and non-natives if promised fishing licenses were not quickly issued to band members. "If violence is a potential answer to solving such problems, what will Chief Paul do to get rid of the families currently living in the trailer park if the government doesnt come through in time to help them and they have nowhere to go?" said Steen. "Of course the families will have to leave on July 1 no matter what has been done to help them. Its an issue of safety now. The real question is will they be living in homes or will they have to pitch tents in the park?"

Canadianhomeless.org is a volunteer organization established by friends of the affected families in Truro, and by concerned citizens that saw the pleas from the Millbrook residents go unheard. The Canadianhomeless.org web site
was set up in 2002 to allow other concerned people from around the world to read news about the eviction and to facilitate a letter writing campaign to Canadian government officials in order to urge them to help in some way.

Becoming homeless because of economic status, race, or any reason is tragic and preventable, especially when there are so many options available to help.

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