OTTAWA, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The Canadian government Wednesday offered to relocate Indian families living in shacks in northern Ontario until adequate housing can be provided.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said in a letter to Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence a third-party manager appointed by Ottawa is prepared to buy 15 modular homes to help address the community's housing crisis, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The homes would not be delivered until a winter road to the community of about 1,800 opens in about two months, the network said. In the meantime, families, many who live in uninsulated shacks without electricity, could move into a local sportsplex or healing lodge, or be evacuated, he said.
The CBC said Spence hadn't responded publicly to Duncan's offer.
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New Democratic Party interim leader Nycole Turmel said Ottawa should send in the military to help deal with the housing crisis.
"There is no time to waste," she wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
When asked about Turmel's suggestion, Duncan said, "unlike the NDP we are focused on the residents of Attawapiskat and not on scoring political points."
"We've been working on a plan around the clock … to ensure residents, especially children, have warm, dry places to sleep," he said.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo told the CBC it's important for tribal members to lead the way in arriving at solutions, rather than the federal government imposing them. But he said if a tribal leader or government felt the military's aid was needed, he would support it.
Tensions have been rising between Canada's government and Indians living in the remote north over substandard housing conditions as winter approaches.
Spence declared an emergency in October and launched a highly publicized campaign complaining about insufficient federal funding. Red Cross workers arrived last week in the community near James Bay and the federal government said it would help as well.
Since then, Harper has turned the tables, saying he wanted a full accounting of how $90 million in federal funding has been spent since 2006, Postmedia News said.
The Indian and northern affairs department sent a government "third-party" official to oversee the town's operations, but he was ordered out this week.
Indian officials from across the country have been stepping up pressure on the government in recent days in Ottawa to shut down the Indian affairs department and abolish the original 1881 act governing them.
An estimated 615 Indian communities live in poverty in more than 3,000 reservations, the Vancouver Sun said.
Indian officials called Tuesday for the United Nations to intervene in the dispute with the government, which includes oil and mineral rights, the Sun said. There was no immediate indication U.N. officials would become involved.
