Manitoba premier, other leaders to visit Pimicikamak on Wednesday

A delegation including Manitoba's premier will visit Pimicikamak Cree Nation on Wednesday, the First Nation's leadership said, days after thousands were evacuated from the northern community in the aftermath of a power outage.

Premier Wab Kinew, along with Indigenous and federal leaders, will tour the First Nation to see first-hand the damage caused by the days-long outage to the community's homes and infrastructure, Pimicikamak Chief David Monias said Monday.

"Sewer backed up onto the floors," Monias said during an interview on CBC's Up to Speed. "It's all ice sticking up from faucets. We have ice coming out of our electrical outlets and damages to the to the flooring and … foundation."

Manitoba Hydro restored power to the First Nation on Friday, almost a week after a power line feeding the community had snapped. But water that froze during the outage led to issues across Pimicikamak's plumbing system following restoration.

About 200 homes were damaged because of leaks and burst pipes, Monias said during a news conference Saturday. A water treatment plant was also impacted.

Roughly 4,000 evacuees were forced out of the community as a result.

"Some people are in Norway House, some people are in Thompson, and roughly about half of them are in Winnipeg," Monias said Monday.

"Everybody wants to go home. They miss home. They want to get started and clean up now that we have … electricity."

The delegation will include Assembly of First Nations' National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, as well as the grand chiefs of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, Kyra Wilson and Garrison Settee, respectively.

Rebecca Chartrand, the federal minister of northern and Arctic affairs, and officials with Indigenous Services Canada will also be there, Monias said.

The chief said he hopes the visit leads to long-term fixes to the community's aging infrastructure that will prevent similar outages in the future.

"We hope … there's [a] clear path forward with measurable outcomes with respect to a transmission line infrastructure and making our houses safe," Monias said.

"Make sure that the water lines are well-insulated to prevent them from freezing up, and to have a really good backup system in place for Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba."