Military members arrive in Pimicikamak with eye on fixing water plant

The first team of Canadian Armed Forces members arrived in Pimicikamak Cree Nation on Monday to help the northern Manitoba community recover from the aftermath of a prolonged power outage.

Seven members from the Kingston, Ont.-based Canadian Forces Joint Operational Support Group include construction engineering, plumbing and heating, and electrical generation systems experts.

“Specifically, this advance team will support the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Manitoba by assessing repair and sustainment requirements for the water treatment plant, sewage plant, and power generation systems, as well as providing guidance on project management and logistics,” CAF spokesman Lieut. Cammeron Radford said in a statement.

Pimicikamak Cree Nation Chief David Monias said the crew would first be tasked with assessing one of the community’s water treatment plants, which has been out of commission for two weeks.

“They’re doing a site tour of the water plant right now, take notes, identify what needs to be fixed, and assess how it needs to be fixed, and what resources are required to fix it,” he told reporters in Winnipeg before he was supposed to return to Pimicikamak.

The total number of CAF members who could be deployed depends on the results of the initial assessment.

“The size, structure, and capability of Canadian Armed Forces support is tailored to the specific needs of the province-led emergency response,” Radford said.

Pipes, tanks and pumps froze during an outage that lasted about four days and was caused by a broken transmission line in a remote area.

Pimicikamak’s water and sewage treatment systems sustained damage. Monias said it is becoming clear that every one of the more than 1,300 homes in the community will require some sort of repair.

“They may be from minor repairs to major repairs. We have some houses that (have) damaged floors. We have a house that’s cracked right down the middle… it’s like there was an earthquake.”

Water leaked into basements and crawlspaces after pipes burst and thawed. Sewage backed up into several bathrooms. Some residences require electrical repairs.

About 4,000 of Pimicikamak’s roughly 7,000 residents left for Winnipeg, Thompson and other places during and after the outage. Many remain in hotels.

“They’re experiencing emotional and mental distress because it’s not healthy to be secluded in four walls in a hotel room,” said Pimicikamak band councillor Shirley Robinson.

Plumbers and other workers from out of province are also on their way to the First Nation to help with the water and electrical issues.

A 100-person camp has been established in the community and there are talks to set up another 30-person camp as crews arrive.

Monias said a company from the United States reached out as well about sending a portable water plant.

Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management, announced the military’s deployment last Friday, more than a week after Monias asked Prime Minister Mark Carney for CAF aid. The Manitoba government sent a formal request for military aid Jan. 5.

Some tradespeople on the way to Pimicikamak are from Winnipeg and other cities in Western Canada, Premier Wab Kinew said.

“What we’re looking at is more about turning to the private sector,” he told reporters at an unrelated event Monday. “It’s about getting the Red Seals and the apprentices, it’s about getting the contractors and the businesses up there to help with the rebuilding and repair, and return home for people in Pimicikamak.”

Eventually, there will be a conversation about long-term fixes, Kinew noted.

“For right now, when you’re in an immediate recovery stage, it’s important that we all work together,” he said.

The premier welcomed the military’s arrival.

“CAF has that logistical ability to just triage, assess, co-ordinate and then deploy,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of resources heading into the community. Let’s just make sure they’re co-ordinated so people can go home soon.”

The incorporated community of Cross Lake, located next to Pimicikamak, also lost power for days. Backup generators were used to power water and sewage treatment systems in Cross Lake.

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Kinew said Cross Lake’s water treatment plant has served the incorporated community and Pimicikamak since the outage.

More than two dozen buildings, mostly homes, in Cross Lake sustained water damage after pipes froze and burst.

Leadership is facing another hurdle as the roughly 1,200 staying in Thompson are expected to be out of accommodations later this week because local hotel rooms are being used for a hockey tournament, said Monias.

— with files from The Canadian Press and Tyler Searle

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.