Lake St. Martin homes slated for demolition sold off instead

Some condemned buildings slated for demolition at flood-ravaged Lake St. Martin have been sold off instead.

The federal government paid nearly $2 million to have the buildings torn down.

But it appears a number were moved off the reserve and sold by the band's chief and council.

"These are very serious allegations," said James Bezan, Member of Parliament for Selkirk-Interlake, in a press release Thursday afternoon. "The $2 million from the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC) contract with Lake St. Martin First Nation was to demolish the homes because they were contaminated, not to resell them."

Noel Beardy's home at Lake St. Martin was slated for demolition even though it had never been touched by flood waters.

"I kept thinking we were going to go home,” said Beardy. “ I thought this evacuation was going to be temporary,because my house wasn`t really affected by the flood — it was on high ground."

But friends called Beardy and said they saw his house on the move.

"I started getting calls that people seen that house on highway number six, on April 4 coming south."

Instead of being destroyed, the home was sold to a private individual.

Beardy tracked it down in Delta Beach, still full of his possessions.

"Man, I was really upset, I didn't even know what to think,” said Beardy. “I just took pictures and I just wanted to get out of there right away. I was really upset, even when my clothes were still there.”

Residents of Lake St. Martin fled the reserve in 2011 when a number of homes were damaged by flood waters.

Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada paid $1.98 million dollars to have 133 homes demolished.

Now it appears at least 20 buildings, including several mobile classrooms, were sold off.

The owner of a campground in Fairford, Man., said he brokered a sales deal for some buildings with Lake St. Martin's chief and some councillors.

The band doesn't have independent control of its finances; it's under third party management. Such a deal requires approval from Ottawa.

Noel Beardy has gone to RCMP with questions on these matters.

"When they were supposed to be demolished, why were they sold for other people to live in if they were condemned? And who's making money? What happened to the money?"

Bezan said not all of the the $2 million of the contract with AANDC has been transferred, and Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada officials are going to suspend further transfers until the allegations are investigated.

"We will forward any evidence of criminal wrongdoing to the appropriate policing authority," said Bezan. "Taxpayer dollars must be used for their intended purposes only."

A spokesperson for Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada said the money sent to the band was for demolitions.

Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Canada is investigating and will forward the findings to police if warranted.