“The harm continued long after the lights came back on,” he said, detailing the physical and emotional toll on displaced families.
Monias noted that residents fled quickly under perilous conditions without knowing when they could return.
“Families left quickly, often with only essential belongings and no clear idea of when they could return,” he said.
He also described the physical devastation inside empty structures. “Some homes needed major repairs, some needed replacements.
Some were damaged so badly that demolition was required,” Monias said.
Monias criticized the province and Ottawa for failing to provide adequate disaster relief and accountability. “They're washing their hands, saying they're not responsible,” he said regarding government responses.
He stressed that both levels of government and the Crown corporation placed the First Nation in grave danger.
“It is both governments and Manitoba Hydro who put the citizens of the Cross Lake Band of Indians in the precarious position to be left without power in the dead of winter,” Monias said.
Monias asserted that officials were fully aware of the risks posed by single-line dependency in harsh winter climates.
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“They knew, or ought to have known, that it was just a matter of time before a system failure would endanger the lives of citizens in our community,” he said.
Historical Outages and Response Failures
Pimicikamak Councilor Shirley Robinson highlighted historical outage records and geographical vulnerabilities.
She said the community was left depending on one old and vulnerable power line, even though the danger was known and backup power was repeatedly requested.
