The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)
Chatham

Black mould continues to plague Walpole Island First Nation

After roughly 15 years of being forced to live in a condemned house, a local resident is bringing his community's contamination problem to light.

Kirk Peters has lived in a house 153 Snye Subdivision Rd. on Walpole Island since 1995. In 1999, the house that Peters, his mother, and siblings were living in was condemned due to black mould forming.

"Any corner of the room, if you didn't wash it every two-weeks the black mould was just going to skyrocket and take-off," said Peters. " Our house wasn't built with a moisture barrier either."

It wasn't until two months ago that Peters was able to move out of the house and into a new location, in Wallaceburg.

According to the Lancet, in 2000 a federal report warned that inadequate housing was seriously damaging to Indigenous health, education, employment, and social well-being. Then in 2009, the Canadian government earmarked $400 million to support new on-reserve housing and renovations of existing social housing.

Eight years ago, however, an audit report from Canada's Auditor General charged that the Indigenous housing crisis was still deepening.

Today, the problem still exists on Indigenous land across the province. In February, the Cat Lake First Nation, a community with almost 500 people and located in Northern Ontario, declared a state of emergency after nearly one-fifth of the homes there were deemed uninhabitable.

Peters' family was forced with the decision of staying in the house and mitigating the side-effects with steroid puffers – similar medication to what is prescribed to children with asthma – or leaving their land. Not wanting to vacant their land, the family stayed in the home.

It's a decision that many families still have to make, Peters said.

"They built the whole subdivision like that so there are about 30 houses in there that all have the same problem," said Peters. "The moisture goes into the house and it can't leave... it's airtight."

The home carried risks for Peters' mother, who died a few years ago. She was diagnosed with Hepatitis B, and although there is no proof of black mould exposure causing auto-immune defects, "the life-altering risks associated with the fungus heightens in people with lung diseases or weakened immune systems," according to Medical News Today.

The loss of his mother, paired with the realization of how bad living in the house was, has triggered Peters to consider legal action against the Bkejwanong First Nation.

"This is kind of a last resort for me," said Peters, of trying to get a lawyer who practices Indigenous Law. "It's a brick wall... I'm not getting through."

The First Nation responded to the ongoing problem of homes being contaminated with black mould. Michael Dashner is the director of operations with the First Nation. He says the band council acknowledges the ongoing problem. However, due to a lack of funding and staffing, there is not much practical work they can do to remedy the problem.

"To maintain the First Nation we are underfunded 20 to 30 percent," he said. "When we do get a few dollars in any one area we have about 10 areas that are underfunded so we have to try and see which one needs the bigger band-aid."

Walpole Island sets aside a budget of roughly $80,000 for a basic home. Addressing the situation would add an additional one-third of the budget's amount to 2020, said Dashner.

Because of the tight budget, the First Nation can't afford materials that are used to keep moisture out. It's a problem which Walpole Island is more susceptible too because topographically it is built below sea-level.

The First Nation is taking steps to educate residents about black mould by setting up homecare workshops in the community.

The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)

The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)

The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)

The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)

The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters) The former home of Kirk Peters on Snye Subdivision Road. (Photo submitted by Kirk Peters)

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