‘A fresh start:’ Deal reached for 4,000 Manitoba First Nations flood evacuees
WINNIPEG — About 4,000 members of Manitoba First Nations displaced by flooding six years ago are to share most of a $90-million settlement in a class-action lawsuit they filed against the provincial and federal governments.
Lawyer Sabrina Lombardi says payments could flow to the Lake St. Martin, Dauphin River, Little Saskatchewan and Pinaymootang First Nations as early as next spring if the deal is approved by a judge later this year.
“This settlement is designed to compensate the individuals for the disruption that they went through because of the flooding and give them a fresh start,” Lombardi of the Ontario law firm McKenzie Lake said Friday.
“This is compensating the individuals themselves who were displaced and disrupted — some for many, many years. Some are still displaced today.”