Somebody forgot to turn the house-making machine off!
If you’ve driven through beautiful downtown Headingley lately on the Trans-Canada Highway, you may have noticed that for the past year or so, the lot just west of Matix Lumber has been jammed with new ready-to-move houses.
Upon completion, the houses are hauled away in bunches. Then, in the spaces left open by those houses, more houses are built!
Being the nosy busybody I am, I just had to find out what that was all about. What I found was not "fake news," but good news, and, in fairly short form, it goes like this.
Many of you will remember that seven years or so ago, the people of Lake St. Martin First Nation were flooded out of their homes, and have been residing everywhere but there, many in Winnipeg, ever since.
It hasn’t been a pleasant experience for these frustrated flood victims. As we all know, change is hard, especially when that change is forced upon you by elements beyond your control, and especially during that lost period when there’s no end in sight.
Last January, Matix Lumber, having bid on the contract to build and deliver 190 three-, four- and five-bedroom homes to the new townsite, was informed it had won the contract, and immediately cranked the production line into high gear!
The goal was to build 190 homes in 10 months, prior to which, Sue Matic, one of the Matix owners, tells me they sat down with 190 families to go over floor plans, pick the proper-sized home for each family and attend to all the details that had to be decided upon before the new family home could be hauled up Highway 6 to its new site.
The costs of this massive undertaking are covered by a combination of federal and provincial funding.
Sue says she and the Matix team have been "living and breathing" this project for the past year, and notes there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the looks on the families’ faces when they are handed the keys to their brand-spanking-new home.
Sue says that predictably, with a project this size, there’s been a snag or two in getting all the new homes up there within the time predicted, but that all 190 should be in place within the next month to month and a half.
It takes 35 to 40 days to build a home at the Matix site, before it gets hauled to the new site for completion. It takes a village to build a village, and Sue is happy to report that, along with the regular Matix construction staff, "Matix, over the past year, has employed up to 80 Lake St. Martin residents to assist with the construction of their new Prairie homes, the workers split between the Headingley build site and Lake St. Martin, where all the installation/finishing work is done."
I spoke with Chief Adrian Sinclair regarding his feelings on the project, and, as with Sue, he is thrilled to see the community coming back together.
"After seven years, it is such a good feeling to see our residents returning to Lake St. Martin, and their new homes; to nature, and our culture. I am, of course, sad for those who left us in the meantime, and are no longer here to accept a key and move into their new home."
Disasters of this sort inevitably take a toll, and, in this case, displacement from home led to the kind of stressors that sometimes result in lives being lost, and Sinclair notes that, ever so unfortunately, that is true of this situation.
"But I am, of course, happy for those who remain with us to see this day, and very proud that this project will soon have been fulfilled."
I asked Sinclair if he has a new home on-site, and if he’s had a chance to enjoy it yet.
"Yes, I will have one of the new homes, but it will be the very last to be finished, and I will not move in until all the evacuees have moved back and are comfortable in their new homes first."
Truly admirable, and that is what leadership and love of community are all about.
Sue tells me that one of those evacuees is a Mr. Raven, and he is on pins and needles with anticipation awaiting the moment he is handed his key and can move in. Mr. Raven, just want you to know we’re thinking of you, can understand your excitement and hope you get those keys STAT!
Seven years is a long time to be away from one’s home; the peace that nature provides; the comfort of living with one’s own family, relatives, neighbours; and the truth of living one’s own culture.
I know I personally would find seven years a long time to be homesick!
Congrats to all involved for hanging in there and persevering to get the job done. There’s no place like home.
Comments or feedback, love to hear from you at lmustard1948@gmail.com.
