Attawapiskat housing

People living in the Attawapiskat Reserve in Northern Ontario say it’s time to bring in the army.

Interim NDP leader Nycole Turmel says they have told her they want the help, so she’s written to Prime Minister Harper, asking him to dispatch troops to help with the housing crisis.

Turmel says people are still living in garden sheds, and tents and families are worried about surviving the winter that has already set in along James Bay.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Ottawa said it is prepared to evacuate some residents, until better housing can be brought in.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan says the other immediate solution to the reserve’s housing shortage would be to retrofit a sportsplex and a healing centre as short-term accommodations.