(Photo: submitted; Carol Ann and her family)
Carol Ann Ballantyne and her family have been living in an RV for three winters now in the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation community of Pelican Narrows.
Ballantyne spoke with MBC Radio News and stated that she applied for a band house two years ago and there has been no movement on her application.
“I put in the application two years ago, and I keep checking with them to see if they’ve reviewed my housing application, and they said they haven’t even reviewed it yet,” she said.
Ballantyne stated that the band cannot provide her with power or propane to heat her RV because the band has to follow certain codes and guidelines.
Previously, Ballantyne was on welfare, but now she has been working here and there to be able to afford propane.
“In the winter months a 20-pound propane tank lasts us a couple of nights, and a 30-pound tank lasts about four days. Right now I’m using a 100-pound tank, and it only lasts us not even a week, and it’s still cold with the heat on high,” she explained.
Last year Ballantyne got power hooked up, but her mother had to pay for the electrical outlet to be installed. She stated that even while running electric heaters, the RV doesn’t get warm due to its thin walls and lack of insulation.
Right now, there are eight people living in the RV, including five children whose ages range from one year old to 17 years old.
“They’re usually missing school because they are cold or sick; that’s how it affects us in our daily lives: missing school or missing work,” she said.
Ballantyne hopes to save enough money to purchase lumber to build a home but worries about heating that as well because her daughter is asthmatic and can’t have a fireplace in the house.
When asked what changes she would like to see from the housing committee of PBCN, she said the following: “I would ask them to look at the young people that are out here really helping themselves and that are sober and looking after children and to give them a nice warm home.”
At the time of publishing this story, PBCN hasn’t responded to comment on Ballantyne’s situation.