A Manitoba First Nation is suing the Indigenous-owned company it hired to build 20 housing units, alleging it “abandoned” the project before it was completed and prolonged the reserve’s housing crisis.
Dakota Tipi First Nation, located five kilometres southwest of Portage, filed a claim against Bison Modular Homes and several associated companies in Court of King’s bench last month.
The homes, which were to be constructed using steel shipping containers, were to add “desperately needed” housing to the reserve, says the claim.
In a December 2021 agreement, Bison agreed to deliver an assortment of single-family units, duplexes and triplexes from March and June of 2022, it said.
The suit alleges Bison “abandoned the work site and ceased all progress” after delivering all but four housing units.
“Bison took advantage of a community in need and aggravated the impact of the housing shortage and poverty in the community by taking the funding and leaving the community without homes,” the suit says.
“Punitive damages are required to send a message to Bison, home builders generally and the community at large that such conduct, particularly toward First Nation communities who rely on government programs and funding, will not be tolerated.”
Bison received $1.8 million before the project began and $3 million was paid to the company in four monthly instalments as construction progressed. The project was paid for by federal funding and contributions from Dakota Tipi, the claim said.
Dakota Tipi said it began to have concerns about the “quality of modular housing units being provided and the delay in completing the construction” around the time the third instalment was paid in June 2022.
Regardless, the community paid the final instalment the following month “as an act of good faith in effort to move the contract forward.” Bison left the community, despite promising to complete the project and deliver the outstanding units before November of that year, the claim says.
The community alleges it is still owed two, single-bedroom duplexes. It also claims the modular housing complexes installed by Bison have “defects and deficiencies” including improperly constructed concrete slabs; deficient plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems; damaged windows and doors; and other issues.
As a result, the units are “uninhabitable” and “pose a real and substantial danger” to the community, it claimed.
Dakota Tipi said it has been ineligible to apply for further funding initiatives due to the unfinished project.
It is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
Faron Trippier and Tracy McMahon, the lawyers for Dakota Tipi, declined to comment Wednesday.
Bison has not filed a statement of defence and the claims against it have not been tested in court.
The company website identifies it as a First Nation-owned business.
“We don’t just build homes; we build futures and long-term relationships with our partners to ensure the longevity and prosperity of First Nations and Indigenous communities nationwide,” an online biography says.
A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.
Dakota Tipi has been involved in at least 29 lawsuits, both as a plaintiff and a defendant, dating back to 1996, as per the Manitoba Court registry.
Most recently, on Oct. 11, it filed suit against the provincial and federal governments and the Manitoba Métis Federation, claiming the defendants knowingly shut it out of discussions surrounding unceded land to which it holds Aboriginal title rights.
Dakota Tipi filed a similar lawsuit in August, claiming to have unceded rights to the territory where The Forks sits and seeking a court order granting it ownership of the land.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
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