A Manitoba First Nation says it bears no responsibility in a fire that killed two teens and a toddler, shifting the blame onto the children’s parents and asking the courts to dismiss their lawsuit.
In a statement of defence filed May 10 in the Court of King’s Bench, Cross Lake First Nation denied claims from Melodie and Patrick North that it failed to provide adequate and safe housing for their family.
The Norths named Cross Lake as the sole defendant in a January lawsuit seeking damages for the deaths of their children: 17-year-old Kobie North and sisters Jade, 13, and Reed, 2.
According to their statement of claim, the children — along with their parents, another child and Kobie’s girlfriend — were asleep inside a single-room shelter provided to them by the Cross Lake band, when a fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. Feb. 12, 2022.
The Norths said they had been forced to live in the shelter, which was intended to be a temporary isolation unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to inadequate housing on the First Nation.
The building measured 256 square feet and featured one door, three small windows, no fire extinguishers and limited access to running water, they said.
While Cross Lake admits the community struggles with a lack of housing, the statement of defence says the family was “offered one or more options” for alternative housing and chose to live inside the shelter.
The statement alleges the family exceeded the building’s capacity by allowing seven people to sleep inside, instead of the five it was meant to hold. It also claims the Norths made the structure unsafe when they constructed a makeshift enclosure over the building’s exterior entrance without approval from First Nations officials.
The Norths describe the enclosure as a “porch” in their statement of claim, saying they were using the space to “accommodate a slop pail for the family to urinate and defecate” and that the First Nation “ought to have known” about its existence.
According to Cross Lake, the enclosure was constructed of flammable materials and not adherent to building codes. It alleges the family was using a heating plate — a culinary device that functions similarly to a stove element — to heat the enclosure overnight, sparking the fire.
“The premises were safe for habitation at the time the premises were turned over for occupancy,” Cross Lake said, adding it asked the Norths to remove the enclosure and it “did not have responsibility for, or control over” its construction.
“The plaintiffs were responsible for building and/or placing the enclosure onto the premises and as such willingly assumed … the risks that the enclosure might catch fire and/or impede the escape.”
The statement of defence does not address several allegations from the North claim, including that community firefighters took 30 minutes to respond to the blaze and, when they arrived, had no water or equipment to suppress the flames.
News of the tragedy captured the attention of the public and Indigenous leadership, who called for additional housing and firefighting resources in the community.
Cross Lake has filed a third party claim against Indigenous Services Canada, claiming the federal government should cover the cost of damages for the North family, should the First Nation be found legally liable.
The federal government failed to ensure adequate housing on the reserve, forcing it to house band members in temporary structures, such as the one that caught fire, Cross Lake said.
“If Cross Lake has any liability to the plaintiffs, which is not admitted but expressly denied, then Cross Lake is entitled to contribution and indemnification from ISC,” it said.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’ city desk. Since joining the paper in 2022, he has found himself driving through blizzards, documenting protests and scouring the undersides of bridges for potential stories.
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