From: on behalf of Panel Registry Subject: FW: TNG registration of ...

appear to be aging very well. 78 These houses in the community are spread out sparsely in small
clusters from Konni Lake to Chilko Lake. Despite the age of much of the log housing it is still
relatively functional and comfortable. There are issues with rot and mold due to leaky roofs and
leaky pipes, and ventilation as well as with draftiness and poor accessibility for seniors but recent
renovations by the community have rectified some of these concerns. There continues to be a
demand
for new modern housing but INAC housing stipends are not sufficient to build new single
family housing and few in the community can afford to finance a home themselves.
Infrastructure in the XGCA is relatively sparse and largely locally maintained. Water, energy, and
health infrastructures have already been discussed in earlier sections, so these need no further
discussion here. Sanitation, telecommunication and public buildings used by the Xeni Gwet’in are
largely in the Nemiah Valley and are very small in scale. The road network in and out of the XGCA is
comprised of tertiary gravel and bush roads and are partially maintained by the Xeni Gwet’in up to
the Stone Reserve and thereafter maintained by the Interior Roads Ltd. There is only one four
season
gravel road accessing the Nemiah Valley from Highway 20. There is also one four season
gravel road maintained by Interior Roads Ltd. into north Chilko Lake.
Other infrastructure like Xeni Gwet’in government buildings comprise of a Band Office, the Health
and Social Services building, the daycare, the Tourism/Economic Development office, the Xeni
Enterprise Trailer, the Public Works yard and the K‐9 school, which are clustered together near the
west end of Konni Lake. Telecommunication infrastructure is based on radio or satellite systems,
with practically every household and office having access to one or the other. Sanitation is fairly
decentralized
with each household on septic fields and tanks, except for the public buildings and an
adjacent sub‐division which have a centralized septic system.
Climate change may affect Xeni Gwet’in housing and infrastructure in both immediate and longer
term ways. In the immediate term the occurrence of wild fires may threaten the destruction or
damage of housing and infrastructure. Houses, in particular, will be difficult to protect because they
are so spread out throughout the Nemiah Valley. This is not the case for for community buildings,
which are fairly centralized near the head of Konni Lake. Road access is the only mass evacuation
route out of the XGCA at the moment and if it is blocked due to fire or damaged bridges, there are
few alternatives for efficient evacuation. Telecommunication may be fairly resilient to wild fires
because
it is either based on radio or satellite systems, which are not dependent on a central hub in
the region. Similarly, sanitation is fairly decentralized, except for the public buildings.
In the medium to long‐term, wetter and milder winters and unpredictable storms may increase the
incidence of flooding and wind damage in certain areas as well as the incidence of mold and mildew
in
the houses and public buildings if they are not well maintained. It may also wreak havoc on the
roads networks due to more frequent icing and thawing or washouts. 79
Firefighting capacity has been discussed above and needs no further elaboration. The Xeni Gwet’in
have fairly strong capabilities to deal with road maintenance and repair but not bridge repair. They
do not have much in the way of resources to monitor and deal for flood protection, sanitation repair
and telecommunication equipment repair. They do have a number of good carpenters but few
other trades people and few funds to undertake building repair, although INAC is theoretically
78 Comments from Jon Tanis, Carpenter and resident of Nemiah Valley.
79 Typically, winter is easier on the roads than the other seasons because the snow and ice act as a shield against wear and
tear. With more frequent thawing, the roads could become quite slick and pot‐holed. As well, floods have occurred east
of Konni Lake and Elkins Creek and even at the Band office. These may become more common.
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