Lake Manitoba flood victims plan class-action lawsuit against province

WINNIPEG – Home and cottage owners whose properties were devastated by flooding last year are organizing a class-action lawsuit against the Manitoba government.

“It was a man made flood, yes there was horrendous damage all along the south basin,” says Dennis Turek of the Twin Lakes Beach Association.

The province ran the Portage Diversion well over capacity last spring, trying to drain as much water as possible off the flooding Assiniboine River before it reached vulnerable dikes near Winnipeg. The diversion sent huge amounts of water into Lake Manitoba, raising the water level and making lakeside communities vulnerable to flooding. A windstorm May 31st, 2011 sent walls of water crashing into many communities, destroying hundreds of homes and cottages.

Manitoba’s NDP government promised compensation but many are unhappy with the process so far. The province says it’s had 2,675 applications for compensation from the Lake Manitoba area – of those, there have been 97 appeals so far. A provincial spokesperson acknowledged the “potential law suit” in an email to Global News but otherwise the NDP government has refused to comment.

“It seems like one chronic delay after another,” says Rudi Kitsch who hopes the legal action will give him another option for compensation. “It saddens me that it has to get to this point.”

Next month hundreds of property owners from along Lake Manitoba are expected to pack a meeting in the Sisler High School gym. They will hear from a lawyer who will explain what exactly a class action lawsuit could mean to them and if it’s worthwhile to sign up.

“Some people may still be unhappy with the settlement that they got so this is sort of the alternative, or another option that the may want to look at,” says Turek. He couldn’t say what sum of money they’d be seeking in the law suit. The province has already said it’s facing flood recovery costs of $1 billion.

No one from the provincial government was willing to comment on the possibility of facing a class action law suit from flood victims.

Four flooded out First Nations are also suing the province.