More than eight years after flooding forced them to leave their homes, a Manitoba First Nation is taking Ottawa to court to demand that benefits continue for people who still don't have a home.

Lawyers for the Lake St. Martin First Nation are asking the Federal Court for an injunction and judicial review into what they say is a decision by Ottawa to cut off benefits for evacuees.

Members of the Lake St. Martin band were forced to leave their homes in 2011 when water was diverted from the Assiniboine River into Lake Manitoba to reduce the risk of flooding in Winnipeg.

Water from the lake then flooded the community and caused such extensive damage that all housing and infrastructure on the reserve needed to be replaced.