Manitoba Pipestone - Aboriginal News Briefs - May 2013

Nations opposed to peat mining in Interlake region

In mid-April, the Fisher River Cree Nation, the Peguis First Nation and area cottagers planned a public demonstration near the Berger Peat Moss Ltd. mining worksite. The demonstration was to protest the provincial government’s recent decision to uphold the licenses for Berger Peat Moss and Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd. to extract peat moss near the shore of Lake Winnipeg. Fisher River is charging the government with failing to consult adequately with First Nations regarding the impact peat mining in that area will have on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Last year, the nation undertook its own comprehensive study of the proposed peat mining of the area, consulting with independent environmental scientists, peat moss experts from around the country, and those living in the area. A promised meeting with the province to discuss the results of that report never occurred. Despite concerns repeated by both First Nations and the cottagers, the government went ahead with the approvals.

First Nations interested in land along The Forks

The Brokenhead Ojibway, Buffalo Point, Rolling River, Wuskwi Sipihk, Sapotaweyak Cree and the Opaskwayak Cree First Nations are interested in Parcel 4, a gravel patch of vacant land at The Forks. The city-owned land, across from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, was to be sold to a private company last year to develop a waterpark but because of controversy the company withdrew its proposal. The Forks Renewal Corporation and the City of Winnipeg recently announced they are undertaking a planning initiative to decide what to do with the land, which has been used for years as a parking lot. The Treaty Land Entitlement Committee (TLEC) of Manitoba has issued a news release stating several First Nations have a “keen interest” in developing that land, claiming it fits to have a First Nations presence at the historic site. The Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine rivers merge, has been an important place for First Nations for 6,000 years, according to historians. After the arrival of Europeans, it became a key meeting place for First Nations and fur traders. The Manitoba TLE framework agreement was signed in 1997 between Canada, Manitoba and the TLEC to address the outstanding land entitlement owed to the treaty First Nations.

Lawsuits filed for 2011 flood

Dauphin River First Nation has joined Little Saskatchewan, Pinaymootang and Lake St. Martin First Nations in suing the Manitoba government over the 2011 flood which has left most of the community near Lake Winnipeg uninhabitable. Dauphin River is claiming $100 million in damages, according to court documents obtained by CBC News. That takes the First Nations claims against the government for the 2011 flood up to $1.3 billion. Court documents indicate that the Manitoba government faces nearly a dozen more flood lawsuits dating back to 1997. The $950 million class action lawsuit filed in April 2012 by the four First Nations claims the government was negligent in its operation of a number of water-control structures, including the Shellmouth Dam and the Portage Diversion, causing excessive flooding in their reserves as a result.

Flood protection for First Nations needed

A recently released report on the 2011 flood says the Manitoba government needs to improve flood forecasting and protection for First Nations. The government struck an independent task force more than a year ago to take a critical look at the province’s flood forecasting, preparedness, response, public communications and operation of flood control structures. The report says the province had to choose between the forced flooding of Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin or continue to let the water rise on the Assinibione river and flood that area. The province chose to flood the lakes anticipating less damage. However, 7,100 people, mostly Aboriginal, were forced from their homes due to the inundation of redirected water into Lake Manitoba. About 2,000 still remain displaced. The report also says the province should urge the federal government, which has primary responsibility for First Nations, to develop an emergency management plan for flooding on reserves. Manitoba experiences some level of flooding every spring as melt water flows in from as far away as the Rocky Mountains.

Little Saskatchewan reserve to move to higher grounds

The federal and provincial governments have reached a deal to split the cost of rebuilding the Little Saskatchewan First Nation reserve on higher ground, two years after residents were flooded out. The $12-million deal will provide 40 homes, plus a building for a church, which will help 200 of the 360 residents of the reserve head home, said Manitoba’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson in an interview with Canadian Press. An agreement signed between the First Nation and the province in December laid the groundwork for this deal. Little Saskatchewan already owns eight parcels of land on higher ground in the flood-prone Interlake, purchased years ago by leaders who anticipated a move was inevitable. An agreement now must be reached with the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale on the selection of lands for the settlement. In addition to setting up a new reserve for the evacuees, there is also work to be done on the existing reserve. It will remain reserve land but is too heavily flood damaged to be useful. Additional issues include ownership of mineral rights, access and third-party interests on the new reserve parcel of land, along with a community plan to lay out the new housing, and large scale sewer and water projects.