Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 29, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 TOP NEWS winnipegfreepress. com 665 Stafford St. ( at Pembina Hwy.) Stafford Square Mall ( Behind Price Choppers) 204- 453- 6473 BEST PRICE GUARANTEED!!! Scooters $ 1095 from WED. TO FRI. NOON - 8PM | SAT. 9: 30AM - 5PM ALL SALES ARE FINAL. SOLD AS IS IN JULY UP 75 % TO OFF Furniture Factory Outlet 630 Kernaghan Ave Door 79 | 204.988.0800 We can help. 204- 925- 0600 or 1( 800) 805- 8885 www. adam. mb. ca SUBMITTED PHOTO Wesley Moneyas ( left) accuses the provincial government of ' nickel- and- diming' the project, which was announced before the 2011 election. A COMMUNITY is still waiting for an interpretive centre promised by the Selinger government five years ago. The $ 2.5- million interpretive centre at the Hollow Water First Nation was heralded as a " first- of- its- kind attraction" by Premier Greg Selinger in 2010. It was designed to teach visitors about the cultural heritage of the area, touted as the gateway to Manitoba's east side and the world's last intact boreal forest. Hollow Water is 210 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Five years later, the site of the planned Waabanong Anishinaabe Interpretive Learning Centre in Currie's Landing Wayside Provincial Park, just east of Hollow Water, sits vacant and the government is being accused of " nickel- and- diming" the First Nation. Wesley Moneyas, chairman of the nonprofit corporation in charge of the centre, said residents have lost faith and patience in the provincial government. " When you promise people that you are going to build something and then you negate on that promise, then the trust is gone," Moneyas told the Free Press . The government said the project was delayed after there was a " change in scope" and the province wanted " to take the time ensure we got it right," said Michelle Wallace, executive director at the Manitoba Tourism secretariat. The change in scope meant instead of a building, there would be a system of trails and interpretive programming similar to what's planned for Upper Fort Garry Park in Winnipeg. " There was an extensive process of working with the community and consulting with them, so yes it did take some time, but we are glad we are moving forward with it now," Wallace said. Moneyas, a former councillor at the First Nation who currently resides in the area, has a different take on the redesign. " Without the building, you don't have anything. What you have is a park," he said, adding he was consistently at odds with provincial representatives over the redesign. " Every meeting we went to, we always said that the building is the focus of this project. Without the building, you are nickle- and- diming the project." Prairie Architects Inc. was originally tapped to design the project and released renderings of an expansive design consisting of two levels, a roof garden, an elders gathering place and a classroom. When the project was announced in 2010, Prairie Architects was involved and construction was scheduled for spring of 2011. However, according to Moneyas and Don Suillivan, the interim director of the centre, the plan was too ambitious and the contractor that won the bid for the design, Falcon Lake Industries, was unable to deliver the project within budget. The design was scrapped, forcing the government back to the drawing board. Last month, the province opened up invitations to bid for phase one of the project, with a design from ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design. Tourism Minister Ron Lemieux said the project will be completed in three phases. Lemieux, who was not the tourism minister in 2010, was not aware of the first design, but said he was " disappointed" by the comments made by Moneyas. " The main principle is that we are supportive of the interpretive centre, the money is still there and still on the table, and we are going to work within that $ 2.5 million to phase it in," Lemieux said. " The commitment has always been there... some people are shooting for the stars and they want something much larger than what may not be financially practical." Moneyas said the community feels used by the Selinger government, which announced the project ahead of the 2011 election. Since bids for phase one of the overhauled project are currently being accepted, it will give the government a chance to again make an announcement ahead of the 2016 election, he said. " They are going to make a whole bunch of promises again to entice the voters in our area and it seems like a pattern: a lot of promises and big empty spaces," he said. kristin. annable@ freepress. mb. ca ' Trust is gone' as province delays First Nation project Five years later, interpretive centre remains unbuilt By Kristin Annable PRAIRIE ARCHITECTS Above and below: renderings of the original design for the interpretive centre. OTTAWA - First Nations that don't comply with federal rules to make public the salaries of chiefs and council and finances of band- owned businesses will start seeing federal funding docked by Sept. 1, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt said Tuesday. In a statement, Valcourt said there will be no grace period or extension like there was last year, the first year the First Nations Fiscal Transparency Act was in effect. " I have directed that the sanctions not target essential services that support First Nation members," Valcourt said. That means funding for things such as health care and social assistance won't be touched but funding for band council operations, including salaries, non- essential projects and pensions, will be withheld. Last year, only 12 of 582 bands across the country refused to comply with the new reporting requirements. Two of them were in Manitoba - Roseau River First Nation and Dakota Tipi First Nation. Valcourt said bands that don't comply will get several formal reminders, but there will be no extensions. " Our government will continue to stand firm for accountability and transparency for all Canadians, and we urge all band leadership to file the appropriate documents in accordance with the law," he said. NDP aboriginal affairs critic Niki Ashton said she finds the statements " very troubling." " The government is playing games with people's lives in communities where the needs are immense," said Ashton. She added it's rich for the government to be demanding transparency from First Nations in the same week its MPs vote down a plan to call Finance Minister Joe Oliver to testify in public about the state of Canada's finances after several banks predicted Canada was in a recession for the first half of the year. Ashton also accused the government of " race baiting" by putting out a news release demanding First Nations open up their books when most complied with the law last year. mia. rabson@ freepress. mb. ca First Nations to lose funding if books closed Feds vow to end grace period By Mia Rabson THE Canadian Museum for Human Rights and its proponents, Gail Asper and Moe Levy, are the winners of this year's Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award. The award will be presented during a ceremony Nov. 5 at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada began conferring the award in 2010 to honour " original thinkers and initiators of conflict resolution," it said in a press release. Previous award recipients include Dr. Izzeldine Aboulaish, known as the " Gaza Doctor" - whose contributions toward Arab- Israeli peace were recognized and later nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, former Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Avrum Burg, retired lieutenant- general Romeo Dallaire for his work on behalf of the UN during the Rwandan genocide and Justice Murray Sinclair, chairman of the Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. No award was given in 2014. The Winnipeg- based centre is involved in an innercity summer teaching program for indigenous students, essay competitions for senior high school students promoting messages of peace and non- violence and it is establishing a scholarship program. CMHR wins Peace Award A_ 04_ Jul- 29- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A4 7/ 28/ 15 9: 33: 41 PM ;