Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 8, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba Appleton Holdings announces Franca Regina Cerqueti as new President and Chief Executive Officer For immediate release – The Board of Directors of Appleton Holdings Ltd. is pleased to announce the appointment of Franca Regina Cerqueti as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 4, 2024. Ms. Cerqueti comes to Appleton at an exciting time as its ownership was transferred to The Winnipeg Foundation in February, 2024, by the Estate of Miriam Bergen. “Franca brings a true love of community and appreciation for the Bergen family legacy to the role.” said George Bass, Chair of Appleton’s Board. “We look forward to working together to help ensure Appleton’s continued success.” Ms. Cerqueti joins Appleton from a Vice President and Managing Director position, at CMLS Financial, a leader in Canada’s commercial mortgage market. At CMLS she led the Western Canada team that was responsible for generating billions in annual real estate financing activities. Franca brings more than 25-year’s experience in managing clients with commercial real estate portfolios and providing creative solutions to complex and unique circumstances. She has a solid track record of helping family owned and institutionally owned real estate portfolios elevate to the next level while propelling profitable and sustainable growth. Ms. Cerqueti is a proud Winnipegger and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Finance and Accounting from the University of Manitoba. “I have profound gratitude for this exceptional opportunity to be of service.” said Ms. Cerqueti. “Miriam’s generosity to The Winnipeg Foundation is unprecedented, yet so Miriam. I’m dedicated to optimizing the benefits of this gift to ensure the citizens of Winnipeg have the resources to engage in the vast possibilities that will strengthen our community. I’m honored at the opportunity to be part of such meaningful work.” Appleton’s Vice-President of Operations, Paul Bedard, who has served as Interim President since January 2024, looks forward to working alongside Ms. Cerqueti to assist with her transition into her role. About Appleton Holdings Appleton Holdings Ltd owns and operates residential and commercial buildings in Winnipeg through Edison Properties. In November 2022, the company’s late owner Miriam Bergen gifted the shares of Appleton to The Winnipeg Foundation through a bequest in her will. The gift, valued at approximately $500 million, was the largest gift ever made to a Canadian charity by an individual. THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2024WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 NEWS I TOP NEWS Robinson Treaties decision reverberates in Manitoba I N late July, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a groundbreaking ruling on a treaty dispute in On- tario to which Manitobans should pay attention. In 1850, leaders from 34 First Nations signed the Robinson Treaties with the British Crown, giving soon-to- be-created Canada and Ontario access to more than 100,000 square kilome- tres of land via two agreements. At the time, the British were moti- vated by the abundance of minerals in the region — copper and iron, in particular — so, unlike previous trea- ties (which were predominantly peace, alliance or “land cession” agreements), the Crown’s representative, William Benjamin Robinson, was somewhat giving in what he had to offer. In exchange for the use of First Nations territories, communities were offered more than just promises of a reserve and a “continuation of life.” They were offered an annual payment that would start at around a dollar and a half and increase via an “escalator clause” as resources in the region were extracted and profited upon. In other words, as British North America citizens — soon to be Canadi- ans — profited, so would First Nations peoples. Sounds pretty fair to me. Over the next decades, dozens of mines, mills and smelter plants opened. New minerals were uncovered and extracted, such as gold, silver, nickel and even uranium. For a while, the Crown fulfilled its promise. In 1875, Robinson Treaty annuities were raised to $4 per citizen. Then, the increases stopped. Yet, the value of the land and resources in the Robinson Treaties increased. Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury and Thun- der Bay are situated on the land in question, not to mention million-dollar cottages owned by elites from across the world. For over a century and a half, cit- izens from 34 First Nations watched billions of dollars of resources be taken from their communities, only to receive four loonies each. Starting in 2001, communities filed lawsuits that argued the “escalator clause” was never fulfilled. After years of negotiation and trials, on July 26, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Crown had acted “dishonourably.” “(The Crown) must increase the annuity under the Robinson treaties beyond $4 retrospectively, from 1875 to the present,” Justice Mahmud Jamal wrote in the decision. “It would be patently dishonourable not to do so.” The “honour” of the Crown is a critical foundation of British/Canadian law, particularly when it comes to legal relationships with Indigenous peoples. Basically, it means the Crown must act fairly, justly and with integrity — particularly when enacting law. Hence, the 34 First Nations who make up the Robinson Treaties are deservedly in negotiations with the federal and provincial governments to recover billions of dollars of stolen rev- enue (with some completed already). None of this is a “handout,” but what it means to fairly, legally and justly fulfil treaties. Meanwhile, across the Prairies a handful of First Nations are also demanding honour from the Crown, and are negotiating with the federal government to fulfil a failed treaty promise. In virtually all of the “numbered treaties” — Treaties 1 to 11, which span from northern Ontario to the Rocky Mountains — First Nations were promised agricultural resources that were never supplied. Often called claims for “cows and plows,” a handful of First Nations have successfully negotiated compensation and distributed payments to members for lost revenue and damages. Pine Creek First Nation, for exam- ple, has negotiated a settlement of more than $200 million. More negoti- ations, such as from my First Nation (Peguis), are happening or are in development. Considering the Robinson Treaties decision and the success of “cows and plows” claims, this lays the ground- work for arguably the most significant legal challenge to test the honour of the Crown yet: a lawsuit over $5 treaty payments. Each year, a half-million or so citi- zens from more than 200 First Nations in the numbered treaties receive a $5 annuity. Often called “treaty money” and given out at Treaty Days, First Nations citizens line up every summer to receive a crisp $5 bill from govern- ment representatives. Not all First Nations negotiated $5 annuities. Leaders who negotiated Treaties 1 and 2, for example, only ne- gotiated $3. Leaders in Treaty 3, how- ever, negotiated $5 because of their knowledge of the value of resources such as timber in the area. Because the Indian Act standardizes treatment of all status Indians in Can- ada, this meant the citizens of Treaties 1 and 2 therefore had their annuities increased to $5. That could definitely be interpreted as an “escalator clause” to me, but I’m certain lawyers have much more interesting arguments. No one in their right mind could ever argue that $5, the price of a hotdog, is worth an acre of Treaty 1 territory. In a world where the honour of the Crown is supposed to exist, there are some big questions, decisions and mis- deeds that have to be reconciled before reconciliation is possible. niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca NIIGAAN SINCLAIR OPINION Communities remain evacuated due to wildfires R ESIDENTS of Marcel Colomb First Nation in northern Manitoba remained displaced from their homes Wed- nesday as firefighters worked to get the upper hand on two uncontrolled fires nearby. Many of the 260 evacuees, from the community 800 kilo- metres northwest of Winnipeg, have been staying at Winni- peg hotels for the past two weeks, since evacuations began July 23. Others have been put up in Thompson, The Pas and Lynn Lake. The largest of the two fires remained just four kilometres east of the First Nation this week. It has more than tripled in size to over 3,000 hectares in the 15 days it has been burning, but hasn’t grown for the past week. “Seventy per cent of that fire is contained,” Manitoba wildfire service director Earl Simmons told the Free Press Wednesday. Firefighters from Minnesota and Wisconsin have arrived to help bring the blaze under control. “We feel completely comfortable that the fire is not going to escape the perimeter of the fire,” Simmons added. Sprinkler kits were earlier placed on 30 buildings in Mar- cel Colomb to protect them from being destroyed should the fire spread. “If they can work at least two hours before the fire gets near a community, you got a good chance of saving all the structures by soaking everything down,” Simmons ex- plained. Another fire burning through 2,000 hectares of land just to the north has been un- controlled for the past 18 days, but presents a lesser threat, Simmons said. “There’s some potential for that fire to come down towards Marcel Colomb,” Simmons said, adding both fires will need to be controlled before residents return. Lightning was deemed to be the cause of both fires. Red Cross spokesperson Jason Small said the disaster relief agency has been sup- porting evacuees with every- thing from daily meals to hy- giene kits. Small doesn’t know when residents will return, but said the Red Cross will be ready to arrange transportation when the time comes. In the northeast, around 1,650 people from the First Na- tions communities of Wasagamack, St. Theresa Point, Manto Sipi and Red Sucker Lake have been evacuated to Winnipeg and Brandon, largely because of air quality concerns. On Aug. 3, a state of emergency was declared in Red Suck- er Lake Anisininew Nation after power was knocked out by a 3,000-hectare wildfire burning west of the community, around 700 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. The Red Cross got 30 generators to the community, and the federal government sent an emergency payment to the community. Simmons said three wooden poles supporting a hydro line were charred, but firefighters were able to protect the line itself. Power was restored around 24 hours later. Previously, some residents from God’s Lake First Nation were evacuated, however Small said they had all returned to the community as of Monday. Small was unaware of any other First Nations commun- ities being threatened by fire, but said “that can change very quickly because of the speed of wildfires.” The provincial wildfire update said the province has had 216 wildfires to date. The province’s 20-year average is 300 annual wildfires. As of Tuesday, there were 75 active wild- fires. Simmons said the wildfire service has been “extremely busy” over the past two weeks, but looks forward to better weather conditions to help efforts on the ground. jordan.snobelen@freepress.mb.ca JORDAN SNOBELEN Better weather conditions to help efforts on the ground ‘If they can work at least two hours before the fire gets near a community, you got a good chance of saving all the structures...’ — Manitoba wildfire service director Earl Simmons ;