Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 12, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba MONDAY AUGUST 12, 2024 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Court filing claims Dakota Tipi members are direct descendants of original inhabitants of land First Nation claims ownership of The Forks A MANITOBA First Nation that claims to have unceded rights to the territory where The Forks sits at the intersection of the Red and Assiniboine rivers is suing to get back what the community says is its land. Dakota Tipi First Nation, with Win- nipeg lawyer Faron Trippier acting on their behalf, filed the lawsuit over its claims in the Court of King’s Bench on Friday. The court filing claims Dakota Tipi members are the direct descendants of the original inhabitants of the land at the Forks, the Oceti S’Akowin Nation. The claim is seeking a court order directing the ownership of the land to the First Nation, which is located south- west of Portage la Prairie, as well as an injunction restraining the defendants from making any further grants, leas- es, licenses or permits related to the land and its resources without Dakota Tipi’s consent. Alternatively, the lawsuit says, the First Nation would seek remedies that respect its rights, including meaningful engagement on settlement discussions, reinstating its ownership of the land as a partner and consultation on all mat- ters moving forward. The lawsuit alleges the First Nation is owed unspecified damages for its loss of harvesting sites, ceremonial sites, traditional practices, economic growth and enjoyment of the land, where a popular meeting place and historic site now sits. The lawsuit, which does not appear to have been served, names The Forks, the federal attorney general, the City of Winnipeg, the provincial government, the North Portage Development Cor- poration and the Forks Renewal Cor- poration as defendants. The renewal corporation, owned by the three levels of government through the development corporation, owns and operates The Forks Market on the land. “The Dakota Tipi Nation states that the land is part of its unceded tradition- al territory in Manitoba and is held in trust for the benefit of the Dakota Tipi Nation, such that they share in the prof- its that derive from the use of the land,” the claim says. The court filing claims the defend- ants have “unjustifiably infringed” on the First Nation’s rights to the land, which it claims it never agreed to sur- render. The First Nation, the filing claims, has the right to use, occupy and manage the land, the right to economic benefits from it, the right to self-govern upon it and use its resources, as well as cultur- al and spiritual rights. The Oceti S’Akowin people used the land at The Forks to harvest food, con- duct trade and hold ceremonies, claims the court filing, which says oral and written histories indicate The Forks and surrounding area had hundreds of tipis, harvesting and ceremonial sites, Dakota entrenchments and trade areas. The filing claims the Oceti S’Akowin used the land exclusively since time immemorial, with the Yankton division of the nation having primary control of the fur trade on the land. Dakota Tipi, as their descendants, are claiming Aboriginal rights to the land under S.35 of the Constitution Act of 1982. The federal government has historic- ally refused to recognize Dakota people as inhabitants of the nation when Euro- pean settlers arrived, claiming they have no Indigenous rights, the court filing claims. “The Dakota people were strategic- ally excluded from the treaty making process and forced onto unsuitable re- serve lands that were and remain today smaller in size than those extended to other First Nations who were invited to the treaty making process,” the filing claims. The lawsuit notes the federal govern- ment apologized in July to the Dakota and Lakota of Canada for its failure to recognize their status and rights. The court filing asserts that the hon- our of the Crown imposes a duty for the Crown to act honourably in its dealings with the Fist Nation. The current use of the land breaches that duty, infringes rights and breaches duty to consult and trust. The lawsuit claims the various levels of government and their corporations conspired to improperly transfer and use The Forks and unjustly enriched themselves in the process. None of the defendants have filed statements of defence in response to the allegations. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca ERIK PINDERA Lawsuit alleges health care aide exploited dying man A Portage la Prairie health care aide is accused in a lawsuit of exploiting a dying man by purportedly having a ro- mantic relationship with him to receive extravagant gifts. The aide and her employer, the South- ern Regional Health Authority, are named in a lawsuit filed in the Portage Court of King’s Bench in July by the dead man’s sister-in-law, who is execu- tor of his estate. The man, diagnosed with brain can- cer in 2014, died in December 2023. His wife died of cancer in late May 2023 and he soon began receiving home care services, while in a fragile state, the court filing claims. The Free Press is not naming the de- fendant or the man out of privacy con- cerns. The lawsuit alleges the man’s physic- al and cognitive health declined to the point he could no longer care for him- self in May 2023, so he was approved for home care through Southern Health. The court filing claims the aide re- ceived a Toyota truck worth $60,000, unspecified sums of cash and a ring made of gold, diamond and tanzanite from her patient from June to Decem- ber 2023. “The items… were received in cir- cumstances of undue influence, where he was under extreme physical, emo- tional and psychological distress,” reads the court filing. “The defendant took unfair advan- tage of his vulnerable physical, emo- tional and psychological state and his dependence upon the defendant.” The plaintiff, the filing claims, re- peatedly raised concerns with the health authority regarding the aide’s alleged unethical conduct beginning in June of last year. The plaintiff asked that the aide to be removed from providing care on the grounds she purported to have started a romantic relationship with him, had conversations about him remarrying and asked about the price of his home. The aide is also accused of convin- cing the man other home care workers were inadequate, resulting in him and the aide refusing to let others into the home to provide services. The man was in the final stages of brain cancer and became increasingly dependant on the aide, the filing claims. The aide is accused of unjustly en- riching herself and depriving his estate of that money. The plaintiff is seeking the return of the money and gifts, plus damages to be determined by the court and a declaration of unjust enrichment. The health authority is accused of breaching its duty of care to the man by providing negligent services. Southern Health, the filing claims, was vicari- ously liable for the aide’s conduct. The aide and the authority have yet to file statements of defence in court. erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca ERIK PINDERA One pedestrian killed, two injured in three accidents A 49-year-old woman is dead after she was struck by a vehicle while reported- ly lying down on the Harry Lazarenko Bridge, while two other people are in hospital in critical condition after they were hit while crossing Winnipeg streets in just over six hours. Winnipeg Police Service officers were called to the bridge, which con- nects Redwood Avenue with Main Street, about an injured woman at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday. Police found the woman with ser- ious injuries, but she died before para- medics were able to arrive to try to re- vive her. Traffic investigators, in a prelimin- ary probe, found the woman was lying on the road when she was hit by a driver headed west. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and spoke with offi- cers, police said. Investigators have identified the victim and informed her family of her death. Police are also still investigating another serious collision between a vehicle and pedestrian on Pembina Highway at Adamar Road, which also occurred overnight. Officers were called to the inter- section at about 4 a.m., where they found a man with serious injuries. Paramedics took the man to hospital in critical condition. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and spoke with police. Police have determined the man was walking eastbound across Pembina near the intersection when he was hit by a driver headed east. Earlier Friday, at about 9:45 p.m., po- lice were called to Smithfield Avenue and Main Street, where a 57-year-old man was in critical condition on the road. He was rushed to hospital. Investigators believe the man was crossing Main Street against a red light when a vehicle, travelling south, hit him. The driver stayed at the scene. Police have asked anyone with fur- ther information, including video or dash camera footage from the areas near the collision scenes, to call the traffic division at 204-986-7085 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204- 786-8477. The death of the woman on the Harry Lazarenko Bridge is the second fatal collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle this week. A man was struck near Queen Eliza- beth Way (Main Street) and Mayfair Avenue near The Forks at about 3:30 a.m. on Thursday by a driver that fled the scene. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, but later died. Police have said investigators were closing in on the kind of vehicle that hit the man on Thursday. fpcity@freepress.mb.ca PHOTOS BY JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FRESH INK Ashton Lutz (above) gets a tattoo from Anastasia Powell of Bee Haven in Edmonton during the Winnipeg Tattoo Convention at Red River Exhibition Park Sunday. More than 250 tattoo artists from around the globe came together to practise their craft. Tyson Nurse (left) gets a tattoo from Jeremiah Hoeft of Left Coast Tattoo in Victoria. ;