Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 13, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba THE Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is telling Premier Wab Kinew to end a 12-year-old agreement granting Métis harvesting rights on part of the First Nation’s traditional territory. An Aug. 2 letter to the premier and ministers in charge of natural resour- ces, Indigenous economic development and justice says there are no persons who can claim to hold rights as Métis persons to hunt, fish, trap or harvest within the traditional territory of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Mani- toba. “Accordingly, it is the firm expecta- tion of the Nisichawayasihk Cree Na- tion that Manitoba will terminate the application of the Sept. 29, 2012 Mani- toba Government-Manitoba Métis Fed- eration Points of Agreement on Métis Harvesting in Manitoba and “so-called recognized areas for Métis natural re- source harvesting” within traditional NCN territory, the letter obtained by the Free Press says. The First Nation had not received a response from the province as of Mon- day, NCN Chief Angela Levasseur said. The chief said she was in an emergency meeting regarding wildfire smoke im- pacting the community and was unable to comment further. The letter said the First Nation was never consulted about the province’s hunting agreement with the Métis fed- eration and only found out about it in a 2012 news release announcing it had been signed. The letter stated an as- sessment by NCN elders and knowledge keepers determined there was never a historic Métis community in the area, located 800 kilometres north of Winni- peg and 80 km west of Thompson. “There has never been — and there is not now — an historic Métis commun- ity or a separate Métis territory within Nisichawayasi N’tuskenan.” One Métis leader said he was “sur- prised and disappointed” by the “div- isive” tone of the letter. Will Goodon, the Manitoba Métis Federation minister of housing and property management who was instru- mental in the recognition of Métis har- vesting rights in Manitoba, questioned NCN limiting another Indigenous groups’ rights. “There’s no hierarchy of Indigenous rights,” said Goodon, who in 2004 shot a duck in southwestern Manitoba and was charged by provincial conserv- ation officers. After more than four years in court, Goodon was found not guilty because his harvesting rights were protected by Section 35 of the Constitution Act. Goodon questioned the First Nation’s letter being “site specific” and asked if NCN would also restrict Inuit harvest- ers from hunting or fishing and what NCN members would think if they were told they couldn’t hunt on trad- itional Métis or Dakota land to the south without permission from their govern- ments. He also questioned the timing of the letter after it followed an outcry from the Manitoba Wildlife Federation over the provincial government recently reducing the number of moose tags issued to non-Indigenous hunters after First Nations expressed conservation concerns. “If their concern is about conserva- tion, that’s not a problem,” Goodon said. “We can have a conversation about con- servation,” he said. The First Nation has never expressed concern about Métis harvesters, who also value resource conservation, until the letter came to light, Goodon said. Goodon said Manitoba’s premier has recognized the constitutional har- vesting rights of the Red River Métis. “I think Premier Kinew is going to be firm on where he stands on these things.” Neither Kinew nor the ministers named in the letter were made avail- able for an interview Monday. A statement from cabinet communi- cations spokesman Caedmon Malowany said since receiving the First Nation’s letter, they are “carefully looking at how we can address their concerns.” The government is open to meeting with the NCN chief, the MMF “and others who may be affected,” Ma- lowany said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca TUESDAY AUGUST 13, 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 PHOTOS BY RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS South St. Boniface Residents Association president Teresa Cwik questions the city’s decision to close the Happyland Park wading pool for the season on Friday. End Métis harvest rights on our territory: First Nation to province CAROL SANDERS W HAT’S the rush? That’s what some parents and community advocates are wondering as the city prepares to shut down 30 wading pools Friday and another 30 the following Friday. That will leave just six operated by the city open until Labour Day. The wading pool at Happyland Park in St. Boniface will be closed as of Friday. A community effort that raised more than $75,000 failed to convince the city to open Happyland’s outdoor swimming pool this summer. The aging facility was among the recre- ation sites identified for closure in the civic budget. “We don’t have anything here,” said Teresa Cwik, president of the South St. Boniface Residents Asso- ciation. “They left the little pool (open) and I thought maybe the little kids can still have a place to go. But when you’re shutting it down mid-month, that’s ridiculous.” She said there are few options for children to stay active and cool off in the largely industrial area. “I see kids playing down by the river,” she said. “Are we waiting for an accident to happen there? I don’t know but they have nowhere to go.” The forecast for Winnipeg over the next two weeks is steady tem- peratures in the mid- to high 20s. The wading pool at Happyland Park hasn’t been open on weekends, which is when many families are looking to cool off together, she said. Only about half of the city-oper- ated kiddie pools are open week- ends and some of them are closed Sundays. “I think the mayor should be ashamed of himself for doing what he’s doing to our neighbourhood,” Cwik said. Longtime community advocate Sel Burrows said many low-income families rely on wading pools to give their kids relief during the sum- mer’s heat. “It’s really quite selfish on the part of city council because it doesn’t affect them or any of their families,” said Burrows. No one from the city was made available for an interview on the timing of the closures. In an email, city spokesperson Kalen Qually said the schedule for closing wading pools has been in place for more than a decade. Usage tends to fall off as families start preparing for the upcoming school year and the temperature begins to cool, he said, adding that spray pads and some outdoor swim- ming pools remain open. The city said it couldn’t provide statistics for wading pool usage. “I’d like to see our wading pools open as long as they can and as late into the season as possible,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said during an un- related press conference Monday. Gillingham said spray pads are a better option for the city because they don’t need the supervision of lifeguards. The city’s adopted 2024-2027 bud- get indicated the goal was to phase out wading pools across the city, gradually replacing them with spray pads. Twenty kiddie pools will either be replaced or decommissioned by 2027, according to the city’s aquatic modernization plan. The city will be spending $20 million to build 10 new spray pads in that same time frame. The spray pads will be built in Beryl Watts, Tyndall Park, South Winnipeg, Chalmers, Bruce Park, Winakwa, Norberry/Glenlee, Keen- leyside Park, Tuxedo and Riverview neighbourhoods. “Our summer months are very short,” Point Douglas Coun. Vivian Santos told the Free Press Monday. “We love these outdoor amenities to stay cool but we’re facing a (bud- getary) balancing act.” The majority of the new spray pads will be going to areas where a wading pool will be decommis- sioned, Santos said. matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca Early closure of wading pools questioned Affects low-income families most: advocates MATTHEW FRANK The Happyland Park wading pool is already limited to only opening on weekdays. Regional plan faces resistance JOYANNE PURSAGA A regional plan meant to help Winnipeg and 17 surrounding municipalities col- laborate on everything from land use to recreation over the next 30 years is facing intense backlash from those who fear it will dictate where they go and how they get there. The plan’s supporters say residents won’t lose any freedoms and the region will gain the ability to better attract new investments. An Aug. 8 public hearing for Plan 20-50: A Regional Plan for the Win- nipeg Metropolitan Region attracted hundreds of attendees to the Niverville Heritage Centre. The crowd exceeded the building’s capacity, resulting in the meeting to be postponed. St. Andrews resident Michael Vogi- atzakis, who runs a funeral home in Winnipeg, said the plan has attracted plenty of opposition. He saids he ex- pects it would spark sweeping chan- ges to daily life, such as shutting down some roads and/or forcing drivers to pay tolls to access others, if given final approval. “The plan is going to change Win- nipeg as we know it. It’s going to take away a lot of our transportation (op- tions),” he said. Vogiatzakis said he believes the plan would shift the region to a “15-minute city” concept, where a resident can live and meet most of their needs, such as shopping and possibly work, within a 15-minute walk, bike or transit ride. “If we’re talking 15-minute cities, it’s going to control where you can go, it’s going to control where you can shop … Basically, what they want you to do is stay in a 15-minute area,” he said. While the plan does repeatedly ref- erence the idea of “complete commun- ities,” it does not specifically outline such changes. Vogiatzakis said his understanding is based on reading “be- tween the lines.” Two other residents shared sim- ilar concerns, while one added she fears land could be expropriated from owners of larger properties to support a goal to increase housing density. Plan 20-50 does call for municipal- ities to set higher density housing tar- gets and suggests municipalities could work together on everything from tran- sit routes and firefighting services to wastewater infrastructure and recrea- tion. The executive director of the Winni- peg Metropolitan Region said fears the plan will dictate how folks live and trav- el are based on misinformation. “It’s not about taking away people’s rights and freedoms … It’s not about taking away people’s cars. It’s not about forcing them to take the bus. It’s not about closing off access to roads … No- where is it referenced that this is about 15-minute cities. But fears are being fuelled by misinformation and then, (on) social media, it’s travelling like wildfire,” said Jennifer Freeman. Fears of ‘15-minute city’ concept unfounded: Winnipeg Metro Region ● REGIONAL, CONTINUED ON B2 ;