Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 15, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba LEASING FOR NEW AND USED VEHICLES Our Dealerships will be closed on FEBRUARY 17 TH Continue Shopping Online 24/7 at Vickar.com A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2025 VOL 154 NO 82 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2025 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 CEO / MIKE POWER Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organiz- ation established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. 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The circulation and display advertising departments will be closed. Regular office hours in all departments resume Tuesday. The Free Press and its employees join with you in this observation. No paper Monday First Nation reveals ‘persons of interest’ in drug, booze fight, but risks defamation suit Provocative move to root out crime A NORTHERN Manitoba First Na- tion has published the names of more than 60 people — accusing them of being persons “of interest” — in a rare step amid efforts to crack down on drugs and alcohol. Tataskweyak Cree Nation singled out residents and non-band members Thursday in social media posts that warned people could be kicked out of the community. “We are giving a final notice and warning to the ‘people of interest’ who are selling drugs and alcohol, har- bouring criminals, or committing acts of violence may face removal from the community,” a letter reads. The letter, which contained a list of names and an online post displaying photos of six men who appeared to be in custody, raised questions about po- tential legal ramifications if allegations are not proven or are untrue. The post with the men’s photos, pub- lished on the TCN chief and council- lors’ Facebook page, claimed they were “hiding” in homes and that one was wanted for murder in Alberta. RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manai- gre said no one arrested was wanted for murder in Alberta. TCN Chief Doreen Spence was not available for comment, a band office employee said. The federal government declined to comment on the community-led initia- tive. Prof. Jennifer Schulz, an associate dean in the University of Manitoba’s faculty of law, said a person “could very well succeed” in a defamation lawsuit if allegations are not true or if someone was erroneously listed. “The false allegation could have dev- astating personal and professional im- plications for the person listed in error, and damages (money) can be obtained in civil court for such harm,” Schulz wrote in an email. Manaigre said the RCMP continual- ly works with northern communities to target and combat illicit drugs. “With respect to posting names and photos, this is not something we would do, unless there is a valid reason (war- rant of arrest, public safety concern, etc.) which would be carried out by our media relations unit here in Winnipeg,” he wrote in an email. In May, TCN declared a state of emergency due to violence and illegal activity. Council warned that removal orders would be given to “persons of interest” under the band’s community protection bylaw. Multiple First Nations have declared states of emergency or taken steps, such as banning people or withdrawing services, via bylaws in recent years to curb drug trafficking and use. In Thursday’s letter, TCN’s council said drugs and alcohol have led to vio- lence, child neglect and addictions in the community, which is about 770 kilo- metres north of Winnipeg. More than 2,400 people live in TCN, the federal government’s website states. Checkstops and vehicle searches were among additional security meas- ures in TCN starting this week. Re- wards were offered for tips that lead to arrests or drug seizures. “TCN chief and council have an obli- gation to protect and keep our members safe, especially the vulnerable, such as our children and elders!” the letter reads. People who were named were invit- ed to speak to Spence and councillors Thursday and Friday. The letter said “support services” were offered to people who were given “final warning” during conversations Wednesday. Dakota Tipi First Nation, located just outside Portage la Prairie, about 70 kilometres west of Winnipeg, hands out evictions to residents who are accused of selling drugs, while working with police. Chief Dennis Pashe said the com- munity suffered nine substance-related deaths in a two-year period. Council declared a state of emergency in Feb- ruary 2024 due to “catastrophic effects of predatory drug trafficking.” “We had to take steps to curb all that and we did. We took an aggressive ap- proach,” he said. “We enacted bylaws — trespassing bylaws and anti-drug bylaws — and tightened up our housing policy. You can’t sell or use in homes.” Dakota Tipi’s bylaws are enforced by its own security team. “We don’t have the deaths that we had in the past. It’s a lot … safer for kids, for families,” Pashe said. People found to be using drugs are offered help to access treatment pro- grams, he said. Checkstops are carried out from time to time in the community of about 300 people. Dakota Tipi doesn’t publish lists of names such as the one posted online by TCN. That’s because it’s a small com- munity, Pashe said. “Everybody knows,” he said. Joseph Fourre, who speaks to youth in First Nations and other communities about the dangers of drugs, said tough measures reflect the priorities of the people. “It’s not just chief and council. It’s the community that is initiating the change,” he said. “They’ve had enough.” Fourre, a resident of The Pas who started an awareness campaign called “No Thanks, I’m Good,” after his son Harlan, 31, died of a recreational drug poisoning in April 2023, said banish- ments can be a last resort for councils. “They don’t want to do that. They want to have that hope the individual will turn around and be a contributing member of the community,” he said. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca CHRIS KITCHING $10-M donation made to Manitoba’s MMIWG fund THE Manitoba government’s endowment fund for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people has received a $10-million donation from Shoppers Drug Mart — the first major private sector donation. The endowment fund, which is preparing to award grants this year, is part of the government’s four-year strategy to help affected families. The plan, announced in November, was launched with a $15-million initial investment. “For so many years, the public has asked how they can support MMIWG2S+ families, how they can support raising awareness on the issue. Here’s an opportunity,” Families Minister Nahanni Fon- taine said at the legislature Friday, announcing the donation. “If individuals, or businesses or the private sec- tor are wanting to, they can contribute directly to dollars that will flow to families and help support families in their healing journey.” The donation is the largest single contribution made by the Shoppers Foundation for Women’s Health. The Winnipeg Foundation is managing the en- dowment fund, which provides a yearly return based on the funding available to the province. It accepts donations online. That funding, described by Fontaine as “low-bar- rier,” will be distributed annually. With the dona- tion from the Shoppers foundation, the investment is expected to generate grants in the range of $1 million annually. The first round of funding appli- cations opens in April. “This is support that will flow directly to fam- ilies. We’ve never had that and still to this day, there’s really not that anywhere across the coun- try,” Fontaine said. The announcement was made on the same day as the annual Women’s Memorial March, which is held across Canada and the United States every Feb. 14 in honour of missing and murdered In- digenous women and girls. Gerri-Lee Pangman, a member of Peguis First Nation, said it’s a day to grieve and remember her sister and aunt. Pangman’s sister, Jennifer McPherson, was killed by her husband in 2013 in B.C. Her aunt, Jennifer Johnson, was killed in 1980, when Pang- man and her siblings were children. In both situations, she said, there was little to no support available to her family. Victims services in B.C. were so poor, she said, her family was not invited to any court dates dur- ing the trial and sentencing of Johnson’s killer, and Johnson’s remains were cremated there and sent to Winnipeg via Canada Post. “In the coldest and most inhumane way, my mother had to pick up her daughter’s remains with a notification, which re-victimized us all over again,” she said through tears Friday. Her hope is that donors give generously to the endowment fund to ensure no one has to suffer without financial and cultural support. “Most importantly, it will support the children left behind to grieve and heal,” she said. malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca MALAK ABAS MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said with the Shop- pers foundation donation, the investment is expected to generate around $1 million in grants annually. ;