Latest news with #Brokenhead
CBC
7 days ago
- General
- CBC
Man last seen in RM of Brokenhead on Sunday reported missing
Social Sharing A 44-year-old man has been reported missing after he was last seen leaving a home in eastern Manitoba on Sunday night. Peter Bales, 44, was last seen leaving a home in the rural municipality of Brokenhead on a bicycle around 9 p.m. Sunday, RCMP said in a Tuesday news release. He was reported missing on Monday around 12:30 p.m., police say. Bales is described as about six feet tall, weighing 130 pounds, with a buzz-cut hairstyle, police say. He was wearing a dark grey sweater and dark blue jeans when he was last seen. Bales's family and the RCMP are concerned about his well-being. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Beausejour RCMP at 204-268-2612, or to submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at this phone number, or website.
CBC
06-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
City of Winnipeg says 2024 sewage spill had no significant impact on Lake Winnipeg's health
The discharge of untreated sewage from a broken Winnipeg pipe in February 2024 did not result in significant impacts on the ecology of Lake Winnipeg, the City of Winnipeg argues in a statement of defence against a $4.8-billion lawsuit launched over the spill by 11 First Nations. The city, province and federal government also denied in separate statements of defence they engaged in actions that harmed the First Nations — while the city and province said the First Nations have no standing to make some of their claims. In May 2024, the eight First Nations — Berens River, Black River, Brokenhead, Hollow Water, Kinonjeoshtegon, Misipawistik, Poplar River and Sagkeeng First Nations — and their chiefs filed a claim against the city, province and federal government, seeking billions of dollars in compensation for the discharge of more than 200 million litres of untreated sewage into the Red River. Bloodvein, Dauphin River and Fisher River First Nations and their chiefs later added their names to the claim. Those plaintiff First Nations are located downstream of Winnipeg or along Lake Winnipeg, meaning they are affected by discharges in the Manitoba capital, according to their statement of claim. The leak was stopped weeks after it began. It was the second-largest spill in Winnipeg's history. In a claim filed last year with Manitoba's Court of King's Bench, the First Nations accused the city, province and feds of failing to maintain the wastewater management system, "implement or enforce adequate regulatory mechanisms," warn the First Nations about the spill, or rectify any damage resulting from the discharge. The First Nations initially sought $4.8 billion from the three levels of government: $500 million each for breaches of their Charter rights, as well as $100 million for the eight initial plaintiffs in punitive damages. In a statement of defence filed on April 30, the city argued the discharges did not result in a significant contribution toward "nutrient loading" into Lake Winnipeg, which is the process where phosphorus and other nutrients that spawn the growth of algae enter into a body of water. Winnipeg is just one source for nutrients that flow into the lake from a vast watershed that stretches from the Rocky Mountains to northwestern Ontario, the city argued in its statement of defence. "As a result of this vast and complex watershed, nutrients and pollutants flowing into Lake Winnipeg come from a variety of sources both inside and outside of Manitoba, including wastewater and surface runoff from large regions of intensive agriculture," according to the statement of defence. "The Red River and the Assiniboine River in particular cross agricultural lands and collect nutrients and pollutants in the course of their flow toward Lake Winnipeg." The city nonetheless argued it "has invested and continues to invest significant sums on its wastewater management system, including on upgrades that have and will further reduce the discharge of nutrients and pollutants." While these improvements have reduced the city's contribution of nutrients, further reducing the city's nutrient loading by eliminating all discharges would not result in a significant reduction in overall nutrient load into the lake, the city argued. "Due to the predominance of other sources impacting the cumulative nutrient loading and pollutants to Lake Winnipeg, further reducing or even eliminating nutrient contribution from the city's wastewater system would not restore Lake Winnipeg to its natural condition or eliminate the impacts alleged in the claim." The city also issued a cross-claim against the federal and provincial governments, arguing they have not provided the city with the financial means to complete sewage treatment upgrades. The province, in turn, issued cross-claims against the city and federal government, while the federal government issued cross-claims against the city and province.
CBC
17-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Transfer of youth-serving organization The Link to Brokenhead Ojibway Nation marks a 'day of hope'
A century-old Winnipeg-based organization that works with families and youth in crisis is getting a new start and taking another step toward reconciliation. The operation of The Link is being shifted from a not-for-profit organization that relied heavily on government funding to being owned and led by Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. "We are sharing a very important milestone. Today, we gather to announce the repatriation of services to our First Nations people," board chair Candace Olson said at a news conference on Thursday, after which a memorandum of understanding was signed with Brokenhead. The Link, on Mayfair Avenue, provides both short- and long-term support for youth and their families through counselling, crisis intervention, group care, a 24-hour youth shelter, housing support, education and employment assistance. Seventy per cent of the families who access its programs and services are First Nations, "so it's incredibly important that we make these steps forward," said Olson. Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said the transfer of "a major social service organization" to a First Nation is a first in the province's history. "This isn't just about a transition of responsibility, it's actually a transformation of systems," she said. "This is a day of hope, a day of courage." The organization was established in 1929 as the Sir Hugh John Macdonald Memorial Hostel, named for judge Hugh John Macdonald, son of John A. Macdonald. The latter, Canada's first prime minister, is regarded by many as an architect of the residential school system. The organization's initial mandate was to "provide a Christian home for under-privileged boys living in the wrong environment due to bad home conditions," according to the Manitoba Historical Society. It adopted the Macdonald Youth Services name in 1993 and changed it again to The Link in 2021 in the spirit of reconciliation. It is now Manitoba's largest organization for youth and families in crisis, employing more than 300 people and helping 10,000 families annually. But it has always been done "under a colonial government structure," Olson said. "We're looking forward to taking this journey towards restoring what was taken and supporting Brokenhead Ojibway Nation in re-establishing sovereignty." A transition committee will be assembled soon to facilitate the process and ensure the care people receive is rooted in First Nations culture, values and traditions, she said. That process is expected to take about four months. "It's a return to our original responsibility — caring for our children in a way that reflects who they are, where they come from and what they need to thrive," said Gordon BlueSky, chief of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, which is about 70 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. "For generations, First Nations families have been impacted by systems that weren't designed with us in mind. From residential schools to the Sixties Scoop to modern child welfare, our people have seen too many children separated from their culture and community," he said.
CBC
10-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
North End Women's Centre included in 12 Winnipeg projects receiving housing funding
The transitional housing component of a women's centre is one of 12 downtown housing initiatives to receive funding from the City of Winnipeg's $25 million housing grant program. The city announced the recipients of its second round of grants Monday, using money from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund. This round of funding will eventually create 1,418 housing units, including 633 affordable units downtown. The projects include the North End Women's Centre, a resource centre in the inner city since 1984. The centre has also run a transitional housing program for nearly 20 years, starting with two units above the centre's thrift shop, Upp Shop, in 2006. "We are so excited for this announcement, which will double our transitional housing capacity," said executive director Cynthia Drebot. She says it will create "opportunities for accessing healing groups, ceremony, in a space that is double this size of what we're in right now." In 2023 Manitoba's previous government announced the centre would receive $400,000 in funding to help maintain its existing eight-bed program and support women in long-term recovery from substance use and trauma. The new city-funded facility will be built in the parking lot area of the existing women's centre at 390 and 394 Selkirk Ave., and will have wraparound supports in place to support residents in a multitude of ways including counselling, parenting programs and life skill development, and will house eight rent-geared-to-income units. Gender-based housing is important for women and gender diverse people who experience homelessness differently than men, and are often precariously housed. "They're living in very unsafe situations and spaces. They often do not feel safe going to shelters, and they tell us that they are often assaulted when they're in those spaces," Drebot said Included in the other 11 projects receiving funding through the city's housing program is a 144-unit apartment building that prioritizes Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation members and other First Nations community members at 269 River Ave., managed by Brokenhead Ojibway Nation Development Corp. Projects are required to obtain building permits within 12 months of receiving funding, said Mayor Scott Gillingham in a Monday press conference. The city announced the first round recipients of the program in September 2024. Eleven projects received $25 million dollars, creating 1,135 housing units, including 597 affordable units. In addition, 16 housing development projects will receive $33.5 million in tax increment financing through the City's Affordable Housing Now Program, according to a Monday news release. Total construction costs for all projects are expected to exceed $1.6 billion. All projects awarded funding through round two of the Housing Accelerator Fund Capital Grand Program applied during the programs initial intake period with a total of 66 total grant applications. "What we're really proud of is the partnership that we've been able to establish with the federal government to get housing built," Gillingham said.
