Police probe into Hydro stalled as First Nations leaders rally at legislature

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This article was published 18/01/2019 (2205 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly five months after an explosive Manitoba Clean Environment Commission report pushed decades-old allegations of racism and sexual abuse into the spotlight, police have yet to start an investigation called for by the provincial government.

On Friday — as First Nations leaders rallied at the legislature, calling for a provincial inquiry into Manitoba Hydro’s impact in the north — the Free Press learned the Ontario Provincial Police, who were tasked with investigating part of the CEC report’s findings, are stalled.

“The case manager has advised that issues and concerns are being worked through before the investigation can commence. Until then, the investigation is on hold,” OPP spokeswoman Carolle Dionne wrote in an email. “I can’t provide you with more specific(s) at this time.”

On Sept. 14, 2018, the RCMP said in a news release that the OPP and the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba would conduct separate investigations into the CEC report’s findings. The OPP would investigate allegations against Hydro workers, while the IIU would look into those against the RCMP.

“This was required, as there were criminal allegations where both Manitoba Hydro employees and RCMP members may have been present,” the RCMP said at the time.

The CEC report, dated May 2018 but not made public until August, detailed historical allegations of violence against Indigenous community members, starting in northern Manitoba in the 1960s.

At the CEC hearings in January 2018, Franklin Arthurson of Fox Lake Cree Nation testified the RCMP had “organized gangbangs” in nearby Gillam.

“They would pick up Fox Lake women, take them to jail and bring all of the Hydro guys there to do what they wanted with these young women,” he told the commission. “I seen women raped.”

IIU spokeswoman Barbara Czech wouldn’t confirm Friday whether the police watchdog had started its investigation.

“The IIU does not provide updates on its investigations, and we have nothing to report at this time,” she said in an email.

York Factory First Nation Chief Leroy Constant said he wasn’t shocked by police inaction.

“All these allegations that have come out, and were inside of that (CEC) report, go back many years,” he said. “I’m not surprised that they’re not acting fast.”

He believes a wider provincial inquiry, looking beyond the police investigations to past and present allegations of abuse at the hands of Hydro workers, would help the communities heal.

“Our people, our women still suffer to this day. We need healing for our members, and we feel that (an inquiry) will be the only way we can move forward with life,” Constant said.

Constant — who was supported by Chief Doreen Spence of Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Chief Betsy Kennedy of War Lake First Nation, and Grand Chief Garrison Settee of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak in his call for an inquiry — said violence continues at Hydro camps, including those around the Keeyask generating station project near Gillam.

“All the issues outlined in that (CEC) report are still continuing today. There’s still rapes occurring. There’s still a fear (for) our women,” he said.

Leadership from Fox Lake, which also has a partnership stake in Keeyask, declined to comment Friday.

Manitoba Hydro president and chief executive officer Kelvin Shepherd confirmed in an interview there have been five or six sexual assault investigations conducted by RCMP around the Keeyask project since construction began in July 2014. Three or four people have been charged, he said.

RCMP couldn’t confirm the number of cases or charges related to the Keeyask project by deadline Friday, but said they would do their best to release numbers next week.

Shepherd said a provincial inquiry into the effect of Hydro’s northern projects isn’t necessary.

“I would simply question what value a further inquiry would bring,” he said. “There have been many opportunities through previous hearings and certainly, these stories of previous issues have been shared… So, I’d say much of this is a matter of the record already.

“In terms of concerns about current projects at Keeyask, the communities involved are partners on the project and have a full voice and are directly engaged in dealing with these types of issues.”

The Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership board has members from Tataskweyak, York Factory, War Lake and Fox Lake. The majority of board members — eight — are from Hydro.

The Keeyask partners are obliged to stay on board until the $8.7-billion project’s construction is completed, expected in late 2021 or early 2022.

Constant said the First Nations partners haven’t considered legal action to force their way out of the deal. He acknowledged their relationship with Hydro is fraught, but Shepherd rejected that notion.

“We don’t look at it as a partnership. (It’s) very one-sided,” Constant said. “We have all of our members at the table that represent on the board and everything is decided before we get there.”

“What I can tell you is that although Manitoba Hydro does hold a majority on the board, which is only appropriate given the nature of the project, that generally speaking, there’s always been significant discussion, engagement and ultimately broad consensus at the board,” Shepherd countered. “So, I don’t agree with their view that they’re expressing.”

The Free Press requested an interview Friday with Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires to discuss the First Nations leaders’ concerns and government response to the CEC report.

Squires wasn’t available. A government spokesperson sent a statement by email instead.

“Given the nature of the CEC report allegations, our government referred the report to the police for investigation. Meantime, we will continue to work with Manitoba Hydro and our Indigenous partners on this very important issue.”

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu