First Nations blindsided by Keeyask expansion

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This article was published 07/05/2020 (1694 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The coronavirus is spreading across the northern prairie, with work camps a key vector for vulnerable Indigenous communities, but Manitoba Hydro is planning to double staff at its Keeyask megaproject in 10 days.

An internal memo to employees at the site says Hydro plans returning to standard rotations sometime around May 19.

The four local First Nations say they’ve been blindsided by a plan to nearly double the current staff of roughly 700. They say Hydro solicited their input only after the Crown corporation presented the plan to employees on May 1, at which point health authorities had already approved it.

“We are currently at risk of suffering potentially devastating consequences, resulting from our lack of inclusion in the development of the pandemic response,” reads a Thursday letter to Hydro CEO Jay Grewal, obtained by the Free Press.

“It has become increasingly apparent that our reasonable concerns are not being considered or addressed.”

Hydro’s plan does not require on-site testing of staff, a practice commonplace in northern mines.

Officials from Manitoba Hydro declined to provide an interview, and would not say whether Americans will be allowed to fly into the construction site. The camp normally has numerous contractors from outside Canada.

The Northern Regional Health Authority approved its plan, Hydro says. The document notes those outside of Manitoba will have to self-isolate in a Winnipeg hotel for a week. Anyone flying on a chartered plane will have to pass a COVID-19 test beforehand and wear a mask.

Starting Saturday, workers leaving the site will no longer have to visit a nurse practitioner, whose hours Hydro reduced a week ago.

“We continue to consult with local health authorities and follow their guidance on the return to the standard worker rotation at Keeyask,” wrote Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen.

“We know our foremost responsibility is to health and wellbeing of the staff at Keeyask and the people who live in the neighbouring communities.”

In late March, Hydro temporarily made workers, opting to continue work at Keeyask, stay on the site for eight weeks after local First Nations asked that the site be shuttered due to the pandemic.

Staff and contractors will soon return to the regular practice of rotating in for three weeks followed by a week back home.

Hydro has framed its Keeyask project as a way to advance reconciliation through economic empowerment after decades of the Crown corporation displacing Indigenous people and blocking them from traditional lands.

But the four local chiefs say Hydro’s unilateral decision making reminds them of the institution’s legacy of placing profit above Indigenous people’s wellbeing.

Their letter demands a phone meeting with senior Hydro officials because they feel their regular calls with Keeyask staff still leave them out of pandemic planning.

The northern health authority did not respond by deadline when asked when they received the Keeyask plan, when they approved it, and why no public notice was issued.

Last month, the authority issued an exemption to Keeyask, allowing the gym and cafeteria to reopen weeks before the rest of the province.

An April 16 order barring non-essential travel to the province’s north remains in effect.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Chiefs' letter to Hydro over Keeyask reopening plan