Interlake First Nations bulldoze provincial roadblock over treaty right infringement

Several Manitoba First Nations gathered to remove barricades they say are preventing them from accessing their treaty territory. CTV’s Harrison Shin explains.

Several First Nations in Manitoba took it upon themselves to restore access to their traditional territories on Friday.

The Interlake Reserves Tribal Council members gathered on Lake St. Martin Access Road with a track loader to remove a rock pile blocking the road.

“I’m not sure when they blocked it; we had just found out about a week ago,” Chief Lawrence Letandre of Dauphin River First Nation told CTV News. “We were actually surprised that they had blocked it.”

Letandre said the road leads to a diversion – but also provides access to their hunting ground.

A May 2019 document titled Lake St. Martin Access Road Environmental Assessment Report, prepared by Manitoba Infrastructure, shows that the portion was previously a winter road beginning “at the northern terminus of the Idylwild Road.”

The report proposed upgrading the road to a 19.5-kilometre all-season road. As of Friday, the portion was a hard-packed gravel road.

To a reporter’s question about the reason for the rock barrier, Letandre said, “That’s what we’re going to find out.

“Obviously, they’re infringing on our treaty rights. We have every right to hunt here. We’ve hunted for many years.”

Gate installed to limit environmental impact: Infrastructure Minister

In a statement, Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor said a gate was installed to restrict access as part of the environmental licensing process.

“Our government respects the rights of First Nations and communities to raise concerns about issues that impact their people, land and future,” she said in an email.

The gate was intended to limit the environmental impacts of increased access to the area due to the construction of the road, she added, but based on feedback from the First Nations, “the installation of a gate is being reconsidered.”

The government will continue to meet with leadership for direct conversation, Naylor said.

Nation-to-nation dialogue

Karl Zadnik, executive director of the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council, said the intention was to “keep (the government) accountable.”

“Back when we met back in 2016, the province said they wouldn’t restrict our access to these lands that are important to us,” Zadnik said, “and here – they have violated and breached the treaty right of all these people here.”

He emphasized First Nations leadership is open to collaboration – stating that they have a meeting with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Naylor on June 9.

“We want to continue trying to get to a good-faith dialogue.”

Derrick Gould, a land user, said they are not there to “be the squeaky wheel all the time.

“We’re here to stand up for our rights, but if we were consulted properly with the reconciliation that they promised us, maybe it’d be a different story,” he said.