UN Ambassador Bob Rae Visits Peguis to Address Ongoing Flood Crisis
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By James Wastasecoot
PEGUIS, June 5, 2025 — United Nations Ambassador Bob Rae visited Peguis First Nation today to discuss the persistent flooding that has repeatedly devastated the community. The meeting with Peguis leadership highlighted concerns over alleged human rights violations linked to the flood crisis.
In a powerful presentation, Chief Operating Officer Cindy Spence invoked the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), declaring, “The ongoing failure to address the flood crisis in Peguis is more than a matter of poor policy – it is a violation of human rights.”
Chief Dr. Stan Bird urged Ambassador Rae to take action, saying, “Peguis First Nation is formally calling on Mr. Bob Rae to investigate potential human rights violations against Indigenous peoples. We ask that he engage the Human Rights Commission and the Government of Canada to address breaches of UNDRIP.”
Rae, a seasoned lawyer and former Ontario premier who has worked closely with northern First Nations, acknowledged the severity of the issue. “Let’s be clear. I’m the president of the Economic and Social Council, but I’m also a public servant of the government of Canada,” he said. “I will use every opportunity to raise awareness of these injustices.”
The Economic and Social Council collaborates with the UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, whose mandate includes recommending measures to prevent and remedy violations of Indigenous rights.
Peguis First Nation filed a $1-billion lawsuit in April 2024 against the federal and provincial governments, as well as the upstream municipalities of Fisher and Bifrost. The claim accuses the municipalities of constructing drainage works—supported by the province—that exacerbate flooding downstream in Peguis. The federal government has yet to file a statement of defense. In addition to the main lawsuit, Peguis has filed a class action on behalf of individual residents seeking compensation for personal property losses and damages caused by flooding.
For over two decades, Peguis has faced flooding every two to three years. The 2022 flood was the worst in recent memory, leaving more than 700 residents displaced and living as evacuees in Winnipeg. “They want to come home, but there is no home to come home to,” Spence said.
Lawyer Brian Meronek underscored the long history of inaction. “Since 1984, there have been at least a dozen engineering studies—it’s been studied to death. One study even listed ‘do nothing’ as an option. The government said that was not acceptable, yet decades later, that is effectively what’s happened.”
Meronek added that flood mitigation funds, tied to provincial flood forecasts, were often inaccessible when the forecasts were incorrect, leaving Peguis vulnerable year after year.
The community is currently producing a documentary to document how repeated flooding has devastated Peguis’s infrastructure and eroded the social and health well-being of its residents.
Sale of Meadows property raises questions about transparency and accountability
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By Trevor Greyeyes and James Wastasecoot
New details surrounding the $10 million TLE Trust investment in the Meadows property are raising red flags — and more questions than answers — for members of Peguis First Nation.
Property records obtained through Teranet, Manitoba’s online land registration system, confirm that developer Andrew Marquess — through his company — now owns 167.31 acres of the former golf course known as The Meadows, located in the municipality of East St. Paul.
A second parcel of 16.26 acres remains with the Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust (PFNRET) and includes the site of a provincially funded daycare. This arrangement likely reflects the original agreement for the daycare’s construction, which was signed between PFNRET and the province, not Peguis First Nation directly.
These land transfers come amid a $130 million lawsuit filed by Peguis First Nation on Sept. 27, 2024 against Marquess and several numbered companies.
Greg Stevenson, former chair of the Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust, defended the arrangement in a recent interview, calling it a necessary deal to avoid default and total loss. “Peguis is going to get their money back — their $10 million — over five to seven years, plus interest,” he said, emphasizing that developer Andrew Marquess “took on the debt and everything else that came with it.” (On Jan. 8, 2025, Peguis FN held trustee elections where new trustees were elected.)
Read more: Sale of Meadows property raises questions about transparency and accountability
Peguis First Nation Welcomes Northern Evacuees
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Peguis First Nation Welcomes Northern Evacuees, Calls for Community Support
May 30, 2025 – Peguis First Nation
There are now 144 evacuees from northern wildfires registered at the Peguis Multiplex. After an urgent call went out for essential donations to support the incoming guests, the people of Peguis responded and soon the organizers posted a message that they had enough supplies. By Friday, cots were set up on the Peguis Multiplex arena floor and the kitchen was open serving meals.
Carlina Trout is from Cross Lake. This is what she told about her experience:
"So, when we first when we first got evacuated, we were sent to Norway house. We went by the private vehicle with my brother's vehicle, but others were able to be taken by bus or by plane. And once we got to Norway house, we were with friends. We were taken care of there at the arena, or private homes. When I was taken care of, at Norway, they opened their restaurant to the public.”
They also provided buses for the public to be transported to the airport.
Premier Wab Kinew Visits Peguis Amid Ongoing $1 Billion Flood Lawsuit
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By James Wastasecoot
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew visited Peguis First Nation on April 22, 2025, pledging collaborative action on the community’s chronic flooding issues. His visit comes one year after Peguis First Nation filed a landmark $1 billion lawsuit against all levels of government, including federal and provincial bodies and rural municipalities, seeking damages from the devastating floods in 2022 and previous years.
During his visit, Premier Kinew emphasized unity and cooperation in addressing flood mitigation. “We’re going to work together and we’ll figure out a solution,” he told residents. He stressed the importance of solutions beneficial for all parties involved, including upstream and downstream communities, and acknowledged the necessity of federal involvement. 
“It can’t be adversarial; it has to be something that works for everybody,” Kinew said, linking flood mitigation directly to economic initiatives. He requested Peguis’s partnership in broader provincial economic projects, suggesting these would facilitate and finance essential flood protection efforts. He didn’t cite specific projects which left some residents wondering what this meant.
Read more: Premier Wab Kinew Visits Peguis Amid Ongoing $1 Billion Flood Lawsuit
More questions for the SCO Grand Chief
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By Trevor Greyeyes April 24, 2025
I’ve always approached journalism without fear or favour. But that commitment was tested the day a courier dropped off a letter from lawyers representing Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) Grand Chief Jerry Daniels — threatening to sue me for defamation.
To say I took the threat seriously would be an understatement.
For a couple of weeks, I didn’t write or publish anything, and my business suffered.
It caused me to do a lot of soul searching and to reread the Statement of Claim and the counterclaims, reread the defamation of law in Manitoba, and question who I am.
I know another publisher taking on the job of becoming a paperboy in my neighborhood where her publication is delivered.
And that’s the core of who I am: just a real First Nations person struggling to make it in this world trying to do an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.
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