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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
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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
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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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By Keegan Anderson
April 22, 2025, brought a wave of optimism and cheers to Peguis First Nation as community members warmly welcomed Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who delivered long-awaited news: an $18 million provincial commitment to repair Highway 224. The announcement, first shared with enthusiastic applause in council chambers, drew even louder celebrations later from residents gathered at the community hall, marking a significant milestone for local infrastructure. Kinew said the repairs is a two-year project which is set to begin shortly.
The day started off with a brief meeting in the Council Chambers with Chief & Council where Chief Stan Bird gifted Premier Kinew a bag of tobacco and sweetgrass.
The council played a slideshow of key events in the community including the flood of 2022.
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By Trevor Greyeyes
It certainly must present a challenge to cover the fourth largest, geographically speaking, federal riding in the country but Niki Ashton, running in her seventh election, certainly seems to be up for the challenge. 
“Certainly, the riding... the geography can be challenging but this is our home,” said Ashton. “And we are going above and beyond to spend as much time in communities from across the riding from Peguis all the way to Churchill, from Easterville to God’s River. While we have to think outside the box to get everywhere, the priority is to get to as many communities as possible.”
This election will be the seventh that Ashton has run and if she wins it will be her sixth time winning.
When Ashton won for the first time elected to the Canadian Parliament on October 14, 2008, she was 26 years old.
Well, that was 17-years ago and Ashton is no longer one of the youngest MPs in Canada.
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“We need to be at the table” says Chartrand in run for the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski riding
By James Wastasecoot
PEGUIS - As the federal election approaches on April 28, Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand is making a direct appeal to Indigenous voters across northern Manitoba: prioritize electing a voice within the governing party, not just one in opposition. 
Chartrand, running in the Churchill-Keewatinook Aski riding for the second time against long-time NDP Member of Parliament Niki Ashton, argues that strategic voting is essential for achieving tangible results for the region. In the 2015 federal election, Chartrand secured 42% of the vote (12,575) compared to Ashton's 45% (13,487). Ashton subsequently won the next two elections by margins greater than 3,100 votes.
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By Trevor Greyeyes
I got the media advisory through the email but apparently that was just an ‘advisory’ and not an ‘invitation’ to the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) update on the Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn project when I was asked to leave.
Apparently, that email was just a ‘media advisory’ and not an ‘invitation’ to the apparently invitation-only event.
So, out of all the journalists assembled there, I was the only one SCO and their security bothered to check to see if any of the other journalists had an invitation.
Of course, to be open and fair, I have been highly critical of SCO and its grand chief since the news and pics came out of him laid out on the concrete in front of an Ottawa strip club while he was there to attend an Assembly of First Nations assembly in early December 2024.
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By James Wastasecoot
At a duly convened meeting March 12, Peguis council members voted to sign a one year extension to the Peguis CFS Coodination Agreement which expires March 31, 2025. But Chief Stan Bird, Councillors Deno Cameron and Kelvin Wilson refused to sign saying the community has questions of the Director of CFS, or the board chair - neither of whom were in attendance - which remain outstanding. Until more answers are forthcoming, they are not signing, they said at the council meeting where 18 band members were in attendance in council chambers.
- Peguis CFS agreement in limbo as deadline for renewal looms and council members at odds
- CORRECTION ALERT! This article contains a correction. Opinion: The Crisis of Integrity at the Southern Chiefs’ Organization
- Opinion: Press Freedom and Accountability in Peguis
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