St. Clements residents and Peguis members say they need more information about development planned near historic St. Peter’s church and burial grounds
By James Wastasecoot
Error correction to the item, "Peguis CFS cultural centre proposal meets calls for wider consultation" Terra Indigena reported that the next RM St Clements meeting re Peguis CFS proposal would be held Oct. 17. The correct date is Nov. 17, 2026 at 6pm.
A proposal by Peguis Child and Family Services to build a cultural and ceremonial centre, cabins and a staffed home for children on land near the historic St. Peter’s church met calls for wider consultation at a public hearing August 25 before the Rural Municipality of St. Clements in East Selkirk.
The development proposed for two properties near Stone Church Road would include a 6,000-square-foot ceremonial lodge, 10 temporary cabins, outdoor cultural and wellness areas, storage buildings and parking for as many as 169 vehicles.
A separate residence would provide accommodation for up to eight children and operate around the clock with three staff members on duty, according to the applicant’s representative.
The properties are zoned Agricultural Restricted. Peguis CFS is seeking conditional-use approval for “recreation-commercial” and other agricultural uses.
The hearing brought together nearby landowners and Peguis members with family and historical connections to the former St. Peter’s Reserve. While many speakers supported the idea of a cultural centre, several said they had learned of the proposal only shortly before the hearing and did not have enough information to assess its effects.
Martin Favel told council the land is part of the traditional footprint of Peguis and that its development could help restore a Peguis presence in the area.
“To get the approval to do the cultural centre and to repatriate some of the land to Peguis is maybe something monumental for Peguis,” Favel said.
The applicant’s representative described the proposed lodge as a place where Peguis members could hold ceremonies, meetings, celebrations and cultural programs. The 10 small cabins, each about 108 square feet, would be used for camps and outdoor instruction.
Children could stay in the cabins while learning to fish, observe the night sky and reconnect with the land, he said.
The proposed children’s residence generated some of the strongest questions. The representative described it as “basically a foster home” for young people who do not have a stable family placement.
He said the residence would have cameras, on-site security and three staff members caring for no more than eight children at a time.
“These are kids that don’t have a place to be,” he told the hearing. “They need to go somewhere. They need help.”
Some area residents raised concerns about trespassing, policing, traffic and the effect of the development on the rural character of Stone Church Road. Others asked for clearer information about the type of residence being proposed and the needs of the children who would live there.
Several comments reflected assumptions that children placed in care would pose a danger to the surrounding community. The applicant’s representative rejected that characterization, saying the children should not automatically be associated with mental-health or behavioural problems.
Nearby residents also raised questions about lighting, fencing, drainage, wells, septic systems, road dust, parking, environmental protection and possible effects on property values.
The conceptual plan shows the ceremonial and cultural facilities at one end of the site and the children’s residence and a large parking area at the other. The development would sit along the Red River near the historic St. Peter’s church and burial grounds.
For several Peguis members, the location was not simply a municipal land-use matter.
Cara Woodric, a Peguis member with several relatives buried in the area, said she supported the idea of a healing lodge but questioned whether the proposed location was appropriate.
Woodric said families with relatives and ancestors in the burial grounds, as well as traditional and ceremonial people, should have been consulted before the application advanced.
“When they go to visit their loved ones in their graves, they would like to continue to have the peace and the solace,” she said.
Peguis Band member Jim Sinclair also called for direct consultation with descendants of the people who lived on the former St. Peter’s Reserve.
Sinclair said his grandparents and other family members are buried there. He noted that Peguis people continue to press governments to meet their duty to consult, but had not been consulted by one of their own institutions about this project.
“We’d also like to have a say,” Sinclair said. “Sit at the same table and talk.”
Joellee Delaronde, another Peguis member, said the lack of information experienced by local residents reflected broader concerns among members about transparency and accountability within Peguis CFS.
Delaronde said Peguis members had not been adequately informed about the proposal, despite its cultural purpose and its location within the Nation’s original territory.
“They haven’t consulted with the community. They haven’t consulted with their own members,” she said.
Joanne Mason, a Peguis elder and longtime social worker, spoke in support of Peguis CFS and the proposed development. She said the agency’s culturally based work is needed and that the land forms part of the territory from which Peguis people were unlawfully displaced.
“This was Peguis members’ land,” Mason said. “This is where our ancestors roamed.”
However, Mason agreed that local residents and Peguis members should receive more information before the proposal is finalized.
“I think the bottom line now has to be that more information be brought forward, a better meeting with more detail and more people present,” she said.
Questions were also raised about how notice of the hearing was provided. Residents said the development notice had been placed where it faced the river instead of Stone Church Road, making it difficult for passing motorists to see.
The applicant’s representative accepted responsibility for the sign’s placement and apologized.
“That’s on me,” he said. “That’s not the right place, and people were dissatisfied with that.”
He said representatives had gone door to door and spoken with residents at nine homes. Information was also mailed to approximately 50 or 60 properties in the surrounding area.
He said the site would be landscaped and fenced where required. Larger gatherings involving several hundred people were expected only three or four times a year, while most events at the ceremonial centre would involve approximately 50 to 100 people.
Municipal planners recommended an extensive list of conditions if council ultimately approves the application. These would include municipal and provincial permits, an engineered drainage plan, approved road access, flood-elevation requirements, waste-water and well approvals, heritage and archaeological reviews and protection of habitat near the Red River.
The conditions would also require continued access to the historic church and cemetery and protocols for responding to the discovery of artifacts, burial sites or human remains during construction.
St. Clements Councillors indicated at the hearing that they were not prepared to support the application on the information presented.
St. Clements Councillor Sutherland said the limited notification and placement of the sign left too many people unaware of the proposal.
“There’s just not enough information put out,” Sutherland said. “I can’t make any decisions tonight on this information.”
Councillor Dave Horbas said he supported the general idea and would like to see the project remain in St. Clements, but questioned whether the proposed property was the right location for a development of that size.
“I think this is a great idea,” Horbas said, “but there were a lot of good points brought up.”
The council did not pass a motion to approve the CFS proposal pending more information.
Terra Indigena news reached out to Peguis CFS for comment but none was provided. St. Clements will hold its next meeting on the Peguis CFS proposal Oct. 17.