By Trevor Greyeyes
The empty and unused daycare that was reported on by Terra Indigena in the August edition.
On Thursday, October 22, 2026, Peguis First Nation Chief Dr. Stan Bird and Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust (PFNRET) representative Martin Favel met with Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba Minister of Education, to discuss the next steps concerning the damaged daycare in East St. Paul.
A representative of the Manitoba Minister said it was a constructive meeting and discussions are ongoing.
Chief Bird indicated that at this point an assessment of damages will be conducted and further discussions with the province will take place afterward.
The meeting comes after months of controversy surrounding the $5.5 million daycare that was completed in 2024 but has never opened its doors to children.
The 74-space facility was constructed as part of the Meadows development in East St. Paul, a project undertaken by the Peguis First Nation Real Estate Trust.
The daycare was supposed to provide much-needed childcare services to families in the surrounding area. Created 4 Me Early Learning Centre, the organization selected to operate the facility, has approximately 800 children on its waiting list.
Instead, the building has been sitting empty during a dispute over ownership of the property and the terms of the agreement with Manitoba remains unresolved.
According to PFNRET, the province was supposed to cover construction costs and transfer ownership of the completed facility to the trust. PFNRET would then provide the building rent free to an approved daycare operator for 15 years.
However, the province maintains that a change in ownership of the Meadows property breached the original agreement.
Manitoba stopped funding the project after paying approximately $3.3 million.
With the dispute unresolved, the building was left vacant and eventually became the target of thieves and vandals.
The facility has also suffered extensive water damage after utilities were disconnected. According to a CBC News report in September, the basement was partially filled with water and the building had been without utilities for more than a year.
An initial rough estimate suggests the cost of repairing the damage could reach $1 million.
Compounding the situation is the fact that the building was not insured.
The daycare controversy is only one of several issues surrounding PFNRET and its management of Peguis First Nation assets.
The trust was established in July 2021 to acquire, invest in and manage real estate holdings for the benefit of Peguis First Nation.
In 2021, PFNRET purchased the 183 acre Meadows property using $10 million from Peguis treaty land entitlement funds along with a further $5.5 million private loan.
After defaulting on the loan, the trust sold a 75 per cent interest in the company controlling the property to a company owned by former adviser Andrew Marquess in exchange for a commitment to repay the $10 million over several years.
The transaction left PFNRET controlling approximately 16 acres of the original development.
Meanwhile, the immediate concern remains the daycare and whether the province and PFNRET can reach an agreement that will allow the facility to be repaired and finally opened.
The proposed damage assessment would be the first step toward determining what repairs are necessary and how much it will cost to make the building operational.
However, questions remain about who will be responsible for those costs and whether the original agreement can be restored or renegotiated.
For now, the $5.5 million facility remains empty while hundreds of children continue waiting for daycare spaces.