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.
Niki Ashton: Serving the fourth largest federal riding in Canada Riding: Churchill—Keewatinook Aski (Manitoba)
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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.
Read more: Niki Ashton: Serving the fourth largest federal riding in Canada Riding:...
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