World News
Manitoba municipalities get $45M in infrastructure funding initially earmarked for flood channels
The Manitoba government is giving $45 million earmarked for work on a flood outlet in the Interlake to municipalities due to delays in the project’s consultations.Premier Brian Pallister addressed a crowd of municipal leaders at a convention in Brandon, Man., on Monday. (Riley Laychuk/CBC)The Manitoba government is giving $45 million earmarked for work on a…
The Manitoba government is giving $45 million earmarked for work on a flood outlet in the Interlake to municipalities due to delays in the project’s consultations.
The Manitoba government is giving $45 million earmarked for work on a flood outlet in the Interlake to municipalities due to delays in the project's consultations.
Premier Brian Pallister accused the federal government on Monday of changing the requirements of who needs to be consulted about the planned Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin flood channels — estimated to cost $540 million.
“We have begun this process over three years ago now and $72 million dollars ago of planning, designing and consulting,” he told a crowd of municipal officials in Brandon, Man., after arriving on a flight from the Grey Cup in Calgary earlier in the afternoon.
“We've had over 200 contacts with communities around the basin, including close to 100 personal meetings,” Pallister added. “That's consultation, except it doesn't count. It doesn't count because the yard sticks keeping getting moved. The federal government keeps moving them.”
Leaders in area First Nations have criticized the project, fearing it could spread contaminated water and accusing the province of not doing enough consultations.
Pallister lays the blame on the federal government for the delays.
“A couple of months ago they added a new requirement that we have to consult with over 50 different local First Nations bands, principally, including some that are so far away from the project that the massive impact that would be felt by them, in the least optimum circumstance, would be less than a half inch of water,” Pallister added.
CBC News has reached out to Indigenous Services Canada for comment, and information on changes to the consultation process.
Channels announced in 2013
The province announced plans in 2013 to construct a permanent channel to take water from Lake St. Martin to Lake Winnipeg, and create a new outlet from Lake Manitoba that would flow to Lake St. Martin. Flooding devastated parts of the Lake Manitoba basin and Lake St. Martin in both 2011 and 2014.
The project's costs are being shared by the federal and provincial governments, with Ottawa paying $247.5 million through its Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
Pallister said both the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and Manitoba Capital Region will get a say in how the $45 million is allocated. Details on what types of projects will qualify for the funding are still being worked out.
“I get it that people deserve to be listened to,” he told reporters after the speech. “We've been paying millions of dollars for that listening process and we have changed the design and modified it because we were listening.”
“But you can't delay a project like this for much longer.”
Pallister said he has spoken to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the project recently.
Construction on the outlets was initially anticipated to begin this fall, with no completion date announced as of yet.
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