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Troubled reserve faces new spat

By: Bruce Owen

Posted: 09/15/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

A remote northern community beset by allegations of hefty consultants' fees, poor band governance and too much secrecy in its dealings with Manitoba Hydro over the Keeyask dam project now has another issue to confront -- a contentious defamation case.

The case was launched in the spring by embattled Tataskweyak Cree Nation former chief Duke Beardy -- stripped of his powers in May by dissident councillors -- against Winnipeg private investigator Janie Duncan.

The growing court file is moving between Thompson and Winnipeg as Beardy advocates to have his day in court in the north.

"With respect, I do not believe that a jury in Winnipeg will be a jury of my peers," Beardy said in an affidavit.

Beardy claims Duncan's actions were "callous and mean-spirited" when she contacted RCMP about her work in Split Lake for a client she won't divulge. Duncan has refused to apologize to Beardy.

"If everyone felt they would be sued for defamation, no one would file a complaint to police," she said in her statement of defence. A trial date has not been set.

The court case and other challenges to the leadership of TCN include the blockade this summer of the road into the Keeyask site by dissident band members. They accused band leadership of neglecting the community and want a forensic audit to determine how millions in dam-related consultation costs, supplied by Manitoba Hydro, have been spent and how band-owned businesses operate.

"We're certainly aware that there is a lot of turmoil in the community," Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said. "It doesn't directly involve Manitoba Hydro per se except to the management of funds that we provide the community (with) as part of our agreement."

Besides, TCN Hydro is negotiating with Fox Lake, War Lake and York Factory on the Keeyask project. Under a 2009 agreement, $360 million would be funnelled to the bands over 25 years as part of a joint-ownership deal for the generating station. Construction of the 695-megawatt Keeyask dam has not yet begun, but work on access roads, camps and site infrastructure is underway.

Schneider said while some information concerning the dispute has been referred to police and Hydro, no decision has been made on whether those allegations warrant further action. A complaint has also been filed with Manitoba's auditor general.

"We don't have clarity on who the current government is so it's difficult to deal with them at this time," Schneider said. A band election is to be held in late October.

The internal battle at TCN has been fuelled by news this summer that the cost of consultants hired to help First Nations negotiate agreements with Hydro for the Keeyask, Wuskwatim and Conawapa generating stations, and Bipole III, has hit $224 million, up from $160 million in late 2009.

That includes more than $100 million in "process" costs for TCN and War Lake on the Keeyask dam alone. A significant portion of that money went to third party Hobbs and Associates, a Winnipeg consulting firm many northern bands hired to help negotiate complex joint partnership agreements.

bruce.owen@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 15, 2012 A12

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