Grand chief sent to hospital after altercation in Ottawa

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This article was published 05/12/2024 (323 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The leader of one of Manitoba’s largest Indigenous political organizations was hospitalized after an altercation outside a bar in downtown Ottawa, the Free Press has learned.

Multiple sources say Jerry Daniels, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, was involved in the incident on Tuesday, along with at least one other Manitoba First Nation band councillor.

The organization did not respond to multiple requests for comment; it is unclear whether Daniels remained in hospital Thursday.

Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network reported Thursday that Lake Manitoba First Nation Chief Cornell McLean is acting as interim grand chief. The Free Press has not independently verified that information.

McLean refused to comment when reached Wednesday.

Daniels was in Ottawa to attend the Assembly of First Nations special chief assembly, which unites Indigenous leaders from throughout the country.

The altercation happened just blocks from the Rogers Centre, where the assembly began on Tuesday.

The Ottawa Police Service could not confirm the victim’s name, but said an ambulance was dispatched to the 1-100 block of York Street for reports of a disturbance just after 2:30 a.m.

“A man was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. At this time, the incident remains under investigation,” spokesperson Julie Kavanagh said in an email.

Daniels, who was elected for a third term as grand chief in June, represents more than 87,000 people in 33 First Nations in southern Manitoba.

His organization is involved in a $200-million development project to transform the former Hudson’s Bay Co. building in downtown Winnipeg.

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Construction on the 655,000 square foot building is currently under way. When complete, it will feature more than 300 affordable housing units, assisted living and a health centre.

It is co-ordinating the project with True North Real Estate Development, which has undertaken a $650-million overhaul of the Portage Place mall across the street from the Bay.

That project will include a 15-storey health-care tower, a 16-storey residential building, main-floor grocery store, community centres, office space for social agencies and other services.

“This is what true economic reconciliation looks like. It’s First Nations communities, the people, the leadership working with… the leaders of corporate Canada,” Daniels said last December, while signing a memorandum of understanding to co-ordinate the projects.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.