First Nation turns to court in fear for Crown corp. future

Leaders of an isolated First Nation on Lake Winnipeg that relies on a boat owned by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation are worried residents will be stranded as the federal Crown corporation looks to divest its operations.

Poplar River First Nation has gone to court, filing a statement of claim naming the federal government and the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. as defendants in the Manitoba King’s Bench earlier this month.

The court action seeks a judge’s declaration that the community be consulted about the possible dissolution of the Crown corporation, among other legal requests. It also seeks an injunction preventing the divestment from moving forward until the Crown has fulfilled its duty under treaty to Poplar River.

In recent years, the federal government has looked to rid itself of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp., which held a monopoly on fish marketing and sales in the country upon its creation in 1969, but has lost economic power as provinces, including Manitoba, have opted out.

A government-appointed advisory council has since recommended regional fishing groups and processors, or an Indigenous economic development corporation, take the reins as a private, user-owned operation.

The community’s leadership is concerned the divestment will lead to the loss of the MV Poplar River barge, owned by the Crown corporation.

The remote, fly-or-boat-in community on the northeast of Lake Winnipeg, has no road access, apart from an ice road about two months of the year.

It relies on fishing as one of its biggest trades — and on the barge, which arrives in the spring and summer with food, construction materials and fuel, and hauls away commercial catches of pickerel and whitefish.

“The vessel is critical to PRFN’s economic survival,” wrote David MacKay, the manager of the community’s fishing station, in an affidavit. “Without it, the commercial fishery cannot operate, and essential freight and supplies cannot reach the community or must be shipped alternatively.”

The community’s fears aren’t unfounded. In 2022, an explosion during maintenance caused the barge to become inoperable for about a year.

That led to massive increases in fuel and food prices, the implementation of rationing of fuel and water, as water treatment chemicals began to run out and a halt to construction projects, among other issues, MacKay said in his affidavit.

The corporation largely buys fish from remote Indigenous communities, then markets it for sale in Canada and elsewhere.

The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans received several “expressions of interest” from parties proposing to take over earlier this year as part of the divestment process.

Poplar River First Nation argues in its court filings the federal government and the corporation have failed to consult with the community about the divestment and breached their legal and treaty duties, potentially leaving the First Nation in a tough spot logistically and economically.

The court action seeks an injunction barring the sale or disposal of the barge without the consent of the community.

Poplar River says in the court papers it has received no communication from Fisheries and Oceans Canada about what the divestment may mean for the barge.

The community’s former chief sent a letter to the fisheries and oceans department in the summer of 2024, seeking clarity about whether the boat would be included in the divestiture, whether the winning proponent will be obligated to continue servicing the community with the boat and whether it would charge exorbitant rates, if the winner could sell the vessel and whether another government department could manage the boat’s continued operation.

The federal department did not respond to the chief’s concerns, the court papers say, and Poplar River leadership has not received answers to questions raised at meetings with departmental officials.

Poplar River’s lawyers sent a formal demand letter asking for consultation and for the federal department to consider how to mitigate the potential negative effects of the corporation being divested.

“Despite this, PRFN has still received no assurance, contractual or otherwise, that the vessel will remain available to service its community following the divestiture,” reads the court filing.

If the divestment goes ahead, without a plan for the MV Poplar River barge to continue operating, the court filing claims the community will suffer significant damages, including the loss of essential transport infrastructure, economic and job losses to its commercial fishery, higher costs, social and environmental harm caused by supply shortages and disruptions to services.

It would also harm the community’s self-determination and treaty protected way of life, the papers say.

The federal government and the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation have yet to file a response to the court action.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca