Lawsuit kept Kapyong intact: feds

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This article was published 17/11/2016 (3309 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The buildings at Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg would have been torn down years ago if there hadn’t been an extended lawsuit keeping the Department of National Defence from doing anything to the property, an official with DND said Thursday.

Lyse Langevin, director general of infrastructure and environment, said until the lawsuits between Treaty One First Nations in Manitoba and the federal government were settled, DND had to leave everything as is. In September 2015, when the former Conservative government chose not to appeal the latest ruling requiring proper consultation with First Nations, DND was free to pursue its usual process for declaring land as surplus. That is to demolish the site and return it to its original condition.

“This is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary,” said Langevin in an interview with the Free Press Thursday.

In a letter to area residents sent this week, the department noted it intends to destroy all 41 buildings, internal roadways, surface parking lots and underground utilities including electrical, gas, water and sewer lines starting in 2017. It is seeking public input as part of the environmental-assessment requirements of federal law.

She couldn’t say how much the demolition would cost or when exactly it will begin because the project will be tendered. The public-input period is from today to Dec. 16.

Langevin confirmed DND has spent nearly $20 million maintaining the 160-acre Kapyong site at Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue since the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry unit left Kapyong for CFB Shilo in June 2004. The current annual upkeep budget is $1.5 million. Most of that is property taxes, which in 2016 were nearly $900,000. The rest is for grass cutting and snow shovelling, security and other basic maintenance.

Langevin said the buildings are structurally safe, but they have been vacant for so long, mould has grown inside and they can no longer be entered safely.

The negotiations for the redevelopment underway with First Nations are an entirely separate process and have nothing to do with the decision to gut the property, said Langevin.

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, the Liberal MP for the riding where the barracks are located, said the former government allowed the property to fester for more than a decade while it fought First Nations in court over their attempt to claim the property for treaty land entitlement. He said the government is negotiating with the First Nations, and the property will no longer be an eyesore.

“I think it’s a very positive development. It will help the neighbourhood while negotiations continue.”

No representatives from the seven First Nations involved in the negotiations will speak publicly about the situation. Sources say there is a dispute about whether all seven would receive an equal partnership in the land or whether larger bands should get a bigger share.

Carr said Thursday the First Nations are happy to see the buildings demolished.

“I’m glad the First Nations communities who are involved in the conversation also think it’s a good idea. That’s our understanding.”

NDP MP Daniel Blaikie, who learned of the plan from the media, said the lack of information coming from DND about the demolition is frustrating.

“Did they think they were going to do something that big and nobody was going to notice?” he asked.

He said DND should be explaining exactly why they want to demolish the buildings, what it does for the process to redevelop the site and whether it will affect the value of the land going forward. He said removing buildings that are a hazard is one thing, but tearing out utilities that could be used by future occupants doesn’t make sense until it’s determined what is going to go in there.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Area the government wants razed