Kinew blames climate change, seeks solutions for sinking water levels in First Nation

The Manitoba government is exploring options to help an isolated northern First Nation, which is without ferry service due to low water levels.

Premier Wab Kinew said he met with York Factory First Nation’s council, grand chiefs and federal officials Wednesday to discuss the “tough” situation.

“I conveyed the fact that, yeah, this is all part of one dry condition impact that Manitoba is living through right now,” Kinew told reporters. “This is all part of climate change. When we’re talking about hydro in particular, just to put things into perspective… hydro reservoirs are about at the ninth percentile.

“So this is, like, 91 per cent of years had more moisture in the hydro basin than this one. You can see there are impacts.”

In an Aug. 1 letter, York Factory First Nation called on the provincial government to order Manitoba Hydro to release dammed water in order to raise the level of Split Lake.

The First Nation said the move would help to resume ferry service and protect the community’s water supply.

A small group of York Factory members gathered outside the legislature to support the community’s call.

Sources have confirmed Adrien Sala, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, is scheduled to meet with executives and board members from the utility on Thursday.

Any order by the provincial government that could threaten the generating system’s operational capacity must come as a formal ministerial directive from the minister responsible for Hydro.

Kinew said the province will continue to work with the community in the short-term by providing boats and chartered flights to help move people or supplies.

“There’s probably medium-term things that we’ll look at, like maybe moving the ferry, and some other options on the table there, too,” he said. “We’ve got to get the environmental piece and the engineering piece looked at for those things.”

The First Nation, about 900 kilometres north of Winnipeg, had already called on the provincial and federal governments to fund an all-weather road.

“Longer term, we do need to build an all-weather road network in northern Manitoba, but the challenge is that this is going to cost $5 billion,” Kinew said. “Our provincial infrastructure budget is $540 million. So, just extrapolate from that and you can see the scale of the challenge.”

Manitoba Hydro said Monday that releasing water from Southern Indian Lake and Lake Winnipeg would jeopardize “electrical reliability” in the coming months, if a drought continues.

The Crown corporation said adequate reserves are needed to supply electricity to Manitobans over the winter, when demand peaks.

York Factory First Nation declared a state of local emergency after the ferry stopped operating in July. The service links the community to the provincial highway network during open-water season.

Manitoba Hydro said it is paying compensation under the terms of pre-existing agreements.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca