Building a ‘very bright future’

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This article was published 30/07/2024 (497 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Six years ago, the community by Winnipeg’s largest source of water was isolated and under its own boil water advisory.

But the creation of Freedom Road and a water treatment plant have changed the landscape: now, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is building fast.

The next step? Mobilizing Shoal Lake members to erect the new structures.

“The road really is a game changer for us,” said Diane Redsky, chief executive of Kekekoziibii Development Corp., Shoal Lake’s economic arm.

The 24-km road connecting the community to the Trans-Canada Highway, completed in 2019, has brought “the incredible responsibility to catch up from 100 years of isolation.”

“We’re still far behind,” she explained.

Far behind in infrastructure creation and maintenance — getting building supplies was hard in isolation.

Now, Shoal Lake’s 350 on-reserve members are eyeing the creation of 25 homes, a 7,000-sq.-ft. Jordan’s Principle site and a 16,000-sq.-ft. family resource centre.

A school and water treatment plant were recently finished at the First Nation near the Manitoba-Ontario border. The area’s current 100 houses are slated to be connected to the water treatment plant by November, according to Redsky.

“Most importantly, we wanted the community to build all these buildings,” she stated. “That’s going to happen.”

It’ll happen, in part, because of a 53-foot long semi-trailer with extendable sides parked at Shoal Lake.

A dozen members visit the unit daily; they have been since June 17. There, they learn plumbing, framing and other aspects of construction and trades.

It’s the first time Red River College Polytechnic’s mobile training lab has stopped at Shoal Lake. The school on wheels is parked until Aug. 31, offering fully funded construction trades training.

Joshua Redsky created an ice fishing hut from the ground up earlier this summer. On Monday, he was en route to a piping lesson.

“Before these (Shoal Lake) homes… were going up, people were fighting over one job,” said Joshua, 34. “With this construction here, it opened up a lot of jobs.”

Joshua — who has no obvious relation to Diane — is anticipating a career building houses after his training.

Many of the community’s longtime carpenters are retiring, he noted. There’s a need. But he wouldn’t have taken the course if it were elsewhere; he has four children to care for.

Shoal Lake started its mobile lab partnership with RRC Polytechnic to make training more accessible, Diane Redsky explained. People who wanted training previously had to drive to Kenora.

“It’s a win-win for everybody,” she said of the temporary setup.

The community began talks with Red River College Polytechnic last fall, according to Jill Latschislaw, the post-secondary’s director of business development — corporate solutions, Indigenous strategy, research and innovation.

Latschislaw wouldn’t disclose how much the programming cost; the Niiwin Wendaanimok (Four Winds) Partnership, an Indigenous-led organization promoting economic development at Shoal Lake and three other First Nations, covered the funding.

“The training that the students get in the (mobile) trades programs is exactly what they would get on campus,” Latschislaw said.

Communities tell Red River what kind of training they need and the post-secondary provides its courses and micro-credentials.

RRC Polytechnic has been operating its mobile training lab since 2008, Latschislaw said. It has two labs; one stays around the Interlake region.

The lab has travelled as far as Gillam, offering training on automotive services to business administration and health care.

Construction and trades remain the most popular programs, Latschislaw said. Last year, Pine Creek residents took an introduction to trades program. Peguis has recently increased its plumbing and carpentry graduates.

Each session prepares a maximum 25 students.

“It’s really convertible and that’s kind of the emerging need of education now — it has to be when the students need it, and timely and relevant,” Latschislaw said. “Part of our strategic plan (is) to meet students where they’re at.”

Ryan Clark travelled to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to teach the construction trades program.

“Every community should be doing this,” he asserted. “Shoal Lake… they’re doing good by taking their community and trying to help it grow.”

He sat by Joshua Redsky and Andrew Mandamin, a 19-year-old student.

“This is the next generation of tradespeople in this community,” Clark said.

Both Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham and Manitoba Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie visited the trainees last week.

The entire community is proud of its students, many of whom are parents, said Diane Redsky.

“We have a very bright future ahead,” she said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com