Métis federation receives $15M for development projects

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This article was published 05/02/2021 (1883 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Metis Federation has received an infusion of $15 million from Western Economic Diversification to inject into its economic development projects.

Flying under the radar, the MMF has quietly been amassing a growing portfolio of new businesses and land holdings and these funds will provide additional capital for further growth.

Dan Vandal, minister of northern affairs, said the funding, which is a symbol of the path to reconciliation that the government and country is on, comes with few strings attached.

“This is a very important day for Canada, Manitoba and the Métis people as well as for me as a proud member of the Métis Nation,” Vandal said. “The path forward on reconciliation is long and sometimes bumpy. The country remains committed to walking that path. This is an example of how far our journey has brought us. This is the next step we will take together.”

He said funding is a symbol of the willingness of the government of Canada to “work with the Métis as nation to nation.”

The rationale for the funding is to help close socio-economic gaps, promote Métis economic development, and create jobs for Manitoba Métis.

According to the ambitious, ongoing economic development projects the MMF is currently engaged in, that gap should be getting smaller.

David Chartrand, president of the MMF, said it already has tens of millions of dollars worth of development projects underway.

The new funding, which is to be in place by April and needs to be invested by the end of 2023, will help fund a number of projects.

For starters, the MMF has just recently taken possession of the historic Bank of Montreal building at Portage and Main. It plans to build a Métis heritage centre in the building that was built in 1913.

Design details have been selected and the renovation of the building will begin soon.

Another high-profile project in the works is a boutique hotel Chartrand said is being designed in partnership with Ida Albo, owner of the Fort Garry Hotel, on the site of Albo’s Yoga Public spa on Fort Street.

The plan is to build two additional storeys on top of the current two-storey building for a boutique hotel with about 40 rooms, featuring a spa and gym and health conscious café.

Chartrand said Albo, who could not be reached for comment, would operate the hotel. Engineering and architectural designs are underway and he said he hopes permits will be in place for construction to start this year.

“We will have the advantage of her expertise in championing the heritage Fort Garry Hotel and if the concept works we are planning to build more,” he said.

Vandal said the manner in which the money will be spent will be entirely up to the MMF.

“The funding is intended to create economic prosperity for the Métis people,” he said. “As per the nation-to-nation agreement the purview and responsibility (regarding the investment decisions) flows to MMF.”

And by the sounds of it, the MMF has no shortage of development plans in the works.

In addition to building its new heritage centre and the boutique hotel, the MMF has been amassing a significant real estate portfolio.

Just in the past year or so the MMF has acquired the smaller, 80,000 square foot, National Research Council building on Ellice Avenue. It has also acquired the Behavioural Health Foundation and accompanying land in Breezy Point with potential future development to take place there.

It also has plans to invest about $2 million in two large tree greenhouses that it will construct in Manitoba.

Chartrand said a partnership with the oil and gas company Enbridge is being negotiated for that project.

Those facilities may also develop into medicinal cannabis production sites as part of the MMF’s investment in the Penticton, B.C., company, Green Mountain, which may expand to Manitoba.

As well, the MMF is about to open its second pharmacy in Dauphin, with additional locations planned for Brandon and Yorkton, Sask. It is also in the process of building a number of daycare centres.

Chartrand said after deploying the $15 million in funding from the Western Economic Diversification, he believes it will assist in the creation of hundreds of jobs in addition to the 800 currently on the MMF’s payroll.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca