Tory MP takes shot at own party

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This article was published 08/08/2015 (3686 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Outgoing Conservative MP Joy Smith will announce her support Monday for Shoal Lake No. 40’s long-hoped-for highway — a move that puts her at odds with her party in the midst of a federal election.

Smith will be the first Manitoba Conservative to publicly side with the isolated First Nation, which has been under a boil-water advisory for nearly 20 years even though it’s the source of Winnipeg’s excellent drinking water.

On Thursday, Smith toured the island First Nation with musician Steve Bell, one of the organizers of the Churches for Freedom Road awareness campaign.

Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation Chief Erwin Redsky said Friday Smith met with band officials and visited the canal that cuts the reserve off from the mainland as well as the garbage dump that is near capacity.

“She wants to help any way she can to help us reach our goal,” said Redsky.

Reached Friday, Smith confirmed she will be hosting a news conference at her Henderson Highway office Monday morning with Bell to offer her support for the construction of the proposed highway. Dubbed Freedom Road, it will link the reserve to the Trans-Canada Highway and end a century of man-made isolation.

“I’m going to say much more than that,” she promised. But she would not offer details, saying she wants to save her remarks for Monday.

On the Churches for Freedom Road website, Smith is listed as the latest supporter of the campaign.

“God bless you for sounding a Christian voice in support of God’s beloved, in particular, the isolated community at Shoal Lake 40,” she wrote. “I support your endeavours 100 per cent.”

Smith’s position will put her offside with her party at a time her Kildonan-St. Paul riding is up for grabs — a rare crack in the notoriously disciplined Conservative party messaging.

The Conservatives have refused to commit to the construction of the $30-million Freedom Road, though the city and province have pledged financial support. At an event at Shoal Lake in June, Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, also the MP for Kenora, raised hackles when he would only reiterate a previously announced $1-million commitment for a design study.

Smith announced her retirement from politics in January, leaving her suburban riding suddenly up for grabs. There, the Liberals and NDP are running strong campaigns against former Blue Bomber executive Jim Bell, who is running for the Conservatives in Smith’s stead. Smith’s move could put Jim Bell in an awkward position, caught between the area’s popular, outgoing MP and the Conservative party, which typically does not tolerate freelancing by candidates on policy issues.

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Shoal Lake No. 40 First Nation can’t build a proper water-treatment plant without a permanent highway.

But, Winnipeg’s aqueduct and a canal that diverts murky water from the city’s intake structure effectively cut the reserve off from the mainland a century ago. A small bridge now under construction will give the community more stable winter-road access, but Shoal Lake has been lobbying for decades, loudly in recent years, for a permanent highway to the Trans-Canada that will allow the reserve to prosper.

Jim Bell said Friday he’s focused on his local campaign and will be interested to see what Smith says Monday. Until then, he said he’s reluctant to comment.

Both Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair have pledged financial support for Shoal Lake’s highway.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca