FREEDOM ROAD: It's the right thing to do!

With the recent election of Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Government, it is evident that official announcement of federal funds for the construction of Freedom Road is just around the corner; post-election conversations with various MPs confirm this.

At the provincial level, the Province of Manitoba is taking creative, pro-active steps in concert with Shoal Lake 40 First Nation to ensure that Provincial commitments to construction can flow upon completion of the road design in January. Premier Selinger is prepared to make this announcement.

Funding to begin construction upon completion of the road design must be in place by January 2016. It seems that the last one standing as a possible obstacle to this is the City of Winnipeg.

This petition is to respectfully let our city’s Mayor and councillors know there is strong public support for our city to commit to construction of Freedom Road so there will be no further, unnecessary delays.  There is sure to be a joint public announcement / celebration of the Federal and Provincial commitment to actually construct Freedom Road and build the path to reconciliation. Our City and our citizens will be more than embarrassed if we are not able to live up to our side of the bargain.

Please sign the petition so that this important redress of a century-long injustice can soon begin, signalling, as well, a deeply symbolic and intentional shift in relations between First Nations and Canadian Settler peoples—in this case, between the City of Winnipeg and our neighbours at Shoal Lake 40.

Petition:

To: His Worship Mayor Brian Bowman and Winnipeg City Councillors Matt Allard, Jeff Browaty, Shawn Dobson, Ross Eadie, Jenny Gerbasi, Scott Gillingham, Cindy Gilroy, Janice Lukes, Brian Mayes, Marty Morantz, John Orlikow, Mike Pagtakhan, Jason Schreyer, Devi Sharma, Russ Wyatt

As citizens and non-resident friends of the fair city of Winnipeg, we respectfully ask that His Worship Mayor Bowman and our City Counsellors ensure funds be committed in the 2016 budget, and do whatever is necessary to ensure that construction of Freedom Road for Shoal Lake 40 can begin immediately upon completion of the jointly developed design.

It's time to move from commitment in principle to commitment in deed.

It's the right thing to do!