They have tried to ignore us. But since we (all 37,072 of us!) have been unrelenting, the office of Manitoba Conservation and Climate was pressured into issuing letters of reply.

Their responses are stunningly dismissive and vague. A few points I’d like to respond to:                  

Minister’s Office: “In addition to the Indigenous consultation process underway, dialogue with Indigenous communities began in the 1970s regarding the impacts of the project on people and the environment.”

My response: Our people were lied to. Manitoba Hydro did not respect the terms of the 1973 AFP license. They diverted the Churchill River and built a massive damn at Missi Falls. Resultant elevated water levels flushed contaminants including mercury, from the banks into the lake, polluting the water and the fish.

The fish now have mercury levels so high that they are of concern to local residents, who rely on this as a food source, and for their commercial fishing industry.  We would never have consented to this destruction.       

Minister’s Office: “Under the CRD final licensing process, Manitoba Hydro is proposing a continuation of existing operations, and not seeking a change that could potentially give rise to a new adverse effect not contemplated in past settlements.”

My response:  The water in the late is no longer drinkable and we cannot allow this destruction to continue. The AFP has never undergone any environmental review, causes great harm to the environment, and will continue further decimating the lake’s whitefish population and the economic status of the community.

We are not going away, and I think Sarah Guillemard, Minister of Conservation and Climate, and Premier Brian Pallister are starting to realize this.

Thank YOU for your continued support! Together, over 37,000 petition signers like you are putting pressure on our government to NOT grant Manitoba Hydro a license to permanently destroy water, land, and livelihoods for Indigenous people from O-Pipon-Na-Piwin (South Indian Lake).