Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 13/1/2012 (3181 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Editorial

Mayor Sam Katz is supremely confident that an aboriginal claim on Winnipeg's water supply is without merit, but he would be wise to show a little more concern. The former site of Kapyong Barracks, remember, was supposed to have been developed by now, but the future of the land is uncertain after several First Nation bands asserted their rights through the courts.

The dispute will not dry up Winnipeg's water supply, but it could easily lead to a protracted and costly legal battle. More immediately, the city is being threatened with an injunction to halt its plan to sell water services to West. St. Paul.

DALE CUMMINGS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DALE CUMMINGS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS / WATER RIGHTS A

Iskatewizaagegan No. 39 First Nation claims it was never part of the original agreement in 1913 that gave the city the right to withdraw water from Shoal Lake on the Ontario-Manitoba border for "domestic and sanitary" purposes only.

The No. 40 band was paid $1,500 to give up its water rights and some land, but for reasons that are not yet clear, No. 39 was not included in the negotiations even though it has a claim on the lake and adjacent land as part of its treaty rights. In 1989, the city agreed to pay the No. 40 band $6 million to restrict development near the lake.

No. 39 wants compensation for the use of its natural resource, and for the right of the city to use its land to transport the water. The original agreement also restricted the city's water-distribution rights to what was then known as the Greater Winnipeg Water District, comprising most of metropolitan Winnipeg today.

The town of Kenora opposed the water deal at the time, arguing it would affect navigation on the Lake of the Woods and hurt the lumber and leisure industries, as well as "other interests of importance and benefit" to the region, according to a petition submitted in 1913 to the International Joint Commission, the U.S.-Canada board that resolves bilateral water disputes.

Ottawa and the Province of Ontario approved the deal, as did the U.S. War Department, which investigated the matter and concluded it would not affect American interests.

Kenora's complaints were dismissed and the stage was set for the greatest infrastructure project in Winnipeg history, the building of the aqueduct that has faithfully served Winnipeg since 1919.

The agreement allowed Winnipeg to withdraw 100 million gallons of water a day, double its current use. The city was using up to 80 million gallons a day in the 1980s, but conservation and other measures have cut consumption.

DALE CUMMINGS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS DALE CUMMINGS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS / WATER RIGHTS B

The city claims it will not be selling water to West St. Paul, but merely the services of treating and distributing water. This is a lawyer's argument, which is unlikely to impress any judge.

Even the No. 40 band, which gave up most of its rights, is protesting the city's plan to sell water to a municipality outside the original Greater Winnipeg Water District. The question of whether bottling companies have the right to sell city water outside the district is also at issue.

No. 39 can't explain why it waited so long to assert its rights, except to say that aboriginal reserves were not allowed to hire lawyers for advocacy until the 1970s. Before that, they were at the mercy of the federal government. It says it tried to raise the issue in recent years, but was ignored.

The band believes the case could eventually expand the aboriginal claim on natural resources, a major legal issue across Canada today.

Some of the facts are fuzzy, but it's crystal clear that the smug rejection of all aboriginal grievances will not make the band's complaints disappear.

Mayor Katz may not accept an invoice from the Iskatewizaagegan First Nation, but he will have to accept one from his lawyers and, possibly one day, from other aboriginal groups affected by the century-old water agreement.