‘Tribal Dysfunction Costs Manitoba Taxpayers’

This story continues without a resolution, from a combination of government incompetence and cowardice. As a result, the law is not being enforced against this aboriginal group, and the rest of Manitobans are paying for this unequal application of the law…

In 1996, an armed rebellion (including members of the ‘Manitoba Warriors’ criminal gang) which resulted in the arson of 3 homes (including the Chief’s), resulted in the eviction of 350 Band members from what was then called the Waterhen reserve in Manitoba. 

The dispute revolved around the competition for power between two dominant families {“Local legend has it that the bad blood between the Catcheway and Nepinak families dates back over 100 years.”}. Since then, the rebels have demanded their own reserve but the federal government insists that new land for it must be subtracted from the original reserve. The Waterhen (now Skownan) ‘First Nation’ refuses to sanction the changes, so the rebels have been housed since 1996 by ‘Manitoba Housing’, and have refused to pay rent for 21 years… 

“‘Indigenous’ {‘descendants of Siberian settler’} families who face eviction from ‘Manitoba Housing’ units in Portage la Prairie…have vowed to move onto the legislature lawn when they lose their homes.

“They’ve been living in Manitoba Housing in Portage since 1996, but have never paid rent. The province says they owe more than $1.2 million.