[nordique]

Homes, water park at Kapyong?
Bands mulling varied housing, big attraction

By: Mary Agnes Welch

‘There is no reason to fear Indian people moving in. We want to bridge the gap of understanding’ -- Peguis First Nation Chief Glenn Hudson

First Nations are eyeballing Kapyong Barracks for affordable and high-end housing, businesses and even Winnipeg's longed-for water park.

And, they are open to earmarking some of the abandoned barracks land to widen Kenaston Boulevard, a project that is effectively stalled until wrangling over the former army base is done.

"We're certainly interested in the entire property," said Peguis First Nation Chief Glenn Hudson. "It's an opportunity for us to create an economic development zone."

Hudson was quick to quash fears that Kapyong could become a ghetto in one of the city's most prestigious neighbourhoods, which has so far looked on the idea of an urban reserve with skepticism and fear.

Hudson said the bands plan on consulting widely, designing a neighbourhood that fits in with Tuxedo and River Heights and building homes for low-income people and the wealthy, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal.

"There is no reason to fear Indian people moving in," said Hudson. "We want to bridge the gap of understanding."

Hudson won't reveal the exact plans for Kapyong, saying the Treaty One bands are only beginning discussions with well-known urban planning outfits. But he said green space and recreation centres will figure prominently in any plan, including perhaps a water park.

"We want some kind of draw," said Hudson. "I wouldn't rule it out."

Late last month, a federal Appeal Court judge ruled that Ottawa had failed to properly consult Peguis and the other six Treaty One First Nations when it decided to sell the Kapyong Barracks to Canada Lands, the federal property-development firm.

The judge effectively sent Ottawa back to square one in a process that's dragged on since the Second Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved west to CFB Shilo more than five years ago.

A spokeswoman for the Department of National Defence said Tuesday the government hasn't decided yet whether it will appeal the decision. Ottawa must decide before the end of the month.

But even if Ottawa agrees to consult with First Nations, it's not a sure bet bands such as Peguis will ultimately have access to Kapyong. And consultations could take months, even years.

But Peguis and Brokenhead First Nations are confident their treaty land entitlements give them "first right of refusal" on surplus federal land. Both bands are still owed hundreds of hectares of land from old, unfulfilled treaties.

Peguis also has about $190 million in land claim settlement money in reserve, much of it from a deal settled over the summer. Hudson said much of that could be used to bankroll a development.

The judge's decision could also clear up one of Kapyong's most troubling quirks -- the fate of the roughly 350 houses on the base, about half of which have stood vacant despite a dire shortage of affordable rentals in Winnipeg.

The homes were not included in the "working" part of the base that Ottawa declared surplus and was about to sell. The homes were part of a similar but separate process that was well underway and were likely to be eventually turned over to Canada Lands.

Now, Hudson hopes any consultation process with Ottawa could include the houses, and he said he'd like to see them rented out while work gets underway planning the new neighbourhood.

-- with a file from Mia Rabson

If they teamed up with a good local architecture firm, and designed a very very modern, attractive waterpark/hotel combo, well, i think that would be a brilliant move on their part and show the 'white folk' that 'indians' aren't only about poverty, gas bars and casinos. it would be a good step for our city, as well as a pretty genious business move.