Peguis First Nation Files $1 Billion Flood-Damages Lawsuit
Peguis First Nation, the largest First Nation in Manitoba by population, has filed a $1 billion flood-damages lawsuit against the federal government, the provincial government, and two municipalities located upstream of the community. The lawsuit, filed before the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, seeks compensation for financial losses and other damages that occurred during a series of floods along the Fisher River, the worst of which occurred in 2022.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to prevent or remedy the 2022 flood, which caused widespread damage to the reserve land and forced the evacuation of the community. Peguis is also seeking damages for the costs of fighting the flood and cleaning up after it, as well as for the breach of duty and care and negligence by the defendants. The lawsuit also calls for Canada and Manitoba to declare the two governments breached their treaty obligations by not providing the First Nation with “a sustainable and tolerable living environment, safe and secure from flooding disasters, through adequate permanent flood protection for the reserve land.”
Peguis First Nation has struggled for more than a century to receive compensation for the lands it lost after European settlers arrived in the province. In 1907, the First Nation was forced to surrender its fertile agricultural tracts at St. Peter’s, along the Red River, and move to a flood-prone area of the northern Interlake. In a treaty land entitlement agreement in 2008, Peguis received $64 million and a commitment of 167,000 acres of Crown and private land. The following year, the federal government paid Peguis $126 million to settle the illegal surrender of the reserve property northeast of Selkirk.
The defendants in the lawsuit have declined or deferred comment. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew declined comment, stating the matter is before the courts. Larissa Love, chief administrative officer of the RM of Bifrost-Riverton, deferred comment pending a meeting with the municipality’s council. Shannon Pyziak, reeve of the RM of Fisher, said in an emailed statement that the matter has been referred to the municipality’s insurer.
