First Nations leaders bristle at potential use of Schreyer in road name

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First Nations leaders lashed out on Tuesday after a city of Winnipeg committee discussed the possibility of naming a section of the former Bishop Grandin Boulevard as Edward Schreyer Parkway South, and not Abinojii Mikanah.

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On Tuesday, the city’s Executive Policy Committee (EPC) discussed a motion brought forward by Coun. Russ Wyatt and seconded by Coun. Ross Eadie asking that a newly constructed section of the former Bishop Grandin Boulevard that sits east of Lagimodière Boulevard near the community of Sage Creek be renamed Edward Schreyer Parkway South.

The move, according to the motion, would honour the legacy of Edward Schreyer who served as this province’s 16th premier from 1969 until 1977.

In March, Winnipeg city council voted to change the name of Bishop Grandin Boulevard to Abinojii Mikanah, after saying they had re-evaluated the legacy of the street’s former namesake Vital-Justin Grandin, a Roman Catholic bishop who is considered one of the architects of the Canadian residential school system.

Abinojii Mikanah translates to Children’s Road in the Ojibway and Cree languages and is meant to honour the legacy of residential school survivors and their families.

But with a new section of the street recently completed, Wyatt’s motion asks council to name that section after Schreyer, and the motion says Schreyer was “the first Premier to have regular meetings with the leaders of Manitoba’s Indigenous community” and that the move would “rightly honour a Manitoban who has done so much for Manitoba, Canada, and the Indigenous community.”

The motion still has to go to full council for a final vote, and it already seems destined to fail, as a majority of Winnipeg councillors indicated on Tuesday they would not support it.

On Tuesday, First Nations leaders held a media conference to denounce the motion and the fact it was discussed on Tuesday without First Nations consultation.

Assembly of Manitoba Chief Grand Chief Cathy Merrick, and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee both said many believe that under Schreyer’s leadership hydro agreements were signed in Manitoba that led to flooding and destruction and ongoing evacuations in several First Nations communities and they are against any name change that honours the former premier.

Settee accused the former premier of playing a role in the “destruction of our lands, rivers and lakes.”

Merrick said she hopes for consultation between First Nations leaders and the city of Winnipeg before any final decision is made.

“This serves as a reminder for all levels of government to work with First Nations leadership and to not make decisions on our behalf,” Merrick said.

“Those days are over, we have to be involved.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.