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WINNIPEG – A long-promised $600-million flood prevention project in Manitoba is now under review, and the provincial government has opened the door to redesigning it with no timeline for starting construction.

The NDP government said it has asked Ottawa to pause a decision on the plan, in order to fully consult First Nations and consider possible alternatives to the design. It would currently have two large outlet channels built to drain water from Lake Manitoba into Lake St. Martin then into Lake Winnipeg.

“The federal government had already expressed significant concerns,” Lisa Naylor, Manitoba’s minister of transportation and infrastructure, said Thursday.

“If the federal government had withdrawn the licence because of the environmental impact, the project would be dead. And so, I don’t want to see that happen.”

The project has been talked about for more than a decade, following severe flooding in 2011 that forced thousands of people from their homes.

The former Progressive Conservative government promised in 2016 to build the project quickly but butted heads for years with federal regulators, who called for more consultation with First Nations that would be affected.

In 2022, a Court of Queen’s Bench judge ruled the government did not consult properly before setting up a right of way on Crown land for preparatory work, such as groundwater monitoring.

A report in June from the federal Impact Assessment Agency said the project’s environmental effects could be addressed, but it would have significant impact on Indigenous land use. The federal environment minister said he would refer the issue to cabinet for a decision.

Seeking a pause on that process will give the province time to address concerns of First Nations communities and Ottawa, Naylor said.

The Tories, now in Opposition, said there was consultation and the project needs to move ahead to prevent another disastrous flood in the region.

“I think there were hundreds and hundreds of consultations that have been done with First Nations,” interim party leader Wayne Ewasko said. Technical documents, including papers translated into Cree and Ojibway, were posted online and shared with community members, he added.

Naylor said the pause will also let the government consider changing the project’s design.

“A number of smaller mitigation projects have taken place over the years that may change what the outcome ultimately needs to look like,” she said.

The province is signing a memorandum of understanding on next steps with the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council, which represents several communities in the region.

Cornell McLean, chief of Lake Manitoba First Nation, said he’s pleased with the government’s commitment because there has been no meaningful consultation to date.

“There has been none, and they say there were text messages, phone calls, faxes. And I said, ‘Well, that’s not consultation,'” McLean said.

“If you want to have true consultation, it’s face-to-face, meaningful consultation.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. – Three teenage girls have been charged with assault after two separate violent attacks took place on Metro Vancouver’s transit system.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the assaults happened on July 11, the first of which was on board a SkyTrain while it travelled from New Westminster to Surrey.

Police say a 16-year-old student was attacked by the three suspects after she tried to prevent one of them from prying open the doors while the train was moving.

The attackers are accused of punching and kicking the girl, then dragging her by her hair before other passengers and SkyTrain attendants in Surrey were able to help her.

Police say the second attack happened about three hours later, when the three boarded a bus and surrounded an 18-year-old woman following a verbal exchange. They punched and kicked the victim and pulled out clumps of her hair.

Officers who were called to the scene identified the suspects as a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old from Surrey, as well as a 15-year-old from Abbotsford. All three have been charged with assault causing bodily harm.

The suspects cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police say while they would never ask bystanders to put themselves in harm’s way, the intervention by the other passengers to help the victims in the attacks should be acknowledged.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

VANCOUVER – Forecasters have elevated their warnings about an atmospheric river system that is expected to hit coastal British Columbia on Friday, bringing potential flooding, heavy rain and high winds.

B.C.’s River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for the south and central coasts, while Environment Canada has upgraded its special weather statement over the region to a rainfall warning, with mountainous areas of Vancouver Island expected to get more than 200 millimetres of precipitation.

The weather agency says the atmospheric river system will arrive early Friday and persist through provincial election day on Saturday in places including Metro Vancouver, Whistler and almost all of Vancouver Island.

The north and central coasts from Bella Bella to Haida Gwaii are also under a wind warning, with gusts expected to reach 110 kilometres an hour.

The River Forecast Centre says a high streamflow advisory is in effect for the north coast, upper Fraser and the Thompson regions.

Environment Canada issued the first snowfall warnings of the season along the British Columbia and Yukon border, with accumulations up to 20 centimetres expected in some areas.

The weather office says the snow will spread through southwestern Yukon until Saturday.

It says 10 centimetres of snow is expected in most regions, but predicts up to 25 centimetres in Swift River.

It says an arctic ridge of high pressure will clear the skies on Sunday and temperatures will fall to about -20 degrees Celsius by Monday.

Environment Canada says the “first substantial snow” is also expected south of the border in Fort Nelson, B.C., starting Friday.

It says about 10 centimetres is expected in most regions, but there could be more than 20 centimetres close to the border.

The weather office is warning drivers about low visibility Friday night due to drifting snow.

It says the Trans-Canada Highway near Rogers Pass may also “see wet snow Friday afternoon before it quickly changes to rain as the weather system brings in mild air.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.