Citizens’ Organization
We are located in Treaty No. 1 Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe (Ojibway), Ininew (Cree), Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota, and is the homeland of the Métis Nation.
Our water comes from Treaty No. 3 Territory, from the shores of Shoal Lake First Nations 39 and 40. The electricity powering our city comes from generating stations on rivers in Treaty No. 1, 3 and 5 Territories. Terms of the Northern Flood Agreement with five Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba remain unfulfilled.
We also state that the government of Canada has not lived up to their treaty obligations, so through our organizing we strive to come into a renewed relationship. With this, we acknowledge that colonialism is an ongoing and oppressive process, and that we as treaty people, have a responsibility to support de-colonial initiatives, respect Indigenous leadership, and fight for Indigenous sovereignty.
The Council of Canadians – Winnipeg Chapter has seen many different evolutions since its inception. In 2008 the chapter was rejuvenated as community concern started to grow around the municipal government’s planned changes to Winnipeg’s wastewater management. The city intended to form a public-private partnership (P3) with Veolia, a private multinational water company, to manage the city’s water and wastewater services.
The Winnipeg Chapter joined with many other like-minded groups in the defence of our public wastewater services. Although City Hall ended up partnering with the multinational corporation we did achieve some significant victories in the campaign, making the deal much less objectionable than originally planned.
During the ‘Harper years’ we were very active in supporting the campaigns to save the Canadian Wheat Board and the Experimental Lakes Area, to stop the risky and unfair Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), to keep War Resisters in Canada, and to save our democracy. The chapter participated in Occupy Winnipeg, the People’s Social Forum, and Idle No More, and the fight for Shoal Lake 40’s Freedom Road. Throughout, we respect the water, the land, and the people who live in this land by learning to honour the Treaties.
We encourage you to join us! You may want to help table at events, distribute information, join letter writing campaigns, attend rallies, circulate petitions; or drop into one of our regular meetings, add your voice to the discussion and figure out for yourself how you may want to contribute. To stay in the loop and receive action alerts, please send us an e-mail asking to be added to our list.
Click here to find out how you can join the Council of Canadians.
Click here for the Council of Canadians National Website
Contact Us
Email – canadianswinnipeg@gmail.com
Facebook Fan Page – facebook.com/canadianswinnipeg
Facebook Group – facebook.com/groups/140196950505
Twitter – @canadiansWPG
Youtube – youtube.com/canadianswinnipeg
Instagram – instagram.com/canadianswinnipeg