BRANDON — Cathy Merrick, the first female grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, received a second mandate Wednesday as she won re-election for a full three-year term on the first ballot.
“I worked really hard to be where I am as the grand chief. I had a year and nine months to be able to show the chiefs the work that I can do,” Merrick said told the group’s 36th annual general assembly.
“This will give me more time to be able to do the work that I wanted to do. When I came on board on a byelection it was to be able to ensure that the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is the place for the chiefs to come. And I have done that. And it shows here by winning in the first ballot.”
Grand Chief Cathy Merrick celebrates after winning a second term as Grand Chief of Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs on Wednesday. (Tim Smith / The Brandon Sun)
Cheers and whistles erupted in a packed tent during the assembly, held on Waywayseecappo First Nation land just north of Brandon, when Merrick’s re-election was announced.
Of the 62-member First Nation chiefs or their representatives who were eligible to vote, 58 chiefs had been confirmed by the 1 p.m. deadline, and only 54 votes were recorded on the first ballot. To win on the first ballot, a candidate required at least 28 votes.
Merrick received 35 votes, with fellow candidates George Kemp receiving nine and Darrell N. Shorting 10.
In 2022, Merrick, a councillor and former chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation (Cross Lake), was elected in a byelection after Arlen Dumas was removed following an independent investigation that concluded he engaged in workplace sexual harassment.
Merrick told the Brandon Sun one of her major goals over the next three years will be to improve and develop the assembly’s relationship with the Manitoba government.
“We need to be at the table when decisions are made, not an afterthought.”
Her first priority will be to address water issues that have affected First Nations across the province. Last month, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault concluded that the $540-million Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin outlet channels project was “likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” to Indigenous people.
If completed, the project would allow floodwater, diverted from the Assiniboine River into Lake Manitoba, to flow through to Lake St. Martin and then to Lake Winnipeg.
The minister also said construction of two 24-kilometre diversion channels could cause harm to their physical and cultural heritage, current use of land and resources for traditional purposes, and sites of historical and archeological significance.
Merrick has called for the Manitoba government to revisit the project.
“I’m going to gather all our First Nations,” Merrick said Wednesday. “We need to talk about water. There’s always the north and the south where the water does affect each and every one of us. And I know that in the south there’s a lot of First Nations that are impacted by the Lake St. Martin channel. I want to be able to help, I want to be able to be there.”
Merrick said pursuing unresolved treaty land entitlement claims is also on her agenda.
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation became a member of the assembly as of Tuesday, following a vote of the executive council of chiefs.
Located 50 kilometres west of Brandon, Sioux Valley had withdrawn from the AMC more than a decade ago due to a rift over a casino development in southwestern Manitoba.
Sioux Valley Chief Vince Tacan said it was time to rejoin the assembly.
“It was largely because of the leadership of Cathy Merrick,” Tacan said. “We couldn’t vote in the AMC (grand chief) election, but I did support her and I made that known.”
— The Brandon Sun