‘State of crisis’: Manitoba town demands support amid lacking resources, growing violence

Residents of Leaf Rapids, Man. say the town is facing rising crime, a prolonged boil water advisory, and limited access to key services. Alex Karpa reports.

WINNIPEG — Lianna Anderson says her home of Leaf Rapids is in a “state of crisis.”

Burned homes, crumbling infrastructure and a lack of access to basic necessities are issues residents in the northern Manitoba community, situated about 980 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, continue to face.

Now they are dealing with an increase in crime.

In the last few weeks, the community of around 250 people has dealt with a rise in theft, multiple firearms incidents, and an ongoing investigation into the suspicious death of a 21-year-old man.

“The recent series of serious and escalating incidents in Leaf Rapids is deeply concerning,” Supt. Chris Massart, the North District Commander for Manitoba RCMP, said in a release earlier this week.

“We have deployed additional RCMP resources, including Police Dog Services and the North District Crime Reduction Enforcement Support Team (CREST), into the community to identify and arrest those responsible and to ensure public safety.

“This violence will not be tolerated.”

Anderson says there is a feeling of unease.

“It’s hitting the community hard,” she said. “It’s been very sparce with people letting their kids out of the house or just keeping them in the back yard or in the house and stuff like that. It seems so unfair.”

Leaf Rapids thrived in the ‘70s as a hub for the nearby Ruttan copper-zinc mine, located about 23 kilometres west of town.

At the height of the mine’s operation, about 1,500 people called Leaf Rapids home.

When the mine shut down in 2002 due to low market prices, the town’s decline began.

Businesses closed, health-care services were reduced and the town’s amenities quickly dwindled away, leaving the residents with a lack of resources.

The community now has the longest boil-water advisory in Manitoba, with residents not having access to proper safe drinking water since 2013.

The town’s health centre is only open during select times and the community’s only grocery store has limited food, with a risk of closure.

“It makes me really sad,” she said. “I grew up here and this place was my home, even before my home was built here.

“I have no intentions of going anywhere.”

Open letter sent to provincial, federal officials

Earlier this week, the town’s residents held a meeting and wrote an open letter to both provincial and federal officials, begging for immediate help.

The letter includes 10 requested immediate actions:

• Immediate provincial and federal emergency assessment
• Comprehensive assessment of community needs
• Enhanced public safety and victim supports
• Mental health, addictions, trauma, and crisis-response services
• Drinking water assessment and corrective action plan
• Food security measures
• Human security and community sustainability response table
• On-site visit by provincial and federal representatives
• Public meeting with residents
• Public reporting and written responses

The letter asks officials to provide a written response by July 10.

“We have absolutely nobody advocating for us, absolutely nobody,” Anderson said. “Obviously, it wasn’t clear enough saying that we have no resources. I just find it appalling.”

Leaf Rapids has been without local leadership since 2019, when the province dissolved both the role of mayor and the council, assuming administrative control.

A provincial spokesperson for Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard said in a statement that the province has allocated $590,000 in funding for water infrastructure, apartment repairs, fire equipment and road maintenance equipment.

“Manitoba will continue to assess the situation and direct resources when needed,” part of the statement read.

“The provincial administrator is working closely with the (chief administrative officer) as they continue to work with residents to fulfill basic municipal operations. Manitoba will continue to support the residents of Leaf Rapids and work with them to find solutions going forward.”

Former Leaf Rapids mayor Ervin Bighetty had some choice words for that statement.

“That’s a bunch of bull,” he said. “If they wanted to work with the community, perhaps they would have been here having a meeting and saying, ‘Hey, let’s work on solutions. Let’s sit together and talk about what we can do together.’

“They haven’t done that; they haven’t done that at all,” he added.

Bighetty added that it’s crucial to restore the local government in the community.

“People are starting to push back against the government, they want their local government back, they want a mayor and council, they want advocacy,” he said.

“We like where we are, we just need help.”

Basic human rights not recognized, residents say

Raymond Meunier says when council was dissolved in 2019, the town was left without proper leadership, leaving Leaf Rapids residents without a voice.

“We need leadership that is visible; we need leadership that is accessible; we need leadership chosen by the people and (those that are) accountable to the people,” he said.

“For years, residents have watched decisions about their future made elsewhere. Perhaps, it’s time for Leaf Rapids to have a stronger voice of its own.”

Advocate Hilda Anderson-Pyrz says the issues in Leaf Rapids reflects “systemic and structural racism.”

“All levels of government appear to be turning their back on this community, neglecting their needs and failing to provide the support and resources essential for their wellbeing,” she said in a post on social media. “It’s time to acknowledge this injustice and advocate equitable treatment and support for all residents of Leaf Rapids.”

Anderson-Pyrz wrote a letter to the Manitoba government back at the end of May, sounding the alarm that Leaf Rapids is “approaching institutional collapse.”

She did not receive a response back.

Lianna Anderson says governments have repeatedly failed to respond to the community’s needs.

“If these were 300 non-Indigenous people (living here), would it have ever gotten to this state? I guarantee you it wouldn’t have,” she said.