Too bad about the flood ...

The Lake of the Woods Basin is experiencing extreme high water.

But:

The Lake of the Woods Control Board is already releasing more water into the Winnipeg River than it has the legal authority to release. The outlets at Kenora were greatly increased in size, so, whenever they use the full, enlarged opening -which they routinely do, the Control Board engineers knowingly flood over a thousand acres of land downstream that they have no authority to flood, namely on Ochiichagwe'Babigo'Ining Ojibway Nation. And, by permanently holding the lake levels at the Norman Dam above what existed at the time of the signing of Treaty #3, the LWCB also floods thousands and thousands of acres of constitutionally protected land and resources upstream on Lake of the Woods, again, without  the legal authority to do that. The fact that they don't have the right or the permission to flood that land certainly hasn't stopped them - after all, their government masters have given them a much higher purpose which is: To regulate the Lake of the Woods in a manner that will maximize the hydraulic power available on the Winnipeg River - that is, to feed water down the river in a nice steady stream so Manitoba can generate lots and lots of reliable, cheap hydro power.  This primary motivation for the Board means that the lake reservoir is held much higher than it's natural level for most of the time and, when a deluge occurs, as it has lately, things can get very problematic very quickly. 



Unfortunately, this present extreme high water will be inconvenient and even cause damage to some cherished properties over the next couple of weeks. There will likely be some who will demand accountability and even compensation. So, imagine, if you will, a situation in which some people who live very far away, disregard the law and common decency and knowingly flood and destroy local peoples' land for 100 years, with no permission, no accommodation for any loss and they provide no effective means for redress. Such a nasty group of lawbreakers actually exists. Their names are Canada and Ontario and their agent -whom they made conveniently immune from legal responsibility- is the Canadian Lake of the Woods Control Board. But we can't be too hasty about pointing the finger at the colonial masters because  the quiet, complicit folks behind those nasty, illegal flooders and their agent are you and I, the blithe, happy beneficiaries of the electricity the LWCB facilitates by their illegal flooding.


I admit it's not much comfort, but, when the water is half way up the bird bath at the cottage this month, you might count your blessings that your property isn't being "protected" by Canada and their other trusty agent, Indian Affairs. If it were, you'd face the prospect of remaining damaged, soggy and ignored for the next century.



I sincerely hope that the harm and inconvenience of this flood are kept to a minimum for everyone.  But, if you've got some time to spare while you're waiting for the beach to reappear, you might consider writing to your local MP and MPP.  Let them know that you really can't support governments that illegally flood and damage people's land and do nothing about it -especially for 100 years.  You might explain to them how you have some sense of how that might feel.