July 2/ 2015

Dear friends and supporters,

Would you please give me a moment of your time and consider my request for you to read and sign a petition.

In summary we’re asking the House of Commons to:

 Please honour your fiduciary obligation to the people of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation by funding your share of the cost to build them a permanent all-weather road, linking their community to the Trans Canada Highway (after 100 years forced isolation) so that they may have reasonable access to the means of economic exchange and development, and to their basic human right of clean drinking water.

Last week, the city of Winnipeg and the province of Manitoba agreed to split the costs of the road three ways with the federal Government, but tears of despair flowed from the Shoal Lake community to hear that the federal government refuses to commit to the project.  This is the same government that refuses to build a water treatment plant on the reserve because without a road, it’s too expensive.  The community has been on a boil-water advisory for 17 years.

This is a shameful situation.  Will you join me by signing the petition?  I’m going on CTV on Friday morning to talk about this and we’d like as many folks signed on by then as possible.

We may not be respons-ible for the injustices of the past. But we are response-able now.

Here is the link to the petition: Road To Reconciliation… 

(To share this to social media or to your church communities copy and use URL:  https://community.sumofus.org/p/freedomroad )

 

Another way to show solidarity with the community at Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is to contibute to the crowd-fund campaign to raise the money our Goverment won’t commit to. My business, Signpost Music has contributed, as will my wife Nanci and I.   Contribute HERE…

 

Thanks so much. This is very important to me, and I’ll take some time to blog about why in the near future.

Peace friends,

Steve Bell

 

PS: A brief article about the situation can be read here: Tears of Frustration / WPG Free Press

A short documentary about the ongoing struggle can be found and viewed here: Shoal Lake 40 – Freedom Road

Watch my interview with CTV’s Sheila North Wilson HERE…