45 Years of Injustice to Grand Rapids original residents

Forty-five years ago, Florence McKay travelled from Grand Rapids to Winnipeg to pick up her son Ken. There was no highway then and she had to travel a considerable part of the way by boat. When she returned, to her astonishment and dismay, she found her home had been bulldozed and all her possessions were scattered around on the ground nearby. You can only imagine what she felt at the time.

This was what Manitoba Hydro did at Grand Rapids when they built the dam. It was a human tragedy of huge proportions. The original residents had to live in tents for a while and then with no where else to go, many left Grand Rapids to move elsewhere in Manitoba. For forty-five years the displaced residents of Grand Rapids have fought for justice. It is time they received it.

At the legislature today, there were many of the displaced residents, their descendents (the bottom photo shows Brittany and Jennifer Mayo, two great granddaughters of Florence and Valentine McKay, holding pictures of their great grandparents), and their supporters. Today is day 17 of their stay on the legislature grounds in their efforts to get justice.