MNBC Proposes Major Project for Invermere but at what price and for whom?
(April 27, 2024) Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) and the Columbia Valley Métis Community are proposing to build a three to four story apartment building and a cultural centre right in the middle of a low density residential zone in the small municipality of Invermere, in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia. The apartment building would consist of 36 units and the cultural centre would be 3000 square feet.
The estimated cost of the proposed project has not been revealed but given that MNBC last year paid $8.6 million for a four story 40 unit apartment building in Fort St. John, and given that costs of constructing buildings continue to climb, and given that this project would also include a big cultural centre (the building in Fort. St. John did not) the cost of the Invermere project could easily be $8 million or more. According to BC Assessment, the 1.2 acre proposed building site alone is assessed at nearly $750,000.
MNBC has also not revealed how the project will be paid for. MNBC does receive housing funds from the federal government each year for housing Métis people. However, in its presentation to a public hearing in Invermere earlier this month, MNBC indicated, “This 36-unit rental housing project is not exclusively for Métis folks, but for people who need of housing in Invermere. There will be an application process prioritizing Indigenous Peoples and then the local Invermere community.” MNBC Region 4 Director Debra Fisher who resides in Invermere also attended the public hearing.
Former President Clara Morin Dal Col, who has announced her plans to seek the MNBC Presidency in the upcoming MNBC general election said, “When I negotiated the housing funds for MNBC they are intended for our Métis people so why is MNBC proposing to spend multi-millions of dollars to make housing available to non-Métis.”
Ms. Morin Dal Col said, “Invermere has one of the smaller Métis populations in the province so how is it, that such a small community is going to get a multi-million dollar housing project when there are much larger Métis communities in the province in greater need of housing for their Métis citizens. Even in Region 4 where Invermere is located, some of our other Métis communities, such as Cranbrook have a greater need for housing.”
Ms. Morin Dal Col asked, “On what basis did this Board decide that Invermere needs a multi-million dollar housing project when it appears that they won’t even be able to fill it with Métis people?”
“There is something seriously wrong with this picture,” said the former President. “In the next election, this Board needs to be shown the door.
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