SCO’s plan for downtown Bay honoured

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This article was published 16/05/2023 (370 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s reimagining of the downtown Hudson’s Bay Co. building has been labelled “world changing” and has received an international award.

“I think in terms of quality of life, there is going to be an impact felt,” said SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. “It’s going to change the paradigm, the thinking of Manitobans and Winnipeggers as it relates to First Nations.”

He’s referring to Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn — a project the SCO announced in April 2022, promising more than 300 affordable housing units, assisted living for elders and a health and healing centre.

A museum and art gallery, retailers and restaurants, and a daycare teaching Indigenous languages are also set to span part of the 655,000-square-foot building.

The future centre was crowned “best world-changing idea North America” for the 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards.

New York-based Fast Company magazine presents the awards annually, highlighting innovative projects across the globe.

Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn shone among more than 2,200 entries. It and 44 other projects were crowned winners of various categories, spanning sectors like health, climate and artificial intelligence.

Fast Company chose the Manitoba redevelopment because it’s a “standout example” of reconciliation.

“(It shows) what’s possible when businesses work with Indigenous communities to address their history of colonialism and all the attending horrors,” Aimee Rawlins, Fast Company’s senior editor, wrote in a statement.

Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn is ambitious and covers a range of community needs, Rawlins wrote, adding she hopes it serves as a model for potential partnerships throughout North America.

“It’s going to take projects and visionary thinking like the Hudson’s Bay — and many like it — to start to really create the change that we need to see,” Daniels said.

Indigenous Canadians are lagging behind in many quality of life markers, he noted. First Nations members in Manitoba die, on average, 11 years earlier than all other Manitobans, a 2019 report by the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy found.

Indigenous students in Manitoba had a 50.9 per cent four-year graduation rate last June, public data from the province show. Non-Indigenous students had a 91.1 per cent graduation rate.

“We’re about creating change that’s going to impact quality of life of each and every one of our citizens, and hopefully create opportunity for our young people,” Daniels said. “Our people deserve that.”

Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn is a step — a way to build, in the minds of government and Canadian citizens, confidence in the SCO’s capabilities. It’s also meant to be a safe space for Indigenous students, seniors and children, Daniels said.

He anticipates construction on the facility to begin this summer.

All three levels of Canadian government have contributed to the $130 million project — $65 million from Ottawa, $35 million from the province and tax incentives from the City of Winnipeg.

HBC gifted its century-old building to the 34 Manitoba First Nations last year. The SCO fully owns and operates the building, and it controls all aspects of future development, noted Tiffany Bourré, a Hudson’s Bay spokeswoman.

“When we began this journey with Southern Chiefs’ Organization, we hoped it would signal to corporate Canada the opportunity and responsibility we all have to advance reconciliation,” Richard Baker, CEO of Hudson’s Bay Co., said in a news release.

“We are honoured to receive this recognition and hope this spotlight helps to build relationships and create change,” Baker’s statement continues.

Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn brought together First Nation stakeholders, government and private sector, Rawlins noted.

She called it “perhaps the biggest act of corporate reconciliation in Canada.”

The SCO will place its governance house in the former Bay site, 850 metres away from Manitoba’s elected officials in the legislative building.

“I think that that’s important for us, to have that relationship… It has to reflect that treaty agreement, that we would be side by side, moving towards the future, both benefiting,” Daniels said.

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More than 20 applicants vied for the title of best world-changing idea in North America this year. A finance app for family caregivers and IBM’s Quantum System Two, which plays a role in quantum computing, were among the finalists.

Dell Technologies won “world-changing company of the year” for a series of projects. Lithos Carbon took home the “general excellence” prize for creating a process that uses volcanic rock dust to removes atmospheric carbon and increases crop yields.

The World Changing Ideas Awards have taken place annually since at least 2016. Organizations apply, and a team of Fast Company editors and reporters evaluate each application before declaring winners.

Fast Company writes articles about the winners for its print and web publications.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabby is a big fan of people, writing and learning. She graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in the spring of 2020.

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