brushed them aside and charged ahead. One example of this is recounted
by Wayne in speaking about how they secured the offer to purchase. “We ac- tually had no cash,” Wayne said. “We were armed only with board motions from five Aboriginal organizations, each committing $10,000 for the purpose of a refundable deposit for an offer to pur- chase.” He went on. “I took the five motions to the Median Credit Union, who con- verted them into a cheque for $50,000 which accompanied our offer which was to be presented to CP in April of 1992.” In spite of the many challenges and
setbacks, serendipity took over. Te best news came when Heritage Minister Jean Charest offered support from his department, believing it would be an investment in the future of Winnipeg’s Aboriginal youth (Jean was the former minister of youth) as well as in the pres- ervation of a heritage building. He came up with $500,000, of which $300,000 was designated for building restoration. Te other $200,000 triggered provincial and civic grants toward the purchase price of $1.1 million. Tis injection al- lowed the group to take possession of the building in 1992. Some of the small- er tenants moved in almost immediately, generating much needed cash flow. Tremendous people commitment Te rest is history, but a history that too
few realize has become a major success story for the community and a tremen- dous support for local Aboriginal people. Even fewer understand the commitment and effort the local aboriginal commu- nity invested in the project, or how their entrepreneurial spirit and dogged deter- mination brought this to life. An early contributor to the success was the secondment of Bill Shead, a senior aboriginal civil servant and Prairie re- gional director general of Veterans Af- fairs Canada, to serve as the Centre’s first executive director. Bill filled the post from 1993 to 1996, providing guid- ance through those first critical years and even spearheading an important fundraiser which brought together many of the city’s most prominent citizens to work with the Aboriginal community. Te committee raised $60,000 towards the continued restoration of the rotunda and other parts of the building in dis- repair. Te event was a symbolic com- ing together of communities that would
30 • Fall 2016 Bill Shead with the Hon. Jean Charest, former premier of Quebec.
Esther Pallister with Brian Etkin, the horticulture teacher at Neeginan.
stimulate further interest, donations and development. And, that was just the be- ginning. Another key factor in the ongoing success of the enterprise was the hiring of the diminutive, but mighty, Mari- leen Bartlett, a driving force behind the management of the Centre; and Damon Johnson, who brought his 20 years of or- ganizational and widely based manage- ment skills with him from the City of Winnipeg. Tese Aboriginal profession- als took the Centre to its next level and beyond.
Making it happen Although the community took pos-
session of the building in 1992, it was another four years for the ACWI to
Tobacco plants grow in the College’s gardens.
convince governments to assist in areas like funding to bring the building up to current civic codes (a $4 million slice on its own). It wasn’t until 1996 that the official opening took place, with Lloyd Axworthy at the ribbon cutting. Dur- ing this period, “volunteer labour from unemployed Aboriginal workers began the renovations work,” said Wayne Hel- gason.
Tat understates the case. Teir work, painting, repairing, building and restor- ing the property, reduced the renovation costs by over a million dollars. An amazing enterprise
Today, most of the Centre’s revenue
comes from the rental of office space and parking as well as the odd windfall
The Hub
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