‘White teams’ accused of shunning First Nations

WINNIPEG • A lawyer representing some Indigenous hockey teams in Manitoba is arguing in court that all the “white teams” got together and formed a new Junior B league that excludes First Nations.

All of the teams were part of the Keystone Junior Hockey League until May when five teams left to create the Capital Region League.

“White teams quietly got together and removed themselves, leaving behind the First Nations teams,” lawyer Jamie Kagan told court Wednesday.

The First Nations teams complained, and a Hockey Manitoba tribunal ruled that former KJHL players would need a release to play in the new league and pay a $500 fee. The decision was to protect the KJHL from a mass exodus of players, which Kagan argued would spell the end of the league.

But that didn’t happen before the new league hit the ice in October.

Peguis First Nation, Norway House Cree Nation, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation and Cross Lake First Nation filed a statement of claim in October against Hockey Manitoba, the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association, the new league and the five teams in it.

Kagan is asking the judge for an injunction pending a trial.

Bill Bowles, a lawyer representing the Capital Region League, said if the injunction is granted, around 100 players in the new league wouldn’t be able to play for the season because there isn’t space on KJHL teams.

It’s unlikely new teams could be formed in time, he added.

He told court the new league was created because of safety concerns around long drives. He said it had nothing to do with racism and cautioned Kagan against making that suggestion.

The Peguis Juniors were the championships of the league the last three years and the First Nation recently built a multi-million-dollar facility to showcase the team.

The First Nations also contributed funds to bring the southern teams in for games, Kagan said.