Manitoba Hydro says it will vigorously defend itself against a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by the Cross Lake Band of Indians over a prolonged power outage that displaced thousands of residents last winter.
“We have been made aware of the Statement of Claim,” Manitoba Hydro Media Relations Officer Peter Chura said. “We understand the challenges power outages, especially extended ones, can have on all our customers. However, a loss of electrical service is always a possibility, and we always make every effort to safely restore power outages as quickly as possible.”
“Manitoba Hydro intends to defend itself vigorously against this claim and will file our response in due course,” he added. “We will not provide further comment on this matter as it works its way through the courts.”
The comments came after Cross Lake filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench against Manitoba Hydro, the federal government and the provincial government, alleging years of ignored warnings left the northern First Nation vulnerable to a major outage.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The lawsuit stems from a power failure that began Dec. 28, 2025, when the community’s only transmission line went down, leaving Cross Lake without electricity for about 110 hours. According to the statement of claim, more than 4,000 residents were evacuated or displaced, while roughly 650 people remain unable to return to their homes because of damage linked to the outage.
The claim seeks damages and court orders requiring Manitoba Hydro to construct a redundant transmission line and governments to improve emergency power, water and wastewater infrastructure.
At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, Chief David Monias said the community had repeatedly warned Manitoba Hydro and government officials that the system lacked sufficient safeguards.
“For years we’ve raised concerns to all governments and Manitoba Hydro, warning that a catastrophic event was inevitable,” Monias said. “Our warnings weren’t heard then and they are not being heard now.”
The lawsuit also disputes Manitoba Hydro’s public explanation of the outage.
Shortly after the line failed, Hydro said preliminary findings indicated shotgun-pellet damage to aerial marker balls and the transmission line. The Crown corporation released photographs showing pellet damage and said investigators were examining whether vandalism had played a role.
However, the statement of claim alleges Hydro’s own investigation did not determine that firearm damage, vandalism or third-party activity caused the failure.
According to the lawsuit, Hydro later acknowledged that the conductor failed inside a marker ball that showed no evidence of pellet damage and that the exact cause of the failure could not be determined.
Monias said public statements about possible shotgun damage unfairly cast suspicion on residents of the community.
“It is adding insult to injury to infer we were somehow to blame,” he said. “Our community relies on hydro to survive. To imply anyone of us would place all our relatives in danger is shocking.”
The claim also alleges Manitoba Hydro made mistakes during restoration efforts, including sending repair crews to the wrong location and incorrectly re-energizing the line, delaying the return of power.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges provincial and federal governments failed to provide adequate emergency preparedness measures, backup power systems and infrastructure despite repeated requests from the community over several years.
The proposed lawsuit must be certified by a judge before it can proceed as a class action.
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Aug 01, 2026 at 08:43
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