The Alberta government is paving roads and upgrading infrastructure in two Indigenous communities that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit later this month.
Pope Francis, who uses a wheelchair, is expected to travel to Maskwacis, Alta., about 100 kilometres south of Edmonton, on July 25. The community is home to the Ermineskin Indian Residential School, which operated between 1916 and 1975 and was one of the largest residential schools in the country.
In Maskwacis, the Pope intends to meet thousands of residential and day school survivors, as well as their families. He is expected to address the harm these institutions caused Indigenous people, and perhaps apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse.
Governments often spruce up communities for global events such as the Olympics, royal tours, or papal visits. The Church and province argue the upgrades in Lac Ste. Anne and Maskwacis will help facilitate the thousands of visitors expected to descend on the communities, and in the case of Lac Ste. Anne, improve the pilgrimage grounds for the future. But the papal paving projects stand in contrast to the long list of unaddressed and underfunded concerns in Indigenous communities.
Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in advance of Pope Francis’s visit to the community in Maskwacis, Alberta on Monday, June 27, 2022.Amber Bracken/The Globe and Mail
Alberta Transportation, in preparation for the visit, is paving a number of short stretches in Maskwacis, including a road to the cemetery. It is also paving the parking lot at the Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Catholic Church in Maskwacis, according to an information sheet the province distributed to community leaders. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church confirmed two projects are under way in Lac Ste. Anne: a transportation loop for buses and a new concrete pathway near the pilgrimage grounds, which the Pope will visit July 26.
It is unclear who requested the infrastructure upgrades in Lac Ste. Anne and Maskwacis, or whether the communities requested the work independently of the Pope’s plans.
Neil MacCarthy, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Toronto and the papal visit, noted the Pope is both the head of a state and leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and draws enormous crowds.
“As such, it is not uncommon for infrastructure improvements to be made in order to facilitate the safe, efficient, and accessible attendance of the thousands of elders, survivors and their supports who are expected to come to be with Pope Francis,” Mr. MacCarthy said in a statement.
He added: “Road improvements being made at Maskwacis and [Lac Ste. Anne] have been identified by transportation experts as critical to the success of the transportation plan, which is designed to facilitate the safe and efficient movement of pilgrims.”
In Lac Ste. Anne, the infrastructure projects will help improve the grounds beyond the Pope’s visit, Mr. MacCarthy said. The pathway, for example, will help with accessibility.
Christi Belcourt, who has family roots in Lac Ste. Anne and took a picture of the new pathway on a recent visit, said the new infrastructure fits with the pattern of “continued harm and disrespect” to the Métis community.
She noted her ancestors are buried in a nearby cemetery that no longer has markers, despite calls from community members to protect the area with an appropriate barrier. Thousands of people attend a pilgrimage in Lac Ste. Anne each year, walking over the gravesites that are unmarked but known to local community members, Ms. Belcourt said.
“The irony is not lost on me that we must fight for dignity of our ancestors’ remains buried in unmarked graves while the Pope will be mere metres away as he drives on the new road built for his visit,” she wrote in a recent letter to Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton.
Alberta provided community leaders in Maskwacis with an information sheet about its paving plans the end of June.
“In preparation for the upcoming Papal visit, Alberta Transportation along with the Ermineskin Cree Nation will be undertaking road improvements in the community of Maskwacis,” the sheet said. The Ermineskin Cree Nation is one of four First Nations of Maskwacis. Ermineskin officials did not return messages seeking comment.
The Pope is scheduled to arrive in Edmonton July 24, with public and private events planned in the city, Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne over the following two days. He will leave for Quebec City on July 27. Carol Hurst, a spokeswoman for Edmonton, in a statement said the city is not planning any infrastructure improvements.
Alberta Transportation is “supporting” the papal events in Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne “in part by upgrading infrastructure primarily along community roadways,” according to a statement from Hadyn Place, the acting chief of staff in the Minister of Transportation’s office.
“The traffic anticipated for these events will far exceed any normal community traffic, and [the upgrades] are required to prevent roadway failures and disruptions to buses transporting public or key officials to the sites,” he said. Mr. Place did not provide an estimate on how many people Alberta expects to use the roads or any more information on the potential for the roads to fail.
The Pope’s itinerary notes “thousands” of Indigenous people are expected to join him in Maskwacis. However, attendees will not be able to park outside the venue, according to the Pope’s public schedule. Park-and-ride shuttles will be provided.
It is unusual for the province to directly involve itself in projects such as paving in municipalities or on reserves, which fall under federal jurisdiction. While the Pope’s visit to Canada was anticipated, it was only confirmed in May and a more precise itinerary, detailing stops in Maskwacis and Lac Ste. Anne, was not released until late June. Alberta is stepping in to help with infrastructure, Mr. Place said, because of the tight timeline.s
“Alberta’s government will work with other partners on potential cost-sharing for the Papal visit,” he said. Alberta did not provide a cost estimate for the upgrades, although Mr. Place confirmed the Lac Ste. Anne pathway is part of the province’s papal preparations.
Mr. MacCarthy, the spokesman for the papal visit, said Alberta is assisting with the cost of the transportation loop in Lac Ste. Anne, and the cost of the pathway is being “supported” by the Archdiocese of Edmonton and the Lac Ste. Anne Trust.