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Indigenous post-secondary school in Sault Ste. Marie seeks an injunction against eviction

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A court case is underway in Sault Ste. Marie involving the newly-formed Indigenous post-secondary school.

Sault Ste. Marie’s Indigenous university, Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig, is teaming up with Indigenous Tourism Ontario for a weekend of observance and activities commemorating National Truth and Reconciliation Day. (Mike McDonald/CTV Northern Ontario)

The matter is between Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SGK) and Shingwauk Education Trust (SET).

The education trust is the landlord of the building housing the teaching lodge and gave it an eviction notice in December.

"SET sent an eviction notice to SGK on Dec. 2 to vacate the building on or before March 2," Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig said in a news release.

The education trust group alleges the building has fallen into "disrepair" during the school's occupation.

SKG officials claim that issues with the building's HVAC system, as well as plumbing and electrical had not been resolved before the post-secondary institute's 2020 move in.

Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig officially opened on National Truth and Reconciliation Day in September. 

It is located across from a former residential school site at Algoma University, Shingwauk Hall, and is one of nine Indigenous post-secondary institutions in the province that offers degree programs in Anishinaabe culture and language.

With just days before the scheduled eviction, SKG officials requested an emergency injunction, however, little forward progress was made in court on Tuesday.

Without legal counsel for SET, Superior Court Justice Michael Varpio adjourned the matter to March 16.

Varpio said he believed that will give SET the appropriate time to find a legal representative.

Additionally, a contractor's report on the extent of damages and the cost to repair them is expected to be complete by then.

Varpio instructed the building owner to not evict its tenant before that date.

Through his legal counsel, education trust board chair and Garden River First Nation Chief Andy Rickard stated that eviction before the court case had concluded was not in his plans.

Rickard could not be reached for further comment before the time of publication.

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