Red Sucker Lake First Nation seeks funding for half-finished hockey arena [Video]

The hockey arena in Red Sucker Lake First Nation has the potential to offer much-needed recreation in one of Manitoba’s most remote communities — but it sits half-finished, without dressing rooms, bleachers or heat.

“The weather up here is very cold in the winters. We have kids, five-year-olds, six-year-olds, they love the sports, they like to skate,” said Sam Knott, chief of Red Sucker Lake, a fly-in community of about 1,100 people that’s roughly 700 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. 

He said the average temperature in Red Sucker Lake between December and February is around –23 C.

“That’s why we need these dressing rooms, to warm up … and to skate in a warm area.”

Construction of the arena in the centre of the community began in 2018 with $5.3 million in funding from the federal government.

Knott said three different companies were originally contracted for the project, but their designs …