Meechawin Place was the only store in the tri-communities open 24 hours, seven days per week. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

new details

LLRIB litigation against McKenzie goes back to 2016

Jun 15, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Litigation against the former owner of Meechawin Place began as far back as 2016.

That’s according to the Lac La Ronge Indian Band’s (LLRIB) legal counsel Anil Pandila, who said the legal process to recoup earnings from tobacco and fuel sales from Henry McKenzie began about five years ago. On Sept. 4, 2019, the LLRIB obtained a judgement against McKenzie in Court of Queen’s Bench totalling more than $3 million.

“Mr. McKenzie was represented on the court action,” Pandila said. “It’s not like this was a default judgement. He was represented and ultimately the court granted my clients a judgement back in 2019 that Mr. McKenzie never appealed.”

The judgement against McKenzie stems from an agreement between the LLRIB and McKenzie where a portion of sales from tobacco and fuel was supposed to be remitted to the band but never was. Pandila explained McKenzie wasn’t charging customers for the entire amount and was getting a full rebate from the province.

“Quite frankly, I don’t know what other assets Mr. McKenzie has and my clients will have to try to determine if there are any other assets they can seize to satisfy that judgement,” Pandila said. “As far as my clients are concerned, there’s a judicial process and they got the judgement. They will proceed in due course to dispose of those assets and perhaps there will be a new First Nations retailer that will occupy that space at some point in the future.”