Saved from trash in 1980s, these photos are going home to Kugaaruk
By Daron Letts, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Photographs taken in the 1960s are heading back to one of the Kugaaruk families they depict, thanks to help from an amateur historian based in Nashville. Jim Miller’s late grandmother discovered the photos in the mid-1980s in the trash room of her Burlington, Ont., apartment building. The nine colour images show Inuit building an igloo, drying fish and enjoying the warmth of a qulliq. Miller said his grandmother knew they meant something to someone, but decades before the internet, finding their origin was not a simple task. The photos ended up mounted to wooden plaques and displayed on the family’s wall before Miller inherited them. “They’ve been in our house since I was a teenager,” Miller said. “When I moved out,...
Register
Ford government won’t commit to forest fire inquiry, as chiefs demand change
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Ontario will not commit to holding an inquiry into its response to the worst forest fire season on record, despite calls from every opposition party and First Nations leaders whose communities are still under evacuation. Responding to media questions about an inquiry at a press conference Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris confirmed his staff will conduct a “very deep dive” internal review, but he won’t commit to making its results public. “Once we get through the fire season, just like we do after every fire season, we go through what’s happened well, what hasn’t worked the best with our teams, and we look to change those things for the following season,” Harris said. “I’m not sure how the review will...
Register
Federal prison sentence expected for trafficking
By Judy Cole, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, River Valley Sun Timothy Brian Wheelan, 39, and Samuel Robert Crewe, 31, both of Jacksonville, appeared in provincial court in custody via video for sentencing on July 30 after changing their plea to guilty on drug charges laid by the RCMP. Wheelan also pleaded guilty to three gun charges laid by Woodstock Police. His sentencing on all charges was adjourned until Aug. 13 at 9:30 a.m. to allow for the submission of a victim impact statement. Defence Counsel Annie Maltais requested Wheelan be moved to federal remand to await sentencing as a federal prison term was expected for drug trafficking. Wheelan agreed and told the court he wanted to go “get my programs done” at the federal level. Judge Rose Campbell granted the...
Register
Ford government won’t commit to forest fire inquiry, as chiefs demand change
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Ontario will not commit to holding an inquiry into its response to the worst forest fire season on record, despite calls from every opposition party and First Nations leaders whose communities are still under evacuation. Responding to media questions about an inquiry at a press conference Thursday, Minister of Natural Resources Mike Harris confirmed his staff will conduct a “very deep dive” internal review, but he won’t commit to making its results public. “Once we get through the fire season, just like we do after every fire season, we go through what’s happened well, what hasn’t worked the best with our teams, and we look to change those things for the following season,” Harris said. “I’m not sure how the review will...
Register
‘I’ve lost about eight people to suicide,’ youth delegate tells Inuit Circumpolar Council
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The severe state of mental health issues among youth in the North isn’t a shock to anyone anymore, says 22-year-old Gwen Natsiq. Representing Canada as a youth delegate at the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s general assembly in Iqaluit, Natsiq spoke about how she’s been personally affected by Nunavut’s high rate of suicide. “In the past five years alone, I have lost around eight people to suicide,” she said. There are generally 25 to 37 suicides in Nunavut each year, giving the territory of 40,000 people by far the highest suicide rate in the country, data from the Nunavut Coroner’s Office shows. “This is a level of loss that many people living in the south of Canada may never experience in their...
Register
States sue to block feds from sharing personal data of millions who receive social service benefits
By Anthony Izaguirre More than 20 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Monday to block it from getting wide access to the personal information of millions of recipients of a benefits program for low-income families. The case is the latest legal action between states and the federal government over the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which like other public programs have come under scrutiny from the Trump administration as sources of potential fraud. The coalition of states sued in federal court in Washington to stop the agency that controls the program from moving ahead with a rule that would allow it to share recipients’ immigration status, Social Security numbers and additional personal information with other parts of government or potentially with private entities, according...
Register
‘The fire was just raging’ evacuee describes fleeing Okanagan wildfires
-CP-Atlyn Becker remembers the hills glowing orange around her on Saturday as her truck edged north to safety from fires burning around British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake. She and her family are among thousands who fled their homes over the weekend with whatever they could pack, as high winds pushed flames over drought-parched land. She estimates there were about 200 vehicles moving slowly down the road with her. “You could feel the heat of the fire. You could hear the crackling of the trees. The fire was just raging,” she said Monday, after safely arriving in Kelowna. Becker said she watched through the window of her truck as firefighters cut apart fallen trees with chainsaws so that people could drive through. “(Fire) was right down to the road, all the way...
Register
Manitoba Hydro rejects allegations in Cross Lake outage lawsuit
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun 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...
Register
In the Okanagan desert, snakes offer lessons on protecting a fragile ecosystem
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews The snake was close. Lindsay Whitehead could hear it in the receiver strapped to her chest. For nearly an hour in the sweltering desert heat on June 30, Whitehead and cnúk Jenna Bower had crossed a sunbaked field above Osoyoos Lake, stepping through sagebrush and rare antelope-brush while Whitehead held a radio antenna over the land. The receiver’s electronic ping grew louder as they neared the edge of a bluff, then softened whenever they tried another direction. Somewhere beneath them was a Great Basin gophersnake researchers had fitted with a radio transmitter months earlier. The non-venomous gophersnake can exceed two metres, making it the largest snake native to “B.C.” Its muscular body is cream, yellowish or grey, patterned with dark rectangular blotches...
Register
Six Nations lacrosse squad eyes fourth consecutive national championship
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com The Six Nations Chiefs managed to fulfill one of their goals for the 2026 season. Now the Senior A men’s lacrosse squad from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario can set its sights on reaching an even more meaningful accomplishment. The Chiefs finished atop the standings in the seven-team Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) circuit on July 28 by winning 16 of their 18 regular season matches. As the three-time defending national Mann Cup champions, the club is now hoping it can capture a fourth consecutive Canadian title on its home floor this September and make history. “I think that was a goal of ours, to get first place for home field advantage,” said Duane Jacobs, who serves as the club’s...
Register
Okanagan wildfires force expanded orders, alerts as First Nation assesses losses
Wildfires burning on the west side and north end of Okanagan Lake have forced more evacuation orders and alerts. Central Okanagan Emergency Management issued a further evacuation order because of the Quilpituk Creek wildfire, bringing the total number of properties evacuated under its jurisdiction to more than 2,200 properties. Further up the lake, the Regional District of North Okanagan expanded evacuation orders and alerts on Sunday for dozens of properties because of the Bradley Creek wildfire. Many residents rushed to escape over the weekend as winds gusting up to 115 kilometres per hour fanned the fire, destroying homes as it burned to the water line. Cliff Chapman, director of wildfire operations for the provincial wildfire service, said in an update on Sunday that they had never seen wildfire conditions like...
Register
Fort Smith museum to transfer ownership to newly formed Thebacha Leadership Council
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Ownership of the Fort Smith Northern Life Museum will soon transfer to the newly-formed Thebacha Leadership Council. Chairperson of the Northern Life Museum board and lifelong Fort Smith resident Michael Miltenberger volunteers much of his time working for the museum, which he calls “such a critical institution.” “Finally, and for the first time anywhere, the museum is going to transfer ownership,” he said. “Everything related to the museum; the board itself, the buildings, the collections, the artifacts, the property of the governments whose artifacts and history is embodied in the museum, will all [change ownership].” Miltenberger praised the recent agreement, saying it would allow the Thebacha groups to finally control their own history. He said the contents of the museum carry much...
Register
Dene National Chief celebrates reinstatement of residential school survivor counselling
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Dene National Chief George Mackenzie says he’s happy to hear that funding for in-person trauma counselling has been reinstated. The therapy, available through the Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program, was first paused in April, and then in-person sessions were fully cancelled as of July 24 as clients were expected to move to online appointments. As of July 28, that funding was reinstated. The funding is controlled by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), who told media earlier this week that financial support for this kind of mobile counselling “didn’t exist.” Now, after public and political backlash, the funding has been reinstated. Mackenzie celebrated the government’s backpeddaling in a July 30 news release. “This reversal shows the power of our collective voices advocating...
Register
Year’s fires may be worst on record
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal If the numbers tell the story, then these numbers tell a particularly grim tale. The latest data compiled by Ontario’s Aviation, Forest Fire and Emergency Services (AFFES) agency confirm what appears obvious this summer: this may well be the worst wildfire season the province has experienced in living memory. By Friday, nearly 7,400 square kilometres of land had been burned across the province so far since provincial officials began tracking wildfires when the season began on April 1. Not surprisingly, the majority of the area scorched so far, by a lopsided margin, has been in the western part of the province; especially Northwestern Ontario, where several evacuations have occurred and many structures have been destroyed. According to the AFFES agency’s data,...
Register
Michigan Supreme Court rejects permit for Enbridge oil pipeline under Great Lakes
By Jeffrey Collins The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered state regulators to reconsider a key permit that allowed a planned tunnel to carry an oil pipeline under part of the Great Lakes to move forward. The 6-1 decision further clouds the future of the 73-year-old pipeline owned by Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge that carries petroleum from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario. The part of the pipeline in question, called Line 5, runs for 4 miles (6 kilometers) along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. Enbridge wants to bury the pipeline in a tunnel under the straits. Environmentalists and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer want to move the pipeline away from the waterway altogether saying a spill would be catastrophic to the Great Lakes...
Register
Tsawwassen First Nation hosts annual health fair to connect members with important services
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist The Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) hosted its annual health fair on July 24, transforming a community space into a hub for health, wellness, and social services. Featuring approximately 25 information booths, the event provided members with direct, low-barrier access to critical community resources. Organized by Celina Moore and Serena Dhami from TFN’s health department, the fair has become a cornerstone event for the community. Dhami says its primary mission is to gather essential programs in one accessible location, removing the friction of navigating complex websites or bureaucratic systems. “We’re really just trying to bring all the programs, services, and resources to the community in one place so that members have access and learn about everything,” she said. A major focus of...
Register
Mississauga First Nation shelter-in-place lifted, one person injured, OPP say
OPP say a shelter-in-place warning has been lifted and one person is critically hurt after gunshots were reported at a First Nation west of Sudbury, Ont. Police say shots were reported near a home in Mississauga First Nation on Sunday morning. First responders say they found a person with life-threatening injuries at the scene. Police say the shelter-in-place warning was lifted Sunday afternoon, and there is no threat to public safety. During the warning, police urged residents to close their blinds and not to pick up hitchhikers. Police didn’t share details on what happened or whether there have been any arrests. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2026. ...
Register
Three dead after vehicle rolls on Saskatchewan grid road
Three people have died in a single-vehicle rollover in Saskatchewan. RCMP say they were called out to a grid road on George Gordon First Nation shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday morning. The STARS air ambulance service also responded. Police say two 43-year-old men and a 42-year-old woman, who were all from George Gordon First Nation, were pronounced dead at the scene. Two others who were in the vehicle were transported to hospital by EMS with injuries described as minor. Police say they’re still investigating. RCMP in Saskatchewan say that as of Sunday afternoon, there have been 53 fatal collisions with 66 fatalities in 2026 on roadways in the province that are policed by the Mounties. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2026 ...
Register
Lakeside homes destroyed, evacuations expanded as B.C. wildfires surge
A wildfire fanned by 115-kilometre-per-hour winds razed homes along the west side of British Columbia’s Okanagan Lake, forcing many residents to escape to safety. Video and photos posted online showed flames in the night sky engulfing properties as residents watched from the other side of the water. Later, the charred remains of buildings could be seen along the northern end of the lake near Vernon. The BC Wildfire Service said Sunday that winds from an intense weather system on Saturday were too much for aircraft to hold back the Bradley Creek fire. It prompted the evacuation of the Okanagan Indian Band reserve, while separate evacuation orders and alerts went up near the cities of Vernon and Armstrong. In a video statement on Facebook, Chief Dan Wilson said the community is...
Register
Membertou showcases that it grows great places together
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post People in Membertou First Nation spent a recent weekend mowing, clipping and deadheading the flowers. Judges from the Communities in Bloom project visited the First Nation last week to judge it for the 32nd edition of the annual national event. The community is being considered in the Atlantic Novice category. “The community would like to remind all businesses and residents to tidy up their properties before the judges arrive,” a notice to the community said. Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit volunteer and partnership-driven organization that uses a multi-tiered competitive evaluation process to foster community strength, involvement and continuous improvement. The program nurtures environmental sustainability, enhancements of green spaces and heritage conversation in cultural and natural environments encompassing municipal,...
Register
