Mayors oppose Oka mining project
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door After speaking out against Nio Strategic Metals’ push for a new niobium mine in Oka, mayor Patrick Hardy has been joined by the mayors of St. Joseph du Lac and Pointe Calumet in opposing the project. “There is great solidarity at the MRC (municipal regional county) at the mayors’ council, and they proposed to me to send a joint press release to make our stance extremely clear to the claim owners,” Hardy said. Early in his tenure, he met proactively with representatives of the company, he said, telling them he did not think a mine was in Oka’s best interests. The claim owner, he said, has reached out to a number of local leaders. He disagrees with the rosy picture...
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Anti-datacentre rally in Edmonton emphasizes Indigenous rights
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News More than 100 people gathered outside the Legislative Assembly building in Edmonton to protest the provincial and federal governments’ permissive approach towards building AI data centres Oct 4. Elder Taz Bouchier opened the rally with a land acknowledgement before tying the proposed 7.5-gigawatt Wonder Valley data centre near Grande Prairie’s potential water usage to the oil industry’s plans to release treated tailings fluids into the Athabasca watershed. “When did people lose sight of how valuable water is to living? When money came into play. That’s all these data centers are about,” said Bouchier. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation is challenging the province’s decision to award a water license of 24-million cubic metres to the Municipal District of Greenview for Wonder Valley...
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Major government economic legislation C-39 clears first vote
By David Baxter and Craig Lord OTTAWA-A key piece of economic legislation, Bill C-39, has passed its first vote in the House of Commons and the 243-page bill will now be studied by a special committee. The bill proposes giving the government more powers to fast-track projects deemed to be in the “national interest” and making changes to the Canada Labour Code to reduce the number of labour disruptions in federally regulated sectors. The Conservatives voted with the Liberals on the legislation, though leader Pierre Poilievre said his party will table several amendments at committee. Poilievre said he wants the government to speed up the decision timeline on projects to between six months and a year, and to add measures to protect workers’ rights. NDP Leader Avi Lewis said earlier...
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Major government economic legislation C-39 clears first vote, heads to committee
By David Baxter and Craig Lord A key piece of the Carney government’s economic agenda, Bill C-39, passed its first vote in the House of Commons Thursday when Conservatives voted with the majority Liberals to send the bill for study by a special committee. The 243-page bill proposes to extend the government’s one-project, one-review, within one-year approach to major infrastructure projects to apply to other projects across the country. The legislation is a core part of the Liberals’ plans to pivot the economy away from reliance on the United States and present Canada as a reliable trading partner to overseas markets. Before the vote, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party would support sending the legislation to a committee study in order to propose amendments to what he called a...
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Airlines warn against fee hikes in Ottawa’s airport privatization plan
By Christopher Reynolds Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon is promising to keep a lid on fees charged by airports under the government’s partial privatization plan, as airline executives insist the rules must be in place before investors make their bids. However, it remains unclear if the new approach will include across-the-board caps on landing fees and other charges or whether restrictions will be imposed on a deal-by-deal basis and in a more flexible fashion. “We will regulate through contract,” MacKinnon told reporters at an aviation conference in Ottawa on Thursday. “Those concessions will contain price moderation, if I can call it that, or fee moderation.” Under the plan, private entities from pension funds to First Nations would be bidding on leases to run the full gamut of airport operations, rather than...
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Cold Lake First Nations seeks judicial review of Pacific Link pipeline designation
By Alessia Passafiume Cold Lake First Nations filed an application for judicial review in Federal Court on Thursday challenging Ottawa’s decision to designate the Pacific Link pipeline as a project in the national interest. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced last week the pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia would be fast-tracked under the Building Canada Act. The goal is to complete the required reviews and consultations over the next year so that construction can begin next September. Cold Lake First Nations Chief Kelsey Jacko previously told The Canadian Press his community was left out of consultations on the pipeline designation, despite the fact that his community is situated in the oilsands region. In the application for judicial review, Cold Lake First Nations’ lawyers said the...
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Eight ways to feed ourselves if rogue AI destroys modern agriculture
By Joshua M. Pearce, John M. Thompson Chair in Information Technology and Innovation and Professor, Western University The capacity of rogue AI agents to destroy our species within the next decade has recently been a hot topic of debate. Fears have been voiced within the industry about the rapidly increasing capabilities of artificial intelligence. If AI did choose (or was used) to eliminate humanity, long-term disruption of the electricity grid would be a straightforward approach. Analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers outlines how sophisticated cyber operations could theoretically achieve this — a serious enough risk that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has been meeting with utility executives to discuss how to prevent it. An attack on the grid would hobble conventional agriculture....
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Schools honour Truth and Reconciliation
By Emily Bowen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mildmay Town Crier GREY-BRUCE – Students across Grey-Bruce marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 by wearing orange, learning about Indigenous history and culture, and taking part in activities intended to keep the work of reconciliation going beyond a single day. The day is a time to remember the children who never returned home from residential schools, honour Survivors and recognize the ongoing effects of the residential school system on Indigenous people, families and communities. At both Bluewater District and Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Boards, students, staff and families were encouraged to wear orange in recognition of Orange Shirt Day and the message that “Every Child Matters.” Flags were lowered at schools and work sites, while schools participated in...
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MPs to hold first vote on federal government’s key economic bill C-39
By David Baxter and Craig Lord The federal government’s contentious legislation to speed up major projects and reduce the number of labour disruptions is scheduled to come up for its first vote in the House of Commons Thursday. The vote will decide if Bill C-39 moves forward for further study at a House of Commons committee. The Liberals now have a majority of seats so the bill is expected to pass. Bill C-39 proposes to expand the government’s one-project, one-review, within one-year approach for major infrastructure plans to other projects across the country. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said his party would pass the legislation on to committee study to propose amendments to the “weak, watered-down, long-delayed” bill. NDP Leader Avi Lewis says Canadians did not vote for the “wholesale rewriting”...
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MPs to hold first vote on federal government’s key economic bill C-39
By David Baxter The federal government’s contentious legislation to speed up major projects and reduce the number of labour disruptions comes up for a vote in the House of Commons today. The vote will decide if Bill C-39 moves forward for further study, with the government planning to strike a special committee to study the wide-ranging legislation. NDP House leader Don Davies says he asked for his party be allowed to participate in that committee but Government House leader Steven MacKinnon turned him down. At a press conference today with labour and First Nations leaders, Davies and NDP Leader Avi Lewis said the legislation must not pass as written because of its effects on labour and treaty rights. The government insists it will uphold its duty to consult with Indigenous...
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New partnership prepares First Nations firefighters for future wildfire seasons
By Carrie Ivardi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com GULL BAY — When a number of First Nations communities in the region were directly affected by wildland fires this summer and the Ministry of Natural Resources was already stretched thin, 35 firefighters were available from a relatively new partnership between the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario, the RCMP and Indigenous Services Canada. These firefighters were trained at Kab Lake Lodge during four training sessions between November 2025 and October of this year, according to Ashley Russell-Taylor, chief operations officer for the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO). Russell-Taylor and representatives from IPCO, Indigenous Services Canada and the RCMP were in Kab Lake during the first week of October to observe a week of fall training of First Nations firefighters in preparation...
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Denied Indigenous rights, NunatuKavut council fighting Canada in Federal Court
The NunatuKavut Community Council in Labrador is fighting Canada’s decision to deny the group Indigenous rights under Section 35 of the Constitution. In a Federal Court application, the council says the Canadian government ignored historical and genealogical evidence when it ended Indigenous rights talks with the group last month. Dated late last week, the application seeks to quash the government’s decision to abandon talks with the council. The NunatuKavut Community Council says it represents about 6,000 Inuit in southern and central Labrador, though it is not recognized by other Inuit groups, including the Inuit Nunatsiavut government in northern Labrador. Last month, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada said information provided by the council did not meet established tests for rights under Section 35 of the Constitution. Section 35 of the...
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Manitoba Wildlife Federation calls for full moose closure in Ducks, Porcupine Mountains
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is calling on the province to completely close moose harvesting in the Ducks and Porcupine mountains, saying the populations in the areas have declined to critically low levels. Chris Heald, Senior Policy Analyst with the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, said the organization wants the province to enforce the existing conservation closure and prohibit all moose harvest, including cow moose. “The population has been decimated,” Heald said. “We want to see the province enforcing a complete closure.” The organization has also raised concerns about Indigenous harvesting for ceremonial and sustenance purposes in the area. Heald said the federation has spoken with First Nations leaders, elders and other conservation and hunting organizations about the situation. “Even some of the First...
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Broad support for proposal to amend Whitehorse Official Community Plan
By Noah Korver, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News Discussion of the controversial proposal to amend Whitehorse’s Official Community Plan (OCP) returned to city council chambers with the presentation of a public input report by city administration. The report relates back to the application in process to amend the city’s OCP to re-designate certain tracts of city land from greenspace to future planning, and to allow mineral exploration on future planning lands. The application was submitted by the Vancouver-based company Gladiator Metals earlier this year and has generated contentious debate around mineral exploration and the role of municipal authority in regulating industry. The application to amend the OCP was open to public comment throughout the summer of 2026, with the comment period closing at the conclusion of an in person...
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Toronto man charged in child expoloitation investigation
TORONTO, ON -A 26-year-old Toronto man is facing charges after the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, with assistance from the Toronto Police Service, executed a search warrant at a Toronto residence. OPP and the Toronto Police Service arrested and charged a Toronto resident following a child sexual abuse and exploitation investigation that saw a search warrant executed at a Toronto residence Thursday, May 28, 2026 and a number of electronic devices were seized. Police have charged Shawn Thompson, 26, of Toronto with the following Criminal Code offences: Possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, section 163.1(4) – two counts Make available child sexual abuse and exploitation material, section 163.1(3) Thompson is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Friday, October 23,...
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A rocky ‘wonderland’ in Arizona is poised to be the next US national park
By Matthew Brown An area of towering rock spires in southeastern Arizona known among Native Americans as the Land of Standing-Up Rocks is poised to become the nation’s newest national park. Legislation to create Chiricahua National Park is expected to be sent to the White House in coming days for President Donald Trump’s signature. It passed Congress with bipartisan backing and would be the 64th U.S. national park. The 19-square-mile (49-square kilometer) site is within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache tribes. It was designated a national monument in the 1920s to preserve hundreds of pinnacle-shaped rocks formed from an ancient volcanic eruption. “We’re the Grand Canyon state, so we know about this kind of landscape,” Arizona Rep. Juan Ciscomani, the Republican sponsor of the Chiricahua National Park Act,...
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Nunavut duo wins at Pan-Arctic Vision
By Daron Letts, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News A duo from Nunavut earned one of three honours at the fourth-annual Pan-Arctic Vision competition in Denmark on Oct. 2. Christine Piunguałaq Tootoo of Rankin Inlet and Tooma Laisa of Iqaluit shared the award for “most feeling of community and togetherness.” The event, billed as the Arctic’s answer to the Eurovision Song Contest, took place at the Nordic House in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands. “I love experiencing new cultures and languages,” Tootoo said in a preprepared video broadcast before her performance alongside Laisa. “Travelling gives me a zest for life.” Travel was the theme of their traditional drum song, Kiviuq. Kiviuq is the name of a legendary Inuk who travelled across “the imaginary borders” of Inuit Nunangat, Tootoo said as she introduced...
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‘A long time coming’ for Six Nations as historical land claim court case finally begins
By Barbara Latkowski Writer Is the Haldimand Proclamation a treaty? Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation says ‘yes’. Six Nations decades long land claim finally went to trial on Monday in Toronto after Six Nations (SGNR) sued Canada and Ontario, a case that began in 1995 over sold land spanning more than 150-years. Under the 1784 Haldimand Proclamation, which Six Nations says is undoubtedly a ‘treaty’, the Crown granted about 950,000 acres of land to SNGR in Ontario, known as the Haldimand Tract, in return for their alliance during the Revolutionary War. (1775—1783) Canada and Ontario maintain that the proclamation is not a treaty. Both disagree that they have been at fault in their dealings with the Six Nations. SNGR long‑time elected councillor Helen Miller says she’s glad...
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Canadian corporations encouraged to sign pledge for Indigenous reconciliation
By Alessia Passafiume Private businesses in Canada are being encouraged to sign a declaration committing to strengthening their relationships with Indigenous Peoples and communities. The Corporate Declaration was developed by multiple companies and private entities — including Microsoft, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel and Teck Resources — in partnership with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. The declaration is a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action no. 92, which directs the corporate sector to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and apply them in their practices. That includes through meaningful consultation and obtaining free, prior and informed consent before proceeding with economic development projects. The commission made 94 Calls to Action in its landmark final report in 2015 on the history and...
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Three decades in the making Six Nations its multi-billion dollar land case finally getting its day in court
By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is in court in Toronto after waiting 31 years to face Canada and Ontario over loss and mismanagement of Six Nations’ land and trust funds. SNEC is charging the Crown had set aside 384,451 acres of land along the Grand River, known as the Haldimand Tract, for the “Mohawks and such others of the Six Nations” for their use and ownership in recognition of the Six Nations’ allyship in the Revolutionary War. The lands are estimated to be worth $13.9 billion and $8.7 trillion. SNEC is an elected band council created by Canada that forcibly replaced the traditional Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) in 1924. The trial is also expected to question who actually represents Six Nations. The 1784 Haldimand Proclamation, says...
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