Fireworks memorial returns to honour Tyendinaga fishermen and keep questions alive
By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kingstonist.com More than a decade after two young men disappeared on the Bay of Quinte under circumstances their families say never made sense, a long-running community tradition is returning to the waters the men loved. Later this month, fireworks will fall like a shower of stars over the Skyway Bridge in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in memory of Tyler Maracle and Matthew “Matty” Fairman — a memorial born not only from loss, but from a refusal to let the men’s story fade from public view. The annual event, paused for several years due to COVID-19 and bridge construction, is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2026, from dusk until approximately 9 p.m. Organizers say traffic across the bridge will be halted during the display....
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Minister files judicial review of First Nations child welfare agreement
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty says her government has filed a judicial review on a child welfare agreement she struck with First Nations in Ontario. That $8.5 billion agreement marked a step toward resolving a dispute that began in 2007, with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal later ruling the federal government discriminated against First Nations children in its funding of on-reserve child welfare services. In a decision letter released in March, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said two First Nations will not be covered by the deal. Gull-Masty says the judicial review will seek answers on why those First Nations are exempt and what the federal government’s obligations are. She says the review will not impede the flow of funds to First Nations in Ontario when the...
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Blood Tribe Police Service adds K-9 unit
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald STANDOFF, ALTA.- The Blood Tribe Police have recruited a couple of four-legged furry officers to assist them in their patrols. Police service dogs Grizzly, a three year-old German Shepherd and Fergus, an eight year old German Shepherd have officially completed training with their handler Sr. CST. Matt Lapointe and have already settled into their roles supporting frontline operations through tracking suspects or missing persons, locating evidence, conducting searches and assisting in high-risk situations. Fergus is trained as an ignitable liquid detection and can identify 14 different ignitable liquids and can tell if any of them have been used to start or accelerate a fire. Grizzly is trained in drug detection and is trained to attack fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroine and other...
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Chief challenges NWMO claim on response
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation says the manner in which it’s been responding to a proposed underground storage site for nuclear waste near Ignace has been mischaracterized by the project’s proponent. In a letter last month to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada — the federal department overseeing the project’s review — Lac Des Mille Lacs Chief Judy Whitecloud said it’s incorrect to suggest the community has not been responding in a timely manner. The letter claims the “mischaracterization” has been relayed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in its March account of its correspondence with Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation. “It is more accurate to say that (Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation) has repeatedly initiated and...
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PRRC Learning History from RCMP Indigenous Policing Services
By Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder Each gathering of the Prairie Rivers Reconciliation Circle includes an educational session to continue the path of learning for the members, empowering them to be allies with Indigenous peoples in reconciliation. For reconciliation to happen, there must be awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour. April’s educational session was led by Cliff Joanis, Advisory NCO – “F” Division Indigenous Policing Services. The session included Indigenous history, treaties, the Indian Act, residential schools, and reconciliation, with a focus on the RCMP context in Saskatchewan. RCMP recruits come from all over Canada, and it is important that all recruits know the history, so they can better understand all the people they will...
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City calls for school board transparency, local control
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com KENORA — “Protect local voice in public education.” That’s the message Kenora city council is sending the province as they look at the possible reduction or elimination of locally-elected trustees. Following letters from both the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) and the Kenora Catholic District School Board (KCDSB) requesting support in protecting trustees, council has carried a motion to request that the provincial government “commit to a full-scale, transparent, and province-wide consultation on school board governance models.” The decision was made at the April 28 council meeting. “There are proposals by the Minister of Education to drastically change or eliminate locally-elected English public school trustees in Ontario. The Minister has described the current school board governance as ‘outdated.’ We strongly disagree. Local...
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Smith hopes MOU with Ottawa can be finalized in the ‘next number of days’
By David Baxter Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday she hopes the memorandum of understanding between her province and the federal government can be completed soon because Albertans need to see that “Canada can work.” Organizers behind a petition calling for a referendum on Alberta separation said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to Elections Alberta earlier this week. A court order is blocking the verification of those signatures while a judge considers a legal challenge mounted by a group of Alberta First Nations which argues the petition process violates treaty rights. A decision in that case is expected soon. Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in Ottawa Friday morning. Both said progress has been made on the agreement to work together on major projects and make changes...
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RCMP cannabis raids won’t ‘hamper’ N.B. First Nations pot sale discussions
By Eli Ridder A New Brunswick cabinet minister says he’s not worried an RCMP raid on a First Nations cannabis warehouse will damage government-Indigenous relations. Indigenous Affairs Minister Keith Chiasson says his government is working on a framework to regulate cannabis sales in consultation with First Nations. He says the government has been talking to the First Nations about the issue for the past six months. An RCMP raid on the warehouse on New Brunswick’s Madawaska First Nation last month was one of several operations police carried out across three provinces. A police spokesperson on Thursday told The Canadian Press the raids in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario were linked to a wider investigation targeting transnational organized crime. Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives issued a directive last year for police...
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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew wants word ban lifted in legislature
By Steve Lambert A rift appeared between Manitoba’s governing New Democrats and legislature Speaker Tom Lindsey on Thursday over his recent move to ban certain words in the chamber. Premier Wab Kinew told CBC he has asked Lindsey to reverse his decision to forbid politicians from using words including racist, homophobe and bigot against other members. Some words, including liar and crook, are already banned as unparliamentary language. Lindsey instituted the rule Monday, saying it would bring Manitoba in line with other provinces and help improve behaviour in the chamber, which has frequently descended in recent months into shouting and insult-hurling. Kinew said at the time that he would continue to call out comments from the Opposition Progressive Conservatives that he sees as racist or targeting certain groups. Kinew didn’t...
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AHS students set to lace up to raise awareness of water health in Indigenous communities
By Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran Aurora High School students are preparing to lace up to raise awareness of water health in Indigenous communities and train a spotlight on the non-profit Shining Paddle Water Initiative. On Friday, May 15, AHS students will set out into the community for their fifth annual Water Walk event. The event aims to not only educate members of the school community about the importance of water conservation and environmental stewardship, but the wider Aurora community as well. The Shining Water Paddle Initiative is led by Vicky Wolske, a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, the First Nation closest to Aurora. The name “Shining Water” reflects the Anishinaabe name for Lake Simcoe and its mission is to raise awareness of...
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Flooding forces First Nations in northeast Saskatchewan to evacuate; more alerts
By Jeremy Simes Flooding in Saskatchewan has displaced hundreds of residents while also damaging homes and roads. The Prince Albert Grand Council says 820 people from Red Earth Cree Nation and Shoal Lake Cree Nation in northern Saskatchewan remain out of their homes. Chief Brian Hardlotte says water is beginning to recede but he is urging residents to stay vigilant as the situation may change. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says 35 communities have issued states of emergency, up from 15 last week. The agency says some homes have been affected and there are 11 highway closures. Online videos show the Carrot River breaching its banks and damaging a golf course in the town 290 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. “Our people are away from their homes, their communities, and their...
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Manitoba orders public health emergency as HIV rates rise alarmingly
By Brittany Hobson Manitoba has declared a public health emergency over HIV rates that it says are three times higher than the rest of Canada. “This emergency, it’s not about creating fear, Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said Thursday. “It’s about acknowledging the reality that individuals and communities are facing right now and to address that with a level of urgency.” The province said new cases have been increasing over the last six years, with 328 detected last year compared with 90 in 2019. Numbers for 2026, so far, are comparable to this time last year, Roussin added. Women account for more than half the new cases, he said, and most are between ages 20 and 40. Rates are highest in the southwest and northern parts...
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Civil society leaders call for halt to Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement
By Catherine Morrison Several Canadian organizations and civil society leaders are calling for a halt to a Canada-Ecuador free trade agreement, which they say will pose a risk to the environment and exacerbate a human rights crisis in the South American country. Negotiations on the trade pact concluded in early 2025 and the proposed deal would see Ecuador remove tariffs effectively on all Canadian goods. But critics say the deal aims to increase Canadian mining investment. Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada Ketty Nivyabandi said in a news release published by MiningWatch Canada that Indigenous women in Ecuador worry it will exacerbate human rights concerns related to mining operations. Amnesty said in 2024 that more than a dozen Canadian mining companies had active operations in Ecuador. It said many were...
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Arctic Inspiration Prize awards $1.4 million to cultural healing initiatives
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Six groups from the North won nearly $1.4 million dollars in the 14th annual Arctic Inspiration Prize on May 5. Winners from the NWT included The Land Remembers Us, Dene Language Workshops, and Earth, Fire and Flood. The Land Remembers Us was awarded $500,000 for the creation of three new regional on-the-land camps, and one territorial on-the-land gathering. These locations will bring together survivors of “Indian residential and day schools,” along with their families, Elders, youth, artists and wellness workers. The goal of these camps is to address the long-lasting, negative impacts of residential schools and day schools, by restoring family relationships, cultural knowledge and connections to land, through collective healing, Northern expertise and creativity. Members of The Land Remembers Us include...
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‘Earliest ever’ fire ban takes effect in B.C. Coastal Fire Centre
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Vancouver Island, B.C. – As of Thursday, May 7 at noon, camping trips on B.C.’s coast will entail empty fire pits. The provincial government says open fires throughout the Coastal Fire Centre’s jurisdiction, with exceptions for Haida Gwaii, are prohibited. The prohibition will be in place until October 31, 2026, or until the order is rescinded. “It’s the earliest ever, but at the same time it’s certainly dry out there. After last year we certainly don’t want any more wildfires,” said Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Cann. B.C.’s Coastal Fire Centre covers the Lower Mainland, Sea-to-Sky corridor, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, the Central Coast and Haida Gwaii. Last year, the Coastal Fire Centre’s campfire ban didn’t take effect until...
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Sentence hiked for man who cut off woman’s finger and forced her to eat it
By Rob Drinkwater An appeal court in Alberta has nearly doubled the sentence for a man who cut off a woman’s finger and then forced her to eat her own severed digit, saying in a ruling that the original judge downplayed the victim’s suffering and terror. Stephen Ralph Potts was convicted of aggravated assault after inviting an Indigenous woman to his home in the northern community of Chateh and attacking her in April 2024. Court heard during trial that Potts, who is also Indigenous, punched the woman repeatedly in the face without warning or provocation, breaking bones. He then ordered her to splay out her fingers, saying he was going to cut off her finger. When she relented, he severed the upper joint in her pinky and then made her...
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Suspect faces 5 years in unsolved 2021 disappearance of Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay
By Savannah Peters EDGEWOOD, N.M. (AP) — The only person ever charged in the unsolved 2021 disappearance of Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay, whose case became a symbol of the nationwide crisis of violence against Native Americans, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in federal court. Under the conditions of a plea agreement, Preston Henry Tolth, 26, faces a maximum of five years in federal prison with credit for three years of time served. He pleaded guilty to robbing Begay and driving off in her pickup truck. If U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes in Phoenix approves the agreement, that will effectively close the government’s yearslong case against Tolth, which has been troubled by a lack of physical evidence and the suppression of a confession from Tolth. Family members said they’ll...
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Classical music gets a boost of Indigenous energy in upcoming performance of the Amadeus Choir
By Crystal St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com A performance of the works of Indigenous composers Andrew Balfour, Cris Derksen and Sherryl Sewepagaham by the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto will be staged May 9 in the city. Wanuskewin: Seeking Peace of Mind begins at 7:30 p.m. at The Playground located at 388 Carlaw Ave. The performance will explore themes of reconciliation and harmony through a blend of contemporary choral music with Indigenous storytelling, cultural expression and artistic collaboration. “It’s pretty unique to have these three really important voices in the same room performing together with a hundred voice choir and a chamber ensemble,” said award-winning Canadian conductor Kathleen Allan. “It’s a really exciting event. It’s going to be like no concert I’ve ever conducted before. The music itself is...
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‘Threat’ of Bill C-5 is making bill work as intended, Dawn Farrell says
By Nick Murray The head of the federal government’s major projects office says just the “threat” of Ottawa having Bill C-5 at its disposal is enough to spur government departments to move quickly on project permitting. Dawn Farrell made the remarks last week at a joint parliamentary committee hearing, which is evaluating the government’s performance with Bill C-5 — formally titled the Building Canada Act. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government fast-tracked Bill C-5 through the House of Commons last year, with support from the Conservatives, which gave Ottawa the power to designate projects as in the “national interest” in order to skirt certain environmental laws to get those projects approved faster. At the committee hearing on April 28, Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin pressed Farrell on why Bill C-5 even...
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Manitoba declares rising cases of HIV a public health emergency
By Brittany Hobson The Manitoba government is sounding the alarm over rising HIV rates, as the province continues to document new cases of the virus at levels more than three times higher than the rest of Canada. The province has declared a public health emergency, and is planning to raise awareness and work on new measures to stop the rise. “This emergency, it’s not about creating fear, it’s about acknowledging the reality that individuals and communities are facing right now and to address that with a level of urgency,” Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, said Thursday. The province said new cases have been steadily increasing over the last six years, with 328 detected in 2025 compared to 90 in 2019. Numbers for 2026, so far, are comparable...
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