Large turnout against Oka’s urbanization bylaws
By Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door More than 800 locals signed a register to trigger a referendum on an urbanization bylaw adopted by the Municipality of Oka in June, in a turnout that drew more than double the amount of the 414 signatories required. Of the more than 800, a total of 775 of the signatures identified as eligible to call for a referendum on zoning bylaw 2025-289, which allows for many areas of three-story buildings and one with a six-story building, while there were no signatures for the conditional use bylaw 2025-295. “It’s nice to see the citizens of Oka, Kaná:takon (the village area of Kanesatake), all come together and vote no for this because this would make a big change in our community,” said...
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Onen’tó:kon Healing Lodge names new executive director
By Fern Marmont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door Onen’tó:kon Healing Lodge (OHL) has officially announced the appointment of Ida LaBillois-Montour as its executive director. She originally joined the organization five years ago as its human resources coordinator. LaBillois-Montour, who is married into Kahnawake but originally comes from Lituguj Mi’gmaq First Nation, officially began her position as executive director on July 6, after serving as interim executive director for nearly three years. She took on the role when the previous director, Lori Tarbell, went on an extended maternity leave. When Tarbell went on maternity leave, LaBillois-Montour took on the role as a temporary basis, but after Tarbell extended her maternity leave and then decided to leave the OHL, LaBillois-Montour decided to apply for the position. The delay in the...
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High Chinook salmon prices bring gainful returns to Nuu-chah-nulth fisheries
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Port Alberni, B.C. – With wild-caught Chinook salmon fetching as high as $7.75 per pound early in the season that opened mid-August, Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations commercial fishers are reeling with gratitude for the lucrative run. Tseshaht gill netter Nasimius Ross holds a licence for the Tsu-ma-uss (Somass) River fishery, an economic opportunity fishery collaboratively operated by the two Alberni Valley-based nations. Ross said they usually start selling at $3.50 per pound and the average weight of a Chinook is 15 pounds. “It’s good money. One of the openings caught 600 to 700 fish. That’s one night of fishing. It’s estimated that brought just about $5 million into the economy, and that’s locally. All that stays here,” said Ross. Fellow Tsu-ma-uss...
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Nunavut’s $5-billion air force base to be constructed by 2040
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The Royal Canadian Air Force’s forward operating location in Iqaluit will be under construction from 2029 to 2040, a panel of federal defence employees told the Nunavut Trade Show on Sept. 15. The base will cost $5 billion, the panelists revealed. “Here in Iqaluit, you’re more likely to expect the fighters to operate out of here — maritime patrol aircraft, the new P-8, which is about a 737-sized aircraft, operate out of here. Search and rescue aircraft, and then, as required, some transportation aircraft would come in and out resupplying in the case of any kind of prolonged operation or or an exercise,” said Christian Middleton, project manager of the Iqaluit base for the Department of National Defence. Currently, the...
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‘We demand to be heard’; food security documentary packs Iqaluit cinema
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The 105-seat Astro Theatre in Iqaluit was packed for the screening of documentary ‘Nirilaurta: Let Us Eat’ on Sept. 15, with some audience members standing in the aisles. Malaya Qaunirq Chapman’s first documentary highlights food insecurity in Taloyoak as well as the traditional hunting and fishing that Inuit have relied on for centuries. She wants Inuit to know they don’t have to quietly tolerate the status quo. “We’ve been made to just accept the high cost of living, the high price of groceries as soon as you get to the grocery store,” Qaunirq Chapman said. “We don’t need to just be silent and take it anymore. We can stand up and voice our concerns about it. We demand to be...
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Residential school legacy reaches generations of Cold Lake First Nations family
By Chantel Downes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeland This Week “I did not go to the residential school, but the residential school came into my life through my mom, through my brothers, and through my sisters,” Martial said. As Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approach on Sept. 30, the Cold Lake First Nations member and employee shared how residential schools affected her family across generations, and how they are working to ensure that pain is not passed on. Martial holds a bachelor’s degrees in Dene and education, as well as a master’s degree in Indigenous studies and language. She now works with the Cold Lake First Nations’ language and culture program. Her mother was a residential school survivor, while two older brothers and two...
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Cold Lake backs CLFN gathering space planned near Casino Dene
By Chantel Downes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeland This Week City of Cold Lake council discussed a request from Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) during a Sept. 14 special council meeting. Council authorized the City to provide a letter of support for CLFN’s grant application for a community gathering space planned between Hotel Dene and Casino Dene along Highway 28. The facility is expected to accommodate about 400 seated guests or more than 600 standing guests. It could host conferences, cultural gatherings, community celebrations, corporate functions, meetings and entertainment while also helping nearby hotels handle accommodation overflow, according to the City. Although CLFN initially requested support for an application to the Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP), CAO Kevin Nagoya told council the proposed funding source had changed shortly before the...
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Massive Morrisseau masterpiece returns to public view after 40 years
By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – The 22-foot-long and 9-foot-4-inch-tall rare Norval Morrisseau painting, called Morrisseau Masterwork, now welcomes guests as soon as they walk through the front door of the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. The painting has not been seen in 40 years, and those who got a chance to look at it before it was put into storage have only seen it lying on the floor, Meaghan Eley, gallery collection manager, told Newswatch on Friday. It’s on loan to the gallery for the rest of the year. “It was last seen in 1986. It was painted in 1985, shown briefly shortly after that, and then it’s been in storage since then,” ,” she explained. “It’s one of the largest, if not the largest,...
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Artists at Nunavut Trade Show bring tradition to the marketplace
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News At the back of the Arctic Winter Games Arena in Iqaluit during the Nunavut Trade Show, there were two rows of tables reserved for Nunavummiut artists and crafts people. One booth was occupied by Mona Netser from Coral Harbour, who was selling mitts and hats made out of beaver skins, fox fur and seal skin. She also had de-haired polar bear skin. “Some of them I buy, some of them I prepare myself. I have boys that hunt,” Netser said. She has been sewing since she was 12 years old, though she joked that she started as a newborn. She comes from a long line of women who have made the same style of warm outerwear. “My mom was a...
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Arctic Stars – APTN’s fall programming highlights the real North
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation For it’s fall season, APTN is unveiling programming that emphasizes authentic Northern living. While new documentary series like Go North! celebrate traditional Inuit cultural practices and their adaptation across the changing Arctic, award-winning comedy North of North is back for a highly anticipated second season. “This isn’t content made about the North – this is the North telling its own stories,” said Adam Garnet Jones, APTN’s director of TV content and special events. The international success of North of North, commissioned jointly by APTN, CBC and Netflix, demonstrates the wide appeal of Inuit-led content. The streaming platform’s first Canadian original series hit the Top 10 in 33 countries, earned a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, and won nine Canadian Screen...
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Carney touts ‘right partnerships’ in Arctic as he welcomes Norwegian PM to Ottawa
By Anja Karadeglija Prime Minister Mark Carney says his focus on building international relationships, including with Norway, is part of the answer to renewed threats from Russia. During a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Ottawa, both leaders were asked about warnings from the Polish prime minister that Russia may be planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries that support Ukraine. Store said those warnings should be taken seriously and that Norway’s intelligence has concluded there are “real threats coming from hybrid activity, ranging all the way to potential sabotage.’ Carney didn’t comment on the credibility of the threats, but said he agreed with Store’s statements. “One of the advantages of this relationship and deepening across a broad range of relationships is, yes,...
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Banff student canoes nearly 500 kilometres to school in Edmonton
By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Rocky Mountain Outlook BANFF – Aven McKay took the scenic route to her first day of university. The 19-year-old canoed nearly 500 kilometres along the North Saskatchewan River from her home in Banff to Edmonton, just in time for her first day at the University of Alberta (U of A). “I really wanted to do a canoe trip by myself for quite some time,” said McKay who is enrolled in Native studies. Starting the 12-day paddle just outside of Banff National Park near Saskatchewan River Crossing, McKay was joined by her dad for the first stretch before going solo. “I did that section with my dad mostly because the water was really technical and some of the parts were pretty difficult,” said McKay...
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‘Everything’s unknown’: Canmore explorer completes multi-month sailing expedition to High Arctic
By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Rocky Mountain Outlook GREENLAND – “If I’m going to die, at least I’ll have warm feet,” thought Pascale Marceau as gale force winds slammed her sail boat within inches of the white-capped sea below. Tucked in a bay somewhere off the coast of Greenland, the inlet wouldn’t be enough to evade the gnarly storm descending on the Canmore explorer and the crew aboard the Nord Hus. More than halfway into their sailing journey to the High Arctic, abandoning ship was starting to seem like their only choice as winds rose above 50 knots. “The mast was bending over sideways, and the rails were in the water on some of the gusts,” said the mountaineer with several Arctic first ascents under her belt. “We...
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Liberals expected to shake up labour code with new economic bill
By Craig Lord The Liberal government is expected to unveil new legislation with major implications for labour relations on Monday. The Building Canada Strong Act will be one of the first pieces of legislation Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government introduces in the new fall sitting of Parliament. In addition to streamlining rules for project reviews across the country, the act is expected to propose changes to the Canada Labour Code. Labour leaders, including the heads of Unifor and the Canadian Labour Congress, have said any measure that restricts workers’ ability to strike would weaken their rights and strip them of bargaining power. They worry the legislation will codify the government’s use of Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to quash strike actions when a dispute is deemed to threaten...
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Government to table bill Monday aimed at speeding up major project approvals
By Nick Murray Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government will table a bill today to fast-track the approvals for major projects. The Building Canada Strong Act is expected to remove the responsibility for reviewing many big projects, such as pipelines and power transmission lines, from the hands of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. A discussion paper earlier this year also said Ottawa was aiming to create so-called “economic zones” to give ministers the power to pre-approve certain projects. The government originally intended to introduce the bill in the spring but pumped the brakes after pushback from environmental and Indigenous groups. It underwent extensive consultation through the summer, with Ottawa receiving more than 21,000 emails on it. Earlier this month, the government said it abandoned plans to exempt certain projects from...
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Manitoba RCMP: 60 collision deaths this year, e-bike laws coming
By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader A sharp rise in fatal traffic collisions across Manitoba has police urging motorists to exercise greater caution, with local statistics showing severe crashes continuing to impact the Portage la Prairie region. According to year-to-date data released by Manitoba Traffic Services, RCMP officers across the province responded to 52 fatal collisions resulting in 60 deaths as of Aug. 31. The figures represent a 27.5 per cent increase in fatal collisions and a 24 per cent increase in total fatalities compared to the RCMP’s five-year average for the same period. Staff Sgt. Shelley Lepla of Manitoba Traffic Services described the upward trajectory as deeply concerning, noting that the month of August alone saw collisions claim eight lives across the province, including two...
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FCM research touts municipal investment amidst trade war
By Renee Lilley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Portage Graphic Leader Portage la Prairie City Councillor and Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Manitoba Director Joe Masi is pointing to new national research to highlight why federal cost-sharing is critical for major local projects, including the city’s planned $118-million water treatment plant expansion. The new study, released by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, highlights the substantial economic returns generated by municipal infrastructure investments across the country. According to the research, every dollar spent on local infrastructure yields $1.05 in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), drives more than $2 in overall economic activity, and creates seven jobs for every $1 million invested. “This study really makes a strong case for government because we are in a period where the federal government wants to build...
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N.S. seafood processor wants accuser to name names in $10-million lobster lawsuit
By Devin Stevens A Nova Scotia seafood processor is arguing that a commercial fishing group suing it over claims it bought illegal lobster needs to name names and provide more detailed allegations before the case can continue. Independent Fisheries Ltd. and its president, Xiaoming (Mark) Mao, argue in court papers that they’re being asked to prepare a defence to the $10-million lawsuit “with no understanding of the (alleged) facts.” The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, a group representing thousands of independent, multi-species commercial fishers and associations across the Maritimes, filed a lawsuit against Mao and Independent Fisheries Ltd. in November 2024. The suit also names the owners and operators of Fisher Direct Ltd. and Seawell Holdings Ltd., both based in Shag Harbour, N.S., as defendants. The alliance alleges it conducted an...
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Carney touts ‘right partnerships’ in Arctic as he welcomes Norwegian PM to Ottawa
By Anja Karadeglija Prime Minister Mark Carney says his focus on building international relationships, including with Norway, is part of the answer to renewed threats from Russia. During a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Ottawa, both leaders were asked about warnings from the Polish prime minister that Russia may be planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries that support Ukraine. Store said those warnings should be taken seriously and that Norway’s intelligence has concluded there are “real threats coming from hybrid activity, ranging all the way to potential sabotage.’ Carney didn’t comment on the credibility of the threats, but said he agreed with Store’s statements. “One of the advantages of this relationship and deepening across a broad range of relationships is, yes,...
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Police statement heard in fatal hit-and-run case
By Carrie Ivardi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — A truck driver who pleaded not guilty in a fatal hit-and-run was told by a police officer that it was hard to believe the driver was unaware he had struck a person with his truck after the driver said he thought it was just a rock. The trial for Gurmeet Singh Brar, from Edmonton, continued this week in a Thunder Bay courtroom. Brar is accused of failing to stop at the site of a collision that killed Kathleen Desmoulin, 41-years-old, of Long Lake #58 First Nation in November 2023. On Tuesday, the court heard a three-and-a-half-hour video interview with police that was recorded following Brar’s arrest in May of 2024. The Crown said it was necessary to their case...
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