‘Eye for an eye’: Father of serial killer victim addresses special court hearing
By Brittany Hobson The father of a First Nations woman who died at the hands of a Winnipeg serial killer three years ago says he’s still angry and frustrated. A special court hearing for the family and community of Ashlee Shingoose is being held in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench. It comes a year after Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of the 2022 killings of Shingoose and three other First Nations women. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but Shingoose was only identified after his trial. Albert Shingoose told court he wanted to look Skibicki in the eye and address him in person. But the killer isn’t at the hearing and isn’t required to attend. “I would say to him, ‘I want an eye for...
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Officials hope rain clear heavy smoke from wildfire near Port Alberni, B.C.
Officials on Vancouver Island are hoping rain in the forecast can help clear up the air quality muddied by an out-of-control wildfire. The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District says wildland firefighters have said the rain may improve air quality locally, but that it’s hard to be certain. The west central region is under an air quality statement, along with parts of Vancouver Island’s east coast and the Sunshine coast region on the B.C. mainland. The intense Mount Underwood wildfire has grown to more than 34 square kilometres, with fire behaviour that the BC Wildfire Service says is “unusual” for Vancouver Island. The fire has cut off power and the main road access to Bamfield, B.C., about 200 kilometres northwest of Victoria, and Parks Canada says it is starting to limit visits to...
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‘We can do better’: Indigenous people overrepresented in B.C. police watchdog cases
By Ashley Joannou The head of British Columbia’s police watchdog says Indigenous people remain overrepresented in its investigations of incidents involving officers in which someone is seriously injured or killed. In her first report as chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, Jessica Berglund said about six per cent of B.C.’s population identify as Indigenous, yet 18 per cent of those involved in IIO investigations were Indigenous. Berglund said in an interview on Thursday that she thinks there may be additional cases involving Indigenous people that her office is not aware of because citizens could feel uncomfortable coming forward. In those situations, they rely on local organizations working in communities to help bridge the gap, she said. “We have already had at least one case in the last several...
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‘It will feel amazing’: Indigenous artist speaks as Treaty 8 mural takes shape
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — An Indigenous artist is inching closer to completing the Treaty 8 mural project against the backdrop of a prominent office building in town. Alisa Parenteau (nee Froh) is hard at work on the artwork, which will be completed on the Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s south wall at its offices on 100th Avenue in Fort St. John. Vandals targeted the wall with profanities and swastikas earlier this year, and the mural project was announced last month. Parenteau said the mural, which will depict an Indigenous woman holding the Treaty 8 medal against a landscape, came to her in a dream back in 2021. “It will just feel amazing,” said Parenteau. “I am still in awe that I even...
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Racial profiling of customers a neglected human rights issue, report says
By Ashley Joannou Heiltsuk Tribal Council Chief Marilyn Slett says no one in her community is immune to the small acts of racial profiling that can embed themselves in the everyday life of an Indigenous person in Canada. “It’s my parents going to a restaurant, and it’s not a busy time in that restaurant, and they’re refusing to serve them,” she said. “(It’s) myself going grocery shopping in a neighbouring community and having a store employee literally follow me around in the grocery store. These things happen to our community members, our Indigenous people, on a daily basis and it’s to some degree being normalized.” The behaviour, known as consumer racial profiling, is a neglected human rights issue in Canada that requires proper study, according to a new report written...
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Indigenous people are overrepresented in police watchdog cases: B.C. report
By Ashley Joannou The head of British Columbia’s police watchdog says Indigenous people are overrepresented in its investigations of officers conducted where a person is seriously injured or killed. In her first report as chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office, Jessica Berglund says about six per cent of B.C.’s population identify as Indigenous, yet 18 per cent of those involved in IIO investigations were Indigenous. Berglund says overrepresentation has been the case since the office started tracking the data five years ago. The report says Indigenous Peoples represented almost 29 per cent of affected persons involved in firearm files. Berglund says her office is working to improve accessibility and responsiveness and exploring new ways to make it more approachable to Indigenous communities. The independent office was created following...
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NWMO selects Centre of Expertise designer
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source IGNACE — The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has selected the engineering and architectural design company for its planned Centre of Expertise. CIMA Canada, also called CIMA+, has won the contract to design, create technical specifications and draw up cost estimates for the multimillion-dollar facility in Ignace. The engineering firm, supported by a team of architects and subcontractors, has offices in Thunder Bay and cities across Canada from Victoria to St. John’s. A news release on Thursday said the firm “will lead the project from their Thunder Bay office as prime consultant in collaboration with experts from” other firms, including i4architecture, Warrior Engineering, Woodland Heritage Northwest and Scatliff + Miller + Murray in Thunder Bay “as one team.” Vince Ponka, the...
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‘Serious business’: Judge to go ahead with review of Alberta separation question
By Jack Farrell A judicial review of a proposed Alberta separation referendum question will go ahead, after an application to quash the proceeding and have the question approved without scrutiny was denied. Court of King’s Bench Justice Colin Feasby said in his ruling Thursday that a judicial review and full hearing on the constitutionality of the question would benefit democracy. “A referendum on Alberta independence that could lead to the breakup of Canada is serious business,” the judge said, adding that he thinks there are valid arguments to be made on both sides of the issue. “The citizens of Alberta deserve to have these arguments made properly and heard in full. Democracy demands nothing less.” Alberta’s chief electoral officer, Gordon McClure, referred the question to court last month so a...
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Reconciliation on hold as BC blocks Cowichan land win
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A BC government appeal of a court ruling recognizing aboriginal title to part of the Cowichan Nation’s ancestral land in Richmond will delay reconciliation and prolong generations of harm, the nation’s lead lawyer said. “This land was where the nation lived together, where they harvested together, where they were defended together and where they were literally embedded in the earth,” said David Robbins. Last week, Justice Barbara Young granted the Cowichan title to almost 7.5 square kilometres of their ancestral Tl’uqtinus village lands on the south shore of Lulu Island in Richmond, BC across from Tilbury Island. The largely industrial area, long described by the Nation as their traditional settlement area, includes land owned by the federal government, the City...
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Rain on the way after Vancouver Island wildfire grows by more than half
A forecast of up to 40 millimetres of rain is expected to help firefighters battling a wildfire that has been raging near Port Alberni on Vancouver Island this week. The Mount Underwood fire that has triggered evacuation orders and alerts measured more than 34 square kilometres on Thursday, about 58 per cent larger than the day before. The fire had displayed some of the most extreme types of activity this week, racing up hillsides and setting the forest crown ablaze. But an update from the BC Wildfire Service on Thursday said crews working the blaze overnight saw “moderate” fire behaviour, as cooler temperatures and higher humidity moved into the area. The update said southwest winds would “continue to push the fire in a northeasterly direction,” which is away from urban...
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Temporary barriers spared Alaska’s capital from severe flooding. A long-term solution is elusive
By Gene Johnson, Claire Rush And Cedar Attanasio The glacial flooding that sent residents of Alaska’s capital city scrambling this week has become an annual ordeal for those who live along the picturesque river that winds from the nearby Mendenhall Glacier. This year, a giant wall of reinforced sandbags erected with the help of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held back the worst of the flooding in Juneau, to residents’ great relief. The damage was nothing like what happened the last two years, when flooding was rampant and some homes washed away. But the wall is merely a temporary barrier. The effort to devise a permanent solution is complicated by what scientists don’t yet know about how human-caused global warming will impact the yearly outbursts of water from an...
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Court to hear from family, community of victim of Winnipeg serial killer
By Brittany Hobson The parents of a First Nations woman who died at the hands of a Winnipeg serial killer are set to give victim impact statements at a special court hearing today. Manitoba Court of King’s Bench agreed to the hearing for the family and community of Ashlee Shingoose, a year after Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of killing her. Shingoose was one of four First Nations women killed by Skibicki in 2022. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but Shingoose had yet to be identified at the time of his trial. Police announced earlier this year that new information after the trial led them to identify the unknown victim as Shingoose. Premier Wab Kinew announced this week that a preliminary search is underway...
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Payments start for first claimants in First Nations child welfare case
By Anja Karadeglija Some claimants are now receiving compensation payments through a $23-billion settlement for more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families. The settlement is meant to compensate children and their families for Canada’s chronic underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the start of compensation payments marks an important milestone. Woodhouse Nepinak says more than 40,000 claims have now been received but there are still many more eligible claimants who haven’t yet submitted applications. The settlement agreement, which recognizes nine distinct groups of claimants, was opened to the first two groups in March. Individuals who were removed from their families on reserves or in Yukon between April 1, 1991 and March 31, 2022, as well as parents or...
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Air quality warnings expand as wildfire burns on south-central Vancouver Island
The wildfire that has triggered evacuation orders and alerts on south-central Vancouver Island is billowing smoke that has prompted Environment Canada to expand an air quality advisory to the northern Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast. The bulletin said the smoke will be heaviest on eastern Vancouver Island as well as Texada Island and Powell River on the Sunshine Coast. The air quality statement comes as the Mount Underwood fire burns out of control about 12 kilometres south of Port Alberni. An update from the BC Wildfire Service says crews working the blaze overnight saw “moderate” fire behaviour, as cooler temperatures and higher humidity moved into the area. “Southwest winds are expected today, with winds between eight and 15 km/h with gusts to 20,” the update said. “This will continue to...
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Saskatchewan lifts fire ban as some evacuees return to homes in Manitoba
By Aaron Sousa and Brittany Hobson Wildfire officials in Saskatchewan have lifted a provincial fire ban because the weather has improved, while thousands from displaced communities in Manitoba have begun to return home. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says the ban was lifted late Wednesday for all Crown lands north of the provincial forest boundary up to the Churchill River. A notice says provincial parks and municipalities may still have their own fire bans or restrictions in place. Residents have been told to check online for local bans. Several areas in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have spent the summer under one or more fire bans due to devastating wildfires that have forced thousands from their homes. Manitoba remains under a provincial state of emergency due to its wildfire season — the...
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From throat singing to ‘T.N.T.’: Aqpik Jam’s 2nd night rocks Kuujjuaq
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News From throat singing to T.N.T., the Kuujjuaq Forum was once again a rocking place Wednesday as hundreds took in the second night of the Aqpik Jam Music Festival. After throat singers, led by Puvirnituq’s Akinisie Sivuarapik, got the evening started, Kuujjuaq’s the Johnny’s set the evening’s tone with a bluesy show. David Hart, a singer-songwriter from Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation in Labrador, was next with collection of songs about loving family members and embracing your culture, mostly sung in his Innu language. Hart thanked the crowd for the love Aqpik Jam has shown over the years, calling Nunavik “one of those special places.” And the crowd showed him love back. Heading northeast, Greenlandic band DDR kept the rock music going. The...
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Century-old loon hat brought home to Cambridge Bay
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News After a nearly decade-long repatriation process, a 100-year-old dance hat with loon beak has been returned to Cambridge Bay, which was cause for celebration. “It brought childhood memories for our elders,” said Emily Angulalik, executive director of Kitikmeot Heritage Society. The hat, made of caribou hide with a loon beak in its centre, was displayed Aug. 6 during the community celebration to mark its return. More than 200 people came out to commemorate the event. The elders remembered their fathers and grandfathers who used to wear hats like this one while performing Akkuarmiujut, a festive “freestyle” dance that required the dancer to be as quick as an ermine and as loud as a loon when it makes its howling call, Angulalik...
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Her story still unfinished: Ten-year mark of Vickie Crow Shoe’s unsolved murder
Victoria Joanne Crow Shoe By Somya Lohia, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Shootin’ the Breeze PINCHER CREEK, ALBERTA -This summer marks 10 years since the body of Victoria Joanne Crow Shoe was found on the shores of the Oldman River Reservoir, her life stolen and her story still unfinished. The 43-year-old mother of four was last seen alive by her family on Aug. 26, 2015. Her body was discovered more than two weeks later on Sept. 13 by a fisherman along the Windy Point boat launch on the Oldman River Reservoir, just north of Pincher Creek. A decade later, the RCMP investigation into her death is still open and investigators are still appealing to the public for help. “It is still an active investigation,” said Sgt. Ryan Hodge of the Pincher...
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The Latest: Dozens arrested as White House ratchets up federal policing of DC
-AP-The White House now says more arrests are being made and homeless people are being forced to remove their tents from public spaces as federal troops and law officers deploy in Washington, D.C. to enforce President Donald Trump’s monthlong takeover of the city’s police. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meanwhile hugged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after talks in London on Thursday in a show of support as Trump prepares for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Both Zelenskyy and the Europeans have worried that the bilateral summit would leave them and their interests sidelined. Here’s the Latest: What’s happening to encampments? Amber W. Harding, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said she believes that “federal law enforcement will begin systematically rounding up and...
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Kanehsatà:ke election officer calls off election cites electoral code inconsistencies
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase Whether it’s the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) or Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), it appears that no one can provide a clear answer as to what comes next following the cancellation of MCK’s band council election earlier this month. The election was called off the night before polls were set to open on August 2. MCK’s chief electoral officer Graeme Drew had cited numerous “violations” and “inconsistencies” within the band’s electoral code, claiming that a democratic election was impossible under the circumstances. Following the unprecedented decision to cancel the election, acting vice chief Brant Etienne says MCK has been in brief contact with ISC about the situation and is waiting for official direction from the federal ministry. A spokesperson for ISC confirmed...
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