Manitoba cabinet minister apologizes for complaints about sign-language interpreter
By Steve Lambert The Manitoba cabinet minister responsible for services for people with disabilities is apologizing for comments she made about a sign-language interpreter. Nahanni Fontaine hosted a celebration for Indigenous women graduates Thursday in Winnipeg, and had a sign-language interpreter on stage with her during her speech. Afterward, while preparing to speak to reporters, Fontaine told one of her staff that she was thrown off by the woman’s presence and that the woman should not have been on stage. The comments were captured and reported on by First Nations TV channel APTN. The Opposition Progressive Conservatives called for Fontaine to apologize and said she should be removed as minister responsible for accessibility. Fontaine has issued a statement in which she apologizes and says she was worried about not being...
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First Nations’ initiative calls for action on $60b in projects to ‘drive growth, deliver on climate goals, support Indigenous leaders
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The First Nations Climate Initiative (FNCI) is calling for more flexibility in federal government actions to further its goals, and assist in developing more than $60 billion in projects to drive economic growth, deliver on climate goals and support Indigenous leadership. The FNCI is described as an Indigenous-led initiative committed to “fostering resilient communities through strategic climate action, alleviating First Nations’ poverty, restoring ecosystems in First Nations’ traditional territories and enabling Indigenous people to be leading actors in the decarbonized economy,” according to its website. The organization is led by several First Nations in northern B.C., including Halfway River First Nation in Wonowon. The others are Haisla Nation, the Metlakatla Nation and the Nisga’a Lisims Government. Alex...
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Culture and community shine at Woodland celebration
By Kimberly De Jong, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brant Beacon Residents and out-of-town visitors alike attended the Woodland Cultural Centre’s National Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Saturday, June 21, 2025. Heather George, Executive Director of the Woodland Cultural Centre, said she was happy to see the community come together to celebrate the day. “It’s been so fantastic to see the turnout and to see so many community members from Six Nations and Brantford coming out, meeting each other in this space and getting to share in our culture,” she said. “Our most favourite thing to do here at Woodland is to bring people together and do it in these really beautiful ways, so it’s just been an amazing day.” Jody Martin, David M. General and Alex Jacobs-Blum partake in an...
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Motorcyclist hospitalized after serios collision on Mississauga Road
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – A motorcyclist with life-threatening injuries was taken to hospital after a collision June 29, 2025, at about 7:07 p.m., on Mississauga Road . Haldimand County OPP, along with fire and EMS, responded to the collision on Mississauga Road, between Highway 6 and Ojibway Road, involving a passenger vehicle and a motorcycle. The motorcyclist sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported to hospital for medical treatment. A section of Mississauga Road between Highway 6 and Ojibway Road was closed as investigators continue to examine the scene. The OPP is asking motorists to avoid the area and follow detours. Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses....
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From lacrosse myths to kilts: 5 things you may not know about Canadian symbols
By David Baxter Parliamentarians likely will get a chance later this year to debate whether to adopt a livestock brand as an official national symbol. A bill to create the brand was introduced earlier in June by Saskatchewan Conservative MP Steven Bonk. If the bill passes, the brand will become Canada’s 10th national symbol — joining O Canada, the coat of arms and the maple tree. Here are five things you may not know about the official symbols that say “Canada.” The beaver does not stand alone Everyone knows the beaver stands for ingenuity, craftsmanship and hard work. For 50 years, the beaver has been an official national symbol of Canada. These bucktoothed builders have long been associated with Canadian history. They were the foundation of the 17th century fur...
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Amid calls for separation, Alberta’s new referendum rules set to formally take effect
By Lisa Johnson As Canada prepares Tuesday to blow out 158 birthday candles, Alberta plans three days later to formalize rules making it easier to have an independence celebration of its own. Beginning Friday, Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government is officially lowering the required threshold for citizens to initiate a provincewide referendum, including on separation. Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, a non-profit group touring Alberta promoting independence, says he plans to apply to Elections Alberta that same day to start a petition under the new rules. The group aims to gather 177,000 signatures within 120 days to put the question on a ballot to voters: Do you agree the province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province of Canada? “I...
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Nova Scotia ministers silent on environmental racism report, to meet with authors
By Keith Doucette Nova Scotia government ministers say they will meet with a panel tasked with examining environmental racism in the province, although they remain tight-lipped on the panel’s findings, which were submitted a year ago. Following a cabinet meeting Thursday, Minister of African Nova Scotian Affairs Twila Grosse confirmed the meeting, adding she will attend. “We want to ensure that we collaborate and that we move forward,” she said on the report by the eight-member panel appointed in June 2023 to look at how racism affects a community’s natural environment. It was delivered to the province about a year ago. The panel’s members included community leaders with expertise in subjects such as Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian history, law, health and environmental sciences. Environmental racism can occur in instances...
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Saskatchewan’s former top Mountie, Rhonda Blackmore, hired for new job with RCMP
By Jeremy Simes The RCMP says Saskatchewan’s former commanding officer now has a new job with the force. Mounties say Rhonda Blackmore has been hired as assistant commissioner of Indigenous and support services, replacing Warren Brown, who recently announced his retirement. Blackmore abruptly left her previous role in early June and has been replaced by an interim commanding officer until a new one is selected. Media reports have cited an email from Blackmore saying she was removed from the position due to anonymous complaints made against her. RCMP declined to comment on the complaints and whether they were launched through the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan and a local petition have called on Mounties to explain what happened and undertake an external review...
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These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth
By Adithi Ramakrishnan NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks on Earth from a rock formation in Canada.The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt has long been known for its ancient rocks — plains of streaked gray stone on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Quebec. But researchers disagree on exactly how old they are. Work from two decades ago suggested the rocks could be 4.3 billion years old, placing them in the earliest period of Earth’s history. But other scientists using a different dating method contested the finding, arguing that long-ago contaminants were skewing the rocks’ age and that they were actually slightly younger at 3.8 billion years old. In the new study, researchers sampled a different section of rock from the belt and estimated...
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Native leaders blast construction of Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ on land they call sacred
By Kate Payne TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is racing ahead with construction of a makeshift immigration detention facility at an airstrip in the Everglades over the opposition of Native American leaders who consider the area their sacred ancestral homelands. A string of portable generators and dump trucks loaded with fill dirt streamed into the site on Thursday, according to activist Jessica Namath, who witnessed the activity. The state is plowing ahead with building a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and other temporary buildings at the county-owned airfield located in the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. A spokesperson for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is helping lead the project, did not respond to requests for...
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First Nation battles to stop history repeating at Mount Polley mine
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer More than a decade after the catastrophic collapse of the Mount Polley tailings dam, a BC First Nation is back in court this week challenging the province’s decision to approve expansion of a dam at the same mine. The 2014 collapse of the tailings dam at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine operated by Imperial Metals — sent a massive volume of mine waste into local lakes and rivers, causing widespread environmental damage from which the ecosystem is still recovering. Despite this history, the province recently approved an expansion of the dam at the site northeast of Williams Lake — allowing the tailings dam to be raised by four metres — from its current height of 60 metres. The...
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Senate passes controversial bill to fast-track major projects
By Alessia Passafiume -CP-The Senate passed the Liberal government’s controversial major projects bill Thursday — legislation Indigenous leaders have warned could lead to widespread protests and legal challenges if Ottawa doesn’t respect their rights and title. Bill C-5 gives Ottawa the power to fast-track projects meant to boost the national economy by side-stepping environmental protections and other legislation. An initial draft of the bill gave Ottawa the ability to sidestep the Indian Act, but that law was removed from the bill before its passage. The politically charged legislation has angered Indigenous and environmental groups, who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to speed up development. Several Indigenous leaders called on MPs and senators to slow the bill’s passage to give Indigenous communities more time to...
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Major projects: How Bill C-5 works and why it alarms its critics
By Dylan Robertson -CP-Parliament has passed controversial major projects legislation that Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada needs to shore up its economy in the face of a trade war with the United States. Bill C-5 gives the federal government sweeping new powers to speed up permitting for what the Liberals call “nation-building projects.” The legislation’s opponents have attacked the legislation as a massive power grab. Here’s what’s C-5 does and what people are saying about it. What problem is this trying to solve? Canada has built few large projects over the past decade. That has led Conservatives, some provinces and some industry groups to argue that Ottawa’s regulatory burdens are holding back growth. The Liberals tried to streamline project approvals through Bill C-69, an impact assessment law meant to...
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Dehcho Youth Energy Council plans to educate youth on green tech
By Eric Bowling, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North To say Angus James Capot-Blanc Jr. was surprised to learn the Dehcho Youth Energy Council was named Arctic Inspiration Prize laureates would be an understatement. “We were shocked when we found out we won,” he said. “We heard our name called up and it really took us by surprise. “We just started this council in October. With this extra funding, we have opportunities to do so much more. Now the real work starts.” The budding youth group was awarded $100,000 on May 13 to develop programming that will advocate for renewable energy and green alternatives to the infrastructure currently in place in the Dehcho region. Capot-Blanc Jr. is the educational resource lead for the council. Meeting virtually every second week and...
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Health the topic at Tipi Talks in Aklavik
By Eric Bowling, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North Evening gatherings for men’s mental health and wellness in Aklavik have grown so popular that the Aklavik Indian Band (AIB) is fielding calls for how to set up wellness nights in other communities. Tipi Talks, part of AIB’s Community Wellness ‘Cultural Connections’ initiative, hosts evening meals on Monday and Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. for men and Thursdays for women. Elders are also welcome. Wellness support worker Frederick Arey said the group was initially established in August 2023. Originally, they began hosting Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous groups, but the stigma surrounding those two organizations was causing some people to stay away. So they reorganized the evenings around traditional knowledge and feasts, and they’ve been a hit ever...
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Controversial legislation to fast-track major projects, Bill C-5, becomes law
By Alessia Passafiume The Liberal government’s controversial major projects bill became law Thursday — legislation Indigenous leaders have warned could lead to widespread protests and legal challenges if Ottawa doesn’t respect their rights and title. Bill C-5 gives Ottawa the power to fast-track projects meant to boost the national economy by side-stepping environmental protections and other legislation. An initial draft of the bill gave Ottawa the ability to sidestep the Indian Act, but that law was removed from the bill before its passage. The politically charged legislation has angered Indigenous and environmental groups, who criticize the government for rushing to grant itself sweeping new powers to speed up development. Several Indigenous leaders called on MPs and senators to slow the bill’s passage to give Indigenous communities more time to suggest...
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‘No Arctic sovereignty without Inuit security,’ Tunraluk says
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News For Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. president Jeremy Tunraluk, Arctic sovereignty and security can only happen if Nunavut communities are supported and Inuit culture can thrive. “Our message is clear: there can be no Arctic sovereignty without Inuit security,” Tunraluk said Thursday in a keynote speech opening the Nunavut Arctic Sovereignty and Security Summit in Iqaluit. The conference, held at the Aqsarniit hotel, is bringing together hundreds of government, military and business leaders for a series of talks covering security, infrastructure and Inuit leadership. Tunraluk tied security and sovereignty to the well-being of Inuit communities. “If our communities lack roads, runways, clean water or reliable communications, they are not secure,” he said. “If homes are overcrowded and crumbling, if food is to be...
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Brazeau recovering after collapsing in Senate Wednesday due to ‘dizzy spell’
By David Baxter Sen. Patrick Brazeau is recovering after a “dizzy spell” made him “briefly lose consciousness” during debate in the Senate on the government’s major projects bill, a Senate spokesman said Thursday. The 50-year-old Independent senator rose to speak before falling sideways to the floor just after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Based on video of the incident, it was apparent that Brazeau knew something was wrong just before he fell. The Senate spokesman said Brazeau was taken to Ottawa’s Civic Hospital and returned home later that evening. The spokesman said Brazeau is “recovering and in good spirits.” Brazeau was alert when paramedics came to help him in the Senate chamber Tuesday afternoon, according to the spokesman. He added the senator is grateful to paramedics, Senate colleagues and hospital staff for...
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Federal Court approves Indian Hospitals class-action settlement
By Alessia Passafiume The Federal Court has approved a class-action settlement for people who suffered abuse at federally run ‘Indian hospitals’ following out-of-court negotiations with Ottawa and Indigenous survivors. The federal government ran 33 such hospitals between 1936 and 1981. Former patients, some of whom spent years in the segregated facilities, filed a lawsuit against the government in 2018 alleging the hospitals were rife with abuse and unfair treatment, and settled out of court earlier this year. The class covers people who were admitted to an Indian Hospital between January 1936 and December 1981 and who suffered abuse during their time there. Claimants will be assessed under five “levels,” with compensation ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. Ottawa is also earmarking $150 million for a healing fund and $235.5 million for...
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Town’s park litigation statement appreciated: Couchiching chief
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source COUCHICHING – A media statement from the Town of Fort Frances on Point Park litigation was appreciated, says the chief of the municipality’s First Nation neighbour. “I appreciated them putting that out,” Couchiching Chief Richard Bruyere said Wednesday in a phone interview with Newswatch. “No problems with it at all.” The town’s written statement on Tuesday came one week after a Superior Court judge rejected its bid to establish legal title to land along Highway 11 that Fort Frances residents know as Point Park. The judge’s decision ended more than 25 years of legal wrangling between the municipality and the Agency One group of four First Nations including Couchiching. The First Nations claimed ownership of the land while the town...
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