Nova Scotia cleanup plan further delays the removal of toxic sludge from First Nation
By Lyndsay Armstrong -CP-A councillor with Pictou Landing First Nation in Nova Scotia says a cleanup plan approved by Ottawa further delays the removal of contaminated sludge that his community has been living next to for decades. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Friday gave the Nova Scotia government the go-ahead for the remediation of Boat Harbour in Pictou County, where a pulp mill dumped effluent next to a Mi’kmaq community for more than 50 years. The decision comes with conditions, including the creation of an advisory committee in partnership with the First Nation to identify possible locations for the long-term storage of the contaminated waste. Pictou Landing band councillor Derek Francis says he is angry the decision doesn’t include a plan to urgently relocate the toxic sludge away from...
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Robinson Superior Treaty First Nations reject $3.6 billion offer for 175 years of breaches
By Margaret Kirk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Robinson Superior Treaty Litigation team has rejected what they call a “low-ball” $3.6 billion offer from the federal and Ontario governments for 175 years of treaty breaches. The Supreme Court of Canada had given Canada and Ontario until Jan. 27 to engage in “meaningful negotiations” to make offers to the 12 First Nations. The final offer of $3.6 billion was turned down by the Northern Ontario First Nations, many of which border Thunder Bay, Marathon, Wawa, Nipigon, and Terrace Bay. The closest band to Sault Ste. Marie involved is Michipicoten First Nation. Judge Patricia Hennessey, who has presided over all three phases of the trial, will impose a court ordered settlement as a result of the six-month negotiation period being unsuccessful. The...
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Manitoba school division to pause bringing back ‘God Save the King’ in classrooms
-CP-A school division in western Manitoba is holding off on reintroducing “God Save the King” during morning announcements. Trustees with the Mountain View School Division have voted to pause the plan and see whether it is legally required and supported by area residents. Scott Lynxleg says he voted to get more information because he’s heard from parents and staff that the change could affect Indigenous staff and students. Manitoba legislation includes a regulation that says the royal anthem should be played at the end of the school day in all public schools. However, the tradition has not been enforced for many years, with many school divisions abandoning it altogether. During a Monday board meeting, of which The Canadian Press obtained a recording, chair Jason Gryba told the other trustees that...
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Indigenous fishers, co-operatives are winners in Ottawa’s shuffle of baby eel quotas
By Michael Tutton -CP-Ottawa has issued the latest version of how it is proposing to distribute licences for the lucrative baby eel fishery in the Maritimes. In a letter to stakeholders on Monday, the Fisheries Department says it is maintaining its plan to shift half the quota of close to 10,000 kilograms of elvers away from nine large licence holders to new entrants from Indigenous communities. However, Ottawa confirms it is backing away from a pilot project to redistribute 27 per cent of the catch of the nine licence holders to 120 fishers who used to work for them. That old pilot proposal, introduced in December, drew strong criticism from the potential recipients, who said they preferred to remain employees and felt safer on the rivers under the existing arrangement....
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UBC students team up with Lil’wat for Sea to Sky forestry research
By Luke Faulks, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Twenty-one students with the University of British Columbia’s Master of Sustainable Forest Management (MSFM) program visited the Sea to Sky in January to learn from Lil’wat Forestry Ventures (LFV) about economic and traditional elements of forestry. Between Jan. 20 and 24, the students worked with LFV on how to develop a landscape-level forest management plan that respects key conservation, fire management and cultural values. They were led by Ken Byrne, a UBC lecturer and registered professional forester (RPF) and lecturer at UBC. Byrne has been organizing these expeditions for some time, usually working to arrange the MSFM in partnership with a community forest or smaller tenure nearby or owned by a First Nation. “Indigenous content is layered throughout the program, because obviously we’re...
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B.C. Chief Joe Alphonse stepping down after 16 years
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune Nits’ilʔin (Chief) Joe Alphonse will not run in the 2025 chief and council election for Tl’etinqox (Anaham). Alphonse, who also sits as Tribal Chair for the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG), has been Nits’ilʔin of Tl’etinqox for 16 years. With over 1,000 members, Tl’etinqox is the largest community of the Tŝilhqot’in, a nation consisting of six communities between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains in west-central British Columbia. In a special statement posted on Facebook by the TNG on Jan. 27, Alphonse thanked his supporters and said he was proud to be leaving the community in a strong financial situation. “Without support you can’t be Chief – so I am, and always will be, grateful for that,” he said....
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North Coast First Nation sues Canada, B.C. and Prince Rupert Port
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Rupert Northern View The Gitxaała Nation is suing the federal and provincial governments and the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) in the BC Supreme Court. The North Coast First Nation filed the Jan. 27 civil lawsuit along with Lu Sa Hax Hoyaxgm Wil’nat’aał (LSHH), the joint committee of Hereditary Chiefs and the elected Council. It alleges the Crown and PRPA failed to fulfill their duty to consult with Gitxaala on significant land and resource decisions in the Prince Rupert Harbour area, resulting in cultural and economic losses for the Nation. The claim stresses the Crown has repeatedly shunned Gitxaała’s rights by downplaying its claim to the territories within the Prince Rupert Harbour, Kaien Island and the mouth of the Skeena River. This...
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Non-profit to end Indigenous housing project despite one year left on lease
By Joshua Santos Writer KITCHENER-WATERLOO,ONT-Tenants of an Indigenous housing complex will have to look elsewhere to live as new leadership decided to suspend its transitional housing program in Waterloo with one year left on its lease. The KW Urban Native Wigwam Project (KWUNWP) said the decision to pause transitional housing at 34 Bridgeport Rd. was difficult but necessary to ‘re-envision’ the program. It however comes at the price of forced evictions on short notice. “We currently house 12 people and our team is working to find alternative housing and supportive housing,” said Laury Turcotte, executive director of KW Urban Native Wigwam. “Any community member can return to our future transitional housing.” The organization will close the building at the end of March. Staff state the lease for the temporary location expires...
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Eeyou-Innu Rock Band takes on Toronto
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation After exciting audiences throughout the Cree Nation and beyond since June, the Eeyou-Innu Rock Band will be taking their passionate show to Toronto for an Indigenous music showcase January 31 at the Imperial Pub. The Mistissini-based band will headline the “Music is Medicine” event alongside special guests David Meawasige and Kevin Schofield (aka The Tennessee Cree). While it will be their first performance in Canada’s largest city, the group’s quickly growing confidence makes them believe they’re ready for any stage. With four lead singers blending rock, gospel and Indigenous music in both Cree and Innu, they bring a unique presence to every show they play. Last winter’s Big Rock Music Festival planted the seeds for the band’s formation, with some of...
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Who’s in and who’s out of the Liberal leadership race
By Nick Murray and Kyle Duggan -CP-The federal Liberals are running their first leadership race in more than a decade to replace the departing Justin Trudeau. The deadline for registering to vote in the leadership contest passed on Jan. 27 and candidates have until Feb. 17 to submit their full entry fee of $350,000. The winner will be named on March 9. Candidates had until Thursday to declare their intention to run and pay an initial, refundable $50,000 deposit. Here’s a quick look at who’s in and who’s out. Who’s in Jaime Battiste The Cape Breton MP and chair of the Liberal Indigenous caucus became the first Mi’kmaw lawmaker elected to Parliament in 2019. Battiste expressed interested in running on Jan. 13 and said he was putting together an exploratory...
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Brantford-Brant Chamber preparing for MP-MPP Breakfast
By Kimberly De Jong, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brant Beacon Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to host its 17th annual MP and MPP Breakfast in Brantford on Friday, February 28, 2025. David Prang, CEO for the Brantford-Brant Chamber of Commerce, said that during the event, the MP and MPP of the day for Brantford-Brant will partake in an hour-long moderated, facilitated discussion with the Chamber President, John Oddi. “The MP and the MPP are given topics in advance, and those topics are generated by our Advocacy Committee, which is composed of Chamber members, volunteers and board members, as well as just general volunteers that are interested in the political aspects of the community,” said Prang. “They’re topical questions that are both provincial and federal in nature; there’s often...
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Haida hereditary chief proposes pyrolysis machine to eliminate landfills
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Rupert Northern View Roy S. Jones Jr., a hereditary chief from Haida Gwaii, is advocating for a machine that claims to convert municipal waste into energy and potentially eliminate landfills. He leads Aboriginal Equity Partners Incorporated (AEPI), a First Nations-owned business, and owns Pacific Balance Marine Management Corporation. Jones explains that this pyrolysis machine, built by their partner company Endpoint Recovery, uses a thermal cracking system to convert municipal solid waste, plastics, tires, and medical waste into commercially valuable products such as diesel and synthetic graphite. However, the appliance cannot process metal and glass. “Pyrolysis is catalytic cooking of matter without oxygen. It’s an ancient practice, the Egyptians did it,” said Jones. “It’s really interesting, because we could totally eliminate garbage dumps.”...
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Squamish Nation reveals ambitious land use plans in North Vancouver, Squamish
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) is one step closer to reaching their ambitious development goals for the North Shore and Squamish areas following the approval of a wide-sweeping plan for Nation lands. The Squamish Nation council recently approved the first phase of its Land Development Strategies plan, putting the focus on two sites in North Vancouver and one in Squamish. Each site will honour the Nation’s history while also offering housing, economic development and community amenities, said Squamish Nation council member Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams), adding that the plan aims to create 600 homes over the next 25 years. The Land Development Strategies aim to align both current and future Squamish Nation needs while reflecting cultural and ancestral significance, a press release...
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Bill Wilson, hereditary chief and father of former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, dies
Bill Wilson, a hereditary chief and the father of former cabinet minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, has died. Wilson-Raybould announced his death on social media, saying her father’s life was “one of leadership and striving to make change.” Wilson helped get Indigenous title to land and treaty rights enshrined in the Constitution. He once told Pierre Elliott Trudeau that his daughters, Jody and Kory, would become prime ministers one day. Wilson-Raybould served in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet as justice minister and attorney general and briefly as minister of veterans affairs. She resigned from cabinet and was ousted from the Liberal caucus in 2019 following the SNC-Lavalin affair, in which she was allegedly pressured by the prime minister or his aides to help the company avoid a criminal prosecution. This report by...
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Human remains identified as a man reported missing in 2023: Sarnia police
-CP-SARNIA,ONT-Police in Sarnia, Ont., say human remains found south of the city last week have been identified as a man who was reported missing more than a year ago, as three suspects remain in custody for his alleged murder. Police say the remains were found in the area of Highway 40 and Lasalle Line on Jan. 18, and the coroner’s office has now identified them as belonging to 41-year-old Bradley James Ogilvie. Police say Ogilvie was reported missing in November 2023, when he was last seen leaving a house with three others who are now accused of killing him. Sarnia police say they deemed Ogilvie’s disappearance a homicide in September 2024. That month, three suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder after officers said they executed several search warrants...
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Serial shoplifter sentenced to house arrest in Prince George court
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A 39-year-old woman caught shoplifting from four different Prince George retailers in a six-month period in 2023 received a 30-day conditional sentence in provincial court on Thursday, Jan. 23. Amanda Blaine Ketlo pleaded guilty to three counts of theft under $5,000, failure to appear in court, breach of a release order and personation with intent to avoid arrest. Judge Cassandra Malfair ordered Ketlo to spend the 30 days under house arrest, with allowance to leave temporarily for employment and medical care. Ketlo also faces 12 months on probation. Crown sought a 39-day jail sentence, reduced to 21 days after factoring credit for time served. Defence proposed time served plus the 30-day conditional sentence. Malfair said Ketlo, prior to her 2023 offences, had a...
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Six Nations Burger Barn restaurant hit by fire
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police are investigating an early morning fire after a local award winning restaurant went up in flames around 3:30 a.m. today ( Monday, Jan., 27, 2025) . Burger Barn, a favourite restaurant, not just for Six Nations but surrounding communities, was gutted in the early morning fire destroying the building. Six Nations Fire and police were on scene. Further details have yet to be released. (Photo by Jim C. Powless) MORE TO COME…....
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‘Where I belong’: Nurse finds deep connection in the Far North
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative PEAWANUCK – In the tiny fly-in First Nations community of Peawanuck, nestled near Polar Bear Provincial Park in Northern Ontario, Émilie Veilleux has found a life she never imagined. Veilleux wasn’t always a northerner. Born and raised in Quebec, she became a registered nurse and began her career in southern Canada. In 2015, a job as a travel nurse took her to the Far North, sparking a deep connection to the land and people. “I really started falling in love with Peawanuck specifically. I found the people were so welcoming. They’re very traditional and they showed me a lot of things,” she said. “I didn’t know Gilbert at the time, but I just really fell in love with the community, and I started asking...
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‘Canada’s making its mark’: Ontario creatives behind ‘Nosferatu’ celebrate Oscar noms
By Alex Nino Gheciu -CP-Traci Loader helped devise the haunting blood tears Lily-Rose Depp’s character cries in “Nosferatu.” On Thursday, the Ontario makeup artist said she couldn’t contain her own tears as she learned she’d earned her first Oscar nomination. “I’ve just been crying from happiness. As a Canadian, to achieve something like that, I just didn’t think it would happen in my career. It was really overwhelming and surreal,” Loader said on a video call from Toronto. The Newmarket, Ont., native is part of the team from Robert Eggers’ gothic horror film who are up for best makeup and hairstyling, along with England’s David White and Suzanne Stokes-Munton. “I’m just glad that it was Canadians that Robert clicked with for some of the key creative roles,” she said. Loader...
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‘Sick monster’: Ex-priest pleads guilty to indecent assaults of children in Nunavut
-CP-A Catholic priest’s sexual abuse of Inuit children decades ago in Igloolik, Nvt., transformed a once friendly and trusting hamlet into a place marred by anger and addiction, court heard Thursday. Wails and shouts could be heard in the Iqaluit courtroom where Eric Dejaeger, 77, pleaded guilty to indecent assaults against six girls and one boy between 1978 and 1982. He had previously been convicted of dozens of offences against children and some adults. A woman, whose relatives were abused by Dejaeger and was in court to offer support, read a victim impact statement describing the harm done to the tight-knit community. “I grew up in Igloolik, in a beautiful environment (where) everybody knows everybody, greeting each other with smiles and laughter. There was much respect for each other in...
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