Utah becomes first state to ban LGBTQ+ pride flags in government buildings and schools
By Hannah Schoenbaum SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+pride flags at schools and all government buildings after the Republican governor announced he was allowing a ban on unsanctioned flag displays to become law without his signature. Gov. Spencer Cox, who made the announcement late Thursday night, said he continues to have serious concerns with the policy but chose not to reject it because his veto would likely be overridden by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Starting May 7, state or local government buildings will be fined $500 a day for flying any flag other than the United States flag, the Utah state flag, military flags or a short list of others approved by lawmakers. Political flags supporting a certain candidate or party, such as...
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Manitoba to look at potential outreach efforts for U.S. researchers, says Kinew
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says his government is looking at ways to recruit scientists and researchers from the United States. Discussions continued Friday with provincial and territorial leaders and Prime Minister Mark Carney on addressing tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Kinew says his government is aware of funding cuts under the Trump administration to universities and research institutions and plans to do more outreach about the matter. The NDP government has been running ads in the U.S. to recruit nurses as the province tries to bolster health-care staffing numbers. Kinew says the government is investing in research and post-secondary institutions and that if U.S. academics move to Manitoba, they would be free to conduct research in various areas. Kinew did not provide specific details on what recruitment efforts...
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Ontario judge grants injunction to keep consumption sites open for now
By Liam Casey -CP-An Ontario judge has granted an injunction to keep 10 supervised consumption sites open while he considers a Charter challenge of a new provincial law that bans the sites from operating within 200 metres of schools or daycares. Justice John Callaghan of the Superior Court of Justice said all sites slated to close under the new law by April 1 can remain open until 30 days after he decides the case. “The constitutional issues in this application are complex,” Callaghan wrote. “My decision will require some time. Thus, I have reserved my decision on the Charter and other constitutional issues and the judgment will be released in the coming months.” The Neighbourhood Group, which runs the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site in downtown Toronto, launched a lawsuit...
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Newfoundland destroys textbooks with inaccurate information about Indigenous people
Education officials in Newfoundland and Labrador recently ordered the destruction of thousands of textbooks because they contained inaccurate information about the province’s Indigenous population. The move came after the government’s Indigenous education advisory committee decided the books “did not accurately reflect the cultural reality” of the province. The Education Department says the committee found that the books erroneously stated that Turtle Island — a name for the North American continent used by some Indigenous people — is a creation story that applies to all Indigenous people. As well, the committee found that the books incorrectly said that all Indigenous people are exempt from paying taxes or paying for a university education. The books, used by French immersion students, included stereotypical references to Indigenous eating habits, and incorrectly claimed that all...
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B.C. Premier David Eby walking back tariff bill after ‘anxiety’ from stakeholders
By Darryl Greer British Columbia Premier David Eby’s government is walking back a key portion of its controversial tariff response law, admitting the proposed legislation “didn’t get the balance right.” Eby said Friday that the legislation known as Bill 7 needs appropriate “safeguards” after a wave of criticism about potential overreach. “My interest in being able to move quickly to respond to the threat that British Columbia is facing got the better of … my understanding that the safeguards that people are calling for need to be there as well.” He said the province has emergency authority to respond to natural disasters, and he wanted to be able to have a similar response for actions by U.S. President Donald Trump. But he said a key portion of the law is...
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‘Greedy’ pop star Tate McRae pockets a leading four wins at Junos pre-telecast ceremony
By David Friend Darren Metz of Haisla hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids said he was caught in the moment of his first Juno win for the pair’s sixth album “Red Future.” It landed rap album of the year at the Juno Awards industry gala Saturday. “I had a good cry walking here,” Metz said in the press room standing beside his collaborator Quinton Nyce, known as Yung Trybez. “When you work so hard towards something for so long, and then finally get it, all the emotions you endured throughout that journey just come out.” Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie extended the celebration for her pop covers collection “Inuktitut,” which saw her translate hits by Blondie and Metallica to her native tongue. Last year, the album helped her win contemporary Indigenous artist,...
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The Latest: Trump effect: Fewer Americans now see Canada as a close US ally
-AP-President Donald Trump is citing his authority over diplomatic negotiations as he seeks Supreme Court approval to deport more immigrants to be imprisoned in El Salvador. And he cited protecting national security to justify ending collective bargaining with labor unions across most of the federal government. JD Vance and his wife are due to visit an American military base in Greenland on Friday in a trip scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes over the uninvited guests. And an executive order Trump signed Thursday night puts Vance in charge of rooting out “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian Institution ‘s many museums, in his latest move against the pillars of America’s civil society — universities, science, the media and the law — that he considers out of step with...
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Workshop on “violence free future” could be intense at times
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Participants in a workshop at Fort William First Nation may emerge feeling they’ve taken an important first step towards “a violence-free future.” That’s the hope of organizers of the two-day event, which starts Saturday morning at the band’s community hall. The forum is to be overseen by SBE Group, the 30-year-old Thunder Bay agency focused on “empowering First Nation communities across North America.” The workshop is open to adult Fort William First Nation band community members. It’s the first time SBE Group has conducted a workshop at Fort William First Nation that specifically addresses the issue of violence. “We encourage people to attend just by themselves, or as a couple,” SBE Group chief executive officer Allison Moulson said on Thursday. She...
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Poilievre, Singh hit campaign trail as Carney speaks with Trump, premiers on tariffs
By Dylan Robertson Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh are on the campaign trail, proposing ideas on housing and crime as Liberal Leader Mark Carney deals with U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Trump says he had “an extremely productive call” Friday morning with Carney, adding that he and the prime minister can find common ground in fields like politics and business. Carney will be virtually speaking midday with premiers, after Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on automotive imports. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pledging to impose life sentences for what he calls large-scale instances of human trafficking, smuggling large numbers of guns or trafficking fentanyl. He will hold a news conference in Nanaimo, B.C., and says in campaign video this morning that he wants to “ensure...
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Parents of slain Manitoba woman hope search for remains in landfill can start soon
By Brittany Hobson -CP-Albert Shingoose never wavered in his belief that the unidentified victim of a Winnipeg serial killer who was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, was his daughter Ashlee. He would travel from his family home at St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation in northeastern Manitoba to the province’s capital to comb the streets in the hopes of finding his daughter. As the days, weeks and months passed, the father came to the horrific conclusion that the quiet, caring girl he loved was likely a victim of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. “I knew at some point that Ashlee was Buffalo Woman,” Albert Shingoose said Thursday. His fears were confirmed this week when Winnipeg police officers travelled to St. Theresa Point to tell Albert and Theresa Shingoose that...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney hosting a meeting with Canada’s premiers today
By Catherine Morrison -CP-For the second day in a row, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has been pulled away from campaigning to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Carney, in his role as prime minister, will meet virtually with Canada’s premiers today to discuss the country’s response to Trump’s latest duties. The president signed an executive order earlier this week to implement 25 per cent levies on all automobile and auto part imports — his latest move to upend global trade through a massive tariff agenda that pushed some automakers’ stock prices down on Thursday. Carney told reporters on Parliament Hill on Thursday that he was organizing the meeting and said the discussion — among others with business leaders, unions and Indigenous leaders — would help Canada have a single co-ordinated...
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The Latest: RFK Jr. shutting down entire health agencies; AP and White House are back in court
-AP-The White House has withdrawn Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a stunning turnaround for Trump’s Cabinet pick after her confirmation had been stalled over concerns about Republicans’ tight margins in the House. In a major overhaul, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies, including ones that oversee billions of dollars in funds for addiction services and community health centers across the country. Government lawyers say a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University was moved to a Louisiana detention center before a judge ordered her kept in Massachusetts. A federal judge gave the Trump administration until Friday to explain in court why she’s being detained. Leaders of Canada and Mexico are grappling with...
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Nova Scotia judge given reprimand, agrees to treatment after review of complaints
-CP-A Nova Scotia provincial court judge has been sanctioned for his conduct on the bench, with a review committee concluding that undiagnosed mental health issues were a factor in his behaviour. Judge Alain Bégin was investigated for his conduct in three cases. In one of them, Bégin said before final arguments in court that the accused was a “sexual deviant” and that he had “no doubt” the defendant was guilty of sexual assault. Then, the judge tried to have those comments stricken from the court record. The defendant in the case was convicted of sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and sexual touching, but the ruling was overturned on appeal. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ordered a new trial based on a reasonable apprehension of bias. As well, the...
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Tsleil-Waututh Nation receives over $7.5 million to restore their shores
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) elders and members have seen their shoreline change over the years with erosion and flooding. But big plans are coming to help restore and protect the Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s shoreline after receiving over $7.5 million in federal funding. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation is also contributing $2.5 million with support from the province, making a joint investment of $10.1 million. Already, up to 13 metres of shoreline has been lost in some places, which is likely to worsen with sea level rise, a January project document states. That erosion and flooding impacts the Nation’s ability to harvest food, carry out cultural and spiritual practices, share Indigenous teachings and act as stewards for the land. “It’s disappearing right in front of our eyes, so...
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Nova Scotia judge given reprimand, agrees to treatment after review of complaints
-CP-A Nova Scotia provincial court judge has been sanctioned over his conduct on the bench, with a review committee finding undiagnosed mental health issues were a factor in his behaviour. The investigation of Judge Alain Bégin involved three cases, including one where he referred to a defendant during a sexual assault trial as a “sexual deviant” and later attempted to argue his remark had been off the record. He was alleged to have shown bias in two other cases, once against sexual assault victims and another time against Indigenous offenders. A statement from the Nova Scotia judiciary says Bégin agreed to the resolution of the complaints, which stemmed from cases he heard between 2021 and 2024 as a judge in Truro, N.S. The report made public today brings the disciplinary...
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Grand River floods over its banks
The Grand River flooded its banks last week sending a reminder out that spring is here. The waters washed over fields and roadways leaving Six Nations water pumping station isolated. (Photos by Jim C. Powless)...
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Indigenous communities among those in Canada reconsidering use of Starlink for critical services, remote communities
By Sarah Smellie More than half of Canada’s provincial and territorial governments buy critical internet and emergency communications services from Starlink — a satellite constellation owned by billionaire Elon Musk. And with Musk now acting as a top adviser to a U.S. president who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada, one researcher sees that reliance as a threat to Canadian sovereignty. Dwayne Winseck, a professor of journalism and communications at Carleton University who has studied Starlink’s emergence as the sixth-largest internet service provider in Canada as of 2023, says Canadian governments must do the “maximum possible” to disentangle themselves from Starlink. “Cutting contracts is one approach,” he said in a recent interview. “There are also some made-in-Canada alternatives that can be accelerated.” From a $200,000-per-year agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador’s...
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Six Nations Elected Council gives local Farmers’ Association $70,000
By Lynda Powless Editor The Six Nations Farmers’ Association (SNFA) is getting $75,000 from Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) and they didn’t have to ask for it. The group originally asked SNEC, during its March 17th open Finance meeting, for $60,000 to plant 25 acres of white corn for the annual community harvest. The SNFA white corn project includes planting 25 acres of white corn and another 10 acres of flint corn. SNFA president, Frank Montour, told SNEC “the assistance we’re looking for from yous again this year is very greatly appreciated. It helps us ensure the projects go ahead.” He told SNEC “We’re trying to strive for and looking for sustainability for our people to eat here. We’re all in this together. It’s not for me or Thomas, It’s...
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Norfolk County Council saving Indigenous acknowledgement for “special occasions”
By J.P. Antonacci, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator Since the idea of an Indigenous acknowledgment for Norfolk County was floated almost four years ago, councillors have spent considerably more time debating the wording of the statement than hearing the final product read aloud. Back in 2021, Coun. Tom Masschaele suggested it was “high time” the county crafted a statement recognizing the presence of First Nations peoples in the area. But some council members worried a land acknowledgment could be used in court by Indigenous groups asserting territory rights within the county. The final version of the statement makes no mention of land, which raised some eyebrows. “Is an Indigenous Acknowledgement that refuses to acknowledge the lands upon which we exist an Acknowledgement?” tweeted Norfolk filmmaker Gregg McLachlan. “Norfolk...
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Election 2025 … Indigenous issues at bottom of agenda
It’s election time. A federal election has been called and other than a few platitudes made by both the Conservative and Liberal leaders don’t expect Indigenous issues will be top of either of their agendas. In fact, it’s actually getting harder as the campaigns open up to define who’s message we are hearing. The Conservatives message is and has been out for weeks. It’s simple and aimed at your pocketbook. The Conservatives came out slugging with the call to cut the tax saying they would lower income taxes that could save an average person 15% or about $900 a year. Apparently the newly crowned Liberal Leader former banker Mark Carney got the message. On the heels of the PC issues of affordability and tax cuts out comes the Liberal’s new...
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