Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government looks to build housing in Yellowknife
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio A representative of the Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government says it is working on a plan to develop a “significant amount” of housing in Yellowknife. “We’re currently looking to do a large-scale push into multi-family housing, strictly related to band and affordable rental housing in Yellowknife,” said Cal Babych at a public hearing on Tuesday evening. Babych, founder of the Vancouver-based Babych Group realty company, was representing the Délı̨nę Got’ı̨nę Government or DGG at the meeting. He spoke during a presentation about DGG’s plans to build housing on a piece of rugged terrain on School Draw Avenue, opposite Rotary Park and the Dettah ice road. The piece of land was rezoned to allow for residential development on Tuesday evening after council unanimously approved...
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Supreme court upholds $2 million debt in Mohawk Council of Kanesatake vs Sylvestre
The 24-year-old court battle affects protection of on reserve property By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously upheld a $2 million debt against the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) in its ruling on Mohawk Council of Kanesatake vs Sylvestre. It’s a decision that multiple chiefs say makes a bad situation much worse. MCK Acting Vice chief Brant Etienne recalled feeling “gutted” when he got the news on Friday. “It’s not going to be the end of the world,” Etienne said. “But it’s definitely a hindrance to making things better.” The nearly 24-year legal battle drew attention from First Nations across Canada because it involved Section 89 of the Indian Act, which protects property on a reservation from seizure by non-Indigenous creditors. Eric...
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Canadian Tire to sell Hudson’s Bay point blankets, support the Blanket Fund
Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. will begin selling the iconic Hudson’s Bay point blankets and has pledged to continue a program started by HBC to donate the net proceeds to support Indigenous-led initiatives. Under an expanded partnership between Canadian Tire and the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, the retailer has guaranteed at least $1 million a year to support Oshki Wupoowane, The Blanket Fund. The money will be used for multi-year grants that provide critical support to grassroots Indigenous organizations and reconciliation action grants to support one-time projects and events. While popular with shoppers today, the HBC point blankets have a problematic history because of their association with the company’s colonial past. The Blanket Fund was launched in 2022 in an effort for truth and reconciliation with an initial investment...
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Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu candidates talk land, devolution, housing at forum
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The four candidates running to be the next MLA for Iqaluit-Niaqunnguu shared their pitches to voters Thursday night during an all-candidates forum in Apex. At least 20 people turned out to Abe Okpik Hall in Apex to hear David Akeeagok, Tatanniq Lucie Idlout, Jacopoosee Peter and Walter Picco introduce their campaigns and answer questions from the public. Voters in the riding will be picking a new MLA because their former representative Premier P.J. Akeeagok announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. David Akeeagok, the first candidate to speak, said his priorities are improving family wellness, building more housing and preparing Nunavut for the powers that will soon be transferred from the federal government through devolution. “We ourselves, need to...
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New affordable housing for Indigenous families underway
By Kimberly De Jong, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brant Beacon Nearly 50 people attended Brantford Native Housing’s (BNH) groundbreaking ceremony for its new affordable housing development late last month. Once completed, the West Street project will provide a total of 18 affordable housing units designed for Indigenous families, seniors and individuals living with disabilities, all offered at below market rent. The development will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, office space, indoor and outdoor programming areas, as well as a green space and a traditional medicine garden. Made possible by the support of the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated (NICHI), which awarded $10-million for the build, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) through $5-million in co-investment funding, the building has been designed by Smoke Architecture, an...
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Ford pledges to speak with Carney about All Nations Hospital
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com KENORA — Federal funding for a planned new hospital in Kenora is one of the topics Premier Doug Ford says he’ll discuss with Canada’s prime minister. Speaking in Kenora on Wednesday, Ford said he’s scheduled to meet with Mark Carney on Thursday. Responding to a reporter’s question, the premier said he’ll forward local requests for Ottawa to chip into the cost of the All Nations Hospital. “He’s going to come over and we’re going to have a good long chat about quite a few different things, and I’ll mention this,” Ford said. “I’ll mention the request.” Ford, along with other provincial officials — including Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford — and several local and regional political and health care leaders were in...
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Yukon Liberals short of a full slate of election candidates as nominations close
The governing Liberal party in the Yukon has failed to secure a full slate of 21 candidates as the deadline to add names to the ballot passes for the Nov. 3 election. A statement from Elections Yukon says nominations for candidates closed on Tuesday, and late, incorrect or incomplete submissions will not be accepted under its Elections Act. Election Yukon says a total of 61 candidates have been nominated to serve as members of the 36th legislative assembly. The Yukon Party and NDP have completed their slates with 21 candidates for each riding, while one Independent candidate is running in the election. Elections Yukon says the Liberal slate has just 18 candidates, with no one running for the party in the ridings of Copperbelt North, Klondike and Kluane. Liberal Leader...
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Dawson Creek Indigenous treatment centre receives $25k in provincial funding
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — Several First Nations-led treatment centres, including one in Dawson Creek, will receive provincial funding to further their recovery initiatives. According to a press release from October 8th obtained by Energeticcity.ca, North Wind Wellness Centre is one of 15 First Nations, Indigenous and Métis recovery organizations to receive $25,000. The received grants are through a consortium of the Ministry of Health, the Community Action Initiative and the First Nations Health Authority. The release says the grants will “support organizations in improving the delivery of treatment and recovery services by helping them invest in program supplies, equipment, technology, staff training, resident resources and other measures that will support long-term service improvements.” Located in Farmington just outside of Dawson Creek, North...
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Canada’s health ministers meeting in Calgary to discuss funding, workforce
Federal, provincial and territorial health ministers are in Calgary for two days of meetings, with interprovincial credential recognition and funding agreements up for discussion. The office of federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said she’s also hoping to discuss mental health and addiction issues and vaccination programs. “The health ministers’ meeting will build on the renewed collaboration between the federal government, and provinces and territories to protect Canada’s health-care system,” Michel’s office said in a statement. Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s minister of primary and preventative health services, is set to co-chair the meetings with Michel. LaGrange was set to hold a news conference with her counterparts Thursday afternoon. In a statement, LaGrange’s office said she’s looking for federal commitments to existing health funding programs and strategies to address health-care worker shortages. It...
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Manitoba youth advocate calls for more help for kids affected by wildfires
By Steve Lambert The Manitoba advocate for children and youth says the provincial government must do more to reduce the harm caused to young people from wildfires. Sherry Gott says children’s health and education are hurt by fires, particularly in remote and Indigenous communities that are more likely to be evacuated. She says in addition to breathing smoke and missing school, studies have shown children exposed to wildfires are more likely to experience adverse mental health effects than adults. Gott’s office is calling on the province to assess the full impact of fires on young people, and to ensure mental health, education and child protection supports are part of emergency planning. This year’s wildfire season in Manitoba was the worst in decades, with 32,000 people forced out of their communities....
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First Nations to intervene in Alberta independence case
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) – Six First Nations groups, including the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations and Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta, have been granted intervenor status in a court challenge of the Alberta Prosperity Project’s (APP) effort to collect signatures for a referendum on Alberta independence. The APP is attempting to bring the following question to referendum: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a Sovereign Country and cease to be a province in Canada?” Weeks after APP leader Mitch Sylvestre brought his group’s application forward to begin collecting signatures for the referendum question in July, Alberta Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure sent the question to the Court of King’s Bench to determine whether it’s constitutional. Section...
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How you can get your hands on a piece of Hudson’s Bay history
By Tara Deschamps When Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection and closed its stores, it left thousands of pieces of art and artifacts the retailer owned in need of a new home. Later this year, some will learn their fate. Here’s how the auction process will unfold. What pieces are available? The retailer had 4,400 items — 1,700 pieces of art and about 2,700 artifacts — when it collapsed in March. It hasn’t revealed what most of the items are but has said the bulk are from the company’s “retail era.” Among the available items are 27 paintings that will be sold by Heffel Fine Art Auction House during a live auction in November. Highlights of that auction include a painting of Morocco made by former British prime minister Winston...
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Tougher bail rules will lower gangs and guns violence: Poilievre
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — The federal leader of the opposition used a visit to Thunder Bay to, in part, promote his party’s proposed changes to Canada’s bail system. Pierre Poilievre’s comments come less than a week after Nishnawbe Aski Nation declared a state of emergency across its 49 member First Nationsover what its officials called “an escalating crisis” of gang infiltration, drug trafficking and drug-related violence. The declaration followed the shooting death of 27-year-old Sebastian Towegishig in Ginoogaming First Nation on Oct. 8 and the arrests of two teens after a two-day manhunt. Meanwhile, another NAN community in northeastern Ontario entered a fourth day under a shelter-in-place advisory on Thursday. When asked by reporters about the state of emergency and what his solutions...
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B.C. coroner’s panel report calls for action to reduce the risk of youth suicide
By Ashley Joannou A report commissioned by British Columbia’s chief coroner says little progress has been made in understanding, recognizing and reducing the risk of youth suicide in the province. Dr. Jatinder Baidwan convened a panel of experts in March to review the deaths of 435 people between the ages of 9 and 25 who died by suicide between Jan. 1, 2019, and Dec. 31, 2023. The report makes five recommendations to reduce such deaths, including the creation of a provincial suicide risk reduction framework specifically focused on youth and young adults. It says training of medical professionals should include early identification, assessment and follow-up of young people who may be at higher risk of death by suicide. It also calls for better data collection and a review of existing...
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Manitoba Wildlife Federation warns highway blockade sets “dangerous precedent” as hunters denied access to Crown lands
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF) is sounding the alarm over what it calls an “unlawful blockade” on a provincial highway leading to the east side of Lake Winnipeg, a move the group says is denying licensed hunters and anglers access to Crown land during moose season and, if left unchecked, could set a “terrible precedent” across the province. In letters to both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Gary Anandasangaree, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, MWF alleges that members of Bloodvein First Nation have set up a roadside barrier, initially referred to as a “check stop”, that is now operating as a full blockade, turning away non-Indigenous hunters from accessing public land. According to the federation, Chief Young of Bloodvein...
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Promises and apologies from Premier as candidates duke it out at debate and forum
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News Representatives for the three official territorial parties endeavoured to woo the audiences at two forums held in Whitehorse over Oct. 8 and 9. Both events took place at the Gold Rush Inn in the downtown of the Yukon capital city: the first debate on Oct. 8 was organized by the Council of Yukon First Nations. Various Yukon First Nations chiefs and audience members posed questions of Premier Mike Pemberton, the Liberal Party leader, Kate White, the leader of the Yukon NDP, and Currie Dixon of the Yukon Party. The first night of forum saw Pemberton apologize for comments made at this summer’s Council of Yukon First Nations general assembly. The News has not been able to confirm what the premier’s comments...
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Rivers in Alaska, Yukon set to warm: how will this affect salmon?
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News The North — including the Yukon and Alaska — is warming much faster than the rest of the world due to climate change. Researchers want to know how that will affect the baby salmon hatching in rivers in the Yukon and Alaska. A recent study looked at the temperature of the Porcupine River, as well as temperatures in the Teedriinjik, Aniak, Andreafsky, Koyukuk, Takotna and Chena. It found that the warming in the Porcupine River may be enough to limit the growth of Chinook salmon based on the frequency of days and river length which will warm to the upper limit of the temperature range for individual growth. The Porcupine River connects to the Yukon River at Fort Yukon in Alaska,...
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Industry must provide opportunities if they want to work on First Nations’ territory
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com When companies look to do any work on First Nations’ land, they have to remember some simple truths, said Chief Jennifer Constant of Mattagmi First Nation in northern Ontario. “It’s our land. It’s our resources. It’s our backyard. It’s our space,” said Constant during a panel discussion at the Forward Summit on Oct. 8. “And from our perspective, the advocacy for inclusion stems from that. I’m certain if any of you have someone show up in your backyard… you’d be asking ‘Who are you and what are you doing in my yard?’” Constant spoke on a panel titled Forestry and Mining—Returning to the Land; The Interconnection Between Indigenous Communities and The Natural Resource Sector. Tim Harvey, the CEO of Mattagami Aki, the...
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Ford pledges to speak with Carney about All Nations Hospital
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com KENORA — Federal funding for a planned new hospital in Kenora is one of the topics Premier Doug Ford says he’ll discuss with Canada’s prime minister. Speaking in Kenora on Wednesday, Ford said he’s scheduled to meet with Mark Carney on Thursday. Responding to a reporter’s question, the premier said he’ll forward local requests for Ottawa to chip into the cost of the All Nations Hospital. “He’s going to come over and we’re going to have a good long chat about quite a few different things, and I’ll mention this,” Ford said. “I’ll mention the request.” Ford, along with other provincial officials — including Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford — and several local and regional political and health care leaders were in...
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Route 54 Variety owner Kris Hill’s annual Harvest food give-away
It’s all about family. Route 54 Variety owner Kris Hill’s annual Harvest food give-away fed over 700 families. Volunteers and family, like daughter Markie Styres and her four-year-old daughter Willow, filled bags of food placed in cars by Kris Hill and two more granddaughters. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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