Grassy Narrows launches legal action on Mining Act
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter GRASSY NARROWS – The way Chief Rudy Turtle sees it, his First Nation had to take action against Ontario’s practice of granting mineral claims without consulting First Nations. Legal action was necessary “because they haven’t been listening to us at all,” he said, referring to the provincial government. “We keep telling them that they’re not consulting properly.” Grassy Narrows (Asubpeeschoseewagong) First Nation filed a legal application Friday asking the Superior Court of Justice to declare Ontario’s Mining Act unconstitutional. The application also seeks a court declaration that the province “has a duty to consult, accommodate and obtain free, prior and informed consent” from the First Nation before issuing mining claims. If successful, the action could force Ontario to rescind thousands of mining claims...
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Bonspille demands action on illegal dumping in Kanesatake
By Miriam Lafontaine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) grand chief Victor Bonspille called out the federal government while at the annual gathering for the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Montreal this Wednesday, saying it’s unacceptable his calls for action on illegal dumping in the community have gone ignored. Kanehsata’kehró:non and a coalition of Oka residents alike have been vocal against the seemingly endless flow of dump trucks that come into the community daily to dispose of waste from outside construction sites. Without any provincial oversight, many fear the truckloads contain contaminated waste. “You’re ignoring my emails, my letters, and my text messages to your cell phone number. I want to know why you’re not listening to my voice and my community’s voice,” Bonspille asked Gary...
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LL Cool J relearned ‘how to rap’ on his first album in 11 years, ‘The FORCE.’ Here’s how
The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Grammy award winning rapper-actor- author LL COOL J will release his first new album in 11 years, “The FORCE” in September — 40 years into his hip-hop career. Not that he hasn’t been making music in that time. “I’ve always tinkered around in the studio here and there,” he told The Associated Press over Zoom. But over the last two or so years, inspiration really struck. He started working with a producer and pursuing music-making more seriously. Then he hit a roadblock. “I just felt like the tracks that this producer was giving me were better than the songs that I was writing,” he said. Then the late Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest came to him in a dream. “He...
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Kahnawake votes for change
By Marcus Bankuti Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KAHNAWAKE-The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has a new grand chief after a decisive win for Cody Diabo, who garnered nearly twice as many votes as incumbent Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, who came last in the three-way race. “I mean speechless, which is new for me,” said Diabo on election night when asked for his initial reaction. “The community put a lot of effort and pushed forward to this, and it speaks volumes.” Diabo, a Council chief last term who ran for grand chief on a platform of transparency, improved services, and taking a hard line with external governments, will work with six incumbents and five fresh faces on Council. “We’re going to be a team,” said Diabo. “We’re going to work forward together. We’re...
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B.C. seeking outside firefighting help as heat triggers eruption of wildfire activity Slugline: Wildfires-BC
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 British Columbia’s emergency management minister says the province is proactively working to secure extra firefighters to deal with what she called the “potential for a drastically accelerated wildfire situation.” Bowinn Ma told a briefing on Thursday that B.C. was seeking out-of-province help from six unit crews representing about 180 specialized wildfire fighters. Ma said about 500 of the province’s full complement of 2,000 firefighters were currently deployed, but the province was seeking outside help early as the situation worsened due to a heat wave and ongoing dry conditions. “We do want to be prepared, and so by being proactive in our request for additional resources, we can ensure that the lag that it often takes for additional resources to come in from out of province doesn’t...
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MCFD spent nearly $300K to promote program that many Youth in need can’t access
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A provincial program meant to provide income, housing and health support to Youth aging out of government “care” spent nearly $300,000 on promotional merchandise — meanwhile, many young people are being rejected from its services. The Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) ordered 15,000 “toolkits” as part of their 2022/2023 budget — including tote bags, socks, toques, lip-balm and information pamphlets. These packages are meant to raise awareness about its Strengthening Abilities and Journeys of Empowerment (SAJE) program. According to the MCFD, the purchase was a response to feedback from a series of engagements carried out in 2022. An emailed statement from MCFD said the materials would be distributed to ministry offices and community organizations, including Covenant House, to be shared with...
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Hundreds evacuate northern Alberta First Nation due to nearby wildfire
The Canadian Press Nearly a thousand residents have evacuated a northern Alberta First Nation due to an out-of-control wildfire. A provincial alert says a blaze is burning about 8.5 kilometres north of Highway 58, which is adjacent to Little Red River Cree Nation. The government says 981 residents of the First Nation left Wednesday evening to find shelter in the settlement of John D’Or Prairie and hotels in other northern towns. The wildfire, which is burning across 41,000 hectares, isn’t threatening to reach the community. An evacuation order issued Wednesday remains in effect for the 700 residents of Garden River, a community about 30 kilometres northwest of the same wildfire affecting Little Red River Cree Nation. The government says Garden River was not in immediate danger but there were concerns...
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Spiritual healing part of addictions recovery
By Alexandra Noad Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series looking at the southern Alberta opioid crisis through an Indigenous lens The last Canadian residential school closed in 1996. These schools were just one of the many attempts by the Canadian government to assimilate Indigenous peoples. Because of these attempts, Many Indigenous people feel lost without an identity. Rachel Bush was adopted by a white family when she was a baby. It wasn’t until she was an adult and reconnected with her biological mother, that she realized she was Indigenous. When Bush was a teenager she found herself in some vulnerable situations, but was able to pull herself out when she had her daughter. “I’ve seen people I was close to in...
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Inter-generational trauma plays role in Indigenous addictions problems
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series that looks at the opioid crisis in southern Alberta through an Indigenous lens. In April 2023 the Blood Tribe declared a State of Emergency due to opioids. According to Alberta’s Opioid Response Surveillance Report: First Nations People in Alberta, published in June 2021, First Nations people represented 22 per cent of all opioid poisoning deaths in the first six months of 2020. Which was an increase from 14 per cent in 2016. While many may have the perception drug abuse only happens in city limits, the Blood Tribe’s declaration of a State of Emergency would prove otherwise. Leslie Wells, Blood Tribe’s opioid response coordinator, says the opioid response started back in 2014. She...
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B.C. waters now home to Canada’s largest marine protected area
The Canadian Press First Nations along British Columbia’s coast have announced with the Canadian government the designation of the country’s largest marine protected area. A statement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the ecologically unique ocean area is located about 150 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island. It says the area spanning more than 133,000 square kilometres covers “extraordinary seafloor features,” including more than 47 underwater mountains, known as seamounts, and all of the confirmed hydrothermal vents in Canada. The department says the deep-sea vents are “biological hotpots” that support rare and unique species that are both “remarkable and culturally important.” The new designation makes it the largest marine protected area to be recognized under Canada’s Oceans Act in partnership with the Council of the Haida Nation, Nuu-chah-nulth...
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Poilievre delivers first speech to AFN, leaders confront him about Harper’s legacy
Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre receives applause during his speech to the Assembly of First Nations, Thursday, July 11, 2024 in Montreal.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 16:03 First Nations chiefs have heard enough promises and “performative reconciliation,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday, adding they deserve a partnership based on honest conversations. It was the first time Poilievre addressed the Assembly of First Nations, an organization representing more than 600 First Nations that had a tense relationship with the Conservatives when former prime minister Stephen Harper was in power. In 2018, former Conservative leader Andrew Scheer was booed at an AFN assembly when he was unable to explain how his policies would differ from Harper’s. AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has said she wants to turn...
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Man who caused ‘profound and long lasting harm’ by defrauding Indigenous Youth granted full parole
By Meral Jamal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 11/07/2024 16:09 A man who notoriously forged social worker credentials and defrauded Indigenous Youth under his “care” in the Okanagan has been granted full parole. The Parole Board of Canada approved the next step in the conditional release of Robert Riley Saunders following the completion of his six-month day parole which was granted last October. According to Global News, he’s set to be fully paroled by mid-July. After being found guilty of misappropriating more than $460,000, Saunders was handed a five-year prison sentence in 2022. The Parole Board’s June 26 decision notes that in order to ensure no further harm, Saunders is not allowed to have direct or indirect contact with any child in the care of the Ministry of Children and Family...
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Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa confirm $47.8-billion deal on child welfare reform
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 13:11 The AFN’s national chief confirmed today that the organization finalized a deal with Ottawa late Wednesday night to put $47.8 billion towards child-welfare reform. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak got cheers as she made the announcement on the floor of the annual general assembly in Montreal on Thursday. At a later press conference, she underlined the emotions that underpin the agreement, which seeks to redress decades of discrimination. “There has been so much pain and hurt and harm caused by this racist child-welfare policy in every one of our First Nations communities and our families,” she said. The assembly is set to ratify the agreement, which would fund reforms over a 10-year period, at a special assembly in September. After receiving criticism over the closed-door negotiations in...
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‘Buckets of tears’: The four women who died at the hands of a Winnipeg serial killer
Canadian Press 11/07/2024 12:47 Jeremy Skibicki admitted to police that he killed four women in Winnipeg in 2022. Court heard he targeted them at homeless shelters. A judge convicted Skibicki on Thursday of four counts of first-degree murder. Here is a look at the victims: Rebecca Contois Rebecca Contois, 24, lived in Winnipeg but was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River. She had a daughter. Court heard that in May 2022 a man looking for scrap metal found her partial remains in a dumpster in Skibicki’s neighbourhood. More of her remains were discovered the following month at a city-run landfill. Her family later said in a statement that the discovery was incredibly difficult. “We have experienced paralyzing grief. Pure devastation,” the statement said. “I don’t...
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Assembly of First Nations, Ottawa confirm $47.8-billion deal on child welfare reform
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 12:28 The AFN’s national chief confirmed today that the organization finalized a deal with Ottawa late Wednesday night to put $47.8 billion towards child-welfare reform. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak got cheers as she made the announcement on the floor of the annual general assembly in Montreal. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu stood beside chiefs and shed a few tears in a subsequent news conference as Woodhouse Nepinak said what a monumental agreement they had reached. The deal is worth more than double what was originally promised for long-term reform in a settlement agreement that resulted from a hard-fought human-rights complaint over underfunding of child-welfare services. Families who helped launched the initial court case stood with the minister and national chief as they shared the news. Ontario Regional...
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Looking — and feeling — like a million dollars in heat means loose linen clothing
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 11:04 Dressing for the summer to stay and look cool involves more than picking out a white T-shirt and shorts. Choosing the right fabric, according to experts in fashion and dermatology, is about a breezy fit, and remembering to hydrate. Henry Navarro, associate professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s school of fashion, stresses the need to use multiple forms of protection against the sun and heat, including to choose long, loose clothing, wear a hat and carry an umbrella for shade. “There’s no silver bullet to protect against the heat and sun,” he said in an interview Wednesday, but he adds that North Americans can learn about staying cool from dress traditions in warm and humid countries. “We can learn (from) historically proven ways to cope with...
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CP NewsAlert: Judge finds admitted serial killer guilty of first-degree murder
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 12:08 A judge has found Jeremy Skibicki guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of four women in Winnipeg. Defence lawyers had argued Skibicki should be found not criminally responsible and said he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the slayings in 2022. But Crown prosecutors said he had the mental capacity and awareness to commit and cover up the killings. The trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at homeless shelters, strangled or drowned them and disposed of their remains in garbage bins. The case renewed calls for governments and organizations to address the ongoing issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. A first-degree murder verdict carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. More coming....
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More talks needed on McGill tuition exemptions for Indigenous students, KI says
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Last month, McGill University announced its new initiative of covering tuition costs and mandatory fees for Indigenous students would begin with the upcoming fall semester. However, this program has a few addendums when it comes to Nunavik students, as Kativik Ilisarniliriniq says more discussions are needed to iron out the details. Starting in the fall, the university, based in Montreal, plans to only offer full tuition coverage to students from nearby Mohawk communities, including the six Haudenosaunee nations of the Grand River in Ontario. McGill calls this its “first phase” of the program. When it comes to other Indigenous students, including Nunavimmiut, the deal only includes prospective or current diploma students enrolled in McGill’s school of social work, school of continuing studies, or...
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Innu Chief takes case against Quebec to United Nations forum in Switzerland
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 11/07/2024 08:57 An Innu community is taking their case against the provincial government and how its attitude violates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) all the way to a United Nations forum in Switzerland. Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation Chief Gilbert Dominique is attending the 17th session of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples being held this week in Geneva, Switzerland. He presented to the forum Tuesday. Speaking on behalf of the Regroupement Petapan, made up of the Essipit, Pekuakamiulnuatsh, and Nutashkuan communities, Dominique said Quebec’s heel-dragging and failure to ratify a tripartite, updated Petapan Treaty by March 31, 2023 constitutes a violation of UNDRIP. He also said that Quebec’s failure to live up to...
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Poilievre to make first in-person speech at Assembly of FirstNations
The Canadian Press 11/07/2024 04:00 Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is expected to make his first in-person address at the Assembly of First Nations today. Poilievre, who has a testy relationship with some Indigenous Peoples, is set to take the floor with a speech and a question-and-answer session. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is scheduled to speak as well, on what will be the last day of the annual general assembly in Montreal. The AFN is also expected to hear from families of victims in a criminal case involving the killings of four First Nations women, after a Manitoba judge delivers a verdict. While Jeremy Skibicki confessed to the killings, his lawyers argued he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. On Wednesday, the AFN called for Manitoba to...
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