Montreal men plead guilty after keeping woman’s body on couch for six months
Two Montreal men have pleaded guilty to committing an indignity to a body after admitting they left the remains of an Indigenous woman on the couch in their home for six months. Prosecutor Simon Lapierre confirmed that brothers Nicodemo and Francesco Sansalone admitted guilt this week in the death of Alasie Tukkiapik. A statement of facts read in court says the 41-year-old’s family reported her missing in September 2023 in the Inuit village of Kangiqusujuaq, after not being able to reach her for several months in Montreal where she had been living. Montreal police went to the address where she had reportedly been staying and met Nicodemo Sansalone, who told them she had died six months prior and had been on the couch ever since. The statement of facts says...
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Essex Region Conservation Authority plants seven-millionth tree
By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press Since it began operating in 1973, one of the main focuses of the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) has been to restore natural areas locally. Since its existence, the natural tree cover of the region has increased from less than three-percent to 5.4% today, with the percentage of total natural areas now measuring 8.5%. Though that is a tremendous achievement – accomplished through partnerships, volunteers, partners, and organizations over the past five-decades – there is a way to go to reach the United Nation’s minimum standard for sustainability of 12%, ERCA’s Chairperson and Amherstburg Councillor, Molly Allaire, said. ERCA’s tree planting program began in 1976, and 32,000 trees were added to the regional landscape in that first year. At its...
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A 250-year plan is in the works to protect Okanagan-Similkameen watersheds
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Early discussions have started about a quarter-millennium-long plan to protect siwɬkw (water) in the Okanagan-Similkameen region’s watersheds. The early steps to creating a 250-year, multigenerational roadmap comes months after syilx Okanagan leaders and local government officials formally pledged to increase their water protection advocacy. “The biggest thing will be communicating to our constituents that it’s about the fish, it’s about this place, it’s about us, it’s about our future,” said Tim Lezard, a councillor with the Penticton Indian Band. “With the 250-year plan, those will be the goals … Some people don’t have that worldview.” More than 20 members of the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table gathered for a meeting in the District of Lake Country on April 24. The meeting brought...
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Nuclear waste plan ‘not a done deal’
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Those who remain troubled by the prospect of spent radioactive nuclear-fuel rods being trucked or railed through Northwestern towns and villages may take some solace in the projected timeline: it’s not going to be happening anytime soon. Though community support for a deep underground storage site to be built just west of Ignace was obtained late last year, approval for the project is a decade away, the project’s proponent says. “The next step is the 10-year regulatory decision-making process,” a regional Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) spokesman said last week in an email. “This rigorous process will ensure that the (Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s) understanding of the safety of the repository is independently confirmed, by both the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission,...
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Carney says he won’t make a pact with NDP, confirms King Charles to launch Parliament
By Dylan Robertson King Charles will visit Ottawa to deliver the speech from the throne at the end of this month, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday. Speaking at the National Press Theatre, Carney said Parliament will be recalled on May 26, and the King will read the speech outlining the new government’s priorities on May 27. The prime minister said he invited King Charles and Queen Camilla to launch this session of Parliament as a show of sovereignty in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk of annexation. “This is a historic honour which matches the weight of our times,” Carney told a Friday morning news conference — his first since Canadians voted the Liberals back in for a fourth mandate. Carney said that in a Tuesday call...
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Alberta MP resigns to allow Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre to run
Battle River—Crowfoot, AB – Damien Kurek, Conservative MP-elect for Battle River is resiging his seat to to allow Conservative Party of Canada Leader, Pierre Poilievre, to run in a coming by-election. “It has been a tremendous honour to serve the good people of Battle River-Crowfoot as their Member of Parliament since 2019. Their support and commitment to the Conservative movement and our mission to bring back hope and prosperity to this country has been unmatched. Which is why, after much discussion with my wife Danielle, and I have decided to step aside for this Parliamentary session to allow our Conservative Party Leader to run here in a by-election. “Pierre Poilievre just finished a remarkable national campaign that received the highest vote share since 1988. An unstoppable movement has grown...
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Here’s what the Liberals promised for health care. But can they deliver?
By Nicole Ireland Until U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty came along, many thought health care would be a key issue in the federal election. Instead, it came across as an after-thought to more immediate economic concerns that often hijacked campaign headlines. “I can’t recall an election in recent decades where less attention was given to health care,” said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus in political science at the University of Toronto. Wiseman pegs the oversight to tense relations with the United States and the Trump administration, which he says “eclipsed virtually all other issues except affordability.” Health issues are certainly no less pressing and the Liberals included several health-care pledges in their platform. Now that the party has been handed another mandate, here’s what doctors,...
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Court gives green light to part of ’60s Scoop’ class action
By Alessia Passafiume The Federal Court has rejected the federal government’s motion to dismiss a claim for monetary relief in a class-action lawsuit brought by non-status individuals and Métis who were involved in the so-called “’60s Scoop.” It’s also granting the plaintiffs’ request for a motion declaring that the Crown had a duty of care to these kids — but only the ones placed or adopted through Saskatchewan’s Adopt Indian Métis [AIM] program. The ’60s Scoop refers to a period when governments in Canada oversaw the large-scale removal of Indigenous children from their homes to live outside of their communities, mostly with non-Indigenous caregivers. A class-action settlement for survivors saw the federal government pay about $750 million in compensation — but Métis were largely excluded from that because child welfare...
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Court gives green light to part of ’60s Scoop’ class action
By Alessia Passafiume The Federal Court has rejected the federal government’s motion to dismiss a claim for monetary relief in a class-action lawsuit brought by non-status individuals and Métis who were involved in the so-called “’60s Scoop.” It’s also granting the plaintiffs’ request for a motion declaring that the Crown had a duty of care to these kids — but only the ones placed or adopted through Saskatchewan’s Adopt Indian Métis [AIM] program. The ’60s Scoop refers to a period when governments in Canada oversaw the large-scale removal of Indigenous children from their homes to live outside of their communities, mostly with non-Indigenous caregivers. A class-action settlement for survivors saw the federal government pay about $750 million in compensation — but Métis were largely excluded from that because child welfare...
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Indigenous Leaders Urge Hudson Bay Company Not to Sell Sacred Artifacts
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) – Indigenous groups are cautioning against the Hudson’s Bay Company’s (HBC) intention to auction off its collection of thousands of pieces of art and artifacts, which could include items of cultural, historical and spiritual importance for First Nations in Canada. “The HBC’s legacy is inseparable from the post-contact history of the original peoples on this land,” Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Kyra Wilson wrote in an April 22 letter to HBC, which filed for bankruptcy in March. “These artifacts are not simply ‘valuable assets’ or one-of-a-kind collectibles, but pieces of living history, some of which may be sacred, stolen from First Nations or properly First Nations-owned.” As part of its efforts to pay back $1 billion it...
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Alberta Premier Smith punts suggestions she’s stoking separatism talk
By Lisa Johnson Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is deflecting accusations that she’s stoking the fires of separatism, despite her government moving to lower the bar for holding a referendum. Earlier this week, Smith’s government proposed legislation that would make it easier for citizens to call for a vote to secede from Canada, drawing heated condemnation from Indigenous leaders who warn it would violate treaties. A vocal set of right-wing supporters are pushing for an Alberta exit following the federal Liberals’ election win Monday. Smith told reporters Thursday that she won’t presuppose what questions Albertans might bring to a ballot. “I’m not going to prejudge what citizens are going to do for a petition,” Smith said. Asked if she would acknowledge that she has opened the door for separatism to gain...
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New B.C. legislation to speed up public and private projects, says minister
By Wolfgang Depner New legislation proposed in British Columbia would accelerate major public and private projects, including mines and other natural resource operations, Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said Thursday. The government has previously promised to speed up permitting to improve the provincial economy after last year’s election, then amid tariff and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Ma said in the legislature that the Infrastructure Projects Act tabled Thursday will designate projects that are significant to the province and oversee their planning, procurement and delivery. She said the changes would give the province additional power to speed up government projects as well as other significant enterprises that provide economic, environmental or social benefits for the province. Ma said the legislation would give cabinet the power to designate projects as...
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Here’s what the Liberals promised for health care. But can they deliver?
By Nicole Ireland Until U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats to Canadian sovereignty came along, many thought health care would be a key issue in the federal election. Instead, it came across as an after-thought to more immediate economic concerns that often hijacked campaign headlines. “I can’t recall an election in recent decades where less attention was given to health care,” said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus in political science at the University of Toronto. Wiseman pegs the oversight to tense relations with the United States and the Trump administration, which he says “eclipsed virtually all other issues except affordability.” Health issues are certainly no less pressing and the Liberals included several health-care pledges in their platform. Now that the party has been handed another mandate, here’s what doctors,...
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New guide will help Indigenous-owned electrical utilities be successful
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On the final day of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference in Toronto, which concluded April 29, co-emcee Jesse McCormick made a newsworthy announcement. He revealed FNMPC officials had released the Indigenous Utilities Paper, subtitled The Emergence of Indigenous-Owned Electrical Utilities in Canada. McCormick mentioned how Niilo Edwards, the FNMPC’s CEO and executive director who died this past December, was at last year’s conference discussing a national Indigenous electrification strategy. “He noted you will see in the next decade the proliferation of Indigenous utilities across this country because that is what our electrification sector needs in order to meet its demand,” said McCormick. Edwards had played a key role in the creation of the Indigenous Utilities Paper. “Niilo was always keen...
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Two fly-in First Nations along James Bay evacuating amid spring flooding
-CP-A fly-in First Nation on the shore of James Bay in northern Ontario has asked its community members to evacuate after spring flooding cut off the road to its airport. The Kashechewan First Nation Youth Advisory says in a social media post that flooding began to take over the airport road on Thursday morning, with water believed to have reached the airport as well. Kashechewan Chief Hosea Wesley also says residents should get boats ready in case the flooding rises above the community’s dike. Community members were later told to gather on the baseball field, to be taken to the neighbouring Fort Albany First Nation and flown south from there. The Cree community declared a state of emergency last month when spring flooding began threatening the area and prompted some...
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Alberta’s top court dismisses Crown appeal of sentence of man in Calgary chef murder
The Alberta Court of Appeal has rejected a request to review the sentence given to a man convicted in the death of a well-known Calgary chef. Anthony Dodgson was found guilty in 2023 by a jury of second-degree murder after fatally stabbing Christophe Herblin while his accomplice, Tommie Holloway, was convicted of manslaughter. Court heard Dodgson and Holloway broke into the restaurant with plans to get through a wall into an adjacent cannabis shop. They fled when a car drove by and returned later to continue their robbery attempt but became frustrated when Herblin showed up. Holloway smashed Herblin’s car windows in order to lure him into the parking lot. Dodgson attacked him and stabbed him nine times. Herblin was a longtime executive sous chef at the Glencoe Golf and...
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Indigenous chiefs call for Alberta Premier Smith to stop stoking separatism talk
Two First Nations chiefs are accusing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith of “attempting to manufacture a national unity crisis” and are calling on her to stop stoking the fires of separatism. Smith’s government has proposed legislation that would make it easier for citizens to call for a referendum on seceding from Canada. Chief Sheldon Sunshine of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and Mikisew Cree Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro say in a letter that the premier is enabling a referendum on separation, and a “fanatical cell of individuals,” when Canadians need to unite against U.S. tariffs. Smith has said it would be up to Albertans, not her government, to put the separation question on a ballot and that she supports Alberta sovereignty within a united Canada. But the chiefs say even if Smith...
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Assembly of First Nations joins calls for Hudson’s Bay to return ceremonial items
By Brittany Hobson The Assembly of First Nations is joining calls for Hudson’s Bay to immediately halt the sale of artifacts and return any cultural, ceremonial and sacred items to the Indigenous communities that they belong to. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says some items may represent vital and genuine aspects of cultural heritage and identity. An Ontario judge has given Canada’s oldest retailer permission to move forward with an auction of the 4,400 artifacts and art pieces, along with the 355-year-old royal charter that launched the company. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs first requested a stop to any sale without proper consultation with First Nations. An advocacy group representing some northern First Nations in the province has also joined in, saying its communities were instrumental in the development of...
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Kashechewan calls for helicopters after airport access cut off by flooding
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KASHECHEWAN FIRST NATION – With floodwaters rising rapidly, Kashechewan First Nation is now conducting emergency helicopter evacuations after the community’s only road to its airport was submerged under water. In a post from Kashechewan First Nation Youth Advisory around 8 a.m. today (May 1), leadership confirmed that the airport road had been overtaken by floodwaters, a situation not seen since 2006. Community leaders are now calling for helicopters to airlift remaining residents, prioritizing families with children. “Just 30 minutes ago at 7:13 a.m., our airport road was compromised and has begun to flood, our flood coordinators in Kashechewan predict that the airport itself will begin to flood as well,” the statement reads. “The chief said in a live feed at roughly 7:40 a.m....
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Rapidly rising river has Fort Albany bracing for flooding
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com FORT ALBANY – As the Albany River continues to rise rapidly, residents of Fort Albany First Nation are preparing for the worst while hoping for the best. Martin Nakochee, a Fort Albany resident, Weeneebayko Area Health Authority employee, and First Nation councillor, lives along Riverside Road — about 50 to 60 feet from the riverbank. He said the water is rising at an alarming pace. “My wife was supposed to be going across — she works for Air Creebec — and not even five minutes later when I drove back, by the time we got to the bank there, it was already underwater,” Nakochee told TimminsToday. In case the river overflows, Nakochee has been taking precautions. He’s moved belongings from the basement, loaded...
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