5th annual Truth and Reconciliation Day marked by events in Ottawa, Toronto
By Alessia Passafiume Today is the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a day where Canadians reflect on the legacy of residential schools and remember the survivors and those who never made it home. The residential school era refers to a period between 1857 and 1996 where 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools where they were barred from speaking their languages in institutions often rife with abuse located far away from their families and communities. An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although experts say the actual number could be much higher. Sept. 30, known as Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is meant to honour survivors and those who never came home. In Ottawa, Prime Minister...
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B.C. First Nations want meeting with Carney about salmon, need for open-net farm ban
By Ashley Joannou First Nations in British Columbia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting and reviving wild salmon. Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, which includes more than 120 First Nations, says the federal government should create a First Nation-led plan to protect the wild fish, similar to the joint land use plan for governing the Great Bear Rainforest. Chamberlin says he’s nervous the federal government might not follow through on its promise to ban open-net salmon farms by 2029, after initially rolling back plans for the ban to be in place by 2025. He says working with First Nations to protect salmon would allow the government to implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the need...
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Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says major projects push can coexist with reconciliation
By Alessia Passafiume Reconciliation has not returned to the back burner as Canada pushes forward to develop major projects, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said in an interview just ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Simon told The Canadian Press she sees a firm commitment to ensure Indigenous Peoples are involved as the major projects process evolves. “We need an economy for Indigenous Peoples as well,” Simon said. “You can’t thrive — and survive — without an economic base.” The major projects legislation that passed in June received widespread condemnation from Indigenous leaders who feared it wouldn’t respect their rights to free, prior and informed consent. The bill allows the federal government to sidestep existing laws and select projects to fast track for development with cabinet approval. No...
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Man charged after Brantford Police seize $40,000 in psilocybin
BRANTFORD, ONT-A city man is facing drug trafficking charges after police seized illegal psilocybin or “magic mushrooms’ at a store that had already been shut down twice. Brantford Police Service Drug and Firearm Enforcement Unit members seized over $44,000 in illegal psilocybin and arrested a 36-year-old city man for trafficking after executing a search warrant at an illegal retail psilocybin storefront in Brantford. On Saturday, September 16, 2025, the Brantford Police Service Drug and Firearm Enforcement Unit and the BPS Core Engagement and Response Team launched then investigation into an illegal psilocybin store which had re-opened at a Murray Street location. BPS said the “illegal retail business” had been been shut down by police on two other occasions. On Friday, September 26, 2025, members of the Core Engagement and Response...
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Brantford Police warning check your credit cards after fraud scheme
BRANTFORD, ONT- Local reports of multiple fraudulent charges on a resident’s credit card has the Brantford Police Service (BPS) issuing a warning to be vigilant against fraud . BPS said a local resident was alerted to multiple fraudulent charges after she receiving a series of deceptive emails that appeared designed to distract her from a legitimate fraud notification. The card was later confirmed to have been used in another province to purchase a carton of milk, a video game console, and a laptop. Fraudsters often use small purchases to test whether a stolen credit card is active before moving on to larger transactions. In this case, the emails sent to the victim were intended to mask the real financial alerts, making the fraud harder to detect. The Brantford Police Service...
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Health Canada’s struggles with procurement an ‘old story’ for Indigenous leaders
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Internal federal documents reveal that Health Canada is seeking exemptions from the federal government’s mandatory 5 per cent Indigenous procurement target, citing Indigenous capacity gap in scientific and mental health services. Since 2021, federal departments have been obligated to award at least 5 per cent of their annual contracts to Indigenous businesses to support economic reconciliation. While Health Canada met the federal target this year, internal briefing notes obtained by Canada’s National Observer through the federal Access to Information Act reveal the department is facing supplier shortages in certain specialized areas. As a result, the department has asked for exemptions for 2025-26 that would exclude about $20 million in lab equipment, $21 million in mental health services and $8 million...
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U.S. outdoor school modifies coastal B.C. camping application following outcry
By Brenna Owen An American outdoor leadership school says it is removing campsites along the west coast of Vancouver Island from its application to renew and expand its licence to run sea kayaking courses along British Columbia’s coast next year. The move by the National Outdoor Leadership School follows an outcry by some residents and First Nations leaders, citing concerns about consultation as well as Canadian sovereignty amid political and economic threats from south of the border. The initial application for access to 77 campsites relates to a sea kayaking expedition the non-profit group is planning, which would span the entire B.C. coast between May and August next year, starting in Washington and ending in Alaska. The group says it has been operating along B.C.’s coast since 1995 and a...
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Indigenous health authority will monitor upcoming blastomycosis coroner’s inquest
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT — First Nations health authorities in Northwestern Ontario say they will be keeping an eye on a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of multiple people in a northeastern Ontario First Nation who died from the same fungal infection. The north region’s coroner’s office has announced an inquest into the deaths of five Constance Lake First Nation residents from blastomycosis between Nov. 19, 2021, and Jan. 23, 2022. They were Luke Moore, 43, Lorraine Shaganash, 47, Lizzie Sutherland, 56, Mark Ferris, 67, and Douglas Taylor, 60. A media release from the coroner’s office said they all died in hospital on different dates during an outbreak in the First Nation near Hearst. Blastomycosis is caused by inhaling spores from the Blastomyces fungus,...
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4 dead after flooding in Arizona, including in historic mining town
GLOBE, Ariz. (AP) — Four people died after heavy rain caused flooding in Arizona, including three in a rural 19th-century mining town where floodwaters on Friday forced people to seek safety on rooftops and washed out a propane distributorship, scattering about 1,000 tanks downtown. About 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) of rain fell in Globe, a city of about 7,250 people about 88 miles (142 kilometers) east of Phoenix, over 24 hours and another storm moved in Saturday, temporarily halting the search for people possibly missing in the flood because of high-flowing creeks. Streets flooded in the nearby mining town of Miami on Saturday, but no injuries were reported, Carl Melford, emergency manager in Gila County, said. Meanwhile, about 20 tourists stranded in parts of the Havasupai Reservation, including at scenic...
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Audit of Saskatchewan First Nations group questions millions of dollars in spending
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations chiefs in Saskatchewan say they want answers after a forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations concluded more than $34 million of the organization’s spending between April 2019 and March 2024 was “questionable,” unsupported or ineligible. “The FSIN has a long-standing history that has been there to advocate for treaty and inherent rights for our First Nations people across Saskatchewan, and the only way we can get that back is by being honest,” Chief Marc Arcand of the Saskatoon Tribal Council told a media conference in Saskatchewan. “To the chief and to the vice chiefs, start taking some responsibility. Start being honest with your people. Start talking to your people, whether you did something right or something wrong.” The forensic audit, conducted by...
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B.C. Premier David Eby announces new involuntary care beds, North Coast power line
By Wolfgang Depner Premier David Eby came prepared with announcements as he spoke to leaders of British Columbia’s local governments, promising more involuntary care facilities for those with severe mental illness and addictions, and to bring in legislation to build the North Coast power line. Eby told delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Friday that the new care facilities in Surrey and Prince George will add about 100 more beds as part of a broader push to control crime. “We feel a huge urgency around the need for this kind of care for people, to expand beds, both in the North and Lower Mainland, on (Vancouver Island) and in the Interior,” he told reporters after the speech. “We’re going to ensure that we’re opening beds everywhere across...
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Man suing estate of Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau denies estate’s claims
By Brieanna Charlebois A British Columbia man who is suing the estate of acclaimed Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau alleging he was sexually assaulted by the painter disputes claims made by the estate in response to the lawsuit. Mark Anthony Jacobson is seeking $5 million from the estate in general, aggravated and punitive damages, and damages for economic loss, claiming Morrisseau reached into his pants and touched him on the buttocks after Morrisseau’s assistant suggested he could heal Jacobson’s back pain. In response to lawsuit, the estate said Morrisseau “was in no position to be physically or socially aggressive” at the time of the alleged 2006 assault, that he “had no libido,” was held upright in a wheelchair by straps, and was in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease before dying...
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Issues remain in Quebec health system, 5 years after Joyce Echaquan’s death: advocate
By Katrine Desautels Five years after Joyce Echaquan died tragically in a Quebec hospital room, there is still work to be done to improve the treatment of Indigenous people in the province’s health system, politicians and advocates say. Echaquan, a 37-year-old mother of seven from Manawan, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory and racist comments toward her while she suffered at a hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal, just before her death on Sept. 28, 2020. The video of her treatment went viral and drew outrage and condemnation across the country. The Quebec minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit acknowledges there is more to do to restore confidence in the health system for Indigenous people, while also...
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MFNPS leaving residential school behind
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun The Manitoba First Nations Police Service is undergoing a symbolic change this year at the time of Truth and Reconciliation Day. The police service is preparing to move out of a former residential school, at 5000 Crescent Rd. near Portage la Prairie. The Indigenous-focused police service is moving into a newly constructed, urban build in Brandon at the Waywayseecappo Conference Centre. The move may be timely and symbolic, but changes run deeper than a relocation. The MFNPS is having better dialogue with governments, which are providing more funding, MFNPS Chief Jason Colon said in an interview this week. “They have been working with us at a rate we haven’t seen,” said Colon from the construction site of the new headquarters. “We’re...
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Métis heritage celebrated at Fort Frances museum
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source FORT FRANCES – Learning and practicing art helps people connect with communities, Emily Hyatt told Newswatch before leading a session in Métis dot art. “It connects youth and elders to their culture,” the Northwestern Métis Child and Family Services prevention worker said Monday at the Fort Frances Museum and Cultural Centre. “Sometimes they don’t know their culture, and this gives them a chance to connect with it and build those relations with community members and find the outlet for them that is good and beneficial for their family and wellness and healing.” In fact, she said, it’s important for everyone because “it’s important that people learn there are different cultures. So whether you’re Métis or not, I think it’s important...
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‘Stand with us’: Indigenous artists tapped by big companies for Orange Shirt Day
By Brittany Hobson Jenny Kay Dupuis was recently in a Winners store, when a senior asked for help finding certain sizes of an orange shirt on display. The older woman was on her way to visit her grandchildren in the United States and wanted to bring them each the artistic shirt with “Every Child Matters,” the phrase synonymous with Orange Shirt Day. She explained that she wanted to share with the kids the meaning of the shirt and the movement to recognize and honour residential school survivors and those who never made it home. The woman didn’t know she was speaking with the Anishinaabe artist who designed the shirt hanging on the rack. “When I think of what that lady was doing in passing on that story to her grandchildren...
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Hudson’s Bay headed to court to push for royal charter to be auctioned off next month
By Tara Deschamps Hudson’s Bay is expected to appear at an Ontario court today to push for its royal charter to hit the auction block next month. The extinct retailer wants permission for its financial adviser to run a sales process for the document, which established the Bay in 1670. If it gets the go-ahead, bidders will have to place an offer by Oct. 3, ahead of an auction that will be scheduled for Oct. 15. Anyone interested in the charter will have to bid at least $15 million and agree to permanently donate it to a Canadian public institution or museum, which will have to share it with similar organizations and Indigenous groups. After the Bay filed for creditor protection in March, it began planning for an auction until...
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Gov. Gen. Simon ‘deeply committed’ to French training as criticism continues
By Sarah Ritchie Gov. Gen. Mary Simon has taken 324 hours of French classes since she was appointed to the viceregal office in 2021, at a cost of more than $52,000. The updated numbers were provided by her office in response to questions from the Bloc Québécois. Simon has promised to learn French since her appointment and her office says she’s “deeply committed” to continuing the lessons and continues to practise. The Bloc says her training to date, which works out to an average of less than two hours of classes per week, is not enough to really learn a language. Simon was criticized during an official visit to Quebec last fall because she was not able to hold a conversation in French. Simon, who was born in the Nunavik...
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Audit of Saskatchewan First Nations group questions millions of dollars in spending
By Alessia Passafiume A forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations says more than $34 million of the organization’s spending between April 2019 and March 2024 was “questionable,” unsupported or ineligible. The forensic audit, conducted by KPMG for the federal government, examined federal funds provided by Indigenous Services Canada to the organization, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The department said last March the audit would review more than $141 million in funding provided since April 2019. The audit found that $25 million of the $30 million the organization received for COVID-19-related funding was spent in a way that was “questionable.” It also said KPMG couldn’t determine if any of the personal protective equipment purchased with the money was distributed to the communities FSIN represents. The audit...
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Audit of Saskatchewan First Nations group questions millions of dollars in spending
By Alessia Passafiume A forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations says more than $34 million of the organization’s spending between April 2019 and March 2024 was “questionable,” unsupported or ineligible. The forensic audit, conducted by KPMG for the federal government, examined federal funds provided by Indigenous Services Canada to the organization, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The department said last March the audit would review more than $141 million in funding provided since April 2019. The audit found that $25 million of the $30 million the organization received for COVID-19-related funding was spent in a way that was “questionable.” It also said KPMG couldn’t determine if any of the personal protective equipment purchased with the money was distributed to the communities FSIN represents. The audit...
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