‘Horrific loss’: Man guilty of killing five gets life sentence
By Carrie Ivardi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to read KENORA — Archie McKay has been sentenced to imprisonment for life. The Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug man was convicted last May on five counts of second-degree murder for setting the fire that killed his partner, Geraldine Chapman, their daughter, Shyra Chapman, and three children in Geraldine’s care, Angel McKay, Karl Cutfeet and Hailey Chapman. Justice J.S. Fregeau handed down the sentence in a Kenora courtroom on Monday. Fregeau imposed concurrent sentences for each of the five murders. McKay will serve 25 years of imprisonment before being eligible for parole. “He imposed the highest sentence possible in Canadian law on Archie,” said Assistant Crown Attorney James Cavanagh, who worked on this case with colleagues...
Register
Inquest to examine death of Ontario Indigenous woman following hospital visit
By Maan Alhmidi An inquest is set to begin next week to investigate the 2021 death of an Indigenous woman in St. Catharines, Ont., shortly after she was discharged from a hospital emergency room visit. Heather Winterstein was a 24-year-old member of the Cayuga Nation with ties to Six Nations of the Grand River. The Chiefs of Ontario organization said Winterstein went to the emergency department Marotta Family Hospital for a severe backache on Dec. 9, 2021, when she was given Tylenol and discharged. It said Winterstein returned the following day, collapsed in the waiting room and later died. The organization, which represents First Nations chiefs in the province, said no answers have been given to her friends or family. “Heather’s death is a tragic reminder of the systemic racism...
Register
Own-source revenues drive growth in Kahnwake
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door Even with a hefty decline in spending on capital projects, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) budget continues to climb, reaching a new all-time high of nearly $133.1 million in projected spending, with a modest surplus expected. “We’re very proud of putting this budget together and making sure we are funding as many things as we can and improving quality of life for Kahnawa’kehró:non through proper programs and services as well as through some, potentially, direct benefits coming out in the upcoming year,” said MCK economic development portfolio chief Paul Rice, who was flanked by executive financial officer Kyle Delisle at the unveiling of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year this week. The budget, which projects a $1.9 million...
Register
‘I couldn’t say no’: Indigenous artist becomes first to be featured by new project
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — An Indigenous artist from Fort Nelson has overcome barriers to be celebrated by the Northern Rockies Arts Council (NRAC). A member of Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN), Amber Lloyd is the first to be featured in NRAC’s ‘Artist Spotlight’, a new project. Highlighting a new local artist from the area each month, it is supported by the British Columbia Arts Council and Northern Development Initiative Trust. Each artist will have an article, featured video and podcast appearance through NRAC channels. Videography will be done by Ryan Dickie of Winter Hawk Studios, while the podcast is hosted by Devin Bellerose and the article is written by Esme Stephens. “[Project director] Francine Freeman reached out to me,” Lloyd told Energeticcity.ca....
Register
Orange ‘Every Child Matters’ shirts banned from Queen’s Park legislature
By Ricochet Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A northern Ontario MPP submitted a formal complaint to Queen’s Park’s house speaker on Thursday after security wouldn’t allow observers into the gallery wearing an “Every Child Matters” t-shirt, and in another case, a sewn patch of the Transgender pride flag. Thunder Bay-Superior North NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois sent speaker Donna Skelly a letter requesting clarity on whether the message arising from the discovery of First Nations child grave sites on the grounds of former residential schools should be interpreted as a political protest. “Every Child Matters is a statement that should not be discouraged, in fact, it is a powerful message of support for those missing and murdered Indigenous children,” Vaugeois wrote, citing similar messaging that is displayed in Queen’s Park’s public reception...
Register
Chiefs implored to ‘stand firm’ against nuclear waste project
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com AROLAND — First Nations need to oppose a nuclear-waste disposal plan together, Aroland First Nation’s chief told fellow chiefs this week. “I think what we need to do as Nishnawbe Aski Nation is to stand firm,” Chief Sonny Gagnon said Wednesday at the NAN Spring Chiefs Assembly in Toronto. “We have quite the battle that is before us.” He added that the 49 member First Nations of NAN, a political organization for Treaty 5 and Treaty 9 communities across northern Ontario, “need to work collectively.” The ramifications of a nuclear waste repository operating in Northwestern Ontario and nuclear waste being trucked to the site are “a lot worse than what (mining in) the Ring of Fire is going to be doing,” he...
Register
Indigenous services minister questioned about fire that killed toddler
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations chiefs from northern Ontario demanded answers Thursday from Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty after they linked the death of a three-year-old boy to a lack of federal funding for fire services in their communities. On Monday, a house fire in a northwestern Ontario community took the life of Chief Donny Morris’s three-year-old grandson and left two others with serious injuries. The Independent First Nations Alliance, a group of five First Nations that includes Morris’s own community of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, filed a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint in August 2025 alleging Indigenous Services Canada was systemically discriminating against their communities by underfunding on-reserve fire services. Chief Carla Duncan of Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation — a member community of that alliance — told Gull-Masty during a...
Register
Ontario delays path to balance, pumps billions into research and innovation in budget
By Allison Jones and Liam Casey Ontario is delaying a path to balance once more, as one of several shock absorbers meant to ease the province down a potentially bumpy economic road ahead, though it is currently faring better than previously feared in the face of U.S. tariffs. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is for the third year in a row delaying a surplus, now projecting black ink in 2028-29, with an expectation of closing out this fiscal year $12.3 billion in the hole and worsening to $13.8 billion next year. That nearly $14-billion deficit is a significant jump from the $7.8-billion deficit the 2025 budget eyed for this upcoming year, as Ontario bets big on infrastructure, research and innovation funds, high-growth industries and cutting costs for small business. “I’d prefer...
Register
Carney takes victory lap after meeting NATO target: ‘We’re just getting started’ Slugline: Cda-NATO
By Kyle Duggan For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Canada is spending roughly two per cent of its GDP on national defence — a key NATO alliance benchmark Ottawa previously failed to meet. NATO’s annual report, released Thursday, contains estimates stating Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government met the key spending benchmark for 2025 by shelling out just over $63 billion. Canada has come under heavy pressure in recent years from its allies — and especially from the U.S. — to dramatically ramp up its military spending. “For the last 10 months, Canada’s new government has been working with unprecedented speed and scale,” Carney told a press conference in Halifax on Thursday. “We’re just getting started.” Carney said his party ran for office “recognizing the world...
Register
Alberta’s NDP warns of gerrymandering as new boundary map recommendations released
By Jack Farrell Conflicting recommendations on redrawing Alberta’s electoral boundaries ahead of the 2027 election are leading the Opposition NDP to warn that Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives are trying to gerrymander electoral districts to increase the voting power of its bedrock support in rural areas. The majority opinion in the Electoral Boundaries Commission’s final report, released Thursday, recommends Edmonton gain one new seat in the legislature while Calgary gains two, with the additions coming largely at the expense of less populated rural areas in central and west Alberta. The minority opinion, put forward by the two UCP-appointed members, similarly recommends more seats in Edmonton and Calgary, though it suggests creating more than a dozen new hybrid ridings to bring rural and urban voters together. It also doesn’t eliminate any...
Register
Carney takes victory lap after meeting NATO target: ‘We’re just getting started’
By Kyle Duggan For the first time since the end of the Cold War, Canada is spending roughly two per cent of its GDP on national defence — a key NATO alliance benchmark Ottawa previously failed to meet. NATO’s annual report, released Thursday, contains estimates stating Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government met the key spending benchmark for 2025 by shelling out just over $63 billion. Canada has come under heavy pressure in recent years from its allies — and especially from the U.S. — to dramatically ramp up its military spending. “For the last ten months, Canada’s new government has been working with unprecedented speed and scale,” Carney told a press conference in Halifax on Thursday. “We’re just getting started.” Carney said his party ran for office “recognizing the world...
Register
Six Nations cannabis entrepreneur wants to see Indigenous market do more
By Sam Laskaris Writer LAS VEGAS, USA -Whenever Isaiah Kicknosway gets a chance to educate others about cannabis he jumps at the opportunity. That’s why Kicknosway, a Six Nations resident, travelled to Las Vegas this week to participate in the Resolution Economic Summit. The four-day event, which concludes on Thursday, is the largest Native American economic development summit in North America. It is held annually in Las Vegas. This year’s event attracted more than 5,000 delegates from across the United States and Canada. Kicknosway was one of the speakers of a Wednesday session titled Growing an International Cannabis Brand. He is the vice-president of Kemosabi, a local cannabis company and licensed cultivation and manufacturing operator under the Six Nations Cannabis Commission. Kicknosway has been Kemosabi’s vice-president since the company’s inception...
Register
Siksika Off-Reserve Affordable Housing to take part in Calgary housing project
By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times Siksika Off-Reserve Affordable Housing (SORAH) is among several First Nations organizations set to benefit from the City of Calgary’s Indigenous Housing Program. The city has awarded $33 million to 16 Indigenous nations and Indigenous-led non-profit organizations, which, overall will create up to 379 new non-market homes. “SORAH, through a process called the non-market land sale, will be developing a parcel in the southeast area of Calgary right beside the Erin Woods twin arena. That will see the development of 30 stacked townhomes,” said Max Lloyd, general manager of SORAH. “It will be 60 total, so 30 upper, and 30 lower (units) and a small welcome centre on the property as well.” The total $33 million dedicated to the program is being...
Register
Indigenous services minister to announce $738M for health, emergency management
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty is expected to announce today a $738.9-million funding package for First Nations health care, governance and emergency management. A draft news release shared with The Canadian Press says Gull-Masty is earmarking $55.6 million to build up community preparedness and emergency management co-ordination, which is not directly related to fire management but could help with operations such as wildfire support. The news comes as her department is under increased pressure from First Nations leaders in northern Ontario who say her department is underfunding on-reserve fire services, resulting in unnecessary deaths. On Monday, a house fire in a northwestern Ontario community took the life of Chief Donny Morris’s three-year-old grandson and left two others with serious injuries. The Independent First Nations Alliance, a group...
Register
First Nations Child and Family Services Settlement Agreement hits first year
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The First Nations Child and Family Services Settlement Agreement has reached its one-year anniversary, with claims accepted from across the country. Louise Mayo, First Nations Child and Family Services liaison officer in Kahnawake, has spent the past year informing residents about the settlement. As an independent contractor, she visits the community to ensure that eligible individuals know they can apply. “Our goal is to try to get as much as 100 percent coverage as possible so that by the year 2028, everyone in the community is aware of this settlement agreement and has the choice to apply or not,” Mayo said. Two claim categories are currently open. The first is for individuals who were children removed from their homes by an organization...
Register
The crisis of youth aging out of care is why Canada needs a children and youth commissioner
By Jacquie Gahagan, Dale Kirby, Mary Rita Holland, and Melanie M. Doucet Youth in Canada’s child welfare system need stronger government leadership to improve educational outcomes. Fewer than half of youth who have spent time in foster care — known as care-experienced youth — complete high school and even fewer attend or complete post-secondary education. These educational gaps can have lasting consequences for the life chances of care-experienced youth, including higher rates of unemployment, poverty, homelessness, criminalization and other longstanding disparities. Education falls under the provincial and territorial jurisdiction. However, the absence of strong federal oversight — including the lack of a co-ordinated national data collection and reporting process — contributes to the current patchwork of data that exists. As a result, we lack a clear understanding of which publicly...
Register
Procurement ombud slams Indigenous procurement strategy outcomes in ‘shocking’ report
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Canada and other departments are failing to uphold their own Indigenous procurement strategy and may be allowing contractors to use shell companies to access contracts reserved for Indigenous businesses, says the federal procurement ombudsman. In a scathing new report released Thursday, Alexander Jeglic says Indigenous Services Canada failed to provide timely answers to procurement officers’ questions in some cases and allowed some contracts to go out to companies not listed in the Indigenous Business Directory. The report also cites a lack of oversight on contracts to ensure 33 per cent of the value of the work is done by an Indigenous contractor. “Non-Indigenous businesses may use Indigenous businesses as shell companies — entities that meet the minimum ownership requirement on paper but do not actually...
Register
ROPE Squad Locates Federal Offender
Kingston, ON – The Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (R.O.P.E.) Squad would like to advise the public that a Federal Offender who went unlawfully at large on March 2, 2026, has been apprehended in Kingston, ON. Wesley Hall was located and arrested by the ROPE Squad with the assistance of the Kingston Police Service. Hall is serving a 2-year sentence for; Possession of Weapons for Dangerous Purpose Utter Threats to Cause Death Theft Under $5000 (x3) Public Mischief Fail to Comply with Order – At Large (X2) The Provincial R.O.P.E. Squad would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in this investigation. ...
Register
Ottawa’s response to crisis won’t save Atlantic salmon, warn FirstNations
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner An Indigenous people whose history and culture are woven with wild Atlantic salmon is criticizing Ottawa for doing more to save Pacific salmon than their own east coast variety. The North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council has slammed the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO, for recently announcing only $1.2 million for four projects to help recover wild Atlantic salmon. By comparison, the feds dedicated $647 million over five years to the Pacific salmon strategy initiative in 2021. The Mi’kmaq group, along with other conservation partners, presented a robust recovery plan to the federal fisheries minister in April of last year that called for $38 million in spending over five years. “Atlantic salmon in the Miramichi watershed are in...
Register
Nunavut Inuit association establishes chair of Circumpolar Council in Canada
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI) is spending $100,000 to establish the role of chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Canada, the organization announced on March 25. The position will be held by an Inuk from Canada and chosen following NTI’s general assembly in Iqaluit in July. “Hosting the Office of the Chair in Canada presents a significant leadership opportunity for Canadian Inuit during a period of major global and Arctic policy shifts,” said NTI acting vice-president Adamee Itorcheak. The decision was made following a board of directors meeting in Nuuk, Greenland. The board also approved an increase to the harvesters’ support program and passed an expansion of pension benefits. The budget for the Nunavut Harvesters Support Program is increasing by...
Register
