No Child Left Behind – Customary adoptions now possible in Cree communities
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation Long before European contact, customary adoption was common among the Cree and other Indigenous people. It traditionally involved placing a child with another family for survival purposes when the parents were for some reason unable to properly care for them. After lobbying by Cree authorities since the early 1980s to legally recognize this practice, Quebec began consulting with Indigenous groups in the early 2000s when it was reviewing its own adoption laws. With Bill 113 passed in 2017, the province’s Indigenous Nations now have the ability to create their own unique systems that oversee and document this process. As the provincially designated “competent authority” in Eeyou Istchee, the Cree Nation Government is working with communities to establish local committees and reaching...
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Ontario ditches Starlink deal, leaving remote communities with few alternatives
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Ontario government killed its $100-million deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink, leaving rural and remote communities in northern Ontario in the dark about their future internet access. The decision, part of a broader political strategy by Ontario Premier Doug Ford in response to American tariffs, alarms those who rely on Starlink for critical services like healthcare, business operations and emergency services. The now-cancelled Ontario Satellite Internet program, launched in November, was supposed to bring high-speed internet to 15,000 eligible homes and businesses in northern Ontario using Starlink’s low-Earth orbit satellite technology starting in June 2025. The provincial government offered to cover equipment and installation costs for eligible customers, with residential plans for $140 per month and business plans for $185. It was part...
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Dow drops 950, and Wall Street flirts with its worst day in years on worries about the economy
By Stan Choe NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market’s sell-offis cutting deeper Monday, and it’s flirting with its worst day in years as Wall Street questions how much pain President Donald Trump will let the economy endure through tariffs and other policies in order to get what he wants. The S&P 500 was down 3% in late trading, which would be its sharpest drop since the highest inflation in generations was shredding budgets in 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 956 points, or 2.2%, with a little more than a half-hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.3% lower. The main measure of the U.S. stock market is on track for a seventh swing of more than 1%, up or down, in the last...
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Tribes and Native American students sue over Bureau of Indian Education firings
By Graham Lee Brewer NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Three tribal nations and five Native American students say in a lawsuit that the Trump administration has failed its legal obligations to tribes when it cut jobs at Bureau of Indian Education schools. Firings at two colleges as part of the administration’s cuts to federal agencies, with the help of Elon Musk, have left students and staff with unsafe conditions, canceled classes, and delayed financial aid, according to the lawsuit Friday. Lawyers at the Native American Rights Fund filed the suit in federal court in the nation’s capital against the heads of the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education Programs on behalf of the Pueblo of Isleta, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Cheyenne...
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Indigenous housing funds hinge on forming agency
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal About $2.5 billion remaining in budgeted federal funds for Indigenous housing projects is expected to eventually flow, but not until a new agency for allocating those funds is in operation, Canada Mortgage and House Corp. (CMHC) said this week. A CMHC spokesman said that in 2024, CMHC began accepting proposals from Indigenous proponents to establish the new National Indigenous Housing Centre, which has yet to be announced. “CMHC is in the process of negotiating a service agreement as part of this request for proposals,” the spokesman said in an email. On Thursday, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association’s Indigenous caucus said they were concerned about the delay in having the funds allocated. Lingering issues that particularly impact Indigenous people — including...
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Timeline of 4 women slain in Winnipeg, demands to search landfill for remains
-CP-The RCMP said Friday that remains found at a landfill north of Winnipeg have been identified as belonging to Morgan Harris, one of two slain First Nations women who search teams have been looking for at the site since December. The women and two others were the victims of a serial killer in Winnipeg. Here is a timeline of the case: March 15, 2022 — Police say an unidentified woman is killed on or around this date. May 1, 2022 — Morgan Harris, a member of Long Plain First Nation living in Winnipeg, is last seen in the area of Main Street and Henry Avenue north of the city’s downtown. Police say the 39-year-old was killed on or around this date. May 4, 2022 — Police say Marcedes Myran, 26,...
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Remains found in Manitoba landfill confirmed to be murder victim Morgan Harris
-CP-Remains found during a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill have been identified as belonging to the victim of a serial killer, RCMP announced Friday. A statement from the Manitoba government said the family of 39-year-old Morgan Harris was notified of the finding. “We found my mother,” Cambria Harris posted online after the announcement. “Please keep our families in your hearts tonight and every day going forward as we trust this process.” Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said last week that possible remains had been found during a search of the Prairie Green landfill and that tests were being done to identify them. “Morgan Harris we honour you,” Kinew said on X after Friday’s announcement. The government statement said another set of remains was part of the recovery, and more information would...
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Indigenous people ‘feel the brunt’ of trade war as ‘B.C.’ presents 2025 budget
By Spencer Sacht Lund, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Amidst a looming trade war, the “B.C.” government presented its latest budget earlier this week — focused on safeguarding the provincial economy against American tariffs. But Indigenous leaders warned they are being excluded from measures to defend the province from the international threat, particularly when it comes to resource development plans. “Any time that people are hurting through the economy, it’s really Indigenous people that feel the brunt,” Patrick Harriott, treasurer of the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC), told IndigiNews in an interview. Premier David Eby opened a 2025 budget presentation on lək̓ʷəŋən territories this week flanked by graphics emblazoned with “Buy B.C.” and “Buy Canadian.” His speech decried the Trump tariffs as well as the withdrawal of American military support...
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Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing
By Matt Sedensky NEW YORK (AP) — Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing. The country’s bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of cost-cutting measures directed by President Donald Trump and carried out by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste. “I’ve been treated as a public enemy by the government and now it’s bleeding into my own family,” says 24-year-old Luke Tobin, who was fired last month from his job as a...
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Canada Day shooter Gallagher receives seven-year sentence
By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The man convicted of possessing and firing a handgun on a crowded beach at Osoyoos Lake during Canada Day celebrations in 2022 and seriously injuring a young man was sentenced to seven years in a federal penitentiary consecutive to a four-year sentence he’s already serving on other gun-related convictions. Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick found Steven Gallagher, 32, guilty following a two-week trial last fall at the Penticton Courthouse of one count of aggravated assault, one count of pointing a firearm and one count or recklessly discharging a firearm. Crown attorney Nashina Devji had asked the court to impose a sentence of nine to 10 years against Gallagher during a sentencing hearing, while defence counsel David Hopkins had asked the court to impose a sentence...
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B.C. shipyard awarded $3.15 billion government contract to build icebreaker
A British Columbia company has been given a $3.15 billion contract to build one of two icebreaker ships for the Canadian Coast Guard. Public Services and Procurement Canada says in a statement that Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards, located in North Vancouver, B.C., will be building one of the future polar icebreakers as part of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. The federal government says the larger and more powerful ships will ensure coast guard operations continue at higher latitudes for longer periods, while allowing its fleet to better support Indigenous people, strengthen Arctic security, advance science, and better respond to maritime emergencies. Seaspan Shipyards CEO John McCarthy says in the statement that construction of the ship begins next month The other polar icebreaker is being built by Quebec-based Chantier Davie Canada Inc. Minister...
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Ejected MLA says Opposition Leader Rustad selling B.C. to ‘elite racial minority’
By Marcy Nicholson The B.C. Conservatives’ former attorney general critic has lashed out at leader John Rustad, suggesting he and Premier David Eby are beholden to “an elite racial minority” after she was ejected from the Opposition caucus in a row over residential schools. Dallas Brodie was dumped by Rustad on Friday, the day after a showdown in the Conservative caucus room in which Rustad said Brodie challenged colleagues to fire her and asked for a vote on her removal before walking out. “The truth is a threat to powerful vested interests in the multi-billion-dollar reconciliation industry,” Brodie said in a statement later on Friday. “Politicians like David Eby and John Rustad are willing to sell off British Columbia’s wealth and power, transferring it from the public to an elite...
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‘I’m an addict’: Councillor facing suit over alleged $300k credit card charges breaks silence
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — A Northern Rockies Regional Municipality councillor accused of making “improper charges” of more than $300,000 on a First Nation’s credit card has spoken about her struggle with a gambling addiction. The Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw Nation (GNN) near Port Hardy has filed a suit with the Supreme Court of British Columbia for damages against its former band administrator Leslie Dickie. GNN has accused Dickie of using making “improper charges” totaling more than $328,000 on the band’s corporate credit card between June 2019 and February 2022, alleging the amount owed sometimes exceeded the account’s $15,000 limit. It also alleges Dickie used funds from GNN’s general bank account to pay off the bills, as well as $6,000 of her own funds. The civil...
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Tribes, Native American students file lawsuit over Bureau of Indian Education firings
By Graham Lee Brewer NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Three tribal nations and five Native American students filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration, accusing it of failing its legal obligations to tribes when it cut jobs at Bureau of Indian Education schools last month. Firings at two colleges as part of the administration’s cuts to federal agencies, with the help of Elon Musk, have left students and staff with unsafe conditions, cancelled classes, and delayed financial aid, according to the lawsuit. Lawyers at the Native American Rights Fund filed the suit against the heads of the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education Programs on behalf of the Pueblo of Isleta, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. The...
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Musqueam, Ottawa initial self-government agreement
-CP-The federal Crown-Indigenous relations minister and the chief of the Musqueam Indian Band have initialled an agreement they say brings the band one step closer to self-governance. Minister Gary Anandasangaree told a ceremony on Friday afternoon that initialling the Musqueam self-government agreement is a “significant milestone” and a “powerful step” toward self-determination. He says once the agreement is in effect, it will revitalize the Musqueam Nation’s inherent right to self-government and restore the community’s ability to create laws, programs, services and develop economic opportunities on the nation’s own terms. Chief Wayne Sparrow says being self-sufficient and looking after the community’s affairs has always been their vision. Musqueam has a population of more than 1,400 people with more than 50 per cent living on reserve. A joint statement says the next...
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NORAD exercises begin this week in Iqaluit
By Kira Wronska Dorward, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News If you see some extra action happening around Iqaluit in the coming days, there’s a good reason for that. North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) announced on March 4 that an “increased military presence” would be seen at its forward operating location (FOL) around the city’s airport starting on that day. That was followed by a joint release from the GN and Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated (NTI) on the same issue. FOLs are used to support NORAD and Canadian NORAD Region (CANR) missions, operations and exercises. What it means is that there will be increased deployments of aircraft and personnel to FOLs, which are required to ensure the logistical maintenance of facilities as well as maintaining and enhancing the expertise of personnel...
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Trudeau says that ‘Canada is not a given’ in farewell speech amid Trump threats
By David Baxter Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that freedom, democracy and Canada “are not a given” in his farewell speech to Liberals just before former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney was announced as the new Liberal leader. This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens Canada with economic annexation and places tariffs on Canadian imports coming into the United States. “This is a nation-defining moment. Democracy is not a given. Freedom, it’s not a given. Canada is not a given. None of those happen by accident. None of them will continue without effort,” Trudeau said. “It takes courage, it takes sacrifice, it takes hope and hard work.” In his near decade-long tenure as prime minister, Trudeau ushered the country through a global pandemic, renegotiation with the U.S. of...
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Squamish Nation receives nearly $9.5 million in federal funding for housing
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News The Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) is ramping up housing for its members thanks to recent federal funding. Squamish Nation is receiving $9.45 million from the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), part of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The funding will help bring more than 130 new homes to the Xwmélch’sten (Capilano), Ch’ich’élx̱wí7ḵw (Seymour) and St’á7mes (Squamish) reserves within three years. Funding will also help with designing new subdivisions to support higher-density housing like duplexes and multi-family apartments; infrastructure plans like sidewalks, bike lanes and energy systems; and help create faster housing approvals. Elected councillor for the Squamish Nation Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams) says the newly received funding will help remove barriers. “It’s housing at the top of the...
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Rebate from Mohawk Online funds water in Kahnawake
By Eve Cable, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) has announced a one-time rebate for the annual $59 water fee, which is in part due to funds “repatriated” as a result of Mohawk Online’s partnership with Entain coming to an end last year. “We’re trying to give financial relief to our community members, and this is a very small gesture but it’s something, after all,” said MCK chief Ryan Montour. An MCK press release from Monday morning quoted MCK grand chief Cody Diabo as saying that the rebate is “thanks to income that was generated through the sale of Mohawk Online,” though Montour clarified that Mohawk Online was not in fact sold when it ended its partnership with Entain. “It definitely wasn’t sold, it was probably...
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Possible cougar sighting caught on video
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun A suspected cougar sighting has been viewed by thousands of Westman residents after an animal was recorded walking through a Waywayseecappo field in broad daylight on Wednesday. Danielle Shingoose of Waywayseecappo First Nation told the Sun she caught the video, which was taken at 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday. A large four-legged animal with a long tail is seen walking in a field before it enters a forested area, at maximum distance as her camera can zoom. “I was just about to take out the trash and I looked out the window and saw something moving in the field,” said Shingoose. “It looked like a big cat, so I took my phone out and started recording.” Shingoose zoomed her camera through her...
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