RCMP cannabis raids won’t ‘hamper’ N.B. First Nations pot sale discussions: minister
By Eli Ridder New Brunswick’s Indigenous Affairs minister says he isn’t worried a recent series of raids by the RCMP in three different provinces will derail his negotiations with First Nations to improve controls over the sale of cannabis products. The April 26 raids targeted what the RCMP described as a transnational organized crime network in Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It included a police search of an unlicensed warehouse in New Brunswick. But the New Brunswick minister, Keith Chiasson — who had toured the warehouse in March, a few weeks before it was searched — said the provincial government has been negotiating with First Nations about cannabis sales for six months, and expects those talks to continue. “This is not going to hamper any discussions between the provincial...
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‘It’s not a done deal’: Community nearest nuclear waste site to hire lawyer
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com MELGUND — “Its nice to be recognized finally, because we haven’t been up until now.” Pat Daignault is chair of the Melgund Local Services Board, the highest elected official for the unorganized community just 12 kilometres from the proposed location of a deep-geological repository for high-level nuclear waste. The tiny community of only 49 permanent residents is closer to the Revell Lake site than host communities Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Objbwe Nation, although the site is within the traditional territories of both Wabigoon and Eagle Lake First Nation. On April 22, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) held an open house and presentation in Dyment, a small settlement within Melgund. “The decision on whether the...
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Smith sees progress on pipeline deal with Ottawa after Carney meeting
By David Baxter Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday she was feeling far more confident about the prospects for a new pipeline following a meeting in Ottawa with Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier in the day. “This morning I said ‘if’ a deal gets signed, and afterwards I said ‘when’ a deal gets signed. So that is an indication of my improved level of confidence after talking through some of the areas that we found that were of disagreement,” Smith told reporters in Ottawa a few hours after her discussion with the prime minister. Smith said this progress comes at a crucial time — as activists in her province push for a referendum on separation — and it could demonstrate to Albertans that “Canada can work.” Organizers behind a petition...
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Tsawwassen First Nation’s treaty generation comes of age
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist For the first time in modern history, a generation of Tsawwassen members is entering adulthood having never known life under the Indian Act. Effective April 3, 2009, the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) set a precedent Final Agreement. The Treaty is a tri-partite agreement between Canada, B.C., and the TFN. To this new generation, having their own government, their own land-use laws, and their own services isn’t a “political victory”—it’s just Tuesday. The Evolution to Governance version 2.0 “Seventeen years into self-government, Tsawwassen First Nation has moved well beyond the transition phase and into refinement,” said the Nation. TFN is among the first to demonstrate how to balance high-density urban economic development, such as Tsawwassen Mills, with traditional sovereignty. The early years...
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Youth forum speaker offers Membertou teens help for hard times
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Youth helping youth was on full display last week when dozens of young people met in Membertou to discuss their own issues and priorities. How to deal with anxiety, trauma and grief was the topic of Sophia Rae, a second-year psychology student at Acadia University. Even at her young age, the 20-year-old Rae has impressive credentials. A singer-songwriter, she is also a public speaker who shares her personal journey with trauma. She created an award-winning program called Resilient Youth that focuses on mental health and trauma. Her goal is to provide evidence-based mental health tools that are both effective and legitimate to both educators and young people. She goes directly into schools to educate youth and train teachers on how...
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Public health supervisor credits her success to her Indigenous upbringing
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer Lorie Steinwand is celebrating National Nurses Week with gratitude for her NWT roots. Steinwand, supervisor of public health at the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority (HRHSSA), has been a registered nurse since 2007, and has worked with the HRHSSA for 19 years. “I’m Dehcho Metis. I originate from the Zhahti Kue, Fort Providence,” she said. “A lot of my teachings were gifted to me by my family, and grandparents.” To Steinwand, healthcare is a part of an interconnected ecosystem, one that we all live in. She says her relationship with her grandmother helped guide her into a career in healthcare. She describes her grandmother as someone who cared deeply for her community and her family, and she taught Steinwand the...
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First Indigenous person graduates from UVic English Department with a PhD
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa A Nuu-chah-nulth woman is the first Indigenous person to graduate from the University of Victoria (UVic) English Department with a doctoral degree in Philosophy, according to the department chair. Alana Sayers, 38, successfully defended her dissertation about what it means to be Nuu-chah-nulth on April 15, with her four-year-old son Taryn and her niece and nephew looking on. “That was important to me, wanting them to be there to witness that, because that’s how we do things, you bring the young people,” said Sayers, who is from Hupačasath First Nation in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island and Alexander First Nation near Edmonton, Alberta. “I feel like the strongest version of myself and I’m glad that it was this version of me that...
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Fishing net defies time, resurfaces 2,000 years later in Tsawwassen
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist A rare 2,000-year-old fishing net unearthed in Tsawwassen is undergoing conservation at the First Nation’s repository, providing a window into the coastal life that flourished in the region millennia ago. “It really highlights the deep cultural importance of fishing for our people. It’s a privilege to be able to care for and hold a piece of our ancestors’ history and perpetuity,” said Tia Williams, Archaeology Coordinator at the Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN). The department used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the net. It has also undergone multiple tests and is currently undergoing cellulose analysis after researchers confirmed that it is made from bark fibres, but not cedar. Some professionals, weavers, and elders suggest the material could be stinging nettle...
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CAUGHT/ OPP ROPE squad seeking public’s help in search for federal offender
The Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad of the OPP would like to advise the public that a Federal Offender who went unlawfully at large on April 25, 2026, has been apprehended in Simcoe, ON. Edward Seery was located and arrested by members of OPP – Norfolk Detachment. Seery is serving a 3 year sentence for; Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking The Provincial R.O.P.E. Squad would like to thank the public and the media for their assistance in this investigation. Seery was serving three years for Possession of Schedule I/II Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking and was known to frequent Cayuga, Delhi, Simcoe, Hamilton, Six Nations, Cambridge, London, and Windsor, Ontario, according to OPP. Provincial ROPE squad Detective Morley McGuire told Turtle Island News Seery was given his...
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Gov. Gen. Mary Simon reflects on five years of reconciliation, Indigenous diplomacy
Governor General Mary Simon poses for a portrait at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Thursday, May 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick By Alessia Passafiume Nunavik, where Gov. Gen. Mary Simon grew up, is a long way from Ottawa and farther still from Buckingham Palace. That never stopped her mother Nancy May, a unilingual Inuk,...
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Final debate held for B.C. Conservative leadership hopefuls
The five candidates running for the leadership of the Opposition B.C. Conservatives have faced off for their final debate, capping off a campaign dominated by disputes over their ideological credentials. The 90-minute debate between candidates Iain Black, Caroline Elliott, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Peter Milobar and Yuri Fulmer saw all candidates broadly agree on the main issues. That included the need to unify the party and bring in new voters, repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the need for an overhaul of the health-care system. All also expressed support for a new oil pipeline to B.C.’s coast. But they clashed over who was best to lead and whose background made them best equipped to head the party. The debate took place on the day the party started...
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Just over four months in jail for truck arsonist
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A 40-year-old man was sentenced April 24 to another 132 days in jail after pleading guilty to setting a stolen truck on fire. On Nov. 28, 2024, a woman called Prince George RCMP on behalf of her neighbour, who was recovering from a stroke, to report his Ford F-350 truck had been stolen. The next day, officers on patrol on Victoria Street found the truck parked and running in the middle of the road. Officers observed John Robert Barton Craig, wearing a blue hoodie, approach the truck and open the passenger door. Moments later, it burst into flames during daylight in a residential neighbourhood near a school. “The potential for harm to persons or nearby property was substantial,” said Justice...
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Fireworks memorial returns to honour Tyendinaga fishermen and keep questions alive
By Michelle Dorey Forestell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kingstonist.com More than a decade after two young men disappeared on the Bay of Quinte under circumstances their families say never made sense, a long-running community tradition is returning to the waters the men loved. Later this month, fireworks will fall like a shower of stars over the Skyway Bridge in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in memory of Tyler Maracle and Matthew “Matty” Fairman — a memorial born not only from loss, but from a refusal to let the men’s story fade from public view. The annual event, paused for several years due to COVID-19 and bridge construction, is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, 2026, from dusk until approximately 9 p.m. Organizers say traffic across the bridge will be halted during the display....
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Minister files judicial review of First Nations child welfare agreement
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty says her government has filed a judicial review on a child welfare agreement she struck with First Nations in Ontario. That $8.5 billion agreement marked a step toward resolving a dispute that began in 2007, with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal later ruling the federal government discriminated against First Nations children in its funding of on-reserve child welfare services. In a decision letter released in March, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said two First Nations will not be covered by the deal. Gull-Masty says the judicial review will seek answers on why those First Nations are exempt and what the federal government’s obligations are. She says the review will not impede the flow of funds to First Nations in Ontario when the...
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Blood Tribe Police Service adds K-9 unit
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald STANDOFF, ALTA.- The Blood Tribe Police have recruited a couple of four-legged furry officers to assist them in their patrols. Police service dogs Grizzly, a three year-old German Shepherd and Fergus, an eight year old German Shepherd have officially completed training with their handler Sr. CST. Matt Lapointe and have already settled into their roles supporting frontline operations through tracking suspects or missing persons, locating evidence, conducting searches and assisting in high-risk situations. Fergus is trained as an ignitable liquid detection and can identify 14 different ignitable liquids and can tell if any of them have been used to start or accelerate a fire. Grizzly is trained in drug detection and is trained to attack fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroine and other...
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Chief challenges NWMO claim on response
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation says the manner in which it’s been responding to a proposed underground storage site for nuclear waste near Ignace has been mischaracterized by the project’s proponent. In a letter last month to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada — the federal department overseeing the project’s review — Lac Des Mille Lacs Chief Judy Whitecloud said it’s incorrect to suggest the community has not been responding in a timely manner. The letter claims the “mischaracterization” has been relayed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in its March account of its correspondence with Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation. “It is more accurate to say that (Lac Des Mille Lacs First Nation) has repeatedly initiated and...
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PRRC Learning History from RCMP Indigenous Policing Services
By Carol Baldwin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Wakaw Recorder Each gathering of the Prairie Rivers Reconciliation Circle includes an educational session to continue the path of learning for the members, empowering them to be allies with Indigenous peoples in reconciliation. For reconciliation to happen, there must be awareness of the past, acknowledgement of the harm inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour. April’s educational session was led by Cliff Joanis, Advisory NCO – “F” Division Indigenous Policing Services. The session included Indigenous history, treaties, the Indian Act, residential schools, and reconciliation, with a focus on the RCMP context in Saskatchewan. RCMP recruits come from all over Canada, and it is important that all recruits know the history, so they can better understand all the people they will...
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City calls for school board transparency, local control
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com KENORA — “Protect local voice in public education.” That’s the message Kenora city council is sending the province as they look at the possible reduction or elimination of locally-elected trustees. Following letters from both the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board (KPDSB) and the Kenora Catholic District School Board (KCDSB) requesting support in protecting trustees, council has carried a motion to request that the provincial government “commit to a full-scale, transparent, and province-wide consultation on school board governance models.” The decision was made at the April 28 council meeting. “There are proposals by the Minister of Education to drastically change or eliminate locally-elected English public school trustees in Ontario. The Minister has described the current school board governance as ‘outdated.’ We strongly disagree. Local...
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Smith hopes MOU with Ottawa can be finalized in the ‘next number of days’
By David Baxter Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday she hopes the memorandum of understanding between her province and the federal government can be completed soon because Albertans need to see that “Canada can work.” Organizers behind a petition calling for a referendum on Alberta separation said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures to Elections Alberta earlier this week. A court order is blocking the verification of those signatures while a judge considers a legal challenge mounted by a group of Alberta First Nations which argues the petition process violates treaty rights. A decision in that case is expected soon. Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney met in Ottawa Friday morning. Both said progress has been made on the agreement to work together on major projects and make changes...
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RCMP cannabis raids won’t ‘hamper’ N.B. First Nations pot sale discussions
By Eli Ridder A New Brunswick cabinet minister says he’s not worried an RCMP raid on a First Nations cannabis warehouse will damage government-Indigenous relations. Indigenous Affairs Minister Keith Chiasson says his government is working on a framework to regulate cannabis sales in consultation with First Nations. He says the government has been talking to the First Nations about the issue for the past six months. An RCMP raid on the warehouse on New Brunswick’s Madawaska First Nation last month was one of several operations police carried out across three provinces. A police spokesperson on Thursday told The Canadian Press the raids in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario were linked to a wider investigation targeting transnational organized crime. Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives issued a directive last year for police...
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