White House, tribal leaders hail ‘historic’ deal to restore salmon runs in Pacific Northwest
By Matthew Daly THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)-The Biden administration, leaders of four Columbia River Basin tribes and the governors of Oregon and Washington celebrated on Friday as they signed papers formally launching a $1 billion plan to help recover depleted salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. The plan, announced in December, stopped short of calling for the removal of four controversial dams on the Snake River, as some environmental groups and tribal leaders have urged. But officials said it would boost clean energy production and help offset hydropower, transportation and other benefits provided by the dams should Congress ever agree to breach them. The plan brokered by the Biden administration pauses long-running litigation over federal dam operations and represents the most significant step yet toward eventually taking the four...
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Nisga’a Treaty disputes settled between B.C. and First Nation governments
The Canadian Press -The Nisga’a First Nation in northwestern British Columbia says it has reached a historic out-of-court settlement with the provincial government to resolve disputes that had come up in their 24-year-old treaty. The Nisga’a Lisims government says in a news release that it has solved three key issues after starting the resolution process in 2019. The nation was the first to reach a modern-day treaty in the province in 2000, and it includes a process for resolving differences between the Nisga’a and provincial governments. The nation says the newly signed agreement includes hunting limits to grizzly bear, moose, and mountain goats for Nisga’a citizens, and it “confirms” how the province will consult with the nation as it enters talks with other groups that claim Aboriginal rights within the...
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Why was this chopped up totem pole discarded in a North Vancouver park?
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby Local Journalism Initiative Reporter It’s not uncommon to find abandoned items on the trail. An escaped cereal bar wrapper. A discarded tool. A lost left glove, perhaps. An axed totem pole, however, comes in as quite the unlikely find. Connie Flett was wandering the gravel paths of Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park when she stumbled across an old, weathered totem pole, split into segments. She was travelling with Chix With Stix, a walking group of women between the ages of 60 and 80 who spend most mornings trekking the seaside trails of North Vancouver. “We were really surprised to see the partial remains of a freshly cut totem,” said Flett. The pieces had been stumbled upon like segments of an oversized puzzle. The first was found in the bushes past...
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P.E.I. councillor accused of posting anti Indigenous sign seeking judicial review
CHARLOTTETOWN- A village councillor in Prince Edward Island is asking a court to quash sanctions imposed on him after he displayed a sign on his property questioning the existence of unmarked graves at former residential schools. In documents filed last week with the P.E.I. Supreme Court, Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson claims fellow councillors exceeded their authority and violated his rights on Nov. 18, 2023, when they decided he had breached the council’s code of conduct. The councillors then decided to impose a $500 fine and suspend him from his municipal post for six months. Robertson, elected in November 2022, was also removed as chair of the maintenance committee and ordered to write an apology to the mayor, council and the Indigenous community. The councillor’s application for judicial review, dated...
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Vigil held for Robert Pickton’s victims as serial killer becomes eligible for day parole
By Patrick Penner Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The trauma suffered by the families of Robert Pickton’s victims are wounds regularly reopened even as he lingers being bars. Dozens of family members and friends held a vigil at the former site of Pickton’s pig farm in Port Coquitlam on Wednesday, one day before the serial killer became eligible to apply for day parole. Michele Pineault, mother of Stephanie Lane who disappeared in 1997 at 20-years old, said Pickton’s updated status brings back a flood of memories from his trial and the subsequent national inquiry into Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. “I think of my daughter every single day, but I don’t want to think of Robert Pickton anymore. I don’t want to think of him every day. It gets thrown in...
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NDP, Liberals strike deal to cover cost of diabetes medicines, birth control
By Mickey Djuric and Mia Rabson THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- The federal Liberals and New Democrats have reached a deal that would allow every Canadian with a health card to access free diabetes medication and birth control, the NDP confirmed Friday. The coverage is to be included in the first piece of a national pharmacare program, with legislation expected to be introduced in the House of Commons next week. It’s a critical piece of the supply-and-confidence pact between the two parties, in which the NDP agreed to support the Liberals on key votes in the Commons in exchange for movement on shared priorities. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh threatened in recent weeks to pull out of the deal if the Liberals didn’t agree to certain terms by a March 1 deadline. A...
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New land use bylaw gives KRG `the power to say no’
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Kativik Regional Government has adopted a plan giving it greater control over the way non-Inuit organizations use land in Nunavik. A new bylaw approved by regional council Tuesday is a “legally enforceable tool” the regional government can use to oversee activities happening across the region, said lands and environment assistant director Veronique Gilbert. Gilbert said it ensures “Kativik region users and residents are meaningfully engaged on the land-use and social environment protection to ensure that the project applicants are accountable.” With this bylaw, “KRG has the power to say no,” she said during the council’s quarterly meeting being held in Kuujjuaq this week. Among the other powers it provides KRG is the authority to enforce a cleanup at a company’s cost if environmental...
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U.S. casinos won $66.5B in 2023, their best year ever as gamblers showed no economic fear
By Wayne Parry THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)- America’s commercial casinos won $66.5 billion from gamblers in 2023, the industry’s best year ever, according to figures released by its national trade association Tuesday. The American Gaming Association said that total was 10% higher than in 2022, which itself was a record-setting year. When revenue figures from tribal-owned casinos are released separately later this year, they are expected to show that overall casino gambling brought in close to $110 billion to U.S. casino operators in 2023. That all happened in a year in which inflation, while receding, still kept things like grocery and energy costs higher than they had been. “From the traditional casino experience to online options, American adults’ demand for gaming is at an all-time high,” said...
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Non profit organizations are ‘invaluable’ to Fort Frances
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter FORT FRANCES- Non-profit organizations make “invaluable” contributions every day, the mayor of Fort Frances says. “If we didn’t have these not-for-profits, our community would be much, much less,” Mayor Andrew Hallikas said in an interview a week after honouring the District of Rainy River Services Board (DRRSB) and several other organizations for Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week. Hallikas noted that he represents the town on the DRRSB’s board of directors “but it doesn’t take away from the value that they present to the community, because I’m honoured to serve on that board for that very reason.” Collectively, he said, “non-profit organizations provide an invaluable service to our community.” The mayor presented DRRSB chair Debbie Ewald and chief administrative officer Dan McCormick with a certificate...
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Youth worker in Alberta, Saskatchewan charged with child porn offences
EDMONTON- A man who worked with youths at group homes, camps and lodges has been arrested by police in Alberta and charged with sexual exploitation. The province’s Internet Child Exploitation unit says the 28-year-old suspect has been charged with child luring along with making, possessing and distributing child pornography. Police are investigating the possibility of additional victims. They allege the accused was involved in luring of at least one child whom he had known previously though his youth work with a Saskatchewan First Nations, using social media applications Snapchat and Facebook. They say he had access to children through his employment in both Saskatchewan and Alberta. The suspect has been released from custody and is to appear in court Feb. 28. This report by The Canadian Press was first...
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Sts’ailes, frustrated with the feds, signs and funds its own child welfare agreement
By Alessia Passafiume THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- A British Columbia First Nation has taken matters into its own hands after what leaders say has been a lack of commitment from the federal government to help them take full jurisdiction over child and family services. Sts’ailes, a Coast Salish First Nation, has been working with Ottawa for years to implement its own child welfare practices after the government passed a law in 2019 that allowed it to do so. A co-ordination agreement between the nation, Ottawa and B.C. on implementing their own protocols was set to be formalized last week. But the First Nation says the federal government hit the pause button instead of following through, so it has decided to start and fund its own program without the formal go-ahead....
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Saskatchewan to spend extra $750M this fiscal year; Opposition calls for transparency
By Jeremy Simes THE CANADIAN PRESS REGINA- The Saskatchewan government is spending $750 million more than it had budgeted this year, a move that’s raising questions from Opposition New Democrats. The province approved the extra dollars this week through special warrants, a measure it uses when expenditures aren’t budgeted. Some of that spending is for health care, agriculture and environmental cleanup. The government did not say how this affects the province’s forecasted $250-million deficit, noting the third-quarter financial reports are to be released in March. Opposition NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon said Thursday special warrants are common, but an amount that exceeds more than $750 million is unprecedented. “This is a wild amount,” Wotherspoon told reporters Thursday. “It’s $750 million they didn’t plan for, and then no detail or transparency...
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Drama series featuring Squamish Nation actor breaks representation boundaries
By Mina Kerr-Lazenby Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Stefany Mathias, North Vancouver born and raised actor and daughter of S?wx?wu7mesh ?xwumixw (Squamish Nation) hereditary Chief Joe Mathias, has been in the film industry for a long time. She has witnessed much change in those decades, but in terms of accurate Indigenous representation on the screen, she says there is still much to be desired. Mathias hopes her latest project, web TV series Jason, will lead the charge for change. The six-part series, available on streaming service APTN lumi, is a quirky rom-com set in Vancouver that puts Indigenous talent in the spotlight. Written by Andrew Genaille (Rehab), it follows 20-something First Nations writer Jason (Hey, Viktor!’s Peter Robinson), as he moves out of his family home on the reservation to attend...
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Sts’ailes, frustrated with the feds, signs and funds its own child welfare agreement
By Alessia Passafiume THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- A British Columbia First Nation has taken matters into its own hands after what leaders say has been a lack of commitment from the federal government to help them take full jurisdiction over child and family services. Sts’ailes, a Coast Salish First Nation, has been working with Ottawa for years to implement its own child welfare practices after the government passed a law in 2019 that allowed it to do so. A co-ordination agreement between the nation, Ottawa and B.C. on implementing their own protocols was set to be formalized last week. But the First Nation says the federal government hit the pause button instead of following through, so it has decided to start and fund its own program without the formal go-ahead....
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‘This is an existential threat to our very existence as Indigenous people’: Alderville First Nation chief
By Natalie Hamilton Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The chief of Alderville First Nation in Northumberland County says his main priority moving further into 2024 will be putting an end to the proposed federal bill, Bill C-53. Taynar Simpson, Alderville First Nation’s chief, said this action is top of mind as he contemplates the months ahead for the Alderville First Nation community near Roseneath. “For me, our top priority is to see the proposed federal Bill C-53 removed from parliamentary consideration,” Simpson told kawarthaNOW. “This is not an act respecting Indigenous rights. It will erode and potentially lead to the end of Indigenous territory and treaty rights in Canada. So for us, this is an existential threat to our very existence as Indigenous people,” Simpson said. According to the federal government, the...
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GST HST on carbon price could raise billions over next seven years: budget watchdog
By Mia Rabson THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA-The federal government’s carbon price could generate more than $5 billion from the federal sales tax over the next seven years, but none of that is directly earmarked for climate programs. The latest figures come from the parliamentary budget officer, based on a private member’s bill introduced last fall by Conservative MP Alex Ruff to eliminate the sales tax from carbon pricing completely. The revenues from the carbon price itself are required by law to be returned to households and businesses through rebates and granting programs. But that does not apply to the sales tax, which is collected on top of the carbon price. The PBO estimates that will be worth about $600 million in 2024-25, rising to $1 billion by 2030-31 in parallel...
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First Nations Leadership Council: Opposition derailed proposed BC Land Act amendments
British Columbia’s First Nations Leadership Council is expressing extreme disappointment over the provincial government’s decision to drop planned amendments to the Land Act that would have cleared the way for a shared decision-making process with First Nations when it comes to the use of public land. The N-D-P government announced it had decided not to proceed with proposed amendments after holding a series of meetings with stakeholders, citing a need to further engage with people and demonstrate the real benefits of shared decision-making in action. Earlier this month, B.C. United Leader Kevin Falcon said his party could not “support giving veto power to five per cent of the population with impacts to over 95 per cent of public land,” referring to First Nations* people. In a Wednesday evening statement, Grand...
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Treaty One Nations shocked they weren’t notified when raw sewage spilled into Red River
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Treaty One Nations are still waiting for a response from the Manitoba government and Winnipeg city council about why impacted First Nations were not notified when wastewater from the city leaked into the Red River on two separate occasions. Treaty One Nations Chairperson Gordon BlueSky, chief of Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, says he only found out last week when the news reported that more than 135 million litres of untreated sewage had spilled into the Red River since Feb. 7. It was also at that time that he found out there had been an initial wastewater spill in November 2023. “What’s their notification process? Because I never received anything and I’m potentially the most impacted community seeing that the water literally goes by my...
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Ontario iGaming hearings in continue through tomorrow
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Lawyers representing the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake made their case Tuesday morning in Ontario Superior Court against a new law that permits online gambling in that province. The MCK chief on hand in Toronto to observe said there will be more to report after lawyers from the Ontario provincial government made their case yesterday. Hearings are expected to wrap up today, said MCK Chief Tonya Perron. “There isn’t much to say right now,” Perron said Tuesday evening after the first day of hearings. “We’ll know more on Friday after everything is finished.” The MCK’s lawyers were challenging the legality and constitutionality of Ontario’s move to allow online gaming, primarily because the government is not conducting and managing gaming itself. Lawyers from Olthuis Kleer...
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Economic reconciliation roundtable draws heavy hitters to Ottawa
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The federal government must remove barriers to economic activity and facilitate economic development in Indigenous communities, an `economic reconciliation’ roundtable concluded last week in Ottawa. Additionally, participants added, they also identified the need to develop capacity and Indigenous financial expertise as critical ingredients to achieving economic reconciliation. They saw “the great value to coming together and will seek future opportunities to convene and continue to work together to remove barriers,” participants said. The roundtable included such economic heavy hitters as First Nations Financial Management Board Executive Chair Harold Calla; First Nations Finance Authority President and CEO Ernie Daniels; First Nations Major Projects Coalition CEO Niilo Edwards and National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) CEO Shannin Metatawabin. Political leaders such as Metis National Council...
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