Transfer of baby eel quota to First Nations was unfair, says federal judge
-CP-A federal judge has ruled that the Fisheries Department failed to properly consult commercial baby eel fishers when it transferred about 14 per cent of their quota to First Nations. The March 28 ruling from Justice Paul Favel says the quota transfer for the 2023 season away from Shelburne Elver Ltd. and South Shore Trading Co. Ltd. was “procedurally unfair.” The lucrative fishery in Maritime rivers has been the source of tension as prices in recent years have ranged between $3,000 and $5,000 per kilogram for the tiny eels — called elvers — which are shipped to Asia. Favel says the federal Fisheries Department didn’t engage enough with the two commercial licence holders before it cut their quotas for the 2023 elver season. Brian Giroux, a fisher with Shelburne Elver...
Register
Six Nations’ Norma General Lickers receives Coronation Medal
By Joshua Santos Writer A Six Nations elder and former Justice of the Peace has been recognized for her lifelong dedication to uplifting Indigenous women in the community. Norma General Lickers was awarded the inaugural King Charles III Coronation Medal. She said she was speechless when she received a call about the award. “It was overwhelming where I didn’t say anything,” said Lickers. “I couldn’t speak. I wasn’t expecting anything like that.” The King Charles III Coronation Medal, created to mark His Majesty’s Coronation on May 6, 2023, honours individuals across Canada for their contributions. Recipients embody service, diversity and environmental stewardship, according to a news release from the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA). “This medal is about recognizing the significant difference you make in your communities,” said Ingrid Green,...
Register
Kanesatake grand chief removed, Commission rules
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Following an Ethics Commission hearing requested – and boycotted – by Victor and Valerie Bonspille, a ruling has been rendered: the pair have vacated their positions on the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) and no longer hold political office. “It goes to show that in Kanesatake, even though sometimes it’s hard to enforce, the law still applies,” said MCK chief Brant Etienne. However, Victor Bonspille still claims the title of MCK grand chief, insisting the hearing was illegitimate. “We were elected by you the people and you the people are the only authority that can remove (me) from my elected position. Let’s push for a general election and get rid of these dictators who refuse to recognize your voice,” wrote Victor on social...
Register
Gathering space for families at Brantford Hospital
Six Nations families now have access to gathering space at the Brantford General Hospital, while council looks outward to help businesses and use community statistics. Councillor Greg Frazer, chair of the Unity Building & External Government Relations & Justice Committee gave an update to Six Nations Elected Council at the General Council meeting on March 11 and said he attended the hospital’s grand re-opening of the newly renovated space last week. “It is a culturally appropriate gathering place for our members. It’s on the first floor, it’s well decorated and will supply a little solace for families. We do have big families, we do visit families can have a little Indigenous space for us to gather and relax. They are also saying food may be provided as well,” he said....
Register
Six Nations investment in infrastructure coming
Six Nations plans to invest in infrastructure heavily over the next several months. Councillor Dayle Bomberry updated Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) on up coming projects including capital projects aimed at improving community infrastructure. He told SNEC’s General Council meeting on March 25, 2025, projects included the hospice, a long-term care facility, a library/archival building, and an interim health facility. He emphasized coordinating these developments to address critical infrastructure needs as a whole including water, wastewater and hydro services for the future. “Coordination is key; we need to align these projects with community needs and infrastructure systems such as water and wastewater,” Bomberry said. Councillor Bomberry, chair of the Built Environment, Climate Adaptation, Lands and Membership Committee, highlighted the importance of managing and coordinating the projects effectively to ensure proper...
Register
SNEC working to update and secure its data
Six Nations is working toward controlling itso wn data to make decisions for the future. Councillor Dean Hill, chair of the newly established Data Governance Committee, provided the first update on the committee’s progress at the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General Council meeting on March 25. Hill, alongside Executive Director of Data and Insights Zach Miller, emphasized the importance of data governance in the community’s future. Hill said the committee’s primary goal is to ensure that all data related to Six Nations’ territory and community remains secure and is only accessible to the community itself. “The security of our data is crucial, as data is the currency of the future. It gives us the power to make decisions, and it’s important that we stay on top of these matters...
Register
Sexual assault trial for Lake St. Martin First Nation chief begins in Winnipeg
By Brittany Hobson The trial for a First Nations chief in Manitoba who is accused of sexual assault has begun in Winnipeg. Christopher Traverse, who was the leader of Lake St. Martin First Nation at the time of his arrest last year, pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography Monday (March 13) morning in provincial court. Court heard from the complainant who was eight-years-old at the time of the alleged offences. In a video statement played in court, the girl claimed Traverse forced her into a bathroom in his home in Winnipeg in December 2023, took photos of her and sexually assaulted her. Investigators became aware of the allegations after the girl’s mother found one of the photos on the girl’s cellphone and reported it to...
Register
Trump’s tariffs will hit close to home
Imagine, if you can, deciding a decade ago to launch a business in your Indigenous community. Or even today. A chance to work within the community whether its construction to farming to retail to wholesaling. It’s yours and you get to work in your home community. A business that for some may be coming to an end…thanks to Trump’s tariffs. Trump’s tariffs are going to make life difficult not just for Canadians country wide but take a moment to image what it will do to Indigenous people. There isn’t a business owner anywhere that doesn’t fear a recession hitting or a trade war. Now take that fear and multiply it when it comes to Indigenous business. Indigenous people are launching businesses at five times the rate of non-Indigenous people in...
Register
Weekly Cartoon
...
Register
Today in history
April 1 In 1999, dignitaries including Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Gov. Gen. Romeo LeBlanc dined on muskox, whale skin, Arctic char and raw seal to celebrate the creation of Nunavut in the eastern Arctic. Canada’s third territory gave the Inuit title to an area more than five times the size of Alberta. In 2011, five tiny First Nations on Vancouver Island began new chapters in their collective histories, when a land-claims treaty that took almost 20 years to negotiate took effect. In addition to 24,550 hectares and resource and program payments, it gave powers of self-government, including taxation rights, to the bands representing about 2,500 people near the communities of Bamfield, Port Alberni, Campbell River and Ucluelet. In 2019, a new scientific report from Environment and Climate Change Canada...
Register
UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Goodbye To The Hudson Bay Company
By Xavier Kataquapit The historic Hudson Bay Company has been diminished and the company is on its way to becoming lost to the history books. Starting this past month in March 2025, the company filed for creditor protection which forced it to liquidate all of its stores across the country except for six key flagship stores in major cities including the historic flagship location on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto. As an Indigenous person, who grew up in the shadow of this all consuming company in my home community of Attawapiskat, I am happy to see it disappear from the landscape. To many Canadians, the HBC conjures up nostalgic images of Hudson Bay blankets, Canadian store fronts and an historic name that occupied the history of Canada since before the...
Register
Six Nations Fire preparing for second season of operations
By Sam Laskaris Writer Representatives of the Six Nations Fire are confident things will be much better for the organization as it gears up for its second season. The Fire was an expansion entry in the First Nations Junior B Lacrosse League last season. The local club was the only Canadian entry in the league, which also included five American teams. “It should be smoother for us this year,” said Fire head coach Johnny Powless, who was a former junior and pro star player himself. The three others on the Fire coaching staff have also played in the professional National Lacrosse League. Powless’ brother Marshall will handle the Fire offence. Leo Stouros is in charge of the squad’s defence. And Nolan Clayton is the club’s goalie coach, who will also...
Register
Controversy After Naskapi Hunters Harvest Endangered Caribou
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter After the Cree Nation Government condemned the unauthorized hunting of caribou in the Nichicun and Lac Catalogne areas of Eeyou Istchee by members of the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, Quebec’s Ministry of the Environment announced it has opened an investigation into the incident. The province’s wildlife protection agency has requested action to document the alleged activities and “offence files could be filed for judicial consequences.” Although several sources confirmed that Naskapi hunters killed 200 caribou in mid-February, it’s unknown how many were from the endangered woodland Caniapiscau and Témiscamie herds as they’re known to mix with migratory caribou. “At this time of year, it is likely that the animals are a mixture of the two ecotypes,” said Martin-Hugues St-Laurent, professor of animal ecology...
Register
Brant County OPP charge one person after intimate partner violence investigation
BRANT, ON – The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Brant County Detachment has charged a Paris individual in an intimate partner violence investigation in Paris. Brnt County OPP said officers responded to a disturbance at a residence on Grand River Street North April 1, 2025, at about 6:30 a.m. As a result of the investigation, a 35-year-old individual from Paris was arrested and charged with: Failure to comply with an undertaking Assault – Choke, suffocate or strangle, cause bodily harm The accused was held for a bail hearing. Victim Services attended and support was offered. The OPP remains committed to preventing and responding to incidents of intimate partner violence. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1. Anyone with information related to this or any other investigation is...
Register
Tanya Talaga, Jane Philpott among finalists for Shaughnessy Cohen Prize Slugline: Books-Shaughnessy-Cohen-Prize
-CP-Journalist Tanya Talaga and former health minister Jane Philpott are among the authors shortlisted for this year’s Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing. The Writers’ Trust of Canada announced the finalists on Wednesday, while the winner will be named at the annual Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa in September. Talaga, who previously won the prize in 2018, made the list for “The Knowing,” which jurors describe as “a searing new perspective on how this country’s most fundamental institutions are weaponized against Indigenous communities.” Philpott, meanwhile, is shortlisted for “Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada,” which the jury praises for its helpful description of the “overwhelmingly complex health-care issues at stake.” Two books about Canada’s prime ministers are in the running, including journalist Stephen Maher’s...
Register
‘Can’t imagine Alaska without Canada’: Resolution would affirm Canadian sovereignty
By Fakiha Baig America’s 49th state is showing support for the country that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to make its 51st. Republican Rep. Chuck Kopp of Alaska, which shares a border with the Yukon and is separated from the contiguous U.S. by Canada, says the state doesn’t support the president’s trade war and annexation bid against Canada. He has proposed a joint resolution in the state legislature that would affirm Canada’s sovereignty and recognize the enduring, centuries-old ties between Alaska and Canada. “This resolution, more than anything, is to present a unified voice of restoration and reconciliation among old allies and friends at a time when trade restrictions have jeopardized and challenged that relationship,” Kopp said in testimony this week before the Alaska senate resources committee. “The trust and...
Register
New CEO on the job at Matawa First Nations Management
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THUNDER BAY – Matawa First Nations Management, an agency serving nine Anishinaabe communities in northern Ontario, has a new chief executive officer. Sharon Nate, an Eabamatoong First Nation member and Lakehead University education alumna, started in her new position Tuesday. She replaces David Paul Achneepineskum, who has opted for semi-retirement after 25 years as CEO. “I’d like to acknowledge David Paul and the legacy that he’s leaving behind here,” Nate said Tuesday in a Zoom interview from her office on Court Street S. “They are certainly big shoes to fill, and I’m looking forward to carrying on what was started and looking forward to starting new beginnings as well.” Nate brings over 20 years of experience in education, leadership, teaching and advocacy for...
Register
First Nations’ drinking water an issue ‘of utmost importance’
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source OGOKI POST — According to Indigenous Services Canada, 23 First Nations in Ontario are under long-term drinking water advisories. One such community is Marten Falls First Nation, at the junction of the Albany and Ogoki rivers. “Marten Falls has been under a boil water advisory for close to 20 years,” Chief Bruce Achneepineskum said Tuesday in a phone interview. “That’s a long time.” Achneepineskum agrees with the Chiefs of Ontario that clean tap water in First Nations is a highly important issue in the April 28 federal election. The chiefs organization wants the next federal government to revive Bill C-61, clean-water legislation for First Nations that died on the order paper the moment Parliament was prorogued in January. “Ensuring that...
Register
KDFN marks 20 years since signing of final and self-government agreements
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News Chief Sean Uyenets’echᶖa Smith held a copy of Together Today For Our Children Tomorrow as he spoke to an audience assembled at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre on March 29, 2025. The small orange book is the same document Elijah Smith and a delegation of Yukon First Nations leaders presented to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau in 1973. That document laid out a vision, Smith told the News. “It was a vision based on the dreams and aspirations of First Nation people in the Yukon, but as well as our individual nations, you know, that we came from and how to kind of create those opportunities for their children, for citizens, but their children and their grandchildren and for each and...
Register
Local fighters set to debut at Rumble in the Cage 69 in Alberta
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. —Northern Combat Club’s Clint Parker is “really excited” for the debut of three of his fighters in a mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Timber Bigfoot, Aiden Hoffmeyer, and Marc Schaefer will test their skills at Rumble in the Cage 69, slated for April 5th in Lethbridge, Alberta. The regional event in Southern Alberta was founded by MMA competitor Lee Mein back in 2000 and has featured top veterans in the sport – including Mein’s son, Jordan – in fights before they headed to sport’s top promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). All three fighters have extensive experience in Parker’s Northern Combat Invitational (NCI), and Schaefer recently won gold at a grappling competition in Edmonton. “I’m basically bringing down a...
Register
