‘Just come talk to us’: First Nation leader uses award win to send a message
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com CAT LAKE — Cat Lake’s chief has been recognized as one of the country’s leaders in sustainability and says he used the win to send a message to senior levels of government. “There are people that live up there on the land which you hope to gain and acquire resources from — Indigenous people,” Russell Wesley told Newswatch about what he said at a ceremony in Toronto in October. “We’re not opposed to development if you would just come talk to us.” Wesley was recognized by Clean50, a series of awards founded by Delta Management Group, which is a search firm that says it specializes in recruiting “green professionals.” They have been given out since 2011 and, among other things, recognize 50...
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Squamish Community Forest reinforces commitment to cultural values
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Squamish Chief At a recent public open house, the Squamish Community Forest unveiled its vision for sustainable land use, cultural preservation, and wildfire mitigation over the next five years. How can we ensure a healthy forest and happy communities, all whilst abiding by land use agreements for the economy? Such were some of the questions among folks who attended the Squamish Community Forest’s 2025 public open house, on Nov. 13 at Howe Sound Inn & Brewing. At the event, a presentation was delivered by the Community Forest’s representatives, with opportunities for questions, and group discussion. What is the Squamish Community Forest, and what does it do? The Squamish Community Forest functions on a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) and equal shareholding between Skwxwú7mesh...
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Officers search for bear after for B.C. attack, nation fundraising for victims
British Columbia conservation officers are continuing to look for the grizzly bear responsible for attacking an elementary school group, as the First Nation has starting raising money to support those who were injured. Three students and one teacher were sent to hospital Thursday when the bear attacked the group of about 20 people in Bella Coola who were on a field trip and having lunch at the time. Conservation officers have since said they believe a mother bear with two cubs was likely involved in an attack. They have set up traps in the area and have asked the public to stay out of the woods while the search is taking place. A GoFundMe page launched by the Nuxalk Nation has raised nearly $30,000 after less than 24 hours online....
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Feds fund Sioux Lookout shelter amid overdose crisis
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source SIOUX LOOKOUT — As part of nationwide efforts to tackle a crisis in toxic drug supply and overdoses, the federal government is providing the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) with more than $2.7 million for work in the Sioux Lookout area. The services board “applied for the funding under the title of Safe Haven and Recovery Hub, expanding the services at the Sioux Lookout emergency shelter, so that’s where the services will be delivered from,” Sarah Stevenson, KDSB’s acting chief executive officer, said in a recent interview. The funding will “further address the needs that are identified through the operation of the emergency shelter,” she said. “That includes addictions support and culturally appropriate recovery services.” Services are delivered by social...
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Vancouver’s Last Sex Worker Drop-In Centre May Shutter in Spring
By Michelle Gamage, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee Vancouver’s last drop-in space for sex workers is facing an uncertain future as the city changes how it funds the non-profit. The Kingsway Community Station, currently located at Kingsway and Windsor Street, has been supporting street-based sex workers by running a nighttime drop-in centre for the last five years. The location is important because it’s home to the largest concentration of street-based sex workers in the city, Amelia Ridgway, program director with RainCity Housing, which runs the Kingsway Community Station, told The Tyee. The space is trans-inclusive. Women and gender-diverse sex workers can visit the drop-in from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. six days a week to access a washroom and a warm and welcoming space to get a cup of...
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Court approves Hudson’s Bay plan to auction its royal charter; $18M bid expected
By Tara Deschamps The royal charter that created Hudson’s Bay in 1670 is on its way to the auction block. Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne on Friday approved a process that will see the document owned by the defunct retailer sold early next month in a competitive process that will kick off with an $18 million bid from holding companies belonging to two of Canada’s richest family. The charter, signed by King Charles II more than 350 years ago, not only created HBC but gave the company control over one-third of modern Canada’s land mass, trade and Indigenous relations for decades to come. The document is being sold to help Hudson’s Bay chip away at the $1.1 billion in debt it had when it filed for creditor protection and...
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Inuit university funding among reasons why Idlout abstained on federal budget
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Nunavut MP Lori Idlout was one of four abstentions during the federal budget vote on Nov. 17, and those abstentions were pivotal to allowing the budget to pass by a vote of 170-168, thus avoiding a federal election. Idlout said Nunavummiut told her that promises made in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget were worth securing, despite some of her objections. Commitments to build 700 residences in Nunavut through Build Canada Homes, $50 million for Inuit Nunangat University from the Build Communities Strong Fund, developments from the Arctic Infrastructure Fund, and the Urban Rural Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy convinced Idlout to abstain rather than oppose the budget. However, the Nunavut MP still condemned parts of the Liberal minority government’s spending...
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Food insecurity in Canadian households hits record high of 25.5 per cent, says report
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Vancouver Island, BC – Food insecurity has reached a record high of 25.5 per cent in Canadian households, according to the latest Canadian Food Sentiment Index report published by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. Another recent report from Island Health shows one in five Vancouver Island residents were concerned about food security. Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council dietician and diabetes educator Rachel (Dickens) Greening thinks those numbers are probably even higher for Indigenous communities. “Colonization is directly linked to food insecurity. It has resulted in deep poverty for our people,” said Greening, who is of Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) First Nations and Hong Kong descent. “There are so many examples, like we weren’t allowed to go to university, we weren’t allowed to leave the...
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Webequie gets NOHFC funding for new rec centre
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source WEBEQUIE — Millions in funding for a cultural recreation centre is great news for this northern First Nation community, a Webequie councillor says. “It’s going to be good for the youth, for the boys and girls. They will be so happy that finally they will get an arena,” Coun. Randy Jacob said Thursday after a provincial funding announcement. “We’ve been working on that for the last I’m-not-sure-how-many years. For myself, probably over 10 years,” he added. “Finally we got it approved.” The Ontario government announced Thursday that the Webequie First Nation, a fly-in community more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, is getting $2 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) to build a cultural recreation centre...
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The deep sea and the Arctic must be included in efforts to tackle climate change
By Juliano Palacios Abrantes and Narissa Bax This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. This year’s COP30 comes after the international Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) finally acquired the required number of ratification votes by United Nations member states. The treaty, effective from January 2026, is the first global agreement for marine areas beyond national jurisdictions, with a direct reference to climate change risks in its legal text. Its ratification comes at a crucial time for marine environments. The momentum of COP30 and the BBNJ treaty creates a unique opportunity to further integrate the ocean, particularly the deep sea, into the climate...
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B.C. city ‘vigorously defending’ Aboriginal claim, but says no private land in play
The City of Port Coquitlam, B.C., said it is “vigorously defending” public ownership of municipal lands against a claim bought in 2016 by a local First Nation. But the city said the land claim by the Kwikwetlem First Nation does not involve private property, and the case is currently suspended “as a provincially led process takes place.” The city issued a statement on Wednesday in response to public concern about a landmark land title case involving the Cowichan Tribes and the City of Richmond. The Cowichan ruling has sparked concerns it could undermine land ownership across B.C., because it says sections of the Land Title Act that establish the most common form of ownership are “indefeasible” and do not apply to Aboriginal title. Port Coquitlam, located in Metro Vancouver, said...
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State of emergency highlights bigger regional issue, says executive director
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com TIMMINS – With encampments being dismantled in Timmins and overcrowding worsening in remote communities, Mushkegowuk Council says its newly declared state of emergency reflects a crisis that has long been ignored. Mushkegowuk Council CEO Vern Cheechoo spoke with TimminsToday about why the council formally declared a state of emergency on Nov. 17, calling the crisis “ongoing” and worsening across the region. Cheechoo said the decision came as Timmins worked to dismantle an encampment because of snow removal operations, with the city initially setting a Nov. 14 timeline to relocate residents. “They were afraid that someone could get hurt,” he said. “But they didn’t come in there and force anybody out. They worked with the people there and took their time … They were...
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Tribal leaders say Trump administration failed to consult with them on Education Department changes
By Graham Lee Brewer Tribal leaders and education advocates said the Education Department failed to meet a statutory requirement by not consulting with tribes before announcing the transfer of dozens of Native American education programs to other federal agencies. This week, the Education Department said it would break off several of its main offices and hand over their responsibilities to agencies like the Department of Labor and the Department of the Interior. Under the plan, those two agencies will run several programs that fund and oversee the education of Native American children and college students. Tribal leaders and Native education organizations said the move will add to budgetary confusion and a possible breakdown ins services. “This transfer brings no additional support to our schools, and merely shifts us from one...
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B.C. city ‘vigorously defending’ Aboriginal claim, but says no private land in play
The City of Port Coquitlam, B.C., said it is “vigorously defending” public ownership of municipal lands against a claim bought in 2016 by a local First Nation. But the city said the land claim by the Kwikwetlem First Nation does not involve private property, and the case is currently suspended “as a provincially led process takes place.” The city issued a statement on Wednesday in response to public concern about a landmark land title case involving the Cowichan Tribes and the City of Richmond. The Cowichan ruling has sparked concerns it could undermine land ownership across B.C., because it says sections of the Land Title Act that establish the most common form of ownership are “indefeasible” and do not apply to Aboriginal title. Port Coquitlam, located in Metro Vancouver, said...
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Leaders vow for bold Indigenous-led action as the world’s largest Indigenous education forum comes to an end
NEW ZEALAND-“The answers are within us.” Dr Verna Kirkness, the founder of the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education (WIPCE), delivered this powerful message onstage in New Zealand this week. WIPCE 2025 saw 3,800 of the world’s foremost Indigenous educators, knowledge-holders and leaders call for a new era of transformative action at the triennial conference held in Aotearoa – the Māori name for New Zealand – from 16–20 November. Indigenous leaders vowed to continue driving Indigenous-led solutions to the world’s problems, rising above political edicts and governments of the day. WIPCE 2025 Co-Chair, Professor Meihana Durie says yesterday’s close of the conference signals the beginning of a powerful new chapter for Indigenous people. “As we bring WIPCE 2025 to a close, we usher in a new era of Indigenous endeavour...
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Speaker’s vote gets northern power line through B.C. legislature by slimmest margin
By Wolfgang Depner Legislation to fast-track construction of a northern power line has squeaked through the British Columbia legislature thanks to a deciding vote by the Speaker for the bill that Premier David Eby said would force an election if it failed. The confidence vote on the North Coast Transmission Line passed third reading on Wednesday by a count of 47 to 46 with Speaker Raj Chouhan breaking the tie and it now awaits final approval by the lieutenant-governor. All New Democrats voted for the project, which the federal government is also considering fast-tracking as a project of national significance. Ottawa is also providing the project a credit of just under $140 million, but B.C. is hoping for additional financial support. Eby said last month that he would call an...
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Alberta tables bill to limit oversight power of regulatory bodies on member behaviour
By Lisa Johnson Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government plans to limit what behaviour professional regulators can police in the interest of strengthening freedom of expression. A bill introduced in the house Thursday aims to narrow what kind of behaviour regulated professionals — from architects to welders — can be disciplined for by their regulators. Smith is calling it Alberta’s “Peterson law,” after Ontario psychologist and social media personality Jordan Peterson, who was sanctioned by his province’s professional regulator for controversial public statements. “When regulators begin disciplining people for simply speaking their mind on their own time, that’s overreach and, at its worst, it becomes an outright threat to free expression,” Smith told reporters before the bill was introduced. She added her United Conservative Party government wants regulators focused on the...
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Near-sinking barge off BC coast stokes fears over oil tanker threats
By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer An American-owned cargo barge sitting dangerously low in the water near Bella Bella has reignited coastal First Nations’ fears about the dangers that oil tankers pose for the BC coast. The Haíɫzaqv Nation’s marine emergency response team received reports early on Monday that heavily loaded Alaska Marine Lines barge being towed by the tug Malolo was taking on water in Fischer Channel near Bella Bella, said William Housty, director of the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department. The tug and barge, which were transiting from Alaska to Washington, have taken shelter in a safer area near Matthew Island. While there are no immediate concerns about pollution and the barge hasn’t taken on more water, the marine response team is standing by,...
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Pupils flee as grizzly attacks elementary class in B.C., injuring 11, some critically
By Nono Shen A grizzly bear has attacked a group of elementary school students and teachers in the B.C. central coast community of Bella Coola, leaving two people critically injured and two others seriously hurt. B.C. Emergency Health Services said seven more people were treated at the scene of the attack in the community about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, which was called in just before 2 p.m. on Thursday. Veronica Schooner said her 10-year-old son Alvarez was in the Year 4-5 class that was attacked while on a walk and was so close to the animal “he even felt its fur.” “He was running for his life,” she said. Schooner said a lot of people tried to halt the attack but one male teacher “got the whole brunt of...
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Peacekeepers expand presence in Tioweró:ton with proposed substation
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The Kahnawake Peacekeepers are planning on expanding their presence in Tioweró:ton with a new substation to match the need. Kahnawake Peacekeepers Public Relations Officer Kyle Zachary told Iorì:wase the project will be the first major expansion beyond its main station in Kahnawake. “Having a satellite station up there is a necessity at this point,” Zachary stressed. Up until now, Peacekeepers in the territory have been residing in the caretaker’s cabin while stationed on patrol. The new facility will not only provide a secure location to secure police equipment but is also expected to dramatically reduce the Peacekeepers’ response time in the hunting territory, which can take up to two hours to reach from Kahnawake, according to Zachary. Zachary called this response time...
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