RBC faces questions on climate, Indigenous rights at annual general meeting
By Ian Bickis THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO- Royal Bank of Canada faced a steady stream of questions about the bank’s climate and Indigenous rights track record at its annual general meeting Thursday. “We’re bringing a voice of nature,” said Tara Houska of the Couchiching First Nation, as she pushed the bank to use its position to accelerate the energy transition. “Are you actually committed towards moving away from fossil fuels, moving away (from) something we know is killing us, towards a different way?” she asked. In response, chief executive Dave McKay said the bank does need to keep evolving, while also defending past decisions and pointing to several major policy rollouts. “I couldn’t agree more that we need to continue to evolve our energy strategy. We can continue to, need...
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Innu hockey association calling for changes to officiating assignments
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The president of an Innu community’s hockey association is calling for changes on how officials are assigned for big games between his players and squad from non-Native communities after a controversial end to a regional final earlier this month. In the wake of an incident that got a lot of attention on social media, Uashat mak Mani-utenam Hockey Association president David Jean-Pierre is calling for changes to the way referee assignments are given out after a controversial ending to a Cote-Nord regional-final U15 B game earlier this month. In the game, a series of unfortunate events in the final minutes of a highly-competitive regional final took place that left Jean-Pierre with more questions than answers. “With about seven minutes to play in a...
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Chiniki First Nation invests in redevelopment of Symons Valley Ranch
By Jessica Lee Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A recent $10 million investment into Symons Valley Ranch gives Chiniki First Nation majority ownership of the historic 12.4-hectare site located in northwest Calgary. A press release issued by Chiniki First Nation said it now holds a 51 per cent stake in the historic site, which has been approved by the City of Calgary for high-density mixed-use development, including building over 1,500 residential units, retail and commercial. “Chiniki is very interested in pursuing economic development opportunities for the betterment of its Nation members,” said Chiniki First Nation CEO Ryan Robb, who recently took over the role from retired CEO Brian Evans. “Once you have more economic development opportunities and you’re making money from business perspectives, it helps you then return revenues back to...
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Biden awards $830 million to toughen nation’s infrastructure against climate change
By Alexa St. John THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT (AP)- The Biden administration on Thursday awarded $830 million in grants to fund 80 projects aimed at toughening the nation’s aging infrastructure against the harmful impacts of climate change. The money is expected to improve bridges, roads, ports, rail, transit and other infrastructure across 37 states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, particularly those battered by increasingly frequent extreme weather events brought on by the planet’s warming. The funds come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021 and add to other funding already flowing to states for similar projects, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. It’s the latest of many federal efforts to address the negative effects of human-caused climate change. President Joe Biden has earmarked more than $50 billion toward climate-related...
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Province announces new wildfire training and education centre at TRU
By Dionne Phillips Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On the heels of the province’s worst wildfire season in 2023, Premier David Eby stressed the importance of preparedness and proactiveness during an announcement held at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops (T?emlups). At the event on April 4, the premier announced the creation of a new wildfire training and education centre at the university, which the B.C. government says is the first of its kind in North America. Last year’s wildfire season saw tens of thousands of people evacuated and 2.84 million hectares of land scorched, with the communities of Secwepemcul’ecw being no exception. “By establishing the first-of-its-kind wildfire training and education centre in North America, we are preparing our future wildfire professionals for the critical work of protecting our forests, our...
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Chief says rescue effort for stranded orca calf four, five days away as plans ramp up
Plans are settling into place for an attempt to rescue a young killer whale calf stranded in a tidal lagoon near the Vancouver Island village of Zeballos within four or five days, says the area’s First Nation chief. Ehattesaht Chief Simon John has previously said the plan to remove the female orca calf from the lagoon could happen this week, but he said Wednesday it may be as early as Sunday or next week. He said the rescue attempt date now is being connected to the health of the young orca and to advice from marine mammal experts, including those from the Vancouver Aquarium. “That type of clarity is related to the professionals involved with it,” John said. “But I’m hoping that within the next four or five days. I...
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New report slams RCMP treatment of homeless Indigenous women in Northwest Territories
By Alessia Passafiume THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- Homeless Indigenous women in the North do not feel well-protected by the RCMP and instead face violence and discrimination by police, a new report from the Yellowknife Women’s Society has found. The organization held two sessions with women last October, and every single participant said she either experienced abuse by an RCMP officer or knew an Indigenous person who had. “More than once, women in our circles shared stories of being roughed up by the police and being explicitly told some version of, ‘I can do what I want to you, no one will believe you,”’ the report says. “Women also told us about calling for help and having the RCMP focus on ‘the wrong thing,’ asking women aggressive questions, spending time on...
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B.C. doesn’t know where all its groundwater is going. Experts worry as drought looms
Growing up on a ranch in the Columbia River Valley, water has always been part of Kat Hartwig’s life, and over the years, she’s noticed changes. Marshy areas her family used for irrigation or watering cattle are dry, wetlands are becoming “crunchy” rather than spongy underfoot, and snowmelt is disappearing more quickly each spring, ushering in the dry summer months, Hartwig says. Climate science supports her observations, showing that global heating is causing warmer temperatures and increasingly severe droughts in British Columbia. Hartwig, who advocates for better water policy, and others say drought is exposing cracks in how the province manages water. Officials don’t always know who is using groundwater, how much they’re using, or where they’re drawing it from, experts say. There are gaps in mapping and other data...
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Ontario bill aims to speed up stalled housing developments, boost student housing
By Allison Jones THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO- Ontario proposed Wednesday to allow municipalities to enact “use it or lose it” policies on developers, speed up the creation of student housing, and streamline approvals for standardized housing designs as it seeks new paths to reach its goal of building 1.5 million homes. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra introduced an omnibus bill tackling so-called red tape across several ministries, but the largest sections deal with rules and regulations on housing that he said stand in the way of home construction. “We have made a commitment to get at least 1.5 million homes built by 2031,” he said at a press conference. “Municipalities know their communities best. They know where it makes sense to build homes and that’s why we’re supporting...
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Winnipeg police charge chief of Lake St. Martin First Nation with sexual assault (
WINNIPEG- A First Nations chief in Manitoba is facing charges in the alleged sexual assault of a child. Winnipeg police say Christopher Traverse was charged in February with sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography. Traverse is chief of Lake St. Martin First Nation, which is in the Interlake region about 270 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Court records say the alleged offences happened on Dec. 29 and that Traverse was released on bail. Police say the case involves an elementary-school-age child. Traverse did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press but told CBC he is innocent and would not be resigning. He is set to appear in provincial court July 3. The Interlake Reserves Tribal Council, which consists of seven First Nations including Lake St....
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Former Thunder Bay police lawyer charged in OPP misconduct investigation
THUNDER BAY-A former in-house lawyer for the Thunder Bay Police is facing criminal charges as part of an active investigation into allegations of misconduct by members of the force, the second person arrested as part of the years-long probe by Ontario Provincial Police. Holly Walbourne was arrested and charged Tuesday with three counts of obstruction of justice, one count of breach of trust and one count of obstructing a public or peace officer. She is the second member of the force to face charges as part of the OPP’s investigation into alleged misconduct in the force. Police arrested Michael Dimini and charged him with two counts of assault, breach of trust and obstruction of justice in December. OPP have so far been tight-lipped about the substance of their investigation and...
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Assembly of First Nations says $349B is needed to close infrastructure gap by 2030
The Assembly of First Nations says decades of underfunding and failed fiduciary duties have created a $349-billion infrastructure gap. The assembly says the gap desperately needs to be closed and is calling on the federal government for help in doing so. The report out today calls for $135 billion for housing, $5 billion for digital connectivity and another $209 billion for other infrastructure. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to close the infrastructure gap by 2030, but the federal auditor general concluded earlier this year that it’s only getting wider. And the assembly, which advocates on behalf of more than 600 First Nations chiefs, says the cost will balloon if no action is taken now. Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu, whose department helped pen the report, says Canada is still committed...
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Six Nations marks 2024 solar eclipse
Getting an Eclipse tan during… solar eclipse 2024 By Lisa Iesse Writer Heavy clouds turned out to be just a tease when stargazers chasing the sun and the moon were treated to a totally “awesome” total solar eclipse in Six Nations. On April 8, NASA reported the total solar eclipse began in Mexico and was moving eastwards, making its way across the continent. Stargazers came to witness the celestial event wore funky solar viewing glasses, looked through cameras, pin-hole cameras, iphones, and telescopes. At Six Nations Parks and Recreation center, eager stargazers set up lawn chairs at the event organized by Cindy Martin, Traditional Wellness co-ordinator at Six Nations, and Feather Maracle, CEO of Six Nations library services. They handed out eclipse glasses, and booklets about the solar eclipse while...
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Numerous Indigenous burial sites in Norfolk County
By Lisa Iesse Writer Norfolk County’s Bayview cemetery, is within a one kilometre radius of First Nation burial sites dating back thousands of years. Tanya Hill-Montour, a Six Nations archaeological supervisor says there are “Indigenous burials all over” the area of Long Point near where the Bayview cemetery, built by European settlers in the 1800s, sits. Long Point is a beach landform on the north shore of Lake Erie. She said there are at least six burial sites in the Long Point area, just within a 1 km radius. The soft “sandy soil”, which is easy to dig, made the space ideal for First Nations ancestors to bury their loved ones back then, explained Montour. It’s also the site of the well known “Shaman of Long Point” an Indigenous man...
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Six Nations’ energy storage initiative discussed at Toronto forum of Indigenous projects
By Sam Laskaris Writer TORONTO-Matt Jamieson loves to tout Six Nations’ accomplishments. Jamieson, the CEO of the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, was in Toronto on Apr. 2 participating in the Indigenous Led Projects Forum. Jamieson was a panelist for a session titled Energy Storage Innovation at the two-day event, which was held at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Jamieson was invited to the session to discuss Six Nation’s Oneida Storage Project, which is currently under construction. “It’s a $700-million project, 250-megawatt of four-hour cycle time so 1,000 megawatts of energy storage product, the largest of its kind in Canada,” Jamieson said of the initiative, expected to be operational by May of 2025. “And the third largest in North America. We’re very proud of it.” While countries...
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Farmers group hoping to revive almost $6 million grocery store and resource centre idea
The Six Nations Farmers Association is still trying to find funding to build a $5.6 million grocery store and a resource centre. Frank Montour and Jesse Porter gave Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) another presentation on what they hope will become the association’s “Six Nations Agricultural Resource Centre” (SNARC) and grocery store during SNEC’s Political Liaison meeting Monday (April 8) . The farmers were seeking support for the project they have been working on since 2017. “This is going to impact a lot of things in our community. It’s more than just a grocery store. There’s more here than just that. We’ve given you a lot of information, we want your participation. We don’t want you to come in with blinders on,” Montour said. “What do you see? How can...
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Our place in the universe
Wow. For all of us the 2024 eclipse will be talked about for some time to come. And for everyone that had a chance to step outside, don their safety glasses and look up it was a rare and amazing experience when the moon caught up with the sun. And it was also an enlighting experience. For one thing we didn’t expected it to get so cold. An odd reaction since we were about to watch the sun disappear. No sunlight to warm us as we stood outside so of course it would get cold. What else would happen if the sun went away? The light took on a different hue. And it was like a moment to come together as family or as they saw at the community centre...
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Weekly Cartoon
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Graham and Smith selected to lead Rivermen in 2024
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Rivermen have some new men at the helm. It was officially announced on the weekend that Derek Graham, whose lengthy list of accomplishments include winning a National Lacrosse League (NLL) championship with the Buffalo Bandits, has been named as the head coach of the local Senior B team. And Six Nations member Jay Smith has been appointed as the general manager for the Rivermen. Smith joins the organization via the Six Nations Tomahawks. Last year Smith served as both the head coach and the GM of the Tomahawks, a Senior C club that captured the provincial Senior Series Lacrosse championship. The Rivermen compete in the six-team Ontario Series Lacrosse (OSL). The circuit also includes the Brooklin Merchants, Ennismore James Gang, Clearview Crushers, Owen...
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Stealth to compete in five-team, pre-season tournament in Plattsville
By Sam Laskaris Writer Members of the Six Nations Stealth are gearing up for a pre-season tournament this weekend. The local Junior C lacrosse squad will participate in the Wild West Shootout, which will be held on Saturday in Plattsville. The tournament will feature five clubs. Also taking part are the Wilmot Wild, Huntsville Hawks, Brantford Warriors and Orangeville Northmen. Wilmot is hosting the tourney. But since the community still has ice in its local rink the tourney will be held in nearby Plattsville. All games will be staged at the Plattsville Arena. Each team will play three matches on Saturday. The opening game for the Stealth will be at 9 a.m. against Brandford. The Stealth will then face off against Huntsville in a contest, which has an opening faceoff...
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