B.C. NDP pledges to help middle-income homebuyers with 40% of financing
The Canadian Press New Democrat Leader David Eby says he will help more middle-class, first-time buyers into the housing market in British Columbia with a plan to finance 40 per cent of the price. Eby said Wednesday during an election campaign stop that his Homes for People plan will commit up to $1.29 billion per year in financing, while supporting the development of up to 25,000 new units over five years. The early days of the campaign ahead of B.C.’s Oct. 19th election also saw the provincial Greens lay out their plans to maintain a carbon tax, separating them from the position of the other two major provincial parties. An NDP government would partner with non-profit organizations, local governments, First Nations and market-housing providers to identify land and projects for...
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‘Life is hard’: Living under a 29-year boil-water advisory in an Ontario First Nation
The Canadian Press Every other day, Derek Moonias drives 15 minutes to the airport in Neskantaga First Nation and fills his pickup truck with cases of bottled water flown in on the dime of the federal government. The community some 450 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont. – accessible only by air and a winter ice road – has the longest boil-water advisory in the country at 29 years and growing. Many in the community have never lived at a time when the water coming out of the taps was declared suitable to drink. On this morning, Moonias, the water distribution co-ordinator, is tired. A young mother called him overnight looking for clean water to make a bottle for her baby. He dug some up from his secret cache kept...
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Manitoba, First Nations group start recruiting workers to search landfill for remains
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 15:04 The Manitoba government and an advocacy group representing First Nations have started the process of hiring workers to help search a landfill for the remains of two victims of a serial killer. The province says it is working with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs to recruit multiple full- and part-time technicians to help forensic anthropologists search for the Indigenous women’s remains in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The government says applicants are not expected to have extensive experience in the area. It says family and community members are encouraged to apply and preference is to be given to Indigenous applicants. The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to have been taken to the landfill in the spring of 2022. Jeremy...
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Huu-ay-aht First Nation seeks Dark-Sky Preserve designation for Bamfield
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Bamfield, BC – Standing in the home of his ancestors at Kiixin (pronounced kee-hin), Huu-ay-aht’s ancient summer village site, knowledge keeper Qiic Qiica spoke about connection. “That’s one of the most beautiful things about being Indigenous is our connectedness. We are not above or below anything in the world. We are a part of it,” said Qiic Qiica, a cultural interpreter for Kiix̣in Tours. “We are deeply connected to everything around us. Not just the land or the ocean, but it’s also the cosmos. Our people were so connected to the cosmos, it’s only with our modern technology and conveniences that we have become disconnected,” said Qiic Qiica as he led a group of scientists, Indigenous leaders, tourism delegates, economic development partners, journalists...
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More Indigenous participation in labour market would boost Alberta economy: Report
The Canadian Press A new report says increasing Indigenous participation in Alberta’s labour market could boost the province’s GDP by between two and three percentage points, the equivalent of $8 billion to $11 billion annually. The report by ATB Financial and professional services firm MNP pegs the total contributions of Indigenous governments, businesses and households to Alberta’s GDP in 2023 at $9.2 billion, approximately three per cent of the province’s total GDP. It says the contributions of Indigenous people to Alberta’s economy have grown by 12 to 15 per cent since 2019. But the report says disparities in income and educational attainment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Albertans persist. It says Indigenous workers are still overrepresented in lower-paying roles and under-represented in management and professional positions The report calls on businesses,...
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Ontario premier tasks Ministry of Education with investigating TDSB field trip
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 12:16 Ontario’s Ministry of Education is investigating a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north. Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he had asked Education Minister Jill Dunlop to investigate, saying kids shouldn’t be at protests, they should be in school learning math, spelling, geography and history. The TDSB has launched its own investigation, but Dunlop says in a statement that the board has failed to take swift and decisive action and she wants to see those responsible held accountable. TDSB says in a written statement that it is doing a review of field trip procedures and told schools that students should not be participating in...
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Saskatchewan man wanted for robbery killed in RCMP standoff
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 12:15 Saskatchewan’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting death of a man facing several arrest warrants for robbery. Local RCMP say they had learned the man, wanted in the robbery of two businesses and a home, was in the area of Fishing Lake First Nation. Police say a van seen speeding through the area had been stolen by the man from a school on Fishing Lake First Nation and that he was armed. Officers chased the van on rural roads before it drove onto a field, where shots were fired to get the vehicle to stop. Police say 34-year-old Joseph “Joey” Desjarlais was found dead inside the van and that his family has been told. The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team is now looking into Desjarlais’s...
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B.C. NDP pledges to help middle-income homebuyers with 40% of financing
The Canadian Press British Columbia’s New Democrats have unveiled a plan that Leader David Eby says will help middle-income families purchase a home by financing 40 per cent of the price. The plan commits up to $1.29 billion per year in financing to help middle-income people buy their first home, while supporting the development of up to 25,000 new units over five years. A statement from the NDP says the government would partner with non-profit organizations, local governments, First Nations and market-housing providers to identify land and projects for development. It says government financing and the use of low-cost land would allow builders to offer units for sale at 40 per cent below market prices, and buyers would need to come up with the remaining 60 per cent. When the...
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“It’s pretty dang cool,”: Mi’kmaq youth empowered by involvement in photo exhibit honouring Marshall Decision
By Meghan Dewar is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter Several Mi’kmaq were featured in a photo exhibit by Steve Wadden at the Eltuek Arts Centre in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Decision. Among those photographed was Colton Brooks-Marshall, an 11-year-old from Potlotek First Nation. Brooks-Marshall shared that it was an exciting experience for him, representing his culture through photography. “I got to experience holding an eel, so that was pretty cool. When I saw the photos, I was excited. I was really, really excited.” Brooks-Marshall felt he looked strong and powerful in the photo featured in the exhibit. “I’ve been learning the Mi’kmaq language probably about my whole life. The Mi’kmaq language is dying, so seeing a bunch of Indigenous people in an art exhibit, it’s pretty...
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First Nations call for ban of aerial spraying after spill
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter LATCHFORD – Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai leaders are calling for a ban on aerial spraying of herbicides of the forest following a spill of over 600 litres of GlySil (glyphosate) concentrate on the evening of September 10. The spill occurred at the 21-kilometre mark on Eagle Lake Road northwest of Brickstock Lake, northwest of the head of Lake Anima Nipissing and about ten kilometres west of Latchford. The truck carrying the material to be used for aerial spraying overturned and released 600 litres into a ditch on the side of the road. Representatives of the Temagami Forest Management Corporation (TFMC), Forest Resource Management Group, Apex and the Ministry of Environment have been at the scene. Apex has brought environmental technicians to...
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First Nations call for ban of aerial spraying after spill
By Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter LATCHFORD – Temagami First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai leaders are calling for a ban on aerial spraying of herbicides of the forest following a spill of over 600 litres of GlySil (glyphosate) concentrate on the evening of September 10. The spill occurred at the 21-kilometre mark on Eagle Lake Road northwest of Brickstock Lake, northwest of the head of Lake Anima Nipissing and about ten kilometres west of Latchford. The truck carrying the material to be used for aerial spraying overturned and released 600 litres into a ditch on the side of the road. Representatives of the Temagami Forest Management Corporation (TFMC), Forest Resource Management Group, Apex and the Ministry of Environment have been at the scene. Apex has brought environmental technicians to...
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“It’s pretty dang cool,”: Mi’kmaq youth empowered by involvement in photo exhibit honouring Marshall Decision
By Meghan Dewar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Several Mi’kmaq were featured in a photo exhibit by Steve Wadden at the Eltuek Arts Centre in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Marshall Decision. Among those photographed was Colton Brooks-Marshall, an 11-year-old from Potlotek First Nation. Brooks-Marshall shared that it was an exciting experience for him, representing his culture through photography. “I got to experience holding an eel, so that was pretty cool. When I saw the photos, I was excited. I was really, really excited.” Brooks-Marshall felt he looked strong and powerful in the photo featured in the exhibit. “I’ve been learning the Mi’kmaq language probably about my whole life. The Mi’kmaq language is dying, so seeing a bunch of Indigenous people in an art exhibit, it’s pretty dang cool.”...
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Saskatchewan man wanted for robbery killed in RCMP standoff
The Canadian Press 25/09/2024 12:15 Saskatchewan’s police watchdog is investigating the shooting death of a man facing several arrest warrants for robbery. Local RCMP say they had learned the man, wanted in the robbery of two businesses and a home, was in the area of Fishing Lake First Nation. Police say a van seen speeding through the area had been stolen by the man from a school on Fishing Lake First Nation and that he was armed. Officers chased the van on rural roads before it drove onto a field, where shots were fired to get the vehicle to stop. Police say 34-year-old Joseph “Joey” Desjarlais was found dead inside the van and that his family has been told. The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team is now looking into Desjarlais’s...
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Ontario premier tasks Ministry of Education with investigating TDSB field trip
The Canadian Press Ontario’s Ministry of Education is investigating a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north. Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he had asked Education Minister Jill Dunlop to investigate, saying kids shouldn’t be at protests, they should be in school learning math, spelling, geography and history. The TDSB has launched its own investigation, but Dunlop says in a statement that the board has failed to take swift and decisive action and she wants to see those responsible held accountable. TDSB says in a written statement that it is doing a review of field trip procedures and told schools that students should not be participating in organized protests,...
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More Indigenous participation in labour market would boost Alberta economy: Report
The Canadian Press A new report says increasing Indigenous participation in Alberta’s labour market could boost the province’s GDP by between two and three percentage points, the equivalent of $8 billion to $11 billion annually. The report by ATB Financial and professional services firm MNP pegs the total contributions of Indigenous governments, businesses and households to Alberta’s GDP in 2023 at $9.2 billion, approximately three per cent of the province’s total GDP. It says the contributions of Indigenous people to Alberta’s economy have grown by 12 to 15 per cent since 2019. But the report says disparities in income and educational attainment between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Albertans persist. It says Indigenous workers are still overrepresented in lower-paying roles and under-represented in management and professional positions The report calls on businesses,...
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Orange Shirt Day – Advertiser’s Special
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TURTLE ISLAND NEWS SPECIAL EDITION: Truth and Reconciliation…the searches go on
Survivors’ Secretariat holding hope for missing children By Austin Evans Writer One hundred children…so far. Children who would have been lost to history if the Six Nations of the Grand Rivers’ Survivors’ Secretariat hadn’t stepped in. With the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on the horizon on the lawn outside the secretariat’s Fourth Line headquarters are 100 signs in the shape of feathers not just to commemorate the national day, but to honour 100 children the secretariat has identified, so far, as having either died at, or due to, the Mohawk Institute. “By using feathers, they are a symbol of how feathers fall from a bird, and they become a part of the environment where they land, returning back to mother earth where we come from,” said display creator Misty...
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Norfolk County Council approves Indigenous acknowledgement minus the land
By Austin Evans Writer After three years of debate, Norfolk County Council will start meetings with an Indigenous Acknowledgement. But it won’t mention any land. Instead the acknowledgment will only address “historical and current contributions of Indigenous Peoples.” The council’s Chief Administrative Officer Al Meneses presented the acknowledgement to the council for approval. “With Council’s approval today, the new Indigenous acknowledgement will be read at the start of each council meeting going forward as early as the October council meeting,” he said. “If Council so direct staff through the recommendations in this report, staff will also explore different opportunities, avenues and arenas for us to read this Indigenous acknowledgement at the start of other meetings.” Councillor Tim Masschaele moved the recommendation. “It’s a timely and appropriate motion to make, especially...
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Six Nation Elected Council admin changes creating concerns
Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) continues to experience issues with processes, procedures and memories. Councillor Helen Miller expressed concern about researchers skipping the ethics committee and going straight to council. Her concerns focused on Andri Kramarenko, a University of Waterloo Masters student, who visited in August requesting to film drone footage of the Grand River and a project called Lazar, that wasn’t discussed in an open agenda. “Do these not have to go through ethics anymore?” Miller asked. “They’re collecting data, they’re doing research.” CEO Nathan Wright said Kramarenko had gone through the ethics committee and was approved, but he acknowledged the Lazar project had not and he was pushing it back to ethics, “to get it back through the proper channels.” Councillor Cynthia Jamieson interjected that she had never...
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At same time…staff wondering who’s the boss ?
A not for profit organization is creating confusion over who’s the boss at the Six Nations Elected Council adminstration building. The Ontairo Woodlot Association, involved biodiversity on Ontario woodlots is sending work to band staff. Six Nations staff are not sure who is supposed to assist the Ontario Woodlot Association and they’re not making it easy. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) did not pass a motion from the Nation Building Committee directing Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and the woodlot association to go back and complete the “administrative process,” to gain access to Six Nations staff at its General Finance meeting on September 16. Instead SNEC directed CEO Nathan Wright to have a conversation with OPG. “The work being done within this project; it is good work, but we need to...
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