In 2020, New Brunswick police fatally shot two Indigenous people, prompting protests
The Canadian Press The recent fatal shooting of an Indigenous man by a New Brunswick Mountie offers a chilling reminder of two separate incidents in 2020 when police officers in the province fatally shot Indigenous people in distress. On the night of June 12, 2020, RCMP officers in eastern New Brunswick responded to a complaint about an “unwanted person” at a home near Metepenagiag. At the time, the Mounties said the man was carrying knives and there were several failed bids to subdue him with a stun gun. That’s when 48-year-old Rodney Levi was fatally shot by an officer. Police were told Levi was attending a barbecue, where he had planned to seek guidance from a church minister. He was described as a troubled man with mental health challenges. On...
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Animated film has world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
By Sam Laskaris Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Some complementary exchanges with an award-winning writer several years ago has paid off for Métis filmmaker Amanda Strong. Strong’s latest work, titled Inkwo for When the Starving Return, had its world premiere at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). TIFF began on Sept. 5 and continues until Sept. 15. Strong’s film is an animated adaption from Richard Van Camp’s short story Wheetago War, which was published in 2015 in his short story collection called Night Moves. Van Camp, the author of 28 books, is a Tłı̨chǫ Dene from Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories. “We were kind of just fans of each other’s work,” Strong said of Van Camp. “This is probably 7-8 years ago. I think he was emailing me about...
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N.B. Liberal leader says death of Indigenous man during wellness check ‘inexplicable’
The Canadian Press A New Brunswick First Nation is calling for a “thorough investigation” after an RCMP officer fatally shot an Indigenous man during a recent wellness check. The RCMP confirmed two officers were dispatched Sunday to the Elsipogtog First Nation where they confronted an armed man in mental distress in his home. The Mounties say the man refused to drop his weapon and would not co-operate with the officers. The Serious Incident Response Team, which is investigating the shooting, said one of the officers used a stun gun to subdue the man, but that didn’t work. The second officer shot him with his gun, killing him, the agency said. Ni’kmaq Notji Apogenmoet, a local Indigenous group that helps with wellness checks on the Elsipogtog First Nation, identified the victim...
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Montreal mayor faces criticism for blocking comments on social media accounts
The Canadian Press Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s decision to restrict access to her social media accounts is facing pushback over concerns it could stifle criticism. Aref Salem, leader of the city’s official Opposition, says Plante and her party, Projet Montréal, are limiting Montrealers’ freedom of expression by blocking comments on social media platforms X and Instagram. “This is not the way of democracy,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “This is really unethical, even, to not let the population of Montreal interact with the mayor.” Salem says social media is one of the only ways for citizens to interact with Plante. Residents can voice their concerns in person during a question period at city council meetings, but they have only 90 seconds to ask their question. “Having a social media...
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Incumbent Fred Daniels to seek re-election as mayor of Fort Smith
By Aastha Sethi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Fred Daniels says he will run for a second term as mayor of Fort Smith in this fall’s municipal election. Nominations for mayor and council opened earlier this week with a September 23 deadline. The Northwest Territories communities of Fort Smith, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Norman Wells and Inuvik are all preparing for elections on October 21. Daniels, who has been Fort Smith’s mayor for the past three years, said he wants a second term so he can push forward infrastructure projects that are either longstanding or were delayed as a result of last year’s wildfires. At the moment, he said, the town has not budgeted for beautification, which he hopes to incorporate as a theme once some existing projects are completed. “Right...
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AMC grand chief remembered as a strong leader and ‘fierce advocate’
By Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter Cathy Merrick will lie in state at the Manitoba Legislature on Wednesday, while tributes continue to pour in for the late-grand chief who some are calling a “powerhouse” as a leader and an advocate. The province has announced that Merrick will lie in state between noon and 5 p.m. and members of the public are invited to pay their respects at the Manitoba Legislative Building. A book of condolences will be placed at the base of the Grand Staircase, while flags at the Legislative Building will stay lowered to half-staff until after Merrick’s funeral, which is planned for Saturday in her home community of Pimicikamak Cree Nation (PCN) where she previously served as chief. Merrick was first voted in as Grand...
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First Nation says it won’t recognize some moose hunting licenses
By Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A northern Manitoba First Nation has taken out newspaper ads warning licensed non-Indigenous moose hunters not to hunt within its traditional territory. On Sunday, the Pimicikamak Cree Nation (PCN) placed notices in a few papers that say PCN will “not recognize” hunting tags issued for non-Indigenous people for game hunting areas 9A and 10, which both include parts of PCN territory. The notice also asks that non-Indigenous licensed moose hunters return moose tags for those areas to the provincial government. In the notice, the community said they “do not provide any consent or permission for use of the license” and claimed use of licenses to hunt moose in those areas violate PCN’s Treaty rights and the Northern Flood Agreement. On Aug. 26,...
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ONE TO GO! Six Nations Chiefs one win away from capturing another Mann Cup championship
The Six Nations Chiefs one to go to another Mann Cup (Photo by Darryl Smart.) By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Chiefs did not have a good start on Tuesday night. Or a decent finish either. But as it turned out, neither of those things mattered. Thanks to an outstanding second period, in which they outscored the visiting Victoria Shamrocks 8-2, the Chiefs managed to register a 12-9 triumph in Game 4 of their Mann Cup series, which is being held entirely at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena (ILA). And with that victory the Six Nations squad managed to take a 3-1 lead in its best-of-seven championship series to determine national Senior A bragging rights. The Chiefs, the defending Mann Cup champs, can win their second consecutive title on Wednesday....
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Chiefs hoping to defend Mann Cup title at home
By Sam Laskaris Writer It still remains to be seen which club will be crowned 2024 Mann Cup champions. But the one thing that is for certain is that local lacrosse fans have certainly been entertained with some exciting action by a pair of highly talented clubs in recent days. The host Six Nations Chiefs and British Columbia’s Victoria Shamrocks are currently engaged in a best-of-seven series to decide national bragging rights. All matches are being held locally at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. The Chiefs, the defending Mann Cup champs, earned the right to host this year’s Canadian championship series by capturing the Ontario-based Major Series Lacrosse title. Victoria qualified by winning the B.C.-based Western Lacrosse Association. Game 5 will be contested on Wednesday night. The opening faceoff is...
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TC Energy says sale of minority stake in pipeline to Indigenous groups is delayed
The Canadian Press 10/09/2024 14:12 A deal that was billed as Canada’s largest-ever Indigenous equity ownership agreement has hit a snag. TC Energy Corp. said Tuesday the $1-billion agreement, announced in July, that would see it sell a minority stake in its Western Canadian natural gas transmission network to a consortium of Indigenous communities has been delayed. The deal is meant to enable 72 communities to take a 5.34 per cent stake in the Nova Gas transmission system and Foothills pipeline assets, which comprise a combined 25,000-kilometre network of natural gas infrastructure. But TC Energy said the deal has been delayed “due to an identified transaction structuring issue within the NGTL partnership.” Bloomberg News reported Monday that a $1-billion bond deal to finance the deal did not close as planned....
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‘Unshackled’ NDP MPs in Montreal for caucus retreat days after breakup with Liberals
The Canadian Press 10/09/2024 14:39 New Democrats are huddling in Montreal to strategize a new path forward ahead of the fall parliamentary session — one that doesn’t include the Liberals at their hips and ideally makes them a credible alternative to the Conservatives at the next election. The three-day caucus retreat kicked off Tuesday, less than a week after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced the end of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals. It’s also taking place in one of the two cities where the NDP is hoping to win a byelection on Sept. 16. Singh said on Sept. 4 that he had “ripped up” the agreement with the governing Liberals, and tried to position himself as the progressive alternative to Pierre Poilievre. He argued the Liberals are too weak...
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Haldimand County youth charged after Interpol warns threat to local high school
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – A teenager has been charged by Haldimand Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) after Interpol received information about a threat to a Haldimand County school Details of which school or youth have not been released. OPP said early Wednesday ( September 10, 2024,) morning at about 4:00 a.m., the Haldimand Detachment OPP after investigating the threat said it had been made through a social media platform that has since been removed, and police believe there is no further threat to public safety. As a result, a 15-year-old is facing the charge of uttering threats, contrary to the Criminal Code. The identity of the youth is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The accused has been released from police custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court...
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Poilievre pledges to reward communities for building more houses
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says municipalities should be rewarded for building more homes, and territorial governments should also be able to collect more revenues from the extraction of their natural resources. “I want keys in doors, and the only way to make that happen is to speed up the permitting, free up the land to build, build, build,” Poilievre said in an interview at the start of his visit to Iqaluit on Monday. Poilievre, who hopes to become prime minister after the next election, outlined some of his plans for governing ahead of a rally at the Frobisher Inn, scheduled for Monday afternoon. The Opposition leader visited an NCC Development Ltd. construction site of a mixed-use housing and commercial development in Lower...
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N.B. Liberal leader says death of Indigenous man during wellness check ‘inexplicable’
The Canadian Press 10/09/2024 13:03 A New Brunswick First Nation is calling for a “thorough investigation” after an RCMP officer fatally shot an Indigenous man during a wellness check. The Serious Incident Response Team, which is investigating the Sunday shooting at Elsipogtog First Nation, says that when two officers “were approached by a male carrying weapons,” one of the Mounties used a stun gun, which proved to be ineffective. The police oversight agency says the other officer shot the man with his gun, killing him. In a statement posted to social media, Elsipogtog First Nation says it is doing its best to gather information and understand what happened. The statement says the First Nation in northeastern New Brunswick is doing everything it can to ensure that justice is served. Meanwhile,...
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Under the Northern Sky: We Need To Stick Together
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com I have been working in media as an Indigenous journalist, columnist and videographer for more than a quarter century at this point. This has been such an incredible experience and continues to be for so many reasons. Perhaps the biggest reason I love this work is because I continually learn from every story I must research and all of the amazing Elders, Chiefs, council members, Indigenous and non Indigenous people that I interview. This is not always an easy job and some issues are difficult as they deal with political realities, community issues that are sometimes tragic and historic racist and oppressing government policies. Still, most of the time it has to do with learning and getting an education on the Indigenous and non Indigenous communities...
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B.C. sets up a panel on bear deaths, will review conservation officer training
The Canadian Press The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province. Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.” Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public. “So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview. B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while...
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Groups want Alberta coal hearings adjourned while Appeal Court considers applications
The Canadian Press 09/09/2024 At least three requesters want Alberta’s energy regulator to call off hearings on coal exploration in the Rocky Mountains while the province’s top court considers whether the proposal’s applications are legitimate. “It makes no sense, while the actual validity of this application is in question, that we should be asked to prepare for this and spend time on something that may be null in the end,” said Laura Laing of the Pekisko Group, an organization of ranchers in southwest Alberta near where Northback Holdings wants to revive coal mining. Pekisko’s, filed Monday, is the second such request. On Friday, the Municipal District of Ranchland also asked the regulator to delay the hearing. “The (district) requests that the panel adjourn the proceeding, including all upcoming submissions deadlines...
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Amid the worst drought in Brazil history, wildfires rage and the Amazon falls to a record low level
The Associated Press 09/09/2024 BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil is enduring its worst drought since nationwide measurements began over seven decades ago, with 59% of the country under stress — an area roughly half the size of the U.S. Major Amazon basin rivers are registering historic lows, and uncontrolled manmade wildfires have ravaged protected areas and spread smoke over a vast expanse, plummeting air quality. “This is the first time that a drought has covered all the way from the North to the country’s Southeast,” Ana Paula Cunha, a researcher at the National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters, said in a statement Thursday. “It is the most intense and widespread drought in history.” Smoke on Monday afternoon caused Sao Paulo, a metropolitan area of 21 million...
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Mark Carney to lead Liberal economic task force ahead of next election
The Canadian Press Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will chair a Liberal task force on economic growth, the party announced Monday as Liberal MPs meet to strategize for the upcoming election year. Long touted as a possible leadership successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney was already scheduled to address caucus as part of the retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., this week. The Liberals say he will help shape the party’s policies for the next election, and will report to Trudeau and the Liberal platform committee. “As chair of the Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth, Mark’s unique ideas and perspectives will play a vital role in shaping the next steps in our plan to continue to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class, and to urgently seize...
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Peter Nygard sentenced to 11 years for sexual assault convictions
The Canadian Press 09/09/2024 11:21 TORONTO,ONT-Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his sexual assault convictions in Toronto. His time behind bars will work out to 6.7 years after accounting for credit he received for time already spent in custody. Nygard’s lawyer had argued for a six-year sentence, citing the 83-year-old’s age and poor health, while the Crown sought a sentence of 15 years. Nygard was convicted of four counts of sexual assault last November but acquitted of a fifth count as well as one of forcible confinement. The charges stemmed from allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s, as multiple women accused Nygard of sexually assaulting them at his company’s headquarters in Toronto. Nygard’s lawyer previously argued in court that a...
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