Groups threaten to sue over which fish should be saved – salmon or bass
By John Chilibeck Local Journalism Initiative reporter A battle that’s been brewing on a famous New Brunswick river between people trying to protect wild Atlantic salmon and others wanting to preserve striped bass fishing has boiled over. Both sides on the Miramichi River are threatening to sue Ottawa for not listening to their demands. On one end is a small group of conservationists warning they’ll take the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to court unless it allows people to kill more striped bass, a predator of threatened wild Atlantic salmon on the eastern New Brunswick river. On the other is a group of sport fishers who argue the department has already increased the cull of stripers so much that it threatens the species’ astonishing comeback. They’re collecting signatures –...
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Blair says future of defence relies on building relationships with Indigenous Peoples
Defence Minister Bill Blair says his department’s future success depends upon building and strengthening relationships with Indigenous communities in a way that’s consistent with reconciliation. Blair was speaking today at the first national Indigenous defence conference in Ottawa, which involves Indigenous leaders, defence professionals and government talking about the impact of the military on Indigenous lands, stewardship and treaty rights. Blair says defence of the North is Canada’s greatest responsibility, and building infrastructure and having a persistent, reliable presence in the Arctic region is crucial to national security and community prosperity. But to achieve that, the government must gain trust from communities, and work in a more collaborative and respectful way. That includes bringing community leaders into conversations about why certain things need to be done, rather than dictating to...
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Nunavik police chief stresses healing, rebuilding trust in wake of fatal shooting
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Nunatsiaq News Nunavik Police Service Chief Jean-Pierre Larose said Wednesday he is “deeply affected” by a fatal police shooting earlier this month and that changes have already been made in the way officers will respond to future confrontations. It was Larose’s first public statement since an early morning altercation involving officers and two residents in Salluit Nov. 4 left Joshua Papigatuk dead and his twin brother, Garnet Papigatuk, severely injured. Hours after the shooting, angry residents protested outside the Salluit police office, and at another protest the next day in Kuujjuaq some people carried signs with the messages #justiceforJoshua and #justiceforthetwins. Another protest march is planned for Saturday in Montreal’s Westmount neighbourhood. Kativik Regional Government chairperson Hilda Snowball, centre, says KRG intends to...
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Dermo disease detected in oyster samples in northeastern Nova Scotia
OTTAWA-(CP)-Federal food safety officials say they have confirmed the first case of dermo disease in oysters from Nova Scotia — the second confirmed case in Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the disease, detected in oyster samples from Merigomish, N.S., doesn’t pose a risk to human health or food safety but can cause increased oyster mortality and decreased growth rates. Dermo, also known as perkinsosis, presents in adult oysters more than one year old and causes several symptoms, including making their shells open out of water. The first confirmed Canadian case of the disease was detected last week in oysters collected in Spence Cove, N.B., not far from the Confederation Bridge linking New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island. Another oyster disease that poses no health risk, multinucleate sphere unknown,...
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Poilievre calls two-month GST break inflationary, says Tories will vote against it
OTTAWA-(CP) Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his party will vote against Liberal legislation to remove the federal sales tax off a slew of items over the holidays. The government introduced the bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, and it’s expected to be debated today. The two-month tax break covers dozens of items commonly purchased over the holidays, including children’s clothes and toys, video games and consoles, Christmas trees, restaurant and catered meals, wine, beer, candy and snacks. Poilievre, a vocal advocate for cutting taxes, said the GST break “isn’t a tax cut.” “This an inflationary, two-month temporary tax trick that will drive up the cost of living,” Poilievre said on Thursday. “My tax cuts are not just about lowering costs, they’re about sparking more production. By axing...
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One small solar panel started big East Coast dreams for energy self-sufficiency
By Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Canada’s National Observer A clean energy revolution in a Prince Edward Island First Nation was started by one small solar panel system atop the community’s school. It was the nation’s only claim to renewable energy in 2021. But then, Drew Bernard, the ambitious young energy leader from Lennox Island First Nation, graduated from community college with a mission to make his nation energy self sufficient. Now, the community of about 400 people is working toward large-scale renewable projects, a revamped greenhouse and a major retrofit campaign on every house. “Only three years later, we certainly view ourselves as one of the national leaders in terms of holistic community energy,” Bernard said. Prince Edward Island is one of the most progressive provinces when it...
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Mamakwa to propose new provincial holiday
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KIIWETINOONG — Sol Mamakwa believes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation should be a statutory holiday for all Ontarians, and he will be introducing a private member’s bill to that effect. The New Democrat MPP for Kiiwetinoong is set to introduce the bill on Thursday after a news conference in Toronto. He will present his case for the bill in Anishininiimowin (Oji-Cree) and speak in that language in question period as well. “I think it’s important that we acknowledge a day of reflection for Indian residential schools on Sept. 30 and make it a statutory holiday within Ontario, because it’s a day where Ontarians have a day to learn about history, learn what Orange Shirt Day is and how to take action...
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RCMP investigating death of Edmonton man after mixed martial arts fight
ALBERTA-(CP)Mounties in Alberta are investigating the death of a fighter following a mixed martial arts charity event. RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the man was taken to hospital after he fought Saturday at a community centre in Enoch Cree First Nation west of Edmonton. Parkland RCMP received a report of the man’s death on Monday morning, he said. “This fighter did die in hospital. However, it was immediately after the fight, so you would attribute it to the fight,” Savinkoff said Wednesday. “This is a very traumatic incident, and I’m sure it’s traumatic for those that were watching the event.” The fighter was 33 and lived in Edmonton. The organizer of Saturday’s event, Ultra Events Canada, said in an email Wednesday it was devastated to hear about the death of...
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Six-unit residential housing complex in Inuvik destroyed by fire this week
Evan Lemieux, one of the residents, said he spent Tuesday helping to accommodate the other tenants who lived in the affected building. Lemieux wants anyone with information about how the Monday fire could have begun to contact the local police detachment. Inuvik’s director of protective services and fire chief, Brian Larman, said no injuries were reported during the incident, which he said is under investigation. “The Inuvik Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire at a residential complex on Inuit Road in Inuvik with 20 personnel and six firefighting apparatuses at 06:00 on November 25,” Larman wrote in an email on Wednesday. “Firefighters were on scene for five hours and contained the fire to the subject unit which sustained major damage; adjacent units within the complex sustained...
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Ontario eyes new electricity generation sites, possibly including nuclear
Canadian Press-Ontario is eyeing three sites across the province for new electricity generation facilities, including the possibility of large-scale nuclear plants, in order to meet soaring power demands. The province is on track to meet rising electricity needs through to 2035, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce said, but after that point the demand will continue to skyrocket and Ontario needs to secure more power for the future. “Our economy is undergoing a profound transformation – we are attracting historic investments in electric vehicle and battery production, the life sciences and manufacturing, and we’re electrifying whole industries like steel production,” he said. “But with the rapid growth comes a generational challenge. How do we meet the surging demand for electricity, while ensuring our energy system remains reliable, affordable and future ready?” The...
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Long-sought court ruling restores Oregon tribe’s hunting and fishing rights
LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — Drumming made the floor vibrate and singing filled the conference room of the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, on the Oregon coast, as hundreds in tribal regalia danced in a circle. For the last 47 years, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have held an annual powwow to celebrate regaining federal recognition. This month’s event, however, was especially significant: It came just two weeks after a federal court lifted restrictions on the tribe’s rights to hunt, fish and gather — restrictions tribal leaders had opposed for decades. “We’re back to the way we were before,” Siletz Chairman Delores Pigsley said. “It feels really good.” The Siletz is a confederation of over two dozen bands and tribes whose traditional homelands spanned western Oregon, as...
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Supreme Court of Canada sides with First Nation in police funding dispute
QUEBEC- (CP)-Quebec must provide more money for a First Nations police force after acting dishonourably by refusing to negotiate the funding terms, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. The top court dismissed the province’s appeal of a ruling that said Quebec violated the principle of good faith and failed to uphold the honour of the Crown in refusing to adequately fund the Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation’s police force. The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled in December 2022 that the provincial and federal governments owed almost $1.6 million to the First Nation in Mashteuiatsh, Que., to make up for years of underfunding. The federal government agreed to pay its share of the money, but Quebec asked the Supreme Court to overturn the decision. In its 8-1 ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court...
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Liberal candidate in B.C. byelection seeks Métis membership after identity questioned
BC-(CP)-The Liberal candidate in a federal byelection in British Columbia says she is applying for Métis membership after a local group questioned her claims of Indigenous identity. Madison Fleischer says in a written statement that she self-identifies as Métis based on what she knows about her great-grandmother’s heritage and is “collecting the necessary documentation to go through the application process” for citizenship with B.C.’s Métis Nation. In the meantime, Fleischer, who is the candidate in the Dec. 16 byelection in Cloverdale-Langley City, says she has removed “Métis” from her social media profile descriptions to ensure there is “no confusion” about her Indigenous status. Her response comes after the Waceya Métis Society — which describes itself as a chartered community representing Métis people in the Langley and White Rock regions of...
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Native healer will wait several more months before sentence is handed down for assaulting client
By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Penticton Herald PENTICTON B.C.-A First Nation healer convicted of assaulting one of his longtime clients during a traditional healing session more than two years ago in Penticton won’t find out his punishment for several more months. After a highly-emotional trial that lasted more than four weeks earlier this fall, Donald Wayne Ashley was found not guilty of three counts of sexual assault, but guilty of one count of assault. Ashley was originally charged with six counts of sexual assault on allegations that he inappropriately touched several women during different native healing sessions over a four-day period in the middle of October 2022 in Penticton. On Monday, Ashley’s lawyer Mark Norha, appearing via video from Vancouver, told a Justice of the Peace his client...
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Trump promised federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe. Will he follow through?
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — When Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina, both candidates courted a state-recognized tribe there whose 55,000 members could have helped tip the swing state. Trump in September promised that he would sign legislation to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe, a distinction that would unlock access to federal funds. He ultimately won North Carolina by more than 3 percentage points, in part due to continued support from Lumbee voters. Now, as Trump prepares to return to the White House in January, the promise will be put to the test. He has Republican allies in Congress on the issue, and now the Lumbee, as well as tribal nations across the country, are watching closely to see what comes next. Tribal nations typically receive...
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Liberals, NDP expected to pass GST holiday in House of Commons today
Legislation to create a two-month-long GST holiday is expected to pass today. The bill was introduced on behalf of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, with the help of the NDP to at least temporarily stop debate on a Conservative filibuster. The NDP only agreed to support the bill after Freeland separated the GST break from a promise to also send $250 to most working Canadians in the spring. The NDP wants that benefit expanded to also go to non-working seniors and people with disabilities who don’t have a working income. Liberal Ryan Turnbull, who is Freeland’s parliamentary secretary, said during the debate on the legislation Wednesday evening that the goal is to help Canadians after multiple budget shocks from high inflation after COVID-19...
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NDP ready to open ‘gates’ to pass Liberal GST holiday bill separate from $250 rebate
OTTAWA-(CP)NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party is ready to introduce motions as early as today that would help the Liberals pass legislation to create their promised GST holiday but only if they separate it from their parallel promise to send $250 cheques to working Canadians. Singh said his party would open the procedural “gates” including motions to extend the sitting hours of the House of Commons to debate and pass the legislation in time for it take effect as promised on Dec. 14. Last week, the Liberals brought forward a plan to pause the GST on items like premade grocery items, beer and wine, toys and other holiday staples. The pause would last for two months. Singh says the NDP supports this idea, but oppose the associated $250 working...
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Oregon tribe has hunting and fishing rights restored under a long-sought court ruling
LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — Drumming made the floor vibrate and singing filled the conference room of the Chinook Winds Casino Resort in Lincoln City, on the Oregon coast, as hundreds in tribal regalia danced in a circle. For the last 47 years, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have held an annual powwow to celebrate regaining federal recognition. This month’s event, however, was especially significant: It came just two weeks after a federal court lifted restrictions on the tribe’s rights to hunt, fish and gather — restrictions tribal leaders had opposed for decades. “We’re back to the way we were before,” Siletz Chairman Delores Pigsley said. “It feels really good.” The Siletz is a confederation of over two dozen bands and tribes whose traditional homelands spanned a large swath...
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Closing First Nations infrastructure gap could generate $635B: report
Canadian Press-Closing the First Nations infrastructure gap could generate $635 billion in economic output over the next seven years, a new report commissioned by the Assembly of First Nations said. The gap is the result of decades of underfunding and failed fiduciary duties that affect housing, roads, internet connectivity, water treatment plants, ports and schools that the AFN and Indigenous Services Canada say will become more expensive to remedy without immediate investments. According to an April report from the Assembly of First Nations and Indigenous Services Canada, it will cost $349 billion to close the infrastructure gap by 2030, the year Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to have the job done. That report called for $135 billion for housing, $5 billion for digital connectivity and another $209 billion for other...
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‘Our ancestors are always in the room when we speak,’ Crystal Lewis on Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language revival
By Bhagyashree Chatterjee Local Journalism Initiative Crystal Lewis has been busy figuring out––what do Indigenous youth in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) need most, and how can those needs be met? For Lewis, who was elected BC Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Youth Representative at 29, answering these questions means addressing systemic issues like mental health, homelessness, and cultural loss. Over the past year, Lewis has participated in discussions on provincial and national levels, focusing on youth policy recommendations and cultural heritage. Advocacy and leadership roles Lewis began her work in governance as an intern on Parliament Hill, assisting former for Nunavut Member of Parliament Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and contributing to the development of the Indigenous Youth Parliamentary Internship Stream through GreenPAC. She has since expanded her focus to “include advocacy...
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