Environment commissioner says Canada on track to miss 2030 emissions targets
anada is still not on track to meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement, federal Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said in a new report on Thursday. Ottawa has promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to be 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, but so far they have only fallen seven per cent below 2005 levels. In a news conference after the reports were tabled in Parliament, DeMarco said it is still possible to meet those targets but the “task is much harder because there’s only six years left to do essentially 20 or 30 years’ worth of reductions.” “It’s not time to give up,” he said. While progress is “painfully slow” on some of the government’s policies, DeMarco said, “that’s not a reason to just...
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State of emergency: Ginoogaming cut off from essential services
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter GINOOGAMING — The bridge connecting Ginoogaming First Nation to the town of Longlac has been deemed unsafe, prompting chief and council there to declare a state of emergency. As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Ginoogaming closed the stretch of Blueberry Street leading to the Making Ground River Bridge to all vehicular traffic on their side of the bridge, after engineering firm WSP recomended that the bridge be closed for safety reasons. “We’re cut off from the essential services like fire and ambulance and emergency services that are needed,” said Ginoogaming Chief Sheri Taylor said in a news conference by Zoom. The bridge is the only easy way in and out of Ginoogaming (formerly Long Lake 77), a small Anishinaabe community south of Highway...
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Still work to be done to help Inuit: Cathy Towtongie
By Darrell Greer Local Journalism Initiative Longtime Inuit advocate and politician Cathy Towtongie has her own take on things like National Inuit Day. Towtongie said she grew up with the name tag E31256 and was told never to forget it. And she never has. She said as far as National Inuit Day is concerned, there has to be real action take place to make that mean something more than just lip service. “We’re living in Nunavut with a high cost of food security,” said Towtongie. “People are going hungry as Canadians (are). “But you look at formulas such as the elder’s pension, for example, and they are designed as if they’re living in a city like Ottawa, not to address the fact they’re living in the Arctic. “I think the...
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Local registered nursing training program going well
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter In the spring of 2023, Northern Lakes College (NLC) and Athabasca University announced 60 seats over three years for NLC licensed practical nurses (LPN) graduates to join Athabasca University (AU)’s post-LPN bachelor of nursing program. The Leader reached out to both institutions this fall for an update. “Overall, it is going well,” says Dr. Steven Johnson, Athabasca University’s dean of the faculty of health disciplines. Asked how the partnership works, Johnson says, “we work together to establish students that would be a good fit.” The partnership is an enrolment extension for the Athabasca University program, which has existed since the early 2000s. It trains licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) to be registered nurses (RNs). Alberta has licensed practical nurses (LPNs),...
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Purchase limits for Tofino liquor store to curb bootlegging in Ahousaht
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ha-Shilth-Sa Ahousaht, BC – Regulators have responded to calls for cracking down on bootlegging that continues to flood Ahousaht with hard liquor by placing purchase limits on Tofino’s government-owned liquor store. On Nov. 5 at the start of a Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries meeting, Hasheukumiss, Ahousaht Tyee Ha’wilth Richard George, announced new limits to Tofino’s busy BC Liquor store. Through a video link fed to the gathering, which was hosted by the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in Tsaxana, Hasheukumiss noted that the limits resulted from meetings the hereditary chief and some elders held with Attorney General Mike Farnworth in April, followed by recent discussion with Deputy Solicitor General Doug Scott. “And he’s saying that now that they’ve changed the law with the...
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Squamish Nation councillor pledges to honour Indigenous veterans through legacy project
Thousands of people across the country will gather on Nov. 11 to pay respects to soldiers who gave their lives to serve our country. But another upcoming date focuses on a group of soldiers who fought alongside fellow Canadians but did so under different circumstances. Nov. 8 is Indigenous Veterans Day in Canada, a chance to honour the thousands of Indigenous, Métis and Inuit soldiers who were not drafted to fight but still voluntarily served during the world wars. Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) councillor Sxwíxwtn (Wilson Williams) is helping enhance the Indigenous Legacy Project for another year by offering support and recommendations to Veteran Affairs Canada. “There’s a lot of history that hasn’t come out in relation and respect to our Indigenous soldiers that went to war,” Williams said. The...
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‘Should never have ended like that’: Inuk man killed by police in Quebec’s Far North
– Canadian Press-A remote northern Quebec community is demanding justice after a man was shot and killed and his twin brother seriously injured by police responding to someone allegedly trying to drive while impaired. Joshua Papigatuk was killed and his twin brother Garnet is recovering in a Montreal hospital following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service early Monday in Salluit, an Inuit fly-in community about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal. Mosusi Tarkirk is a 24-year-old Salluit resident who grew up with the brothers in the Inuit village and considered them best friends. “It should never have ended like that,” he said, adding that from what he has heard neither brother was armed. “They get called because someone is about to be driving intoxicated … from that to shooting, they’re...
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Quebec premier warns of a possible influx of migrants following Trump’s election
-CP-Quebec Premier François Legault is raising concerns about the prospect of a “massive influx of immigrants” to the province following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, and he says Quebec has already reached capacity. During a news conference Wednesday in Quebec City, Legault said Canada must “act quickly” to secure its borders against a possible wave of migrants looking to escape Trump’s threat of mass deportations. “We’ll be calling on the federal government to fulfil its responsibility to protect our borders,” he said. “The problem isn’t immigrants, it’s the number. We already have too many. So we shouldn’t add to the problem.” Legault said Quebec could help the federal government monitor the border and airports, though he offered few details. He said he wants to “follow up every...
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Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok survives confidence vote after effort to oust him
-CP-P.J. Akeeagok is still the premier of Nunavut after surviving a tight confidence vote in the Legislature on Wednesday. In a 10-8 vote, MLAs defeated a motion to strip him of his premiership and remove him from cabinet. “Well, I’m relieved,” Akeeagok said in an interview minutes after the vote. “I feel we’ve done some incredible work in the past three years that I feel so proud of.” On Monday Aivilik MLA Solomon Maliki advised the legislative assembly of his intent to move the motion, citing what he said was a lack of transparency in Akeeagok’s leadership. In Nunavut’s consensus government system — where there are no political parties — MLAs elect the premier and the cabinet. The remaining MLAs, who essentially serve as the opposition, also have the power...
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‘Aging membership, aging buildings:’ Some legion branches struggle to keep doors open
The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Montreal’s Verdun borough meets once a week in a community centre space it rents by the hour, less than 500 metres from the elegant brick building it sold over a decade ago when maintenance costs got too high. After years of rising rents, a forced move and general instability, its members are happy to have somewhere to meet. But president Darlene Harrison says one question keeps coming back: “When are we going to have our own home again?” It’s a question she doesn’t know how to answer. She recently went to check out a space, only to find out the rent was $6,700 per month — not including costs like phone and internet. “All of these things cost money, and until we can generate...
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Who ruined Hobo Hot Springs? Ministry investigates as mystery roils Harrison, B.C.
(Canadian Press)Stories passed down from elders tell how First Nations from afar would paddle their canoes to bathe in the hot springs on the territory of the Sts’ailes First Nation. They believed the water contained medicine, said Sts’ailes Grand Chief William Charlie. “Our people have been using it for tens of thousands of years,” he said of the springs he called Qwólts, meaning boiling medicine water. The steaming waters in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, 130 kilometres east of Vancouver, could once be enjoyed in pools known as the Hobo Hot Springs for free — unlike the neighbouring Harrison Hot Springs Resort where users of its pools must be resort guests. But last month, the Hobo Hot Springs were mysteriously filled in with dirt and rocks, surprising the nation,...
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B.C. court allows police to apply to dispose of evidence at serial killer’s property
(Canadian Press)The B.C. Supreme Court says it has jurisdiction to order the disposal of thousands of pieces of evidence seized from Robert Pickton’s pig farm decades ago, whether it was used in his murder trial or not. The court says in a ruling issued online today that the RCMP can apply to dispose of some 15,000 pieces of evidence collected from the search of Pickton’s property in Port Coquitlam, including “items determined to belong to victims.” Police asked the court for directions last year to be allowed to dispose of the mountain of evidence gathered in the case against Pickton, who was convicted of killing six women and died in May after being attacked in prison. However, some family members of victims disputed the disposal because they have a pending...
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‘Should never have ended like that’: Inuk man killed by police in Quebec’s Far North
A remote northern Quebec community is demanding justice after a man was shot and killed and his twin brother seriously injured by police responding to someone allegedly trying to drive while impaired. Joshua Papigatuk was killed and his twin brother Garnet is recovering in a Montreal hospital following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service early Monday in Salluit, an Inuit fly-in community about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal. Mosusi Tarkirk is a 24-year-old Salluit resident who grew up with the brothers in the Inuit village and considered them best friends. “It should never have ended like that,” he said, adding that from what he has heard neither brother was armed. “They get called because someone is about to be driving intoxicated … from that to shooting, they’re (supposed to...
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Kuujjuaq protest demands justice after police shooting in Salluit
By Cedric Gallant – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter For the second straight day, about 50 people angered by a police shooting that killed one person and injured another protested the Nunavik Police Service’s actions. Outside the Kuujjuaq police station on Tuesday, protesters carried signs saying “justice for Joshua” and “justice for the twins.” Protesters stand in front of the Nunavik Police Service station in Kuujjuaq with photos of Garnett and Joshua Papigatuk. (Photo by Cedric Gallant) There was a similar scene in Salluit Monday where the shootings had occurred earlier that day. On Monday in Salluit, two Nunavik police officers responded at 4:10 a.m. to a report of someone attempting to drive while impaired, a news release issued Tuesday by Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, said. Minutes...
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Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok survives confidence vote after effort to oust him
P.J. Akeeagok is still the premier of Nunavut after surviving a tight confidence vote in the Legislature on Wednesday. In a 10-8 vote, MLAs defeated a motion to strip him of his premiership and remove him from cabinet. “Well, I’m relieved,” Akeeagok said in an interview minutes after the vote. “I feel we’ve done some incredible work in the past three years that I feel so proud of.” On Monday Aivilik MLA Solomon Maliki advised the legislative assembly of his intent to move the motion, citing what he said was a lack of transparency in Akeeagok’s leadership. In Nunavut’s consensus government system — where there are no political parties — MLAs elect the premier and the cabinet. The remaining MLAs, who essentially serve as the opposition, also have the power...
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‘Should never have ended like that’: Inuk man killed by police in Quebec’s Far North
-Canadian Press-A remote northern Quebec community is demanding justice after a man was shot and killed and his twin brother seriously injured by police responding to a drunk driving call. Joshua Papigatuk was killed and his twin, Garnet, is recovering in a Montreal hospital following an altercation with the Nunavik Police Service early Monday in Salluit, an Inuit fly-in community about 1,850 kilometres north of Montreal. The pair were identified by Mosusi Tarkirk, a 24-year-old Salluit resident who says he grew up with the brothers in the Inuit village and was best friends with them. Other residents have been paying tribute to the brothers online and have been fundraising for their family. Tarkirk says that since the shooting everyone is shocked and angry, adding that people don’t feel safe with...
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Pembina Pipeline seeing increased interest from potential Cedar LNG suppliers: CEO
-CP-One of the partners behind the Cedar LNG project says it has seen an uptick in interest from potential long-term contracted natural gas suppliers since the project was green-lit in June. Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd. and its project partner, the Haisla First Nation, made a final investment decision at that time to go ahead with the US$4-billion facility. Pembina CEO Scott Burrows said Wednesday the positive final investment decision has given potential suppliers more confidence, and he expects the facility’s remaining uncontracted capacity will be in demand. “The interest in the project has increased, just given that it’s real in people’s eyes now,” Burrows said on a conference call with analysts. “We do believe that, coupled with the fact that this will be a scarce resource in terms of (being)...
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Nip-Rock High students building a home for Ginoogaming
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter RED ROCK — Right now it may not look like a new house, but that’s what 19 Nipigon-Red Rock High School students will have completed by the end of June. The secondary school’s new Indigenous Skilled Trades Training Program launched in mid-October with a project to construct a new home that will be someone’s abode in Ginoogaming First Nation. The project, akin to one that wrapped at a Thunder Bay high school earlier this year, is getting support from Matawa First Nations Management, Red Rock Indian Band, Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (Rocky Bay), Ginoogaming First Nation and other partners. It provides First Nations youth at Nip-Rock High with hands-on trades training and certifications in carpentry, electrical work and more while they earn high school...
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Judy Sinclair re-elected to PTFN council
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Judy Sinclair was re-elected as a Trout Lake councillor for Peerless Trout First Nation (PTFN) on October 30. She was running against Norman Gladue for the position. The vote breakdown isn’t publicly available. Peerless Trout members who want to know the number of votes can contact the electoral officer at 780-467-3946 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. This will be Sinclair’s third term, according to her bio on the PTFN website. Her goal for her second term, the bio says, was “to ensure that the Trust Program was properly set up, with processes that were transparent for the members. These processes ensure accountability to the membership and allow them to be involved in decision-making as it relates to trust funds.”...
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Blackfoot sign project continuing
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Businesses and organizations in southern Alberta have the opportunity to have public facing signage in the Blackfoot language, thanks to a grant from Community Futures Lethbridge Region. This project is currently in Phase 2 after a very successful first phase of the project. Troy Grainger, executive director of Community Futures Lethbridge Region, says it took a while to get the word out because they were working with a small budget, but once it took off, he was happy with the response. “We were really happy with the response. We were over subscribed (and) we ended up with a waiting list. So we applied for another provincial grant, which we were successful in and we were able to secure additional funding,” said Grainger. The...
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