Cocktail of pills, caffeine and fire retardant put B.C. chinook salmon at risk: study
British Columbia researchers found more than 200 contaminants in water and chinook salmon tissue samples collected from five sites in the Lower Fraser River estuary including everything from cocaine and antidepressants to caffeine and flame retardants. They say some of the “cocktail” that the juvenile fish are swimming in presents a possible risk to the young fish themselves and is concerning for the endangered whales that eat them. The study, to be published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, is believed to be the largest screening of its kind in the Lower Fraser River and was done by researchers from the Fisheries Department, Simon Fraser University, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Senior author Tanya Brown said of the contaminants found, 16 were deemed “priority contaminants,” meaning...
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College celebrates successes while navigating enrolment shifts
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Confederation College has seen a steep drop in enrolment by international students, but college president Michelle Salo says the province has come through with more money to help soften the financial blow. The college’s 2026 Report to Community says the eight-campus institution had 3,456 full-time students enrolled in post-secondary programs in 2025-26, down by 870 from the previous year. International student enrolment dropped by more than 1,000 in those years, to 947 in 2025-26 from 2,014 in 2024-25. Salo acknowledged there has been “a significant decline in the international enrolment,” and it’s had an impact on college finances. “It definitely has a negative impact,” she said after presenting the community report to an audience in a college lecture theatre,...
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Alberta is to vote on whether to hold a separation referendum. Here’s how we got here
By Dayne Patterson Premier Danielle Smith announced Thursday that Albertans will be going to the polls Oct. 19 to vote on whether there should be a future binding referendum on the province quitting Canada. Here’s a timeline of pivotal moments in Alberta’s separatism debate: Oct. 28, 1980 — The federal government ignites widespread alienation in Alberta with the National Energy Program, which seeks to cushion the shock of high oil prices through a system that artificially depresses prices for the oil-dependent province. Albertans view it as a federal money grab. Feb. 17, 1982 — Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta wins a provincial byelection in the riding of Olds-Didsbury on a platform of Alberta separating from Canada. Later that year, he loses his seat in the...
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Referendum on a referendum: Albertans to vote on putting separation on another ballot
By Lisa Johnson and Jack Farrell Premier Danielle Smith says Albertans will be going to the polls in October to cast their vote on separation – but they won’t actually be voting on whether to separate. Instead, they’ll be choosing whether or not it’s time to hold a binding referendum on quitting Canada. Smith made the announcement in a televised address Thursday night, saying it’s the best solution to fight for the country while giving a justifiable voice to those who no longer feel that Canada works for them. “Kicking the can down the road only prolongs a very emotional and important debate,” Smith said in the pre-recorded speech. “Muzzling the voices of hundreds of thousands of Albertans wanting to be heard is unjustifiable in a free and democratic society....
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‘Losing is not an option’: Forever Canadian petition leader intent on keeping Alberta in Canada
By David Boles, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, St. Albert Gazette If you ask Thomas Lukaszuk, there’s only one answer to the newest referendum question Albertans will be answering on October 19. “We will win,” he said. The former deputy premier of Alberta and the man leading the federalist Forever Canadian initiative responded to Premier Danielle Smith’s address to the province on Thursday night. Over 400,000 people signed Lukaszuk’s petition, launched in response to the separation movement. In her address on May 21, Smith said an additional referendum question will be posed in conjunction with the nine others Albertans will be voting on in just under five months’ time. The latest question will ask whether Albertans want to remain in Canada or whether the legal process should be commenced to hold...
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Alberta’s Smith to answer questions about referendum on holding separation referendum
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to hold a news conference today about her referendum question on separation, which separatist leaders are dismissing as “spineless” and ineffective. Smith, in a televised address Thursday, announced Albertans would vote in an Oct. 19 referendum on separation. However, they won’t directly vote on whether Alberta should leave Canada. They will be asked if the province should later hold a binding referendum to separate. Jeff Rath, the lawyer for Stay Free Alberta, the group that collected signatures to try to force a separation referendum, called the move an insult to those seeking independence. Cam Davies, leader of the pro-independence Republican Party of Alberta, agreed and called Smith’s referendum question “spineless.” Smith said her plan is the best way for Albertans, particularly those unhappy with...
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Ottawa reveals plans to shut down and offload Nanisivik naval port on Baffin Island
By Kyle Duggan The federal government is shutting down its short-lived Nanisivik naval station on northern Baffin Island as a cost-cutting measure, and plans eventually to offload the property to another party. The Department of National Defence announced Thursday it already has started to transition the problem-plagued Nanisivik Naval Facility out of operations. The Arctic base, launched by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was once envisioned as a deepsea port and a pillar of Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. The station was built at a former mining site and refurbished by the federal government, but only came online in recent years after many years of delays and cost overruns. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government insists the station is no longer needed, citing its very short seasonal access window, repeated construction...
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Brantford Police issue arrest warrant for Ohsweken woman wanted in aggravated assault
By Alex Murray Writer An Ohsweken woman is wanted by the Brantford Police Service (BPS) in relation to an aggravated assault from January 2026. An arrest warrant has been issued for a woman BPS identified through their investigation as 22-year-old Takia Greene of Ohsweken. BPS said they released Greene’s name and photograph because they are asking the public to come forward with information on her whereabouts. When, or if, she is located and arrested, Greene would be facing a charge of aggravated assault in relation to a January 2026 stabbing . BPS warned residents that spot Greene not to approach her and instead call the police. BPS could not be reached for additional comment on the case. Anyone with information that could help locate Greene is asked to call BPS...
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Police federation calls for probe of CBC-APTN show, says officers were ‘misled’
By Alessia Passafiume The National Police Federation is calling for an inquiry into a CBC and APTN comedy show it says intentionally misled current and former members of the RCMP to get them to agree to interviews. The show, which has not aired, is described by the Indigenous Screen Office as a satire program meant to “flip the script” on modern and historical injustices against Indigenous Peoples. The union says RCMP members were invited to participate in the show and were told they would be recognized and honoured for their service, but were instead “deceived, insulted and publicly shamed at the expense of Canadian taxpayers.” CBC said this week the show’s production is being paused while they assess existing footage. CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson says it’s important the series does...
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A decade after Standing Rock protests, contentious segment of Dakota Access oil pipeline gets OK
By Jack Dura BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, an outcome that comes nearly a decade after boisterous protests against the project on the North Dakota prairie. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant the key easement means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater, among others. The announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely. The $3.8 billion, multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017 from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a terminal in Illinois. The line carries...
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Indigenous youth discuss technology, economic reconciliation and female empowerment
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News While youth represent the future of Indigenous leadership, Joel Gamache says that when it comes to economic reconciliation, their voices need to be heard now. Gamache is the senior manager of national Indigenous youth in STEM programs for Actua, an organization dedicated to educating underrepresented youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He moderated a May 13 panel of Indigenous youth leaders at the Forward Summit at Grey Eagle Resort and Casino on Tsuut’ina Nation, entitled “‘Passing the Torch’: Indigenous Youth Shaping the Future Economy.” “We believe it is critically important that Indigenous youth begin to have conversations at the economic reconciliation table, to set the stage for the future to foster meaningful partnership between industry and Indigenous communities,” said...
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Ottawa and Nunavut spending $2 million on marine training for more than 24 students
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The federal government is committing $1.5 million over three years to train Nunavummiut in the fishing and marine industry, while the Government of Nunavut said it would contribute $500,000 toward one year of the initiative. More than 24 students at the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium are expected to benefit from the funding, according to government officials making the announcement at the Nunavut Legislature in Iqaluit on May 21. Up to 12 students per year will be trained. Students will complete a Transport Canada bridge watch rating training course that lasts 12-16 weeks. “That will create employment opportunities for those who are going through that training too, not only be able to work in the marine sector, but also...
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Indigenous developers ask councils for support on northern corridor project
By Chris Zwick, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News Grande Prairie councils are in favour a “highly ambitious” northern economic corridor initiative, especially the aspect that would revive much of the rail system that was pulled out of the region years ago. Dan Ukrainetz, the chief financial officer for Pisim Power, presented to City of Grande Prairie council May 11, seeking a formal letter of support. He presented to County of Grande Prairie council on May 7; both councils voted to provide letters of support in some form. Pisim Power is a First Nations-owned corporation, acting as a developer to secure Indigenous equity in projects that will make up the proposed national infrastructure project known as the Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC). The multi-billion-dollar concept establishes rights-of-way for road,...
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Supreme Court of Canada to hear appeal in British Columbia mineral claims case
By The Canadian Press The Supreme Court of Canada will hear British Columbia’s appeal of a ruling that found the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provincial mineral claims regime are “inconsistent.” The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled in December that the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate UNDRIP into the laws of B.C. with immediate legal effect. At the time, a statement from the Gitxaala Nation, one of two nations challenging the law, called the decision precedent-setting. The nation, along with the Ehattesaht First Nation, argued the operation of an automated online registry permitting “free miners” to register claims to mineral rights on Crown land before consulting affected First Nations was inconsistent with the Crown’s...
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Nova Scotia RCMP charge two adults in child’s 2024 death in Eskasoni First Nation
By Devin Stevens Nova Scotia RCMP have charged two adults in the 2024 death of a child in Eskasoni First Nation. Police say that on Aug. 5, 2024, they responded to a report about a sudden death of a child at a home in the First Nation in Cape Breton. Following an investigation they arrested a 42-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman on Wednesday, both from Eskasoni. The two people have been charged with failing to provide the necessities of life and criminal negligence causing death. Police did not release the victim’s age or explain the child’s relationship with those accused, saying in an email that no further information would be released. The man and the woman were released on conditions and are scheduled to appear in court at the...
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OJP condemns institutional failure in Philippe Pinette death
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The Office of Joyce’s Principle (OJP) condemned the treatment and preventable death of Philippe Pinette, following the release of the Québec Ombudsman report on the incident last week. Jennifer Petiquay-Dufresne, Executive Director of the Office of Joyce’s Principle, said that Pinette’s death is another example of systemic anti-Indigenous discrimination in Quebec’s healthcare system. “The death of Philippe Pinette reveals serious professional failings,” Petiquay-Dufresne said. Pinette was a 40-year-old man from the Innu community of Uashat Mak Mani-utenam. He was admitted to Hôtel-Dieu de Québec hospital in Quebec City in September 2022 while in the custody of the Québec City Detention Center. Pinette died in custody on September 19, 2022. The Ombudsman’s report linked his death to alleged professional neglect and inadequate medical...
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Core Days conference highlights mining growth in North
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SaskToday.ca, SASKTODAY.ca LA RONGE — Northern Saskatchewan’s mining and exploration sector took centre stage in La Ronge earlier this month as industry leaders, governments, educators and students gathered for Core Days 2026. Hosted annually by the Keewatin Community Development Association, the conference has become northern Saskatchewan’s largest mining and geoscience event since launching in 2017, aside from a pause in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event, held May 11 to 13, drew more than 160 conference delegates and featured a career fair with 55 booths attended by more than 500 students. KCDA CEO Randy Johns told SaskToday, “Core Days continues to strengthen connections between northern communities and the exploration and mining industries operating across Saskatchewan’s north.” “Core Days is an important...
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A decade after Standing Rock protests, contentious segment of Dakota Access oil pipeline gets OK
By Jack Dura BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal officials on Thursday gave final approval for the Dakota Access oil pipeline to continue operating its contentious Missouri River crossing, an outcome that comes nearly a decade after boisterous protests against the project on the North Dakota prairie. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant the key easement means the pipeline will keep operating but with added conditions for detecting leaks and monitoring groundwater, among others. The announcement brings an end to a drawn-out legal and regulatory saga stemming from the protests in 2016 and 2017, though further litigation over the pipeline is likely. The $3.8 billion, multistate pipeline has been transporting oil since June 2017 from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field to a terminal in Illinois. The line carries...
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Roundtable session focuses on Indigenous leadership in energy industry
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News The chief of Cold Lake First Nations, an advisor to Energy Minister Brian Jean and executive at resource sector engineering firm Worley offered their perspectives on how to promote Indigenous leadership in the energy sector during a May 13 roundtable discussion at the Forward Summit. The annual summit, held at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino on Tsuut’ina Nation near Calgary, brings together Indigenous leaders and entrepreneurs, as well as representatives of government and industry to advance reconciliation-rooted partnerships. Moderator Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future, kicked off the discussion by asking each panelist to describe the energy projects they’ve been involved in. Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) Chief Kesley Jacko noted that his Nation has majority...
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Lawyer calls for Quesnel mayor’s wife’s lawsuit to be dismissed
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen The lawyer for the Quesnel city councillor sued for defamation by the wife of Mayor Ron Paull says the lawsuit should be dismissed because Pat Morton’s real aim is to punish and suppress political expression. On May 12 in Quesnel, before BC Supreme Court Justice Ronald Tindale, Anja Nel said the public interest in Coun. Laurey-Anne Roodenberg’s expression far outweighs the public interest in allowing Morton’s lawsuit to proceed. “The plaintiff’s claim is not an attempt to vindicate her reputation, but rather an effort to control the narrative surrounding how concerns about her conduct were raised and addressed within the community,” Nel told Tindale. Morton took offence at Roodenberg’s reaction to her purchase and distribution of copies of “Grave Error:...
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