Racism and cultural beliefs can affect organ donations in some communities: doctors
By Camille Bains THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER- A kidney-shaped cake will likely be on the menufor Reema Garcha and her family as they celebrate the six-year anniversary of her kidney donation to her older sister. That’s been the traditional dessert to mark Feb. 26, 2018, when the bond between Garcha, 46, and Binn Johal, 51, deepened through their shared experience as organ donor and recipient. Johal’s worsening autoimmune disease meant she needed a transplant. And when doctors suggested she ask someone to consider donating one of their kidneys, Garcha, her mom and brother were ready to help. “I felt like I won the lottery when they told me I was a match,” Garcha said from Langley, B.C. But many people in the South Asian community fear asking family and friends...
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‘No backup plan’: Funding for HIV self testing kits ending in March
By Kelly Geraldine Malone THE CANADIAN PRESS Prossy Luzige often gets calls from people looking for HIV tests that they can do in the privacy of their own homes. The program co-ordinator at CAYR Community Connections in Ontario says the take-home tests are crucial to connecting with people as Canada’s HIV infections climb. But the groundbreaking initiative to provide the kits across Canada is in peril, as funding runs out at the end of March. “What will happen after the funding ends?” Luzige asked. “What kind of answer are we going to give such community members?” The federal government indicated it is looking to sunset the self-test program, said Sean Rourke, a scientist who was a principal investigator in a study that helped get the tests approved in Canada. “There...
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Chance to protect, improve water quality squandered, official says
By John Chilibeck Local Journalism Initiative Reporter An environmentalist warns that threats such as pharmaceutical and forest fire pollution in rivers and lakes haven’t been addressed in the New Brunswick government’s latest update on the province’s water protection strategy. Beverly Gingras, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick’s executive director, wrote a scathing letter to Environment Minister Gary Crossman Feb. 1 outlining her concerns that the latest version of the 10-year strategy – a midpoint update of the first version published in late 2017 – didn’t involve consultations with any environmental, conservation or Indigenous groups. She said her organization only found out about the Progressive Conservative government’s five-year update through some contacts in mid-January. “They released it very quietly and they didn’t do a press release on this,” she said in...
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Blanket of Stars dedicated to Canada’s ‘residential school warriors
By Hugh Kruzel Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The president and founder of Weengushk Film Institute, Shirley Cheechoo, is a ground-breaking Cree artist, actress filmmaker and editor. On Friday, Cheechoo, who is based on Manitoulin Island, visited Laurentian University to talk about her current project, Blanket of Stars. In her own words, her work is “dedicated to harnessing the power of film to tell Indigenous stories while also providing a platform for the next generation of Indigenous filmmakers to be seen and heard.” Looking forward to July 20, just before its international film festival, the Weengushk Film Institute (WFI) is organizing “a momentous event on Manitoulin Island to honour residential school warriors,” Cheechoo said. “These warriors play a crucial role in the reconciliation process. Their testimonies, resilience, and determination to shed...
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Kinngait artist Ningiukulu Teevee’s work featured in special exhibition in London
By Kira Wronska Dorward Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG)-Qaumajuq has announced a new exhibition featuring the work of contemporary artist Ningiukulu Teevee was to be held at Canada House in the famous Trafalgar Square in the heart of London, UK, on Feb. 8. The event was organized by WAG-Qaumajuq in partnership with the High Commission of Canada in the UK. Entitled Ningiukulu Teevee: Stories from Kinngait, the exhibition included 26 artworks from the celebrated Inuk artist. Based in Kinngait, Teevee is known for her “bright, playful depictions and retellings of Inuit stories,” WAG-Qaumajuq wrote in a news release. The exhibition, curated by Dr. Darlene Coward Wight, showcased Teevee’s favourite subject matter: Arctic animals, abstract natural forms and traditional oral folktales passed down through generations. Last year,...
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Louis Riel portrait updated to recognize Metis leader as first premier of Manitoba
WINNIPEG -A portrait of Louis Riel hanging in the provincial legislature now recognizes the Metis leader as Manitoba’s first premier. Premier Wab Kinew and Manitoba Metis Federation President David Chartrand unveiled the updated plaque below the portrait today, which is recognized as Louis Riel Day in the province. Riel led a provisional government in what is now Manitoba and blazed the trail for the province to join Confederation in 1870. The Riel portrait has been on the walls of the legislative building for many years but the plaque designated Riel as president. Kinew’s first legislation introduced after the NDP government came to power last year was to recognize Riel’s role as the first premier. Chartrand says it is a historic and important way to honour Riel and the contributions of...
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Six Nations Police Fentanyl Trafficking Investigation Results In Four Facing Charges
Four charged in Six Nations Police Fentanyl trafficking investigation (SNP Photo) SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND-Four Ohsweken residents are facing trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine and drug possession charges after Six Nations Police (SNP) executed a search warrant Friday, Feb., 15 on a Fifth Line Road home and mobile trailer. SNP executed two Section 11 Controlled Drugs & Substances Act search warrants at the 5th Line Road residence and mobile trailer where four adults were arrested without incident, police said. Two women, ages 34 and 58, and two men, 38 and 35 are facing a series of trafficking and drug related charges. Three of the accused were remanded in custody pending formal bail hearings, the 35-year-old man was released via a Form 10 Undertaking with a future court date. The charges...
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‘There is no quick and easy solution’: Shelter relocation review moving to next steps
By Marissa Lentz Local Journalism Initiative A review of the location of Timmins’ emergency shelter will be given to a steering committee at the end of the month. During the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board (CDSSAB) meeting on Thursday (Feb. 16), Third Party Public’s Nicole Swerhun told members their report will be going to the Living Space relocation review steering committee on Feb. 29. In March, the steering committee will review the report and work with community partners to propose an action plan, including funding. CDSSAB will consider the action plan at its March 21 meeting, after which the plan will be sent to Timmins council in April. “In April that will go to Timmins council and then on an ongoing basis, the work will need to be done to...
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Donald Trump fraud verdict: $364 million penalty in New York civil fraud case
By Michael R. Sisak THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP- A New York judge ruled Friday against Donald Trump, imposing a $364 million penalty over what the judge ruled was a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated the former president’s wealth. Trump also was barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. Judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision after a 2 1/2-month trial that saw the Republican presidential front-runner bristling under oath that he was the victim of a rigged legal system. The stiff penalty was a victory for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who sued Trump over what she said was not just harmless bragging but years of deceptive practices as he...
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Manitoba denies environmental licence to contentious sand project
WINNIPEG- The Manitoba government has nixed a contentious sand-extraction project proposed by Sio Silica east of Winnipeg. Premier Wab Kinew and Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba’s environment minister, say the province has decided not to grant an environmental licence to the Vivian project. Kinew says his government will always put the health and safety of Manitobans first and that includes ensuring communities have safe, clean drinking water. Schmidt says the proposal failed to adequately consider long-term impacts, including potential aquifer collapse. A news release says Schmidt’s decision was based on expert information as well as consultation with affected communities and First Nations. It says a Clean Environment Commission report flagged a number of serious concerns about the project, which would have extracted sand through aquifers that provide drinking water to 100,000 Manitobans....
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Kuujjuaq sculptor turns ice into art at Quebec’s Winter Carnival
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Sammy Kudluk’s ice sculpture depicting two Inuit women holding a qulliq was viewed by thousands of people at the Quebec Winter Carnival. The Kuujjuaq artist created the piece Feb. 11. Kudluk said he has been honing his craft as an artist for nearly 50 years, doing painting, sculpting and soapstone carving. “I have not done that much ice sculpting,” Kudluk said in a phone interview, after returning from Quebec City. Kuujjuaq’s river ice, he explained, has too much air in it and tends to crack, but the ice at the carnival is made specifically for t the art. Kudluk’s first foray into ice-sculpting was five years ago, at the ice hotel created each year in Sainte-Foy near Quebec City. For this festival, Kudluk said...
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Activists demand action during Montreal MMIWG march
By Cedric Gallant Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Chants resonated along Montreal’s Saint-Catherine Street on Valentine’s Day as hundreds of people converged to march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. “When I say Nuna, say back, `Nuna Back!” the crowd shouted. For 33 years, Feb. 14 has been dedicated to calling governments to action to provide safety for Indigenous women and girls in their communities. Kinngait-born Sarah Carriere led the nighttime march, screaming the chants until her vocal chords gave out. Carriere has been an active member in Montreal’s Indigenous community ever since she moved there from her hometown seven years ago. “It is super important that everyone keeps showing up,” she said in a speech at the end of the march. “We need all the love and support...
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Cultural burning stokes debate on wildfire defence
By Jessica Lee Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Joe Gilchrist’s grandmother used to tell him if you can’t walk on the land barefoot, you know something is wrong. A forest overgrown and covered in wildfire fuels is unhealthy and hurts to walk on, much like a grassland that’s overdue for a burn and covered in prickly, dead vegetation. “That forest isn’t healthy, it’s sick. There’s no food for the animals, the predators have lots of places to hide,” he said. “Spiritually speaking, there’s always a battle between the light and the dark. If the forest is dark, it’s because it’s too thick and it hasn’t been looked after.” Gilchrist is a member of the Skeetchestn Indian Band, part of the Secwepemc Nation in British Columbia. He is a traditional fire keeper...
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First Nations emergency alert app launched
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan is implementing an emergency alert system created by Indigenous people for Indigenous people. “We were just walking around sort of in chaos, responding to this emergency, thinking it was an isolated incident,” said Chief Robert Head of Peter Chapman Band. He was speaking of the September 2022 stabbing spree carried out by Myles Sanderson that resulted in 11 people being killed and 17 injured at James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon. “(We were) not knowing the full picture of a larger attack in the community in many places and towards many people, so an emergency alert app could have given the membership heads up that morning,” said Head. Peter Chapman is...
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Crown asks New Brunswick judge to stay charges against Indigenous lobster fisherman
THE CANADIAN PRESS CAMPBELLTON, N.B- A judge in northern New Brunswick granted a stay of proceedings Thursday in the trial of an Indigenous lobster fisherman who recently launched a constitutional challenge aimed at asserting Indigenous and treaty rights. Cody Caplin, a member of the Eel River Bar First Nation, was fishing for lobster in the Bay of Chaleur in September 2018 when he was arrested by federal fisheries officers. He was charged a year later with 10 offences, including trapping lobster out of season. When his provincial court trial in Campbellton, N.B., began in November of last year, Caplin cited the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq and the British Crown in the 1700s, which recognize the Indigenous right to hunt and fish for personal subsistence. As the...
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‘Economic reconciliation’: Mi’kmaw communities invest in Nova Scotia battery plants
By Alessia Passafiume THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA -A corporation co-owned by 13 Mi’kmaw communities is investing in new battery plants with Nova Scotia Power in what both parties are calling a step toward reconciliation. The project, announced Thursday by Wskijinu’k Mtmo’taqnuow Agency Ltd., is expected to draw and store electricity during off-peak periods and release it back to the grid when needed. The company is getting up to $18 million for an equity loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to help facilitate the partnership. Crystal Nicholas, its president, said creating a greener future is a priority for the Mi’kmaw Nation, and the investment in the storage facility marks “true economic reconciliation.” “I’m very optimistic that this will continue to open doors for the WMA to partner with a lot of...
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`Here we are talking about drought in February
By Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Water security groups in B.C. are rallying to face another summer wracked by drought and wildfire after the province revealed the snowpack is 40 per cent lower than normal. And they are urging the provincial government to do the same. Extremely low snow levels across most of B.C., ongoing drought in certain areas of the province and unusually warm weather are increasing the risk of widespread drought and wildfire this spring and summer, according to the BC River Forecast Centre’s snow bulletin released Thursday. Drought hazard levels are pronounced on Vancouver Island, the south coast and the Lower Fraser due to low snowpacks. The risk of water shortages in the Okanagan, Kalamalka and Wood lakes, Nicola Lake and the Nicola River regions are...
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B.C.’s lack of snow foretells summer drought woes
By Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The persistent lack of snow across much of B.C. is setting the stage for a possible repeat of the record-breaking provincewide drought experienced last summer, watershed experts worry. Despite a short blast of arctic weather in January, unseasonably warm temperatures coupled with rain have been melting already stressed snowpacks, particularly in parts of southern B.C. and Vancouver Island, said Coree Tull, co-chair of the BC Watershed Security Coalition. “If you look at local ski hills, many are all closed,” Tull said. “From my front window, I can see the North Shore Mountains and Grouse Mountain right in front of me and the main run is completely bare.” This year, drought concerns are surfacing even earlier than last, Tull said, noting snowpacks act as...
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Manitoba premier says he’s confident landfill search for remains will start this year
WINNIPEG- Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says he is confident a landfill search for the remains of two slain First Nations women will begin this year. Kinew would not reveal details about how much progress has been made in preparing for the search, but says the province will work with families of the women and with Indigenous leaders. The NDP government has promised to search the Prairie Green Landfill, a privately run facility north of Winnipeg, where the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are believed to have been taken after they were killed in the spring of 2022. An operational report, prepared by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs earlier this year, said a search could begin near the end of October if funding was in place by Feb. 1....
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B.C.’s lack of snow foretells summer drought woes
By Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The persistent lack of snow across much of B.C. is setting the stage for a possible repeat of the record-breaking provincewide drought experienced last summer, watershed experts worry. Despite a short blast of arctic weather in January, unseasonably warm temperatures coupled with rain have been melting already stressed snowpacks, particularly in parts of southern B.C. and Vancouver Island, said Coree Tull, co-chair of the BC Watershed Security Coalition. “If you look at local ski hills, many are all closed,” Tull said. “From my front window, I can see the North Shore Mountains and Grouse Mountain right in front of me and the main run is completely bare.” This year, drought concerns are surfacing even earlier than last, Tull said, noting snowpacks act as...
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