Turning Rideau Cottage into prime minister’s permanent home comes with cost: docs
By Stephanie Taylor THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- Turning Rideau Cottage into the permanent residence of the prime minister would come at the cost of creating staff offices and other “residential infrastructure,” an internal government document says. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been living in the house on the grounds of Rideau Hall, the Governor General’s residence, since he came into office. Making that situation more permanent is one of three options the government is considering as the historic home for Canada’s prime ministers, 24 Sussex Drive, sits in disrepair after decades of neglect. The saga over what to do next lands in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, as the Liberals struggle to soothe Canadians’ anxieties about affordability and are chided by the Opposition Conservatives for their spending. “Any decision...
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Campaign seeks to support ’60s Scoop survivors
By Miranda Leybourne Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Educating the public about the lasting impacts of the ’60s Scoop on Indigenous individuals and families is the mission behind the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s newest education and awareness campaign. “It is essential we recognize the lasting impacts of the ’60s Scoop on Anishinaabe and Dakota citizens,” Jerry Daniels, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) said in a press release sent out on Jan 17. The campaign, called “Stronger Than the Scoop,” will honour and care for survivors of the ’60s Scoop and their families. The Scoop saw the removal of Indigenous children from their communities, families and cultures from the 1960s to the ’80s. An estimated 20,000 to 40,000 First Nation, Metis and Inuit children were removed from their families and...
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Federal government launches new pay transparency website for four key groups
GATINEAU, Que.- Ottawa is launching a new pay transparency website that will offer comparable data on workforce representation rates and pay gaps experienced by four key groups at federally regulated private sector employers. The new site includes data on four designated groups under the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Using a visualization tool, users can compare data on workforce representation rates and the pay gaps experienced by members of the four groups. The data can be searched based on employers, sectors or locations. Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says if we’re going to close pay gaps and representation gaps, we have to know where those gaps are. The data comes from figures submitted by federally regulated private sector employers with 100 or...
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Kahnawake Sovereign Wealth Fund closes Toronto Stock Exchange
The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke, joined Robert Peterman, Chief Commercial Officer, Toronto Stock Exchange, to close the market and celebrate the Kahnawà:ke Sovereign Wealth Fund. By Eve Cable Local Journalism Initiative Reporter As representatives of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) walked up the stairs of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on Wednesday afternoon, they were greeted by a huge billboard that read “Welcome Mohawk Council of Kahnawake.” “For the longest time in our history, no one thought about doing business with First Nations. We were left on the sidelines. We were always in a kind of poor economic state,” said MCK grand chief Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer, who was at the TSX this week to ring the bell, a ceremonial action signifying the end of a day’s trading. The event came...
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Residents concerned lobster facility threatens ‘trees, ocean and quiet’
By Andrew Bates Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The chief of a First Nation looking to build a contentious lobster holding facility in Chamcook Harbour asked a roomful of its potential neighbours to “make a partnership” for mutual benefit. Chief Allan Polchies of Sitansisk (St. Mary’s) First Nation spoke Monday night to a special meeting of Saint Andrews’ Planning Advisory Committee. Sitansisk is seeking approval for a lobster holding facility on St. Andrew’s Road North in Chamcook, which was originally approved pre-amalgamation by the regional service commission planning board in 2022 before residents appealed to the province, which sent it to the Town of Saint Andrews with recommendations. “We want to move forward and bring economic opportunity to our people and to your people,” Polchies said. The 7,000 square-foot facility would...
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The battle to change Native American logos weighs on, but some communities are reinstating them
By Brooke Schultz THE ASSOCIATED PRESS It was a passionate student letter in 2020 that caused the Southern York County school board to reconsider its logo: a Native American man, representing the “Warriors.” Though the conversation had come up before in the suburban district located in southern Pennsylvania, 2020 was a turning point of racial reckoning after death of George Floyd. Less than a year later, the school board voted to retire the warrior logo after it considered research that depicted what impact the reductive imagery had on Native and non-Native students. “I understand the attachment people have to that at the school,” said said Deborah Kalina, who served on the school board at the time. “But it’s more than that. And I think we did the right thing.” Three...
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Canada lauds plans to search Prairie Green landfill
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs plans to search the Prairie Green landfill in Winnipeg for then remains of a pair of missing women were met with support and thanks by federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Gary Anandasangaree earlier this week. The plan, which the AMC unveiled last week, says the search of the Prairie Green Landfill for the remains of two murdered First Nations women could cost less and take a shorter amount of time than previously reported. Full details have not yet been made public. Last Thursday, AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said copies of the report addressing safety concerns around searching the landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran was sent to the federal and provincial governments, as well as to...
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The battle to change Native American logos weighs on, but some communities are reinstating them
By Brooke Schultz THE ASSOCIATED PRESS It was a passionate student letter in 2020 that caused the Southern York County school board to reconsider its logo: a Native American man, representing the “Warriors.” Though the conversation had come up before in the suburban district located in southern Pennsylvania, 2020 was a turning point of racial reckoning after death of George Floyd. Less than a year later, the school board voted to retire the warrior logo after it considered research that depicted what impact the reductive imagery had on Native and non-Native students. “I understand the attachment people have to that at the school,” said said Deborah Kalina, who served on the school board at the time. “But it’s more than that. And I think we did the right thing.” Three...
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Two Native American boys died at a boarding school in the 1890s. Now, the tribe wants them home
By Jim Salter THE ASSOCIATED PRESS When two Native American boys from Nebraska died after being taken to a notorious boarding school hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania, they were buried there without notice. Nearly 130 years later, the tribe wants the boys’ remains back home. So far, the Army has refused to return to the Winnebago Tribe the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley. A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the tribe accuses the Army of ignoring a law passed more than three decades ago aimed at expediting the return of the deceased to Native American lands. Samuel had been at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania for just 47 days when he died in 1895. Edward spent four years at the school before dying in...
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OxyContin marketer, opioid maker announce settlements totaling $500 million
By Geoff Mulvihill THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An advertising agency that helped develop marketing campaigns for OxyContin and other prescription painkillers and a drugmaker announced separate agreements Thursday worth a total of $500 million to avoid going to trial on claims that they bore some responsibility for the nation’s opioid crisis. Publicis Health, part of the Paris-based media conglomerate Publicis Groupe, agreed to pay $350 million, part of which will flow to every state in the next two months, and most of which will be used to fight the overdose epidemic. Hikma Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $115 million in cash and provide $35 million worth of an overdose reversal drug to state, local and Native American tribal governments. Publicis is the first advertising company to reach a major settlement over the...
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National chief calls on Ottawa to resume policing talks after mass stabbing inquest
By Kelly Geraldine Malone THE CANADIAN PRESS SASKATOON- The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says a coroner’s inquest into a mass killing in Saskatchewan shows Ottawa must return to the table to negotiate long-promised legislation declaring Indigenous policing an essential service. “This tragedy is a systemic failure of the police and the justice system,” Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations said in Saskatoon on Thursday. “All the evidence presented throughout the (inquest) further demonstrate that if a First Nations police service had been equitably funded in the James Smith Cree Nation, this tragedy could have been avoided.” Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on the First Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sept. 4, 2022. He...
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The debate over Native American mascots persists as some schools reinstate the logos
By Brooke Schultz THE ASSOCIATED PRESS It was a passionate student letter in 2020 that caused the Southern York County school board to reconsider its logo: a Native American man, representing the “Warriors.” Though the conversation had come up before in the suburban district located in southern Pennsylvania, 2020 was a turning point of racial reckoning after the death of George Floyd. Less than a year later, the school board voted to retire the warrior logo after it considered research on the impact the reductive imagery had on Native and non-Native students. “I understand the attachment people have to that at the school,” said Deborah Kalina, who served on the school board at the time. “But it’s more than that. And I think we did the right thing.” Three years...
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Brantford Police : WANTED – Brandon Christopher PFEIFFER
February 1, 2024 Brandon Christopher PFEIFFER, 37-years-of-age, is wanted in connection with a criminal incident which occurred in the City of Brantford on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, where a Brantford police officer was struck by a motor vehicle. As a result of the incident, the officer was transported to hospital for medical attention and has since been released. PFEIFFER is described as a white male, approximately 5’8” tall, 160 lbs., with a muscular build, bald with light brown facial hair and blue eyes. PFEIFFER is currently wanted by the Brantford Police Service for numerous Criminal Code offences including: Dangerous Operation Flight from Police Officer Possession of Weapon for Dangerous Purpose Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Failure to Stop After Accident Possession Contrary to Prohibition Order Failure to Comply Assault...
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Two Native American boys died at a boarding school in the 1890s. Now, the tribe wants them home
By Jim Salter THE ASSOCIATED PRESS When two Native American boys from Nebraska died after being taken to a notorious boarding school hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania, they were buried there without notice. Nearly 130 years later, the tribe wants the boys’ remains back home. So far, the Army has refused to return to the Winnebago Tribe the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley. A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the tribe accuses the Army of ignoring a law passed more than three decades ago aimed at expediting the return of the deceased to Native American lands. Samuel had been at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania for just 47 days when he died in 1895. Edward spent four years at the school before dying in...
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First Nations communities push for all season road in northern Manitoba
By Steve Lambert THE CANADIAN PRESS WINNIPEG-First Nations leaders are renewing their push for an all-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg that would connect several remote communities to goods, services and health care in the south. They are calling on the federal and Manitoba governments to pay for a 252-kilometre road that would run from Berens River in the south, where the existing year-round road system ends, to St. Theresa Point in the north. St. Theresa Point is part of the Island Lake region, which has more than 10,000 residents in communities including Wasagamack and Garden Hill. The region is currently accessible only by air and, for a few months each year, by winter road. “Our proposal and plan is an affordable solution that provides immediate benefits,”...
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`No one will ever take my grandchildren again, ever’: Gathering hears from residential school survivors
By Jeff Pelletier Local Journalism Initiative Reporter On the second day of the National Gathering on Unmarked Burials in Iqaluit, survivors of residential schools and tuberculosis sanitoriums shared their stories and the pain and uncertainty of not knowing where their family members are buried. The conference, at the Aqsarniit hotel, is bringing together representatives from Indigenous communities from across Canada to hear the northern perspective on the issue of unmarked graves. The event is led by federally appointed special interlocutor Kimberly Murray, who is tasked with preparing a report with recommendations to be presented at a gathering in Ottawa in June. Three survivors, Navalik Tologanak of Cambridge Bay, Alexina Kublu of Igloolik, and Elise Cardinal of Fort Chipewyan Metis Nation, Alta., took to the stage at the gathering Wednesday morning....
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The door to B.C.’s liquefied natural gas export sector is about to open. Here’s what you need to know
By Matt Simmons Local Journalism Initiative Reporter As Teresa Waddington proudly proclaimed LNG Canada is on track to wrap up construction in Kitimat, B.C., this year, the room full of hundreds of attendees at the BC Natural Resources Forum erupted in cheers. “We are 90 per cent complete, bringing Canada’s first LNG export facility to life,” she said in mid-January, at the annual gathering of industry bigwigs and hopefuls, First Nations leaders, provincial and federal politicians and civil servants who had travelled from around the province to Prince George for the event. Waddington, a senior executive with the consortium of companies building the gas liquefaction and export plant, lauded the role of liquefied natural gas, a fossil fuel commonly known as LNG, in building B.C.’s economy, supporting First Nations and...
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Northern BC Indigenous elders recording oral histories of Tse’K’wa cave
By Tom Summer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Elders from local First Nations have recently been recording oral histories of Tse’K’wa, also known as the Charlie Lake Cave, capturing the cultural and personal significance of the national historic site, which has been an Indigenous gathering place for more than 12,000 years, says Tse’K’wa Heritage Society executive director Alyssa Currie “We’ve been working with a number of elders, and recording some of the oral histories about Tse’K’wa and hearing it directly from the elders about why the site is important to them,” she said. “So much of what has been written and publicized about is from an archaeological perspective, which is incredibly valuable, but it’s also high time that the Dane-Zaa cultural and spiritual significance take centre stage.” Tse’K’wa is a sacred...
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Six Nations was hit with flooding last week
Six Nations was hit with flooding last week that saw water rushing over roadways resulting in Six Nations Public Works shutting down some roads including sections of Third Line....
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Six Nations bureaucracy continues to grow
Bureaucracy growing as SNEC questions where money to pay for increased costs is coming from By Lynda Powless Editor Six Nations Elected council’s (SNEC) once simple administration has turned into a multi-level monster that appears to be fed by the community’s own source funding, including gaming funds not designated for payrolls. SNEC was told at its Jan., 23rd meeting, a new level of bureaucracy is now being added. The “modernization” of the band administration began under CEO Darren Jamieson and includes an additional layer of management under the CEO’s office. The new layer includes an executive director of service excellence, an executive director nation building and an executive director of performance, planning and evaluation. The three positions can range in salary, under the 2022 audit, from $160,000 to $99,000 each...
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