What’s still needed after the Pope’s residential schools apology? Sustained action, humility and heart
By Tiffany Dionne Prete Assistant Professor As we observe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, it is relevant to remember the late Pope Francis. As the first Latin American and Jesuit Pope, his leadership was marked by efforts to face difficult issues, including those affecting Indigenous Peoples in Canada. One of the most significant moments of his papacy for this country was his historic public apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the Indian Residential School system. This apology was long-awaited by Survivors, their families and Indigenous communities across Canada. As the actions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) demonstrated, and as the Pope and many others noted during his visit and since that time, reconciliation is not a single event. It is a long and difficult process requiring...
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Assembly of First Nations calls for action towards reconciliation
Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario – Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, ihas called on Canada to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC) 94 Calls to Action and at the same time close the First Nations infrastructure gap. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, Natinal Chief Woodhouse Nepinak said “Reconciliation requires a new relationship with the Crown, one built on mutual respect and full implementation of our Treaty rights, inherent rights, title and jurisdiction, and our rights under international law,” said Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the AFN. “Today is a day to honour all survivors of the residential schools and to commit ourselves to the actions and investments needed to build strong First Nations and...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney tells Indigenous people “we will not fail you”
OTTAWA- While the country marked the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Prime MInister Mark Carney told Indigenous people, “we will not fail you.” He told a crowd assembled for Truth and Reconciliation activities in the Ottawa that at the beginning of his mandate he installed a painting outside cabinet offices that begins with colour and fades as you pass by it. He said he began his discussion with the painting because it depicts both the pain of repression, a painful part of Canada’s shared history with Indigenous peoples and the possibility of renewal . He says he sees it every time he enters the cabinet building, so he and his colleagues “remember what came before us and are seized with the task ahead of us. We will not fail...
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Indigenous nations plan customs-free trade corridor across Canada-US border
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Just west of Fort Qu’Appelle in Saskatchewan, the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation is working across the US border to revive centuries-old trade routes as part of a new Indigenous-governed trade corridor. Trucks from the First Nation could soon be transporting food, furniture and even critical minerals south of the border along ancestral pathways once used to move buffalo hides and pemmican across the Plains — without paying taxes or tariffs. For generations, Indigenous peoples freely exchanged goods, knowledge and culture across the land that is now divided by the Canada–US border. Those networks were disrupted by colonial laws that divided families and communities but they are now being reimagined as a modern supply chain grounded in Indigenous law and sovereignty....
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Yukoners take part in national citizens’ assembly on climate change
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News Sean Barnaby was one of three Yukoners in the room at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, discussing experiences of climate change. The Yukon University student told the News that upon touching down in Canada’s capital on Sept. 17, he joined around 30 other Canadian youths in developing a slate of recommendations on climate change to present to the Canadian Senate. Barnaby was a Yukon representative for the Canadian Youth Climate Assembly: a citizens’ assembly commissioned by Senators for Climate Solutions. The youth presented their list of recommendations to senators on Sept. 21 in the upper chamber of Canadian parliament. According to a press release from the event, it was the first national citizens’ assembly on climate change in Canada,...
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Campbell not a ‘saviour’ but a much-needed conduit for Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
By Brenna Owen and Wolfgang Depner Former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell said his appointment as British Columbia’s new point-person to improve quality of life for people living in the city’s Downtown Eastside doesn’t mean he’s a “czar” or saviour of the beleaguered neighbourhood. Campbell said the saviours are those who work every day in the community, which is an epicentre for the deadly toxic drug crisis, poverty, homelessness and crime. But Campbell said he hopes to work with the community to find a process through which they can move forward and create change in a more co-ordinated manner with support from all three levels of government, municipal, provincial and federal. “There’s so much that’s gone on down there, and is going on, that’s good. But it doesn’t seem to be...
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Yukoners take part in national citizens’ assembly on climate change
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News Sean Barnaby was one of three Yukoners in the room at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, discussing experiences of climate change. The Yukon University student told the News that upon touching down in Canada’s capital on Sept. 17, he joined around 30 other Canadian youths in developing a slate of recommendations on climate change to present to the Canadian Senate. Barnaby was a Yukon representative for the Canadian Youth Climate Assembly: a citizens’ assembly commissioned by Senators for Climate Solutions. The youth presented their list of recommendations to senators on Sept. 21 in the upper chamber of Canadian parliament. According to a press release from the event, it was the first national citizens’ assembly on climate change in Canada,...
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Crowds filling Woodland Cultural Centre grounds marking Orange Shirt Day
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- Crowds have begun gathering at the Woodland Cultural Centre, the former Mohawk Institute Residential School today (Sept 30, 2025) to mark the centre’s official unveiling of the former residential school as an Interpretive Historic Site on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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About one in three Canadians say country belongs to Indigenous people: poll
By Catherine Morrison As people across the country gather for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a new poll suggests Canadians are divided about whether the country belongs primarily to Indigenous Peoples. The Leger poll of 1,627 people conducted between Aug. 29 and 31 for the Association for Canadian Studies suggests 38 per cent of Canadians believe Canada belongs “first and foremost” to Indigenous Peoples. Another 43 per cent of Canadians who responded don’t agree with that sentiment, while 19 per cent of respondents say they don’t know. The poll, which was conducted online and can’t be assigned a margin of error, suggests that younger Canadians aged 18 to 24 are far more likely to think the country belongs to Indigenous peoples, at 58 per cent, compared with Canadians...
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Hudson’s Bay hearing to get charter auction approved adjourned over new bid
By Tara Deschamps Another unsolicited bid for the royal charter that established the Hudson’s Bay Co. has emerged, adding a new complication to plans to auction off the historic document. The company was due to ask the Ontario Superior Court on Monday to allow for the sale of the 1670 charter next month. However, when the hearing got underway, Bay lawyer Ashley Taylor instead asked for an adjournment because of an offer the retailer received from an unidentified party Sunday around 11 p.m. “There is some question about where it came from and how it was possible to bring it forward,” Taylor said before adding the retailer needs more time to “take a breath, think about next steps.” Judge Peter Osborne approved the adjournment because “it’s frankly too important not...
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Gov. Gen. Mary Simon says major projects push can coexist with reconciliation
By Alessia Passafiume Reconciliation has not returned to the back burner as Canada pushes forward to develop major projects, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon said in an interview just ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Simon told The Canadian Press she sees a firm commitment to ensure Indigenous Peoples are involved as the major projects process evolves. “We need an economy for Indigenous Peoples as well,” Simon said. “You can’t thrive — and survive — without an economic base.” The major projects legislation that passed in June received widespread condemnation from Indigenous leaders who feared it wouldn’t respect their rights to free, prior and informed consent. The bill allows the federal government to sidestep existing laws and select projects to fast track for development with cabinet approval. No...
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New Major Projects Office absorbing existing team already doing much of the same work
By Nick Murray The federal government’s new Calgary-based major projects office to help fast track major infrastructure proposals will absorb a similar division created in Ottawa just over one year ago to do almost the same thing. The Clean Growth Office launched in July 2024, as a division within the Privy Council Office. It was allocated $9 million in funding over three years, and was mandated to implement a cabinet directive to speed up the government’s decision-making on clean growth projects, referring to proposals for projects that reduce environmental impacts and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In August, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the creation of the Major Projects Office “to streamline federal approval processes to get major projects built faster.” Neither Carney nor his office mentioned the existence of...
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‘No trust’: Neskonlith members seek answers as tensions climb amid firings, lawsuit
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Members of Neskonlith Indian Band are becoming increasingly frustrated with their leaders, after a councillor was removed from office over alleged election fraud and two staff people were fired. Lawyers for Neskonlith’s chief and council say the band removed an unidentified councillor “alleged to have engaged in election fraud” during the community’s last elections in 2023. The tensions are about more than an election, however — as a series of controversies have fuelled mistrust between the First Nation’s voters and those they elected to office nearly three years ago. The dismissals and allegations have sparked a lawsuit, transparency concerns, and a formal complaint to Canada over alleged financial mismanagement. Tensions within the 697-member Secwépemc community erupted during an emergency community meeting in...
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Saskatchewan apologizes to former students who faced abuse at boarding school
By Jeremy Simes Regina-The Saskatchewan government officially said sorry Monday to survivors and families for its role in the historical abuse and trauma that occurred at a boarding school for Métis and First Nations children. Premier Scott Moe made the apology while also announcing the province has agreed to pay $40 million to former students of the Île-à-la-Crosse Boarding School and their families. “On behalf of the Province of Saskatchewan, I apologize to you,” Moe told a gathering that included survivors in the village, northwest of Saskatoon. “Residential, day or industrial schools are a shameful mark on Canada’s history, with harmful intergenerational impacts on Indigenous and Métis people. “Simply put, these schools were a mistake, and they shouldn’t have existed.” The school operated from the 1820s until it burned...
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Ottawa orders post-mortem appeal for Manitoba man in killing of restaurant worker
By Brittany Hobson The federal government has ordered an appeal into the conviction of a First Nations man — 14 years after his death — in the killing of a restaurant worker in Winnipeg. Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Monday that a review of the conviction of Russell Woodhouse found reasonable grounds to conclude there was likely a miscarriage of justice in his case. Woodhouse died in 2011. “My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts, but it ensures new information can be considered and that Mr. Woodhouse’s family has another chance to appeal his conviction,” Fraser said in a release. “Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, taking action to...
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Young Artists Honoured for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Artwork
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun Young artists from across the Interlake-Eastern region are being recognized for their creative contributions ahead of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. The Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority (IERHA) invited students from grades 5 to 12 to submit original artwork reflecting the meaning of the day, which honours residential school Survivors and the children who never returned home. Staff and community partners reviewed 49 submissions before selecting three winning entries. The winners include Kiana, 16, from Fisher Branch; Baby Harmony, 15, from Dauphin River First Nation; and Ellia, 13, from Oakbank. Their designs are available for free download by IERHA staff and the public to use as desktop backgrounds, cell phone screensavers, and virtual meeting visuals. Kiana’s artwork...
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Gitxsan hereditary Chief alleges B.C. pipeline approved without proper consultation
A hereditary Chief with the Gitxsan Nation has filed a legal challenge against the British Columbia government’s decision to allow a liquefied natural gas pipeline project to proceed through its “untouched” territory without proper consultation. The B.C. Environment Ministry announced in June that the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline project has been “substantially started,” meaning the environmental assessment certificate approving its construction issued in 2014 remains valid. The 900 kilometre pipeline is to supply the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas facility off the B.C. coast, but that project is still undergoing the environmental assessment process. Gitxsan hereditary Chief Charles Wright filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court last week, claiming the decision determining the pipeline project to be “substantially started” was unreasonable because it failed to consult about...
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Ottawa orders post-mortem appeal for Manitoba man in killing of restaurant worker
By Brittany Hobson The federal government has ordered an appeal into the conviction of a First Nations man — 14 years after his death — in the killing of a restaurant worker in Winnipeg. Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Monday that a review of the conviction of Russell Woodhouse found reasonable grounds to conclude there was likely a miscarriage of justice in his case. Woodhouse died in 2011. “My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts, but it ensures new information can be considered and that Mr. Woodhouse’s family has another chance to appeal his conviction,” Fraser said in a release. “Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, taking action to...
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Ottawa orders post-mortem appeal for Manitoba man in killing of restaurant worker
By Brittany Hobson The federal government has ordered an appeal into the conviction of a First Nations man — 14 years after his death — in the killing of a restaurant worker in Winnipeg. Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Monday that a review of the conviction of Russell Woodhouse found reasonable grounds to conclude there was likely a miscarriage of justice in his case. Woodhouse died in 2011. “My decision does not decide guilt or innocence, as that will rest with the courts, but it ensures new information can be considered and that Mr. Woodhouse’s family has another chance to appeal his conviction,” Fraser said in a release. “Our responsibility is to make sure Canadians can trust their justice system, and that means, in rare cases, taking action to...
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B.C. First Nations want meeting with Carney about salmon, need for open-net farm ban
By Ashley Joannou First Nations in British Columbia are calling for a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to discuss protecting and reviving wild salmon. Bob Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance, which includes more than 120 First Nations, said the federal government should create a First Nation-led plan to protect the wild fish, similar to the joint land use plan for governing the Great Bear Rainforest. “We call on Prime Minister Carney to come and meet with us in British Columbia, where we can discuss the rehabilitation and rebuilding of wild salmon of British Columbia as a nation building project,” he said at a news conference on Monday. “One that is not extractive in nature, one that works to accommodate Aboriginal rights, reconciliation, benefits the environment...
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