Separatists gain ground in new poll
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald According to a survey by Cardinal Research on 2,626 randomly selected voters shows the separatist Republican Party of Alberta (RPA) in third place behind the UCP and NPD respectively. The Cardinal Research website says the RPA is cutting into the UCP vote share in rural Alberta while leapfrogging over both the Liberal Party of Alberta and the newly renamed Alberta Progressive Conservative party. Cameron Davies, leader of the RPA, says this is the first time the party has been included in a survey, and its numbers are a sign of optimism. “What it shows is our message is resonating with Albertans, we’re getting out there, we’re doing the work…we’re talking to Albertans about the issues that matter to them.” How those...
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Legal challenges claim B.C. natural gas pipeline hasn’t been ‘substantially started’
By Darryl Greer Two legal challenges filed in British Columbia claim a liquefied natural gas pipeline hasn’t been “substantially started,” contrary to a decision made by the provincial government back in June. Petitions filed in B.C. Supreme Court last week allege the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission natural gas pipeline project has been given the green-light by the B.C. Environment Ministry to go ahead without requiring a new environmental assessment certificate, which was first granted in 2014. One of the petitions was filed by hereditary Chief Charles Wright with the Gitxsan Nation, who claims the decision to allow the pipeline project to proceed through its “untouched” territory was made without proper consultation. The ministry announced in June that pipeline project has been “substantially started,” meaning the environmental assessment certificate approving its...
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Former Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell to oversee provincial efforts on DTES
By Wolfgang Depner Former senator and past Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell has been appointed as British Columbia’s new point-person to improve quality of life for those living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Campbell, who served as mayor between 2002 and 2005, then in the Senate until 2023, said in a statement that he will use his experience and relationships to improve housing and care for unhoused people, especially women, Indigenous people and those with complex mental health and addictions. Campbell replaces Michael Bryant, whose contract was cancelled in May 2025 after questions arose over lack of transparency about his appointment and the cost of the contract. Crime, poverty and addiction plague the Vancouver neighbourhood, but housing minister Christine Boyle said her government is determined to deliver better outcomes for the community....
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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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Cities, housing groups want B.C. to launch permanent housing roundtable
By Nono Shen Standing in a boardroom at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Shawn Bouchard, vice-president of Quadra Homes in Abbotsford, B.C., said he initially planned to kick off his speech by burning a $20 bill before putting it a glass of water. But staff told him it might set off the fire alarm, Bouchard said. “That’s what happens. When you have a bad policy. You just burn money,” said Bouchard during a news conference Monday. He was among several groups calling for the British Columbia government to set up a permanent roundtable of experts to lead housing policy as the province’s push to build more homes creates confusion and delays within communities. The groups, which includes the BC Real Estate Association, the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, Canadian Mortgage Brokers and...
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New cultural arts centre in Kahnawake breeds hope for next generation
By Miriam Lafontaine Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer is proud to be able to speak the same language her ancestors spoke. In the 1980s, Sky-Deer enrolled in one of the first schools in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake that immersed children in the Kanien’kéha language. “It was everything,” said Sky-Deer, in an interview. “It gave me a foundation of being proud of who I was.” At the time, many in the First Nation on the South Shore of Montreal were still attending church-run Indian Day Schools, where the language wasn’t taught, she said. Her former school still operates today, and the churches are no longer running schools in Kahnawake. The former grand chief of the community says she is optimistic about her community’s next generation, especially now that a new cultural arts centre...
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5th annual Truth and Reconciliation Day marked by events in Ottawa, Toronto
By Alessia Passafiume Today is the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a day where Canadians reflect on the legacy of residential schools and remember the survivors and those who never made it home. The residential school era refers to a period between 1857 and 1996 where 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded schools where they were barred from speaking their languages in institutions often rife with abuse located far away from their families and communities. An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools, although experts say the actual number could be much higher. Sept. 30, known as Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is meant to honour survivors and those who never came home. In Ottawa, Prime Minister...
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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, says 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. Chamberlin says he’s nervous the federal government might not follow through on its promise to ban open-net salmon farms by 2029, after initially rolling back plans for the ban to be in place by 2025. He says working with First Nations to protect salmon would allow the government to implement recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the need...
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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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Man charged after Brantford Police seize $40,000 in psilocybin
BRANTFORD, ONT-A city man is facing drug trafficking charges after police seized illegal psilocybin or “magic mushrooms’ at a store that had already been shut down twice. Brantford Police Service Drug and Firearm Enforcement Unit members seized over $44,000 in illegal psilocybin and arrested a 36-year-old city man for trafficking after executing a search warrant at an illegal retail psilocybin storefront in Brantford. On Saturday, September 16, 2025, the Brantford Police Service Drug and Firearm Enforcement Unit and the BPS Core Engagement and Response Team launched then investigation into an illegal psilocybin store which had re-opened at a Murray Street location. BPS said the “illegal retail business” had been been shut down by police on two other occasions. On Friday, September 26, 2025, members of the Core Engagement and Response...
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Brantford Police warning check your credit cards after fraud scheme
BRANTFORD, ONT- Local reports of multiple fraudulent charges on a resident’s credit card has the Brantford Police Service (BPS) issuing a warning to be vigilant against fraud . BPS said a local resident was alerted to multiple fraudulent charges after she receiving a series of deceptive emails that appeared designed to distract her from a legitimate fraud notification. The card was later confirmed to have been used in another province to purchase a carton of milk, a video game console, and a laptop. Fraudsters often use small purchases to test whether a stolen credit card is active before moving on to larger transactions. In this case, the emails sent to the victim were intended to mask the real financial alerts, making the fraud harder to detect. The Brantford Police Service...
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Health Canada’s struggles with procurement an ‘old story’ for Indigenous leaders
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Internal federal documents reveal that Health Canada is seeking exemptions from the federal government’s mandatory 5 per cent Indigenous procurement target, citing Indigenous capacity gap in scientific and mental health services. Since 2021, federal departments have been obligated to award at least 5 per cent of their annual contracts to Indigenous businesses to support economic reconciliation. While Health Canada met the federal target this year, internal briefing notes obtained by Canada’s National Observer through the federal Access to Information Act reveal the department is facing supplier shortages in certain specialized areas. As a result, the department has asked for exemptions for 2025-26 that would exclude about $20 million in lab equipment, $21 million in mental health services and $8 million...
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U.S. outdoor school modifies coastal B.C. camping application following outcry
By Brenna Owen An American outdoor leadership school says it is removing campsites along the west coast of Vancouver Island from its application to renew and expand its licence to run sea kayaking courses along British Columbia’s coast next year. The move by the National Outdoor Leadership School follows an outcry by some residents and First Nations leaders, citing concerns about consultation as well as Canadian sovereignty amid political and economic threats from south of the border. The initial application for access to 77 campsites relates to a sea kayaking expedition the non-profit group is planning, which would span the entire B.C. coast between May and August next year, starting in Washington and ending in Alaska. The group says it has been operating along B.C.’s coast since 1995 and a...
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Indigenous health authority will monitor upcoming blastomycosis coroner’s inquest
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com SIOUX LOOKOUT — First Nations health authorities in Northwestern Ontario say they will be keeping an eye on a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of multiple people in a northeastern Ontario First Nation who died from the same fungal infection. The north region’s coroner’s office has announced an inquest into the deaths of five Constance Lake First Nation residents from blastomycosis between Nov. 19, 2021, and Jan. 23, 2022. They were Luke Moore, 43, Lorraine Shaganash, 47, Lizzie Sutherland, 56, Mark Ferris, 67, and Douglas Taylor, 60. A media release from the coroner’s office said they all died in hospital on different dates during an outbreak in the First Nation near Hearst. Blastomycosis is caused by inhaling spores from the Blastomyces fungus,...
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4 dead after flooding in Arizona, including in historic mining town
GLOBE, Ariz. (AP) — Four people died after heavy rain caused flooding in Arizona, including three in a rural 19th-century mining town where floodwaters on Friday forced people to seek safety on rooftops and washed out a propane distributorship, scattering about 1,000 tanks downtown. About 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) of rain fell in Globe, a city of about 7,250 people about 88 miles (142 kilometers) east of Phoenix, over 24 hours and another storm moved in Saturday, temporarily halting the search for people possibly missing in the flood because of high-flowing creeks. Streets flooded in the nearby mining town of Miami on Saturday, but no injuries were reported, Carl Melford, emergency manager in Gila County, said. Meanwhile, about 20 tourists stranded in parts of the Havasupai Reservation, including at scenic...
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Audit of Saskatchewan First Nations group questions millions of dollars in spending
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations chiefs in Saskatchewan say they want answers after a forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations concluded more than $34 million of the organization’s spending between April 2019 and March 2024 was “questionable,” unsupported or ineligible. “The FSIN has a long-standing history that has been there to advocate for treaty and inherent rights for our First Nations people across Saskatchewan, and the only way we can get that back is by being honest,” Chief Marc Arcand of the Saskatoon Tribal Council told a media conference in Saskatchewan. “To the chief and to the vice chiefs, start taking some responsibility. Start being honest with your people. Start talking to your people, whether you did something right or something wrong.” The forensic audit, conducted by...
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B.C. Premier David Eby announces new involuntary care beds, North Coast power line
By Wolfgang Depner Premier David Eby came prepared with announcements as he spoke to leaders of British Columbia’s local governments, promising more involuntary care facilities for those with severe mental illness and addictions, and to bring in legislation to build the North Coast power line. Eby told delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention on Friday that the new care facilities in Surrey and Prince George will add about 100 more beds as part of a broader push to control crime. “We feel a huge urgency around the need for this kind of care for people, to expand beds, both in the North and Lower Mainland, on (Vancouver Island) and in the Interior,” he told reporters after the speech. “We’re going to ensure that we’re opening beds everywhere across...
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Man suing estate of Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau denies estate’s claims
By Brieanna Charlebois A British Columbia man who is suing the estate of acclaimed Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau alleging he was sexually assaulted by the painter disputes claims made by the estate in response to the lawsuit. Mark Anthony Jacobson is seeking $5 million from the estate in general, aggravated and punitive damages, and damages for economic loss, claiming Morrisseau reached into his pants and touched him on the buttocks after Morrisseau’s assistant suggested he could heal Jacobson’s back pain. In response to lawsuit, the estate said Morrisseau “was in no position to be physically or socially aggressive” at the time of the alleged 2006 assault, that he “had no libido,” was held upright in a wheelchair by straps, and was in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease before dying...
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Issues remain in Quebec health system, 5 years after Joyce Echaquan’s death: advocate
By Katrine Desautels Five years after Joyce Echaquan died tragically in a Quebec hospital room, there is still work to be done to improve the treatment of Indigenous people in the province’s health system, politicians and advocates say. Echaquan, a 37-year-old mother of seven from Manawan, filmed herself on Facebook Live as a nurse and an orderly were heard making derogatory and racist comments toward her while she suffered at a hospital in Joliette, Que., northeast of Montreal, just before her death on Sept. 28, 2020. The video of her treatment went viral and drew outrage and condemnation across the country. The Quebec minister responsible for relations with First Nations and Inuit acknowledges there is more to do to restore confidence in the health system for Indigenous people, while also...
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MFNPS leaving residential school behind
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun The Manitoba First Nations Police Service is undergoing a symbolic change this year at the time of Truth and Reconciliation Day. The police service is preparing to move out of a former residential school, at 5000 Crescent Rd. near Portage la Prairie. The Indigenous-focused police service is moving into a newly constructed, urban build in Brandon at the Waywayseecappo Conference Centre. The move may be timely and symbolic, but changes run deeper than a relocation. The MFNPS is having better dialogue with governments, which are providing more funding, MFNPS Chief Jason Colon said in an interview this week. “They have been working with us at a rate we haven’t seen,” said Colon from the construction site of the new headquarters. “We’re...
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