Manitoba teacher commissioner received 94 complaints in 15 months, report reveals
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Ninety-four complaints about teacher misconduct were flagged in the 15 months after Manitoba set up an independent office to regulate the profession. Commissioner Noni Classen has released a summary of the allegations brought to her attention and findings of investigations undertaken between January 2025 and March 2026. A new disciplinary system, as well as an online registry where members of the public can look up the education level and standing of teachers and school clinicians, came into effect Jan. 6, 2025. “These processes can be difficult and deeply personal for everyone involved, including students, families, teachers and school administrators,” Classen wrote in a 24-page report published this week. “It is important that all individuals who interact with this office are...
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Ontario First Nation evacuated for second time this summer as nursing station flooded
Neskantaga First Nation chief says his northern Ontario community had to be evacuated again after a contractor hired by the federal government caused a sewage flood at the community’s only nursing station. Gary Quisess says Neskantaga residents had to leave earlier this month for the second time this summer, just days after they returned home following a wildfire evacuation. He says families from his community are staying in crowded hotel rooms in Toronto and they want to go back to their homes as soon as possible. Quisess says the fly-in community declared a state of emergency after a contractor damaged the septic system under a nursing station, which is the community’s only health-care facility. Neskantaga officials say the damage caused raw sewage to back up and fill the basement of...
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Native House board reinstated by Quebec Registrar
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The Quebec Enterprise Registrar has reinstated the former board of directors at the Native House, according to a decision that was issued in June. Richard Ruest, President of the Native House, described the decision as a crucial step in restoring normal governance to the museum. “This decision restores the legitimacy of the Native House’s governing bodies and allows us to turn a difficult page in its history,” Ruest said. The Quebec Enterprise Registrar issued its ruling on June 15, overturning a 2025 decision by the museum’s then-executive director to restructure its board. Specifically, the executive director removed Ruest as President and Alain O’Bomsawin as Secretary-Treasurer, without the approval or consent of the full board of directors. Both Ruest and O’Bomsawin have now...
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Crown wants jail for man guilty of sharing disturbing images
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A Provincial Court judge in Prince George has reserved decision on the sentence for a man who pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography and bestiality. After an Aug. 6 hearing, Judge David Simpkin sent Crown and defence lawyers to court schedulers to arrange a one-hour hearing to decide how long Andy Junior Leslie Szabo will be jailed. Crown prosecutor Abigail Robillard said Szabo, 32, should be sentenced to two years for the child pornography offence and one year, consecutive, for bestiality. Robillard also asked Simpkin to add Szabo to the national sex offender registry for 20 years, ban Szabo from possessing an animal for 10 years and order him to stay away from places where children under 16 gather for...
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Prince George company sues developer of wood pellet plant
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen A Prince George construction company says it is owed $1.7 million after working to dismantle the former Canfor Oriented Strand Board (OSB) plant in Fort Nelson. JDT Construction Ltd. filed a notice of civil claim in BC Supreme Court’s Prince George registry on July 30, claiming Peak North America Construction Ltd. and Peak Fort Nelson Properties Ltd. have not paid invoices dating back almost two years. None of the allegations has been tested in court. The defendants have yet to file a statement of defence. The lawsuit said JDT, under its agreement with Canal Flats-based PNA “supplied equipment and labour to dismantle and remove industrial structures and fixtures, including stranders, outfeed conveyors, green bins, dryers, blenders, dry bins, resin tanks,...
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Nunavik partners with Cité Joie to provide temporary housing
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services has partnered with a non-profit to provide Nunavimmiut living with disability, autism or mental health conditions the opportunity to stay at a camp outside Quebec City that meets their needs. The agreement with Cité Joie covers respite stays for up to one month and temporary housing for stays of one month to one year, for individuals who meet eligibility requirements. The facility in Lac-Beauport, just outside Quebec City, has seven rooms, a shared living room, a kitchen and a full-time nurse on site, said Olivier Piquer, Cité Joie’s director general. It’s located in a forested area with open green spaces and a lake. There are structured activities for visitors during their stay....
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BC Prosecution Service says appeal not viable after man accused of murder acquitted
By Darryl Greer The BC Prosecution Service says appealing the acquittal of a man accused of killing 33-year-old Vanessa Terry isn’t viable, after a judge tossed out incriminating statements made to police due to “degrading and humiliating” treatment by investigators after the man’s arrest. Terry, a mother of three, was found dead in her home on the Seabird Island First Nation reserve near Agassiz, B.C., on April 6, 2024, in a case of alleged intimate partner violence. Her former partner, Frederick Charlie, was charged with second-degree murder, but was acquitted last month after prosecutors called no evidence after Charlie’s alleged confession was ruled inadmissible by the judge. Terina Roberts, one of Terry’s sisters, says she has been angry and sad for the last 2 1/2 years and is still grieving...
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MWF raises concerns over possible Interlake wildlife land transfers
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The Manitoba Wildlife Federation says it is seeking answers from the provincial government after learning that numerous parcels within several Interlake Wildlife Management Areas are being considered for transfer to Peguis First Nation through the Treaty Land Entitlement process. MWF senior policy advisor Chris Heald said the organization was alerted to the potential transfers after a municipality copied the federation on correspondence to Manitoba Ian Bushie, Minister of Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures. “We fully support the treaty land entitlement process,” Heald said. “But it was always for Crown lands, not for Wildlife Management Areas or Provincial Parks.” Heald said the federation became concerned after seeing the number of parcels involved and their locations, which he said are in several WMAs...
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Mounties investigating after infant remains found in northern Manitoba
Police says the remains of a newly born infant or fetus have been found in a small Métis settlement in northern Manitoba. RCMP say officers were notified that possible human remains were discovered outside an address in the community of Umpherville, about 630 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Officers located the remains Monday between two residences. Police say an autopsy has been conducted, but did not say whether a cause of death has been determined. RCMP are asking anyone with information to contact the detachment in The Pas. Police and the province’s medical examiner continue to investigate. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026. ...
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Police urge safety and patience in return to Whitesand, Armstrong
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — For the people returning to Whitesand and Armstrong this week, Ontario Provincial Police have a simple request: Drive carefully and be patient. “Over the next couple of days, the motoring public returning to Armstrong and Whitesand can expect an increased police presence,” Sgt. Theresa Wabason said Thursday near Highway 527’s intersection with the Trans-Canada Highway. “Our job is to ensure that there is safe travel along the highway,” she continued. “We want everyone to be safe, adhering to the traffic laws. “We ask that everyone is patient and abides by the rules of the road, and we want everyone to get home safe.” The July 13 evacuation order for Whitesand First Nation and neighbouring Armstrong will be lifted at...
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After fleeing wildfires, Neskantaga forced to evacuate again—sewage floods only nursing station
By Anushka Yadav, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer “It makes me feel really angry,” Neskantaga First Nation Chief Gary Quisess told The Pointer after his residents were forced to evacuate for a second time in less than a month due to “failures in essential social infrastructure”—first after wildfires disrupted the vital supply chain that provides critical resources, and then once again after sewage flooded the remote community’s only nursing station. On July 29, as Quisess watched two flights carrying Neskantaga community members take off from Toronto Pearson International Airport, he sighed, finally allowing himself a moment to absorb the gravity of what his community had endured. Ten days earlier, he had to make the difficult decision to evacuate the most vulnerable members after raging forest fires miles away disrupted...
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150th anniversary of Treaty 6 will be commemorated over four event-filled days
By Crystal St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com On Aug. 20 to Aug. 23, thousands of people from across Treaty 6 are expected to gather at Fort Carlton Provincial Historic Park in Saskatchewan to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the historic treaty agreement at its original signing site on Aug. 23, 1876. The four-day event, located just west of Duck Lake, Sask., will feature First Nations’ culture, entertainment, history and art programming. Traditional ceremonies are planned for each day. A treaty forum will be held with Elders and knowledge keepers. There will be hand games and a talent show. Juno award-winning artist Fawn Wood will perform on Aug. 22. There will be an unveiling of the updated Fort Carlton cairn plaque and a Treaty 6 150th commemorative monument. A full...
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Alberta technology minister met with jeers at first town hall over AI data centres
By Lisa Johnson Alberta’s technology minister was jeered, badgered and booed late Wednesday by a room packed with hundreds of people over the province’s plans for an artificial intelligence data centre. Nate Glubish was in the central town of Lacombe for the first in a series of town halls touting the windfall the mega-facilities could bring. Dozens of people lined up to ask questions, but none who made it to the microphone before the event ended offered an endorsement. There was also little trust in the Alberta government to regulate an industry poised to invest billions of dollars in the province to feed a growing global computing demand. “Albertans do not want data centres,” said one man who came from the neighbouring town of Ponoka. Another woman told Glubish to...
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Nova Scotia musician Ashley MacIsaac pulls Google defamation lawsuit
Nova Scotia fiddler Ashley MacIsaac has ended a defamation lawsuit against Google after claiming the search engine falsely identified him as a sex offender in an AI-generated summary. In a statement of claim filed in February with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, MacIsaac said the description wrongly stated he had been listed on the national sex offender registry. The lawsuit also claimed the summary falsely asserted he had been convicted of a series of offences including sexual assault, internet luring involving a child and assault causing bodily harm. The Juno Award-winning musician was seeking $1.5 million in damages from Google LLC for the “AI overview,” which can often appear at the top of search results. However, a notice of discontinuance was filed on July 29 to end MacIsaac’s lawsuit....
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O’Leary data centre faces setback in court
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary’s effort to block Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s (SLCN) request for judicial review of the water licenses intended for his planned Wonder Valley data centre in northeast Alberta has been quashed in court. SLCN is challenging the Alberta government’s decision to provide the Municipal District of Greenview with a license for six million cubic metres of water from the Smoky River to cool O’Leary’s proposed data centre without first consulting the First Nation. If completed, the Wonder Valley project will eventually require 24 million cubic metres of water for its 7.5 gigawatt facility. O’Leary Digital attempted to have SLCN’s challenge scrapped because the company wasn’t included in the lawsuit, which the company maintained directly pertains to it....
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Let’s make a deal: TIFF touts its first market, says Canadian creators will benefit
By Nicole Thompson The Toronto International Film Festival’s annual press conference showcasing its Canadian lineup is also serving as an unofficial launch of a new marketplace where filmmakers can shop around their projects. CEO Cameron Bailey called TIFF: The Market “our biggest new thing” since the festival opened its King Street headquarters 16 years ago. TIFF touts the market as an opportunity for creators to make deals with financiers, and producers to connect with distributors. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey speaks at a press event in Toronto, on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan Charles Tremblay, TIFF’s head of market, says they’re on track to welcome 6,000 delegates from more than 80 countries, with 230 exhibitors, and Bailey says Canadian creators will be at the centre of it all....
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Dangerous veterinary drug being added to fentanyl
By Joe O’Grady, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker TEMISKAMING SHORES – Health agencies in the region are continuing to warn illicit drug users about a dangerous veterinary sedative being added to street fentanyl. Timiskaming First Nation Health and Wellness Centre is the latest agency to sound the alarm over medetomidine, a “new and dangerous” veterinary sedative which is “significantly increasing the risk of overdose and severe withdrawal.” Not only is the sedative not approved for human use, it causes deep sedation and slowed breathing, and is not reversed by naloxone and has no known antidote. Northeastern Public Health (NEPH) is also warning users of street drugs about the danger, having issued a red drug alert. “While we cannot comment on current supply specifics and results derived from drug testing,...
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Regenerative tourism in Tofino: Fostering richer travel experiences by giving back
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Clayoquot Sound, B.C. – The volunteers showed up on time and in gumboots at Tofino’s First Street Dock for a 7 a.m. boat ride. After the Tofino Water Taxi dropped the humble group at the special location in Clayoquot Sound, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation sisters Gisele and Tsimka Martin welcomed the 25 or so participants to their territory and thanked them for helping build the rock wall that would form a clam garden. Historically, rock walls, or arches as they are often called, represent an ancient system of mariculture in Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations culture. The rock walls help retain the clam spawn, which increases clam productivity. Over the past few years, the Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family Society alongside Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Park Guardians have...
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With 500-plus structures damaged or lost, B.C.’s fire season is among the worst
By Canadian Press Staff More than 500 homes or other structures have been destroyed or damaged by wildfires in British Columbia this year, in a level of devastation comparable to some of the worst recent fire seasons. While the area of 4,300 square kilometres burned by the more than 1,000 fires so far this year has only been a fraction of the area burned in other years — such as 2023 when a record 29,000 square kilometres burned — the structural losses have been piling up. By comparison, the B.C. government said about 600 structures were destroyed or damaged in 2023, including about 400 homes, many of them around Okanagan Lake, where losses have again been concentrated. In 2017, 509 structures were destroyed, including 229 homes. The worst recent human...
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Lawyers Call On Six Nations community to participate in Haldimand Treaty land rights court action
Estimated at between$13.9 billion and $8.7 trillion, Six Nations massive land claim about to hit the courts Lawyers are stressing the importance of the community’s participation at the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) coming Haldimand Treaty land rights court proceedings. “It does really help the judge understand that this case is about real people,” said JFK Law’s Robert Janes, one of the leading lawyers on the case. “A real community, real experiences. For a judge to look out and not just see a room full of lawyers, but to see some of you. It puts a face to the names we’re talking about.” Janes— flanked by Max Shapiro and Iris Antonios of Blake, Cassells, and Graydon (BCG), the other law firm on the case—emphasized while the lawyers were arguing the...
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