Brant County OPP continues to investigate shooting at Paris residence
PARIS, ONT. – The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating a shooting that took place at a home in Paris over the weekend. On Nov. 23, at approximately 3:00 a.m., police received a report of a weapons complaint. They later learned that unknown individuals had approached a residence on Heming Street in a dark-coloured sports utility vehicle (SUV) and fired several rounds from a firearm, which struck and caused damage to the home and a vehicle that was parked in the driveway. There were no injuries reported,. It is believed to be an isolated incident. The Brant County Crime Unit is asking residents of Heming Street and neighbouring side streets to check their video surveillance systems to see if they have any footage of the vehicles or suspects...
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Manitoba eyes bilingual designation ‘to be at the table’
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press The Kinew government is applying for a special designation to put its growing francophone community on the map and tap into new markets in French-speaking countries across the world. Manitoba’s “truly bilingual province” consultations wrapped up on Oct. 31. Francophone Affairs Minister Glen Simard is reviewing six months of oral and written feedback from Manitobans about what they want their province to sound like. “What we’re hearing is people want to live their lives in French and they want it to be easier,” Simard said in a phone interview Sunday. The minister spoke to the Free Press, in both English and French, from his constituency of Brandon East. He was scheduled to meet with francophone community leaders in the evening,...
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Results are in: Doig River First Nation elects new Chief
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca ROSE PRAIRIE, B.C. — A new Chief has been elected for the people of Doig River First Nation (DRFN). DRFN band manager Shona Nelson shared Justin Davis has been elected to the top job. The election took place on Thursday, November 20th, with Energeticcity.ca on Friday afternoon. Davis served in the prior council, alongside Brittany Robertson and Starr Acko, with Trevor Makadahay serving as Chief. He had made his intentions for the top job known following Makadahay’s decision to not seek re-election. Robertson and Acko were elected councillors for another term, joined by Korbin Davis. Elections for DRFN Chief and council are consistent with codes outlined in the Indian Act, which mandates a period of two years. The next DRFN election will...
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First Nations’ Elders and council react to judicial review ruling
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Both sides of a judicial review concerning a Treaty 8 Nations’ council have released statements about the outcome, with one party saying they were vindicated by the outcome. Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) Elders Clarence and Joe Apsassin had filed the motion for a judicial review last year, alleging their Nation’s council violated bylaws in the removal of former Chief Judy Desjarlais and in making decisions regarding the BRFN’s Implementation agreement with the province. The two men also sought the removal of their family councillor, Shelley Gauthier. The review went ahead this summer in Vancouver. This week, Judge Negar Azmudeh granted the judicial review in part, ruling the council breached band bylaws and customs and were required...
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Motorist in North Carolina tells 911: ‘I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield’
By Corey Williams NORTH CAROLINA-A motorist in western North Carolina escaped injury when the carcass of a cat crashed into the passenger side of her front windshield along a highway near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In a call to 911, the unidentified driver on U.S. Route 74 in Swain County, near Bryson City, told a dispatcher that a bald eagle dropped the cat. Bryson City is about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Asheville. It’s not clear if the feline slipped from the eagle’s talons Wednesday morning or was discarded simply because the big bird didn’t have a taste for it. “You may not believe me, but I just had a bald eagle drop a cat through my windshield,” the incredulous driver said on the recorded 911 call....
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Nolan Dyck, third member of Alberta premier’s caucus, faces recall petition drive
By Jack Farrell A third member of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party caucus is now officially the target of a petition to get him recalled from his job as a member of the legislature. Elections Alberta said in a news release Friday it has approved a signature-collecting campaign against first-term Grande Prairie legislature member Nolan Dyck. The approval kick-starts a three-month signature collection period that, if successful, would then force a constituency-wide vote on whether Dyck keeps his seat. In recent weeks, recall petitions have been approved against UCP members Angela Pitt — in Airdrie East — and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in Calgary Bow. The Grande Prairie resident behind the newest petition, Casey Klein, says Dyck should be recalled because he has been dismissing the concerns of his...
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UCCM Anishinaabe Police Service hope renewed efforts will help find missing woman
MANITOULIN ISLAND, ONT. – It has been over a year since Juanita (Winnie) Migwans went missing on Manitoulin Island, and the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin Anishinaabe Police Service (UCCM APS) is renewing its request for assistance with the investigation. The 31-year-old woman was last seen on Oct. 4, 2024, on Riverside Drive in the M’Chigeeng First Nation community. Since then, there has been ongoing effort by the police and the community to find answers regarding her disappearance. To mark one year since they launched the investigation, police have released a new awareness video, providing details about Migwans and her last known whereabouts. The hope is to generate new leads and encourage members of the public to come forward with any new information. “Even though she’s an adult, it...
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Amid climate impacts, leading Secwépemc firekeeper shares ‘a better way of looking after the land’
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Growing up in Nlakaʼpamux and syilx territories in the 1970s, Joe Gilchrist can’t remember a single summer when wildfire smoke ever trapped him indoors. The Merritt, B.C., region’s semi-arid landscape still saw scorching summer temperatures back then, he recalled, but not the record-breaking fire seasons of recent years. “That was thanks to our work that the Indigenous ancestors did on the land,” said Gilchrist, a Secwépemc Nation member who now lives on Skeetchsn Indian Band’s reserve with his daughter. “Then, everything was still fairly spaced out; the fires were easier to handle.” Although settlers’ wildfire suppression efforts had become the dominant form of land stewardship when he was young, Indigenous communities in the Nicola Valley were still using fire to “cleanse” the...
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‘It affects us as a people’: Trent University students protest provincial legislation
By Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Peterborough Examiner Trent University students protested the provincial government’s Bill 5 on Thursday. Protesters cited concerns over the legislation’s impacts on environmental protections, Indigenous consultation, and threats to archeological preservation. The protest was organized by the Trent University Native Association (TUNA) and supported by the Trent University Student Association (TCSA). “We’re really concerned about the expedited process of resource extractive infrastructure. So it’s pipelines, mines, all those different types of things, especially in the Ring of Fire, which is really going to affect Northern Ontario Indigenous people,” said TUNA president, Katie Lariviere, who is Anishinaabe from Garden River First Nation near Sault St. Marie. Lariviere noted Bill 5 includes changes to both the Ontario Heritage Act’s archeological assessment process, as well as...
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Prisoners can appear before judge to challenge security classification: Supreme Court
By Jim Bronskill The Supreme Court of Canada says a federal prisoner can challenge a refusal to reclassify them to a lower-security facility through the time-honoured writ of habeas corpus — a hearing before a judge to determine if a detention is lawful. In a 6-3 ruling Friday, the top court said continuing a more restrictive form of confinement, instead of placing an inmate in a lower security facility, results in a deprivation of their remaining freedom. The court said broad and effective access to habeas corpus is critical for those who suffer unlawful and continued deprivation of their liberty and seek to challenge the legality of their confinement. The decision came in the jointly heard cases of two men who argued they were unfairly denied access to habeas corpus...
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Cargo unloaded from sinking barge off B.C. coast as planning starts for move south
-CP-The local First Nation in the vicinity of a sinking barge off the central British Columbia coast says some cargo containers have been moved off the damaged vessel. The Heiltsuk First Nation says 25 containers from the barge that was being towed by a tug from Alaska to Seattle have been moved over to a secondary barge. The nation says the listing barge appears to be “floating quite a bit better” with the containers removed, and an assessment is underway by the Heiltsuk Nation, Transport Canada and the operator, Alaska Marine Lines. The damaged barge still has several dozen containers and other cargo on board, and the Heiltsuk says it is hopeful that both barges could be moved south starting Friday, “if all goes well.” The barge was reported to...
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Canada Post reaches deal in principle with union, strike suspended
By Craig Lord Canada Post and the union representing thousands of its mail carriers took their biggest step toward ending a long saga of collective bargaining Friday, agreeing in principle to a set of new contracts. In a statement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said rotating strike action has been suspended as the two sides work out language in the new contracts. Canada Post agreed to the same terms for any lockout action. If both parties can’t come to terms on the language in those deals, a labour disruption could resume, spilling into the busy holiday season. No details of the agreements in principle — covering the union’s urban bargaining unit and its rural and suburban unit — were shared heading into the weekend. The union said the two...
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‘Life and death’: Chief tells of trauma and bravery in grizzly attack on B.C. pupils
By Wolfgang Depner What was to be a short afternoon field trip for about 20 students and staff of a school in Bella Coola, B.C., became a scene of trauma and heroism when a grizzly bear attack badly injured four people, the Nuxalk Nation’s elected chief said Friday. Thursday’s attack on the elementary class as they had lunch by a river triggered an outpouring of sympathy for the victims, surprise from experts at the bear’s behaviour, and praise for the teachers who drove it off. It was a moment of “life and death,” said Chief Samuel Schooner, flanked by conservation and police officers at a news conference in the remote community about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver. The severely injured victims were an adult and three children, the B.C. Conservation...
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Alaska Native villages have few options and little US help as climate change devours their land
By Becky Bohrer And Gabriela Aoun Angueira JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Storms that battered Alaska’s western coast this fall have brought renewed attention to low-lying Indigenous villages left increasingly vulnerable by climate change — and revived questions about their sustainability in a region being reshaped by frequent flooding, thawing permafrost and landscape-devouring erosion. The onset of winter has slowed emergency repair and cleanup work after two October storms, including the remnants of Typhoon Halong, slammed dozens of communities. Some residents from the hardest-hit villages, Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, could be displaced for months and worry what their futures hold. Kwigillingok already was pursuing relocation before the latest storm, but that can take decades, with no centralized coordination and little funding. Moves by the Trump administration to cut grants aimed at better...
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Solutions are slow to come for water crisis plaguing Quebec’s Nunavik region
By Katrine Desautels Most Quebecers have only to twist a tap to get a seemingly endless source of clean water. The reality is completely different in the northern region of Nunavik, where the water supply system faces a host of problems, from bad weather to outdated equipment and labour shortages. Some would be inclined to blame a lack of political will, but solutions aren’t easy to implement. Water shortages are common north of the 55th parallel. In 13 of the 14 villages, there is no aqueduct and no sewer, partly due to permafrost. The west coast, along the Hudson Bay, is more problematic than the Ungava Bay side to the east. Weather events are more frequent and more violent — something that is expected to worsen due to climate change,...
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‘Just come talk to us’: First Nation leader uses award win to send a message
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com CAT LAKE — Cat Lake’s chief has been recognized as one of the country’s leaders in sustainability and says he used the win to send a message to senior levels of government. “There are people that live up there on the land which you hope to gain and acquire resources from — Indigenous people,” Russell Wesley told Newswatch about what he said at a ceremony in Toronto in October. “We’re not opposed to development if you would just come talk to us.” Wesley was recognized by Clean50, a series of awards founded by Delta Management Group, which is a search firm that says it specializes in recruiting “green professionals.” They have been given out since 2011 and, among other things, recognize 50...
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Squamish Community Forest reinforces commitment to cultural values
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Squamish Chief At a recent public open house, the Squamish Community Forest unveiled its vision for sustainable land use, cultural preservation, and wildfire mitigation over the next five years. How can we ensure a healthy forest and happy communities, all whilst abiding by land use agreements for the economy? Such were some of the questions among folks who attended the Squamish Community Forest’s 2025 public open house, on Nov. 13 at Howe Sound Inn & Brewing. At the event, a presentation was delivered by the Community Forest’s representatives, with opportunities for questions, and group discussion. What is the Squamish Community Forest, and what does it do? The Squamish Community Forest functions on a Community Forest Agreement (CFA) and equal shareholding between Skwxwú7mesh...
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Officers search for bear after for B.C. attack, nation fundraising for victims
British Columbia conservation officers are continuing to look for the grizzly bear responsible for attacking an elementary school group, as the First Nation has starting raising money to support those who were injured. Three students and one teacher were sent to hospital Thursday when the bear attacked the group of about 20 people in Bella Coola who were on a field trip and having lunch at the time. Conservation officers have since said they believe a mother bear with two cubs was likely involved in an attack. They have set up traps in the area and have asked the public to stay out of the woods while the search is taking place. A GoFundMe page launched by the Nuxalk Nation has raised nearly $30,000 after less than 24 hours online....
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Feds fund Sioux Lookout shelter amid overdose crisis
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source SIOUX LOOKOUT — As part of nationwide efforts to tackle a crisis in toxic drug supply and overdoses, the federal government is providing the Kenora District Services Board (KDSB) with more than $2.7 million for work in the Sioux Lookout area. The services board “applied for the funding under the title of Safe Haven and Recovery Hub, expanding the services at the Sioux Lookout emergency shelter, so that’s where the services will be delivered from,” Sarah Stevenson, KDSB’s acting chief executive officer, said in a recent interview. The funding will “further address the needs that are identified through the operation of the emergency shelter,” she said. “That includes addictions support and culturally appropriate recovery services.” Services are delivered by social...
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Vancouver’s Last Sex Worker Drop-In Centre May Shutter in Spring
By Michelle Gamage, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee Vancouver’s last drop-in space for sex workers is facing an uncertain future as the city changes how it funds the non-profit. The Kingsway Community Station, currently located at Kingsway and Windsor Street, has been supporting street-based sex workers by running a nighttime drop-in centre for the last five years. The location is important because it’s home to the largest concentration of street-based sex workers in the city, Amelia Ridgway, program director with RainCity Housing, which runs the Kingsway Community Station, told The Tyee. The space is trans-inclusive. Women and gender-diverse sex workers can visit the drop-in from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. six days a week to access a washroom and a warm and welcoming space to get a cup of...
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