Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is officially dead. Here’s what that means
By Leah Borts-Kuperman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal Updated on April 7, 2026, at 5:23 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to remove reference to golden eagles as having federal protections, and therefore being de-listed under the Species Conservation Act. Golden eagles are still listed under the new act, so receive provincial protection for their nesting area only. Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is now officially repealed. The province says the move will allow quicker approvals for road, mining and housing developments, while experts say it could streamline destruction of critical habitats, further threatening wildlife such as woodland caribou, barn owls and red-headed woodpeckers. The Endangered Species Act, passed in 2007, set explicit provincial goals for species recovery and stewardship. It was once considered the gold standard for species...
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Easter bunny arrives at Six Nations armed with chocolate!
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RCMP infiltrated Indigenous movements during Cold War era
By Jacqueline St. Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Manitoulin Expositor MANITOULIN—The files read like a nation whispering to itself in the dark—paper trails, code names, shadows parked across the street. But the story they tell is not new. It is an old habit, dressed in Cold War language. Long before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police began cataloguing Indigenous leaders under what it called a “Native extremism program,” it had already been deployed as an instrument of removal—enforcing a federal vision of land that required Indigenous peoples to be confined, managed and, when necessary, displaced. In the late 19th century, as Canada pushed westward, the North-West Mounted Police—predecessor to the RCMP—was sent to secure territory for settlement and the railway. They enforced the reserve system that followed the numbered treaties, restricting movement...
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Chiefs of Ontario Calls on Government to Strike a Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Spying on First Nations
Chiefs of Ontario Calls on Government to Strike a Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Spying on First Nations Chiefs of Ontario Calls on Government to Strike a Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Systemic Spying on First Nations March 26th, 2026|Categories: Communications, Justice, Political (Toronto, Ont. – March 26, 2026) Chiefs of Ontario is demanding an apology and federal action on widespread spying on First Nations by police and security forces in Canada. An CBC Indigenous article said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police spent decades spying on First Nations leaders and organizations whose only crime was advocating for their inherent rights and sovereignty. Chiefs of Ontario is calling for an impartial, First-Nations led federal inquiry into state-sponsored spying on First Nations groups to understand why the policy was implemented, which...
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Six Nations has history of RCMP spying
If Six Nations has any kind of relationship with the RCMP its one of historic spying. From the early 1920’s, with the ousting of the Six Nations Confederacy government, the RCMP have been spying on Six Nations. The relationship has historically been one of RCMP surveillance and intervention. Declassified files show the RCMP monitored and targeted Six Nations and other Indigenous political organizations from the 1960s to 1980s, attempting to disrupt their sovereignty, alongside recent monitoring of activism linked to land disputes. Timeline of RCMP Historic al Six Nations Interference In the 1920s: The RCMP actively undermined the Six Nations Confederacy Council. The RCMP launched raids of Chiefs and Confederacy followers homes and seized wampum belts to force a transition to an Indian Act band council. Surveillance and Monitoring: Records...
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Editorial:
It was simply all about the land. Who owned it. Who controlled it. And what Canada was willing to do to get it. Ultimately what it became about was extinguishing a people through identity theft and removing any Indigenous governments that existed. The country that became Canada decided to use its Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and its predecessor the North-West Mounted Police to do its dirty work. The body acted as its army of infiltration, removal and its “Native Extremism Program.” First Nations people became the targets and generations of suppression began. Now as the special in this week’s paper tells us, is a story our generations have lived. A story that has made us the people we are today, cautious, watching, and knowing. And created the political chasm...
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Today in History
April 1 In 1999, dignitaries including Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Gov. Gen. Romeo LeBlanc dined on muskox, whale skin, Arctic char and raw seal to celebrate the creation of Nunavut in the eastern Arctic. Canada’s third territory gave the Inuit title to an area more than five times the size of Alberta. In 2011, five tiny First Nations on Vancouver Island began new chapters in their collective histories, when a land-claims treaty that took almost 20 years to negotiate took effect. In addition to 24,550 hectares and resource and program payments, it gave powers of self-government, including taxation rights, to the bands representing about 2,500 people near the communities of Bamfield, Port Alberni, Campbell River and Ucluelet. In 2022, Pope Francis apologized for the role the Roman Catholic Church...
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Six Nations to honour WW1 and WW2 veterans
By Alex Murray, Writer Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) is pushing to see Six Nations members that ended up in unmarked graves after serving in World War I and World War II properly recognized. SNEC approved and carried a recommendation from the Community Committee to honor Six Nations members who served during World War I and World War II with dedicated grave markers. Councillor Dean Hill said in July 2025 Last Post Fund Indigenous Program Coordinator Maria Trujillo had reached out to Six Nations to inform the community that, through the Indigenous Veterans Initiative (IVI), she had identified eight veterans from Six Nations of the Grand River who may be resting in unmarked graves. Trujillo told Turtle Island News the team begins the process of identifying a potential veteran after...
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OMSK Elementary School marks Indigenous Languages Day with a Language Olympics
By Alex Murray Writer Walking into Oliver M. Smith Kawenni:io Elementary School (OMSK) on National Indigenous Languages Day on March 31, the excitement and feeling of pride in the Mohawk language could be felt right away. A large Olympic sign hung in the entryway, and cowhorn rattles and waterdrums could be heard alongside young Six Nations voices singing in Mohawk with Mr. Doxtdator, who is prepping his charges for the Spring Sing in April. But on National Indigenous Languages Day at OMSK in 2026, it was all about the return of the Kanyen’Keha Olympics, an event that celebrates the Mohawk language and motivates the students to speak the Indigenous language. Kanyen’Keha is Mohawk in the Mohawk language. Laurie Green, one of three OMSK Mohawk language teachers, said OMSK’s new Mohawk...
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Stars set for appearance at provincial championships
By Sam Laskaris Writer The Six Nations Stars are red hot as they enter their provincial championships this week. The Stars, a first-year women’s hockey club, have exceeded on-ice expectations this season. And the local squad is riding an 11-game unbeaten streak as it heads into the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) provincial championships this week. The Stars are one of 20 clubs that will be vying for the provincial Senior C crown at the tourney, which begins Friday and continues until Sunday at various rinks in Toronto and surrounding communities. The Six Nations club has not played a game since Mar. 22. The Stars captured the South Western Ontario Women’s Hockey League Tier III Southwest crown that night. Squads have been placed into five pools, with four teams in...
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Ironmen prepare for national tournament as league action concludes
By Sam Laskaris Writer It’s not over yet. Yes, the Six Nations Ironmen did have their inaugural season in the Northern Premier Hockey League (NPHL) conclude this past Saturday. But the local Senior A men’s squad is now turning its focus on next month’s Fred Sasakamoose Chief Thunderstick National Hockey Championship. The Ironmen were downed 5-2 by the Alvinston Killer Bees in a Saturday match held at the Six Nations Sports & Cultural Memorial Centre. With that victory the Killer Bees were crowned as the champs of the NPHL’s Metropolitan Conference, winning their best-of-five series in four games. “It’s not ever the ending that you want, when you make it to the finals and just come up a little short,” said Ironmen head coach Ryan Davis. “But we ran into...
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Tavares-coached Bandits clinch playoff spot with sixth consecutive win
By Sam Laskaris Writer It wasn’t that long ago that it appeared almost a certainty that a new champion would be crowned for the first time in a while in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) this season. But the way things have been transpiring lately, the Buffalo Bandits, the three-time defending league champs, just might have what it takes to garner a fourth consecutive title. The Bandits are led by bench boss John Tavares, who is also the head coach of the Six Nations Chiefs, who are the three-time reigning Mann Cup (Canadian Senior A) champs. Buffalo’s lineup includes Six Nations member Tehoka Nanticoke, who has three NLL championship rings in his first three pro seasons. The Bandits’ roster also includes several others who have been key contributors to the...
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Indigenous women’s groups urge funding to limit risks to safety, prosperity
By Alessia Passafiume Advocates are calling for long-term, stable federal funding to safeguard Indigenous women and girls — and are warning the federal government’s major projects push could place them at higher risk. Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, president of the National Family and Survivors Circle, said groups like hers still don’t know if they’ll receive continued funding from Ottawa. She said that uncertainty undermines their efforts to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. “When we’re looking at the safety and human security of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit and gender-diverse people, it’s really critical that organizations who are doing this important work — and even through the lens of prevention and economic participation — that they receive long-term, sustainable and equitable funding,” she said. “They’re severely underfunded....
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Indigenous women’s groups urge funding to limit risks to safety, prosperity
By Alessia Passafiume Advocates are calling for long-term, stable federal funding to ensure safety and prosperity for Indigenous women and girls, with a national focus on major building projects. Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, president of the National Family and Survivors Circle, says groups like hers still don’t know if they’ll receive continued funding from Ottawa, which undermines work to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. She will join other organizations holding a news conference on Parliament Hill today urging continued funds for support programs and services. Anderson-Pyrz says the federal government must take serious action to protect Indigenous women and girls, especially as it ramps up plans for resource extraction and infrastructure projects that can put them in harm’s way. Amnesty International has reported that binge drinking...
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Understanding Gladue and the application of justice to Indigenous offenders
By Troy Dumont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Recently, the Gladue principles have drawn attention across Canada amid discussions on how justice is applied to Indigenous offenders. When Canadians hear the phrase “Gladue report,” it is often stripped of its legal meaning and reduced to shorthand for leniency. Under the anonymity of the internet, ignorance has become commonplace, turning comment sections into breeding grounds for misinformation and hostility. Many people react to the term as though it means a free pass or special treatment based solely on identity. Some examples from Reddit threads include: “Gladue – knew it would be involved. Infantilizing FN’s at the expense of everyone else – nice ******* work.” “I hope he doesn’t get Gladued. He’s a cold blooded murderer.” “Gladue report continues to...
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Federal government puts out $412.9 million to renew the Pacific Salmon Initiative
By Chuck Chiang The federal government is spending $412.9 million over five years to renew the Pacific Salmon Strategy in a plan to protect and rebuild wild populations. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson made the announcement in North Vancouver Tuesday, saying in a statement that the first five years of the initiative has shown what is possible when partners work together to restore habitat, expand hatchery programs, improve management and find new ways to protect vulnerable stocks. “But the challenges facing wild Pacific salmon are far from over,” Thompson said in the statement. “Through the renewed (salmon strategy), our government is committing to the next chapter of this work — one grounded in science, guided by Indigenous leadership, and driven by the shared responsibility to protect salmon for generations to come.”...
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Federal government wants court to toss out human rights decision against RCMP
The federal government says the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal wrongfully awarded compensation to both complainants and witnesses who claimed discrimination by the RCMP in an investigation of historical sexual abuse allegations against a school teacher in Burns Lake, B.C. The tribunal issued a decision last month directing the RCMP to review its policies, practices and training when dealing with “Indigenous crime complainants in historical abuse investigations.” The decision stems from a 2017 complaint made by members of the Lake Babine First Nation for discriminatory conduct by police during an investigation of alleged abuse by a teacher and coach in the 1960s and 1970s. The teacher’s name was ordered to be kept confidential by the tribunal, and three of four the complainants died before the complaint hearing. The tribunal awarded $7,500...
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Federal government puts out $412.9 million to renew the Pacific Salmon Initiative
The federal government is spending $412.9 million over five years to renew the Pacific Salmon Strategy in a plan to protect and rebuild the wild populations. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson made the announcement in North Vancouver today, saying in a statement that the first five years of the initiative has shown what is possible when partners work together to restore habitat, expand hatchery programs, improve management and find new ways to protect vulnerable stocks. The department says two dozen wild Pacific salmon populations have been assessed as endangered, 10 as threatened and nine are listed as being of special concern. The salmon initiative was first launched in 2021, allowing collaboration with the B.C. and Yukon governments, Indigenous Peoples, harvesters, scientists, environmental and stewardship groups and communities along the West Coast....
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Kahkewistahaw welcomes herd of bison
By Nicole Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator On March 27, members of Kahkewistahaw First Nation gathered to welcome a new bison herd to the land, marking a step toward food security and sovereignty. The project has been several years in the making. Chief Evan Taypotat said the idea began during the Covid-19 pandemic. “This obviously started when Covid hit us in 2020. We didn’t have any meat, self-sustenance. Not long after, in 2022, we started talking about making this day a reality. These buffalo are high maintenance, they take a little bit of TLC to look after them. So we got everything in place. We didn’t rush things,” said Taypotat. “It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a lot of planning, four years. “In 2024 we found a herd we...
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‘Tyranny of the minority’: Court hears injunction bid on Alberta separation petition
By Jack Farrell A court hearing began Tuesday for an Alberta First Nation’s request to at least temporarily put on ice a petition to force a vote on whether the province should quit Canada. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, as well as a handful of other First Nations, is challenging the constitutionality of Alberta’s citizen-initiated referendum process, saying its use by separatists violates treaty rights. Orlagh O’Kelly, a lawyer for Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, told an Edmonton court that an injunction is appropriate because there’s no rush to hold a vote, nor is there an “unbridled right to petition to break up Canada.” Instead, O’Kelly said, Alberta’s process is the “legislative legitimization … of what we call the tyranny of the minority.” The hearing, which is scheduled to last multiple days,...
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