Recovery Alberta closes Edmonton addiction treatment program, drops nearly 600 people from wait list
By Brett McKay, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Investigative Journalism Foundation Recovery Alberta is closing the addiction treatment program at Henwood Treatment Centre in Edmonton, the IJF has learned. The decision to end the program came as a shock to staff and hundreds of Albertans seeking addiction treatment, and the lack of transparency surrounding the closure is fuelling questions about the Alberta government’s plans for the site. The details of Henwood’s closure have not previously been reported. With 62 residential treatment beds, Henwood is the largest provincially-run voluntary addiction treatment centre in the Edmonton region. Operations at Henwood were temporarily suspended in late June due to flooding. Sources familiar with the situation have told the IJF that on Aug. 20, staff were informed that Recovery Alberta is permanently closing the treatment...
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Tsawwassen First Nation returns to the water after 10 years for 25th annual Pulling Together Canoe Journey
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist For the first time in nearly a decade, the dip of Tsawwassen First Nation paddles cut through the waters of the Fraser River, marking a long-awaited homecoming during the 25th anniversary of the Pulling Together Canoe Journey. The eight-day voyage, themed Reclaiming Our Waters, brought together more than 220 pullers across a dozen canoes from Aug. 15 to 22. Travelling from Sts’ailes First Nation territory near Agassiz down to Tsawwassen and Musqueam waters, the annual journey pairs Indigenous, youth and community members with public service personnel, including police departments and the Royal Canadian Navy, to foster reconciliation, mutual respect, and cultural healing. For Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN), serving as a host community from Aug. 19 to 22 and crewing their own...
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Rosalyn Bird latest MLA to quit B.C. Conservatives, warns against racism, homophobia
By Ashley Joannou On Tuesday morning, B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay acknowledged that more legislators could be poised to leave her caucus. Less than three hours later, she was proved right. Rosalyn Bird, a former caucus whip, became the third Conservative legislator this month to make their exit, issuing warnings about divisive leadership, racism and homophobia as she closed the door behind her. It’s the latest in a long line of departures from the Conservatives since Findlay’s leadership win in May, both in the elected caucus and the party executive. Bird, who said in a statement that she would continue to represent Prince George — Valemount as an Independent, said freedom of speech matters, but does not relieve people of responsibility for what they choose to say. “Political leaders should...
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PBCN signs historic employment agreement with Federal Government
By Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) leadership said a new independent agreement signed on Aug. 22 will allow the First Nation to take greater control off the future of its workforce. PBCN leaders signed the agreement with Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty and Secretary of State for Rural Development Buckley Belanger. The signing makes PBCN Saskatchewan’s only independent agreement holder under the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) Program. The agreement took effect Jan. 1 under the First Nations stream of the federal ISET Program. “For years, we have said that our people know what our communities need, and this agreement puts that principle into action,” Chief Peter Beatty of PBCN said in a press release. “We can now design...
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B.C. First Nations Elders Gathering reaches 50-year milestone
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Vancouver, BC – Elders from First Nations across British Columbia descended on the Vancouver Convention Centre Aug. 25-26 for the 50th Annual First Nations Elders Gathering. About 2,340 participants joined this year, including a group from Saskatchewan and groups from the Yukon. On Day One, cultural hosts Líl̓wat Nation set an uplifting tone for the event with a powerful drum and dance performance that got even elders with walkers on the floor. “We are in the most powerful library with wall-to-wall elders here,” said Líl̓wat Nation Cultural Chief Ashley Joseph. During his welcome speech, longstanding Elders Gathering emcee John Henderson of the Wei Wai Kum First Nation acknowledged the First Nations communities who travelled through smoke and flames to get to Vancouver...
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Who gets to name a lake? What to know about Trump’s threat to rename Lake Ontario
By Elissa Mendes One of the Great Lakes has become the latest target in U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, highlighting his penchant for renaming bodies of water and landmarks. The United States is “giving serious consideration” to changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, Trump wrote Tuesday in a post on his platform Truth Social, a day after he and Ontario Premier Doug Ford traded personal insults over tariffs. The president added that his country doesn’t expect to continue doing business with Ontario “much longer,” and in a separate post accused Prime Minster Mark Carney of lying about how trade negotiations unfolded. After trade negotiations fell apart last week, the Trump administration slammed Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on an array of goods. Ottawa...
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‘It’s a feast’: Dozens share in Iqaluit bowhead harvest
By Daron Letts, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Community members gathered at Iqaluit’s breakwater at high tide on Monday afternoon to divvy up piles of maktaaq from hunters who, this past weekend, harvested their first bowhead in four years. “It’s a feast,” said Sevanoosie Boaz, who was on site to pick up a bag of bowhead meat. “It means a lot.” More than two dozen men and women with the Amaruq Hunters and Trappers Association embarked on the hunt Aug. 16, which involved seven boats each with a four-person crew. The pursuit lasted one week. The hunters harpooned their bowhead on Friday afternoon, said Pitseolak Alainga, who observed from his canoe approximately 75 metres away. They harpooned the whale twice more to affix floats, then a fourth harpoon equipped...
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Ottawa spending $50M to build three B.C. salmon hatcheries
The federal government has announced more than $50 million in contracts for the construction of three separate hatcheries in British Columbia aimed at salmon conservation. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the projects will be on traditional First Nations territory or operated by a local nation. The largest contract is worth $38 million for construction of the Upper Fraser River Salmon Conservation Hatchery near the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser rivers in Prince George, B.C., within the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation. Ottawa has also committed two contracts of about $7.5 million each for construction of a hatchery near Hanceville, B.C. in the central Interior and for the next phase of the Wilp’Ho Dix Hatchery in the Skeena River system in northwestern B.C. Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson says...
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Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation secures direct control of employment training programs
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SaskToday.ca PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has become Saskatchewan’s only independent agreement holder under the federal Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program, giving the First Nation direct responsibility for designing and delivering employment and training services for its members. The Government of Canada announced Aug. 22 that PBCN is now an agreement holder under the ISET Program, which supports Indigenous-led employment and skills training initiatives across the country. The agreement, which took effect Jan. 1 under the First Nations stream of the program, provides PBCN with direct responsibility for delivering employment and training services to its eight communities across Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 territories in northeastern Saskatchewan. The Government of Canada said the agreement reflects a broader commitment to...
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US consumer confidence falls to lowest level in 7 months with gas stuck above $4
By Matt Ott WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy declined again this month as the ongoing conflict in Iran has steadily pushed gasoline prices above $4 per gallon in the U.S. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index dipped to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July. That’s the lowest level in seven months but essentially in the same lukewarm range its been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025 the readings were consistently above 100. Respondents’ views of their present situation improved, but their outlook for the near-term future soured. Americans remain frustrated with the economy after five years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections, which are...
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FBI sets $25,000 minimum reward for dozens of unsolved Indian Country cases
By Sarah Raza SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a minimum reward of $25,000 in cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country, part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. The new minimum applies to more than 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases in tribal communities. Most of the cases are less than 10 years old, though a dozen have been unsolved for more than two decades, an AP analysis found. Victims’ families and experts are unsure the higher amounts will be enough to get tipsters to come forward, citing people’s fears and distrust of the federal government. “Everybody’s scared in Oglala,” said Lisa Carlow, whose father Patrick Carlow Sr. was found dead...
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Shippers forced to delay loads as 50% tariffs jack up export costs
By Christopher Reynolds Canadian shippers have started to hold back merchandise and postpone delivery schedules as they scramble to find the tariff money to get their goods across the border. Some manufacturers and exporters that had banked on hauling cargo into the United States free of charge are now struggling to find the necessary cash, prompting transport delays, customs brokers say. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs on about US$20 billion worth of Canadian products over the weekend after trade talks collapsed, affecting sectors ranging from textiles to toiletries, tulips and toys. Lisa McEwan, co-owner of Toronto-based customs brokerage Hemisphere Freight, says clients who make sweatshirts, metal coils, agricultural machinery and other items have all pushed back shipments as they look to float thousands more dollars in...
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Two former B.C. Conservatives plan to form new party, steer clear of Centre BC
By Marissa Birnie There are plans for a new party in the British Columbia legislature as politicians return this fall, with two MLAs who recently defected from the provincial Conservatives saying they want to provide an option for frustrated voters. Ian Paton, who has served as the MLA for Delta South since 2017, announced Monday that he was leaving the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent. He’s the second MLA to make the move this month after Peter Milobar, who had been one of the Conservatives’ leading moderate voices, left citing a lack of “ideological alignment” with the party’s new leader, Kerry-Lynne Findlay. At the time, Milobar said he had concerns about the party’s direction under Findlay, who has pushed the party right and said it will focus on...
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Ottawa to announce details of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. Tuesday
By Nick Murray and Catherine Morrison The federal government is set to unveil details of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs against the United States on Tuesday. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon are also expected to share details of supports for workers affected by tariffs. Solomon is also the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Communities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have been affected by the ongoing trade war. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Saturday that retaliation in the form of dollar-for-dollar tariffs would kick in on Sept. 8. He said Monday that discussions were ongoing about exactly how Canada will hit back. The prime minister is not expected at the announcement,...
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City unveils Passage Home and Healing Park to celebrate signing of Treaty 6
By Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the signing of Treaty 6, the City of Prince Albert officially dedicated the new public artwork Passage Home and Healing Park, located at Scarrow Plaza near the Prince Albert Provincial Courthouse. This City of Prince Albert public art acquisition project was undertaken in collaboration with artist Mary Longman, a renowned Saulteaux artist from Gordon’s First Nation. The bronze sculpture is based on the form of a traditional akotâpân (travois), symbolically offering safe passage for children to return to their families and territories of origin and to rest in peace. Longman said that the apprehensions of Indigenous children impact everybody across Canada. “Saskatchewan, as you know, has the highest rate of child apprehensions of...
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FBI sets $25,000 minimum reward for dozens of unsolved Indian Country cases
By Sarah Raza SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has established a minimum reward of $25,000 in cases where people went missing or were killed in Indian Country, part of a broader effort to address high rates of violence affecting Native American communities. The new minimum applies to more than 50 unsolved homicides and missing-person cases in tribal communities. Most of the cases are less than 10 years old, though a dozen have been unsolved for more than two decades, an AP analysis found. Victims’ families and experts are unsure the higher amounts will be enough to get tipsters to come forward, citing people’s fears and distrust of the federal government. “Everybody’s scared in Oglala,” said Lisa Carlow, whose father Patrick Carlow Sr. was found dead...
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Canadian culture, French are fundamental rights — not trade irritants, Carney says
By Anja Karadeglija The French language and Quebec and Canadian culture might be trade irritants for the Americans but in Canada they are fundamental rights, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. Trade talks with the United States broke down Friday, which meant new 50 per cent tariffs on a host of Canadian products took effect Saturday just after midnight. Carney said among the reasons for the suspension of trade negotiations were demands from the U.S. that would have affected Canada’s ability to protect its culture, including the French language. He said the U.S. put pressure on Canada to adjust its position on discoverability rules, which if implemented would affect what options Canadians see when they use streaming services. He said French-language labels were also on the list of American irritants....
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Canada will return to negotiating table when America has ‘the right attitude’: Carney
By Nick Murray Canada will go back to the negotiating table on a trade deal once the United States changes its attitude and stops treating Canada as a subsidiary, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Monday. Carney held a news conference in Lévis, Que., where he announced an $11-billion contract to build six new icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard, emphasizing they would be built with Canadian steel. The event comes three days after Carney suspended trade talks with the United States, after accusing the U.S. of trying to introduce last-minute measures which could have restricted Canada’s ability to do deals with other countries and protect its culture. “When the Americans go to the negotiation table first, with the right attitude toward our industries and a true partnership, of course...
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Attawapiskat group taking feds to court over Ring of Fire road that will cause irreversible harm to environment and Indigenous way of life
By Anushka Yadav, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer “We’re not protesters. We’re protectors.” That’s what Michel Koostachin, founder of grassroots group, the Friends of the Attawapiskat River, declared as he launched the first legal challenge against a Ring of Fire access road, days after the federal government approved the project in the “public interest” despite its own impact assessment warning it would cause “irreversible” harm to the environment and Indigenous ways of life. On June 25, the Province broke ground on one of three road projects that would together create a major access corridor into the mineral-rich Ring of Fire: the 107-kilometre all-season Webequie Supply Road aims to connect Webequie Airport to the McFaulds Lake area, linking the community to mineral exploration and potential future mining development in the...
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Small businesses at front lines of tariff war, as many lose sales
By Fakiha Baig and Ritika Dubey Since the latest U.S. tariffs rolled in this past weekend, Bernard Hellen has been fielding order cancellations for 3D miniature models — all previously bound for his American clients. “I’ve probably had about 50 order cancellations this morning alone,” said Hellen, owner of Toronto-based Miniprints, which makes railroading hobby miniatures of animals and figurines. For Hellen, Americans make up 85 per cent of his sales. “A 50 per cent tax is more than the average American consumer can pay or is willing to pay,” he said in a phone interview on Monday. Hellen’s company is one of the many small businesses grappling with new 50 per cent tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian products over the weekend....
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