NLL down to 12 teams after Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings fold
The Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings have discontinued operations, the National Lacrosse League said Thursday. A dispersal draft was scheduled for Tuesday as the league prepared to continue with 12 clubs for the upcoming season. “Today is a difficult day for the National Lacrosse League and most importantly, for the fans, players, employees and partners who have supported the Ottawa Black Bears and Philadelphia Wings,” NLL commissioner Brett Frood said in a statement. “These are proud lacrosse markets with passionate communities, and we are grateful to everyone who has invested their time, energy and belief in these clubs. “As we enter our 40th anniversary season, our responsibility is to provide certainty for our constituents and move forward with 12 active member clubs aligned behind the league’s collective future.” The...
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B.C. wildfire season winding down with lower burned area, but high structural loss
By Brenna Owen British Columbia’s wildfire season appears to be winding down, with more than 50 fires declared out over the last week and no major fires of note remaining as the autumn equinox approaches. Just three of about 100 blazes across the province are burning out of control, and the latest update from the BC Wildfire Service removes mention of the severe drought that has plagued parts of the Cariboo region and southern Interior. Instead, the update issued Thursday says now is a good time for people to undertake work to make their homes more resilient to wildfire. This year has seen 1,380 fires scorch about 4,750 square kilometres of land in the province, a marked decrease from totals over the last three years, particularly 2023, when a record...
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TIFF film ‘In the Heart of the South’ explores trauma and Indigenous identity
By Diana Mussina Nyla Innuksuk’s longtime love of horror — along with her own feelings of fear and doubt — serves as inspiration for her latest project exploring the uncomfortable subjects people often avoid and the complicated ways they shape friendships. A psychological thriller co-written with Ryan Cavan, “In the Heart of the South” premièred Thursday at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is the Nunavut-born filmmaker’s second feature after her 2022 debut “Slash/Back.” Innuksuk’s past work mainly involves short films and documentaries, so the transition to feature filmmaking in 2022, she said, was like jumping into ice-cold water and learning to swim. The filmmaker said “Slash/Back,” which follows a group of teen girls fighting an alien invasion in Nunavut, was “ambitious” — at a time when there was a...
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Ottawa announces $5 million for HIV self-test kits, more support staffers
By Brittany Hobson The federal government is dispatching 80,000 HIV self-test kits across Canada to expand access to HIV prevention. “HIV is a manageable condition, and people living with HIV deserve to live healthy, full lives without stigma or discrimination,” Manitoba Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson announced Thursday. “This funding is about making it easier for people to get tested, know their status, and access the care and support they need.” Ottawa will provide $5 million to increase access to the kits and to hire peer-based support workers for communities facing the highest burdens of HIV. There is $2 million for the tests and $3 million for peer support networks. The federal government says 2,300 new HIV diagnoses were reported in 2024, and an estimated 7,000 people live unaware they have...
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Indigenous businesses face another barrier as tariff war threatens already fragile supply chains
By Jacqueline St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor NORTHERN ONTARIO—For Indigenous businesses, the threat posed by the Canada-U.S. trade war does not begin nor end at the border. For many, it begins right here at home in the long struggle to get a foot inside the supply chains that keep Canadian businesses moving. As Canada and the United States continue their increasingly uncertain tariff dispute, Indigenous business owners are being warned that they could be disproportionately affected by both American tariffs and Canada’s response. But the concern reaches beyond the cost of imported goods. It is about what happens to businesses that have already had to work harder to secure capital, qualified workers, infrastructure and access to markets and, increasingly, to become recognized as viable suppliers to larger...
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Neskantaga First Nation setting up temporary school in Toronto
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com NESKANTAGA — The school-aged children of Neskantaga are a long way from their place of learning, but classes are about to commence for them. The Treaty 9 nation’s chief and council have made arrangements for JK-8 classes to start on Monday, Sept. 14, at the Toronto hotel they are staying at as evacuees. The community, 430 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, evacuated in early August after sewage backup contaminated its nursing station. Instruction at the hotel will address a need for about 90 Neskantaga children, Chief Gary Quisess told Newswatch. “They’re not happy right now, because they know the school year has started and they want to attend classes,” he said in a phone interview. Creating a means for those youngsters to...
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Hay River’s Wally Schumann announces candidacy for Northwest Territory Metis Nation presidency
By Kody Ferron, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yellowknifer A former GNWT cabinet minister and Hay River Metis Government Council President is now running to be president of the Northwest Territory Metis Nation (NWTMN). Wally Schumann said his skills gained from his previous positions will undoubtedly serve him well, if elected president. “It’s all about networking,” he said. “This country’s really not as big as people think it is. When you start working in a number of these different areas, the network is not that big.” Schumann, who worked within the mining sector for several years, says the NWT’s Metis have been pursuing rights for far too long. “We’ve been at the table for almost 30 years now,” he said. “I think it’s time to get things done. “Look at how...
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The plastic we throw away doesn’t just disappear, it comes back smaller
By Jacqueline St.Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor As Illinois moves to confront microplastics, Ontario is reorganizing the machinery that handles the plastic we throw away MANITOULIN—There is something unsettling about plastic. It is everywhere, and yet almost nowhere we can see. A bottle disappears into a blue box. A food wrapper disappears into a garbage can. A synthetic shirt goes through the washing machine. A cigarette filter falls into a ditch. Out of sight, the problem seems to have gone somewhere else. But plastic does not disappear into the ether. It breaks down and fragments, becoming smaller and smaller until it can move through water, soil, air and living bodies in pieces too small for the human eye to see. Now, governments are beginning to grapple with...
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Inuit associations welcome Ottawa’s decision to not recognize Indigenous rights of NunatuKavut Community Council
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Inuit associations across Canada say they agree with the federal government’s decision to terminate a negotiation process recognizing the Indigenous rights of a group called NunatuKavut Community Council. The council said that Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada Minister Rebecca Alty ended the negotiations on Sept. 4. “Canada has determined that the evidence submitted does not satisfy the court-established tests for Indigenous rights and title. Canada’s review of NunatuKavut’s claim has included consideration of updated submissions, internal historical and legal analysis, expert reviews, and discussions with NunatuKavut,” said Pascal Laplante, a spokesperson for Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. While the council can still apply for federal programs, services, and partnerships, the group will not be covered by Canadian law on Indigenous...
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Oscar-nominated Julian Brave NoiseCat, past winner Dan Werb vie for Writers’ Trust
By Kaitlyn McGrath An Oscar-nominated filmmaker and a past winner are among the finalists for Canada’s largest literary non-fiction prize. Contenders for the Writers’ Trust award include Toronto’s Dan Werb, who won in 2022 for his look at the rise of coronaviruses and this time makes the cut with, “Our Wild Familiars: How Animals Are Adapting to Cities and Reshaping the Natural World.” Meanwhile, Vancouver writer-filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat, who co-directed the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Sugarcane,” is up for his account of a quest to uncover his father’s story in “We Survived the Night: An Indigenous Reckoning. Julian Brave NoiseCat is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – Writers’ Trust of Canada, Emily Kassie (Mandatory Credit) Also on the short list are Richard Kelly Kemick of Calgary...
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Canada Infrastructure Bank closes loan for Nunavut wind project serving gold mine
By Lauren Krugel Three wind turbine blades, each almost as long as four standard semi-trucks lined up end-to-end, have completed their long, painstaking journey to the site of one of Canada’s northernmost gold mines. The 4.2-megawatt turbine and a four-megawatt battery energy storage system will help power Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.’s operations in Hope Bay, Nvt., helping cut its diesel use by up to three million litres and emissions by some 13,000 tonnes per year. “To the extent that we can acquire clean energy rather than burning diesel, we’ll do that every single day of the week,” Ammar Al-Joundi, the mining company’s chief executive, said in an interview. “It’s just the right thing to do, and it’s part of our long-term commitment to sustainability.” The owners of the wind turbine...
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Canada ends Indigenous rights talks with unrecognized Inuit group in Labrador
By Sarah Smellie A group that says it represents thousands of Inuit in Labrador has failed in its bid to persuade Ottawa that it should receive Indigenous rights and recognition under the Constitution Act. The Crown-Indigenous Relations Department said Wednesday that documentation filed by the NunatuKavut Community Council did not meet court-established tests for recognition of Indigenous and treaty rights under Section 35 of the act. Spokesman James Sinclair said the department considered updated submissions, internal historical and legal analysis, expert reviews and discussions with the council. “We have offered to meet with NunatuKavut Community Council to discuss Canada’s findings in greater detail,” Sinclair said in an email. In response, the council accused the federal government of bowing to pressure from other Indigenous groups. “NCC has not been treated fairly...
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Alberta First Nation wants to set up safe haven for gender-affirming care
By Lisa Johnson An Alberta First Nation says it aims to defy Premier Danielle Smith’s government by establishing a safe haven for gender-affirming medical care — contrary to provincial law. Saddle Lake Cree Nation says access to health care is a treaty right and falls under its inherent jurisdiction. Late last year, Smith’s United Conservative Party government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield its law from court challenges. The law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender and gender diverse children under 16. The premier has said it’s about protecting children and their fertility. But doctors and national medical associations have pushed back, noting puberty blockers don’t render a person infertile. Chief Dale Steinhauer said the law is one of many that are dehumanizing, and...
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Otipemisiwak Métis Government asks Town of St. Paul to restore its original name
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News The Otipemisiwak Métis Government (OMG) has asked the Town of St. Paul to return to its original name of St. Paul des Métis, but one of its secretaries says the town has only responded through media reports. “I just wanted to have a discussion right from the very start, and it’s not happening,” OMG secretary of culture and harvesting Grant Lacombe told Alberta Native News. The original St. Paul des Métis community was established by the Canadian government in 1896 as a Métis agricultural settlement overseen by the Catholic Church. In 1908, the church asked the federal government to open the community up to French settlement and the government opened it up to general homesteading. By the time the town...
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Feds drop plans to skirt Species At Risk Act for major projects
By Nick Murray The federal government is abandoning plans to exempt certain projects from laws designed to protect species at risk after an overwhelmingly negative response to the proposal during a summer of consultations. However environmental groups say Ottawa can still bypass the Species At Risk Act through other means. The government is planning to introduce legislation in the fall to speed up approvals for major projects, a key promise from Prime Minister Mark Carney. The government released two discussion papers in May which also proposed, among other things, to give cabinet ministers what it calls “limited” power to exempt projects from what’s known as the “jeopardy test” for species at risk. “But only if it’s in the public interest and if the proponent has made all reasonable efforts to...
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Alberta First Nation wants to set up safe haven for gender-affirming care
By Lisa Johnson An Alberta First Nation says it aims to defy Premier Danielle Smith’s government by establishing a safe haven for gender-affirming medical care — contrary to provincial law. Saddle Lake Cree Nation says health care is a treaty right and falls under its inherent jurisdiction. Late last year, Smith’s United Conservative Party government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield its law from court challenges. The law prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to transgender and gender diverse children under 16. The premier has said it’s about protecting children and their fertility. Saddle Lake Chief Dale Steinhauer says they won’t stand by while basic human rights and life-saving health services are denied. The nation says it’s working to attract clinicians to provide care on reserve...
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B.C. forestry sector says industry at ‘breaking point’ in letter to Premier David Eby
By Brenna Owen British Columbia forestry groups have written to Premier David Eby saying the industry is at a “breaking point” and calling for urgent action to address challenges ranging from slow-moving provincial processes to steep U.S. tariffs. The letter dated Sept. 4 said the entire industry is at risk, from logging and transportation to pulp and paper and value-added manufacturing. “We are in the middle of a major international trade crisis. Government must respond with the urgency that crisis demands,” said the letter from groups representing contractors, manufacturers, unions and others linked to the sector. The letter pointed to new U.S. tariffs on a broader range of forest products on top of those already applied to Canadian softwood lumber and acknowledged that international trade pressures are beyond the premier’s...
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Wilderness advocates delay removal of tree ‘Yellowstone Forest Reserve’ surveyors inscribed in 1893
By Mike Koshmrl/wyofile Public opposition will slow plans to remove and display a section of a dead Shoshone National Forest tree that surveyors mapping Yellowstone Forest Reserve boundaries inscribed 133 years ago. The dead Engelmann spruce still stands about 28 miles from the nearest trailhead in the Washakie Wilderness. Plans to recover the artifact via helicopter have been underway for years, and there’s even a place in the Wyoming State Museum to display it. But as plans advanced, federal land managers did not loop in the general public nor advocacy groups whose mission it is to uphold the Wilderness Act. When they ultimately learned about the project, advocates publicly objected — and let Shoshone National Forest Supervisor Ken Coffin know it. “I got probably somewhere around 200 emails from people...
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Bank CEOs maintain positive credit outlook despite Canada-U.S. trade war escalations
By Daniel Johnson Canadian bank CEOs say their credit outlooks are still generally positive despite Canada-U.S. trade tensions ratcheting up, though they’re taking some precautions. “I’m a little cautious because of the escalation of the trade war right now, but what we’re seeing outside of that, consumer, commercial, U.S. commercial is getting better,” RBC president and CEO Dave McKay said on Wednesday at the Scotiabank Financials Summit in Toronto. However, he says tariff-impacted sectors are facing a significant degree of uncertainty and the bank is maintaining a robust capital buffer to absorb potential losses. Scotiabank president and CEO Scott Thomson says he doesn’t think tariffs will have a large effect on the lender’s credit performance. “A relatively small amount of trade is tariffed, and so I don’t think that’s going...
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From Colonial Force to Treaty Partner? The RCMP and a changing relationship with Treaty 6 Nations
By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News For 150 years, the relationship between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Indigenous peoples has been intertwined with the history of Canada itself. That history is complicated. The institution now known as the RCMP began in 1873 as the North-West Mounted Police, created by the federal government as it extended Canadian authority into the West. The force marched westward in 1874, establishing posts and detachments across territory that was already home to First Nations and Métis peoples. For Treaty 6 First Nations, that history cannot be separated from the Crown’s broader relationship with Indigenous peoples. Treaty 6 was entered into in 1876 at Fort Carlton on August 23, at Chief Beardy’s campsite on August 28 and at Fort Pitt on...
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