Earlton airport handles its first forest fire evacuation flights
By Diane Johnston, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker EARLTON – For what’s believed to be the first time in its history, the Earlton-Timiskaming Regional Airport has served as a landing stop for forest fire evacuees. On July 19, it handled four flights carrying a total of 136 passengers who were evacuated from Pikangikum First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. “Everything ran smoothly,” said airport manager Jamie Smith earlier this week. Smith said the airport was notified on Friday evening that flights would be coming on Saturday afternoon. The first flight landed at about 2:30 p.m. He said it was a tight turnaround to get passengers off the plane and on to buses to take them to Kirkland Lake, and then refuel the plane so it could depart before the next...
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Should Indigenous storytellers be limited to telling Indigenous stories? Métis author says no
By Shari Narine Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Tasha Hilderman is proudly Metis whether or not her children’s picture books are about her Mtis culture. “With Lights at Night I can be Métis, but not everything I do has to be about being Métis,” said Hilderman, who is of Métis descent through her mother’s side. Lights at Night, vibrantly illustrated by Maggie Zeng, depicts a Métis family taking part in marshmallow roasts, cheering at football games, trick-or-treating on Halloween, and disembarking from the school bus right next to combines in the autumn field. There is also a family of foxes that make their way throughout the pages of the book. Lights at Night, which will be released Aug. 5, is Hilderman’s follow-up to her first children’s picture book, Métis Like...
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Manitoba and Saskatchewan sign agreement to boost trade corridor through the Arctic
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was hopeful after meeting Tuesday with the prime minister and other premiers about the potential for a large Arctic trade corridor through the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. But some provinces are also supporting a trade route through a port on James Bay in northern Ontario that would also serve the Arctic. The two megaprojects are among many being pitched as part of a national effort to diversify trade and protect the Canadian economy from U.S. tariffs. The governments of Manitoba and Saskatchewan signed a memorandum to expand trade through Churchill in a five-year deal that also includes Arctic Gateway Group, which owns the port and the northern rail line that leads to it. Material shipped through the port can reach Europe and other destinations....
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B.C. Chilcotin youth speak at UN session on rights of Indigenous peoples
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune Two Tŝilhqot’in youth ambassadors were in Geneva, Switzerland last week to represent their nation at the international level. Sierra William and Dakota Diablo attended the United Nations’ 18th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). “I can’t even describe how amazing it was to be there,” said William. At 22 years old, William already attended the UN twice before. William graduated last year with a Human Rights Diploma from Thompson Rivers University and is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work. She also aims to get her law degree. “The purpose of my work for me is…so we can lessen the number of Indigenous youth in the child welfare system,” William said. Her...
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Uplifting what?
By Gilles Cyrenne, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Megaphone Magazine A motion now before Vancouver city council purported to improve social, economic and health outcomes for residents of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) does nothing to support the people who call the area home. Instead, the motion — Uplifting the Downtown Eastside and Building Inclusive Communities that Work for All Residents — is a profit-driven, institutional attack on our community, one that paves the way for luxury condos and rising rents while pushing out low-income residents. This motion, which aims to update the 2014 Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan, appears designed to benefit SRO (Single Room Occupancy) landlords and real estate developers who’ve long had their eyes on this neighbourhood — a neighbourhood we’ve fought to keep accessible and affordable. Even worse,...
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Claiming the right to our stories
By Nicolas Crier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Megaphone Magazine I was adopted. My non-Indigenous family, all good people who treated me with respect and dignity, did not raise me on the reserve, but in the urbanized city of Calgary, Alberta. It’s the same province that the graphic novelThe Rez Doctor takes place in. But unlike its central character — young Ryan Fox — I didn’t grow up facing the realities of reserve life. I was sheltered. I didn’t have to navigate the racism, segregation and systemic barriers baked into on-reserve health care. I don’t know what it means to leave a reserve and enter the very system that’s historically excluded your people, and then fight tooth and nail just to build a life within in — as Ryan Fox had...
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B.C. Coastal First Nations write to Carney, asking him to reject any new pipeline
By Brieanna Charlebois Coastal First Nations in British Columbia have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking him to reject any new proposal for a crude oil pipeline to the northwest coast. The move comes as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushes for a new private-sector pipeline that would send crude oil to the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia. Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, says in a news release that there is no pipeline or oil tanker project that would be acceptable to their group, and any proposal to send crude oil through their coastal waters is a “non-starter.” The group is asking Carney to uphold the 2019 Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric...
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First Nations call off talks on forestry bill, say Quebec disrespecting rights
By Maura Forrest First Nations in Quebec have walked away from talks with the provincial government on a forestry bill they say would pave the way to privatizing public land. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec–Labrador says the province has not shown “genuine political will” to collaborate with Indigenous communities on the government’s forestry reform, which they say does not respect their rights. “We cannot lend credibility to a process that fails to recognize our status and responsibilities as Indigenous governments,” the assembly said Tuesday in an open letter. The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring aiming to protect communities that depend on the forestry industry. The legislation would divide public forests into zones designated for conservation, multi-purpose use or forestry. According to the bill, actions that “restrict the...
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Two Squamish Nation members honoured in 2025 Indigenous Business Award program
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Two Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) members have scored honourable titles in the 17th annual Indigenous Business Award program run by the BC Achievement Foundation. Harold Calla is the recipient of the Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement, while (Himikala) Pam Baker’s fashion company Touch of Culture won Business of the Year in the one-to-two-person enterprise category. Calla said he was stunned when he heard his name on this year’s list. “I got a phone call, actually. I was at a car dealership looking at getting my car repaired,” Calla said about how he heard the news. “It came out of the blue for me and was a very humbling and rewarding experience.” The lifetime achiever has worn many hats throughout...
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A timeline of sexual assault allegations against former Hockey Canada junior players
A timeline of events that led to former Canada world junior hockey team players Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote being charged with sexual assault. Jan. 5, 2018 — Canada’s world junior hockey team defeats Sweden in the gold-medal final in Buffalo, N.Y. June 18, 2018 — Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf event begins in London. June 19, 2018 — A woman’s stepfather informs Hockey Canada she alleges she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the world junior team, while intoxicated the previous night following the event. Hockey Canada says it spoke with its insurance provider and then informed London police, which opened an investigation. Hockey Canada subsequently opened its own third-party investigation using a Toronto law firm. June 2018 —...
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‘We have to improve or we’ll die’: B.C. ranchers seek water solutions in long drought
By Chuck Chiang Rancher John Parkes wants more water storage in B.C.’s Interior, which is suffering the impacts of a multi-year drought. But Parkes, manager of Nicola Ranch near Merritt, says it’s not just for irrigation — water from dams is released into drying rivers to maintain flows and river ecosystems. “My predecessors, over the last 100 years, built plenty of upland water storage for irrigation. What we need right now is we need water storage for conservation use, for fish flows.” Ranchers in B.C.’s Interior say they have asked the province to consider reducing red tape around building and expanding water-storage dams to help them cope with the ongoing drought. Parkes said ranchers in the area have already been working with First Nations to control water use to make...
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Lawyer says tenants ‘crushed’ by court ruling they must leave B.C. mobile home park
By Darryl Greer A lawyer for tenants of a mobile home park on Songhees First Nation reserve land on Vancouver Island says his clients are “absolutely crushed” after losing a lawsuit challenging their evictions. A ruling posted Tuesday says the residents of E. George Estates Manufactured Home Park have lived there for decades, and believed they’d have a “long-term or perpetual interest” in the lands even though they didn’t own the properties. The park was established in the 1970s and the Songhees First Nation took control of it in 2019, then moved two years later to end tenancies of the plaintiffs who are not members of the nation. The ruling says the reserve is overcrowded and the First Nation wants to develop the lands for “much-needed housing for its members,”...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney set to visit birthplace in N.W.T.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to stop today in the town where he was born as he travels across the Northwest Territories. Carney also spent his early childhood in Fort Smith, located south of Yellowknife along the Alberta boundary, before he moved with his family to Edmonton. He is scheduled to talk to locals in Fort Smith about affordability and food insecurity, and discuss wildfires with community leaders, before heading to Inuvik in the territory’s northwest corner. He is set to co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee on Thursday with Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national organization representing Inuit. It will be Carney’s second meeting with Indigenous groups on Ottawa’s major projects bill. The legislation would give Ottawa the ability to fast-track projects deemed to be in...
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OPP shuts down large Haldimand County Cannabis Grow-Op seizing $55 million in product
HALDIMAND COUNTY – Several individuals have been arrested, over 100,000 cannabis plants seized valued at over $55 million and an illicit cannabis grow operation investigation in Haldimand County shut down after a combined Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) units raided a Highway 3 property in Jarvis, Ont., July 18, 2025. Combined OPP units including the Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET), West Region Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Emergency Response Team (ERT), OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau (OCEB), and several OPP Community Street Crime Units (CSCU), executed a Cannabis Act search warrant at a property on Highway 3, Jarvis. In ddition to the more than 100,000 cannabis plants over 900 pounds of dried cannabis bud and a large quantity of marihuana processing equipment and other property was seized. The total value of...
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Whales, bear bangers and freedom dips: Pachena Bay Music Festival opens synergies between humans and nature
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Anacla, B.C. – There’s a lull on Saturday morning and Ben Howells finds himself with time to be loquacious. Pachena Bay Music co-founders Ben Howells and Katreena Bennett were married on Brady’s Beach near Bamfield, planting the strongest seed for the special festival. He’s relaxed after the game of “human Tetris” his crew played to negotiate over 700 festivalgoers plus roughly 150 volunteers into Huu-ay-aht’s Pachena Bay Campground was completed early Friday evening. Moreover, he shared that whales swam into the bay on Thursday afternoon during his own DJ performance, which stirred a feeling of significance. “If going to the abandoned warehouses in Chicago or the shipyards in New York is synonymous with early rave culture, part of our culture is bringing...
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Carney says getting best possible deal with U.S. more important than Aug. 1 deadline
Prime Minister Mark Carney downplayed the importance of a looming Aug. 1 deadline in trade talks with the U.S. on Tuesday, saying the objective is to get the best possible deal for Canadians. “They’re complex negotiations and we’ll use all the time that’s necessary,” he told reporters after meeting with premiers at the Council of the Federation gathering in Huntsville, Ont. Carney said the government will agree to a deal “if there’s one on the table that is in the best interests of Canadians.” He described such a deal as one “that preserves, reinforces and stabilizes” the trade relationship between Canada and the U.S., and “also one that doesn’t tie our hands in terms of other things that we can do.” Carney was invited to join the premiers in Ontario’s...
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B.C. Coastal First Nations issue open letter to Carney opposing suggested pipeline
By Brieanna Charlebois Coastal First Nations in British Columbia have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, asking him to reject any new proposal for a crude oil pipeline to the northwest coast. The move comes as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith pushes for a new private-sector pipeline that would send crude oil to the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia. Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, says in a news release that there is no pipeline or oil tanker project that would be acceptable to their group, and any proposal to send crude oil through their coastal waters is a “non-starter.” The group is asking Carney to uphold the 2019 Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric...
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Indigenous governments finalize $375M land protection deal
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Indigenous governments in the Northwest Territories are at the centre of one of the world’s largest land protection efforts, following the signing on Monday of a landmark $375 million agreement. The “Our Land for the Future” grant will put about 30 per cent of the territory — or two per cent of the entire country, an area of 380,000 square kilometres — under Indigenous care. The grant brings together leaders from Tłı̨chǫ, Délı̨nę Got’ınę, and 19 other Indigenous governments, alongside federal and territorial representatives and philanthropic funders. The agreement’s negotiations started in 2021 and were strengthened by a public pledge made last November. “Today was really about taking that next step, and making all those commitments come into reality and...
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First Nations call off talks on forestry bill, say Quebec disrespecting rights
First Nations in Quebec are suspending consultations with the government on its planned forestry reform because they say the province is not respecting their rights. The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador says in an open letter that Quebec’s minister of natural resources has failed to recognize the status of its members as Indigenous governments. The Quebec government tabled a bill last spring that would divide public forests into three zones, including one that would prioritize forestry. But the assembly says the zoning approach paves the way for a form of land privatization, and it accuses the government of refusing to engage on the issue. The group, which represents 43 First Nations communities, had agreed to consultations with the government after the bill was tabled in April. The minister has said...
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Anti-TMX land defenders’ appeal dismissed, court finds judge ‘did not err’ in trial
By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Three land defenders convicted in 2023 for their opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) in Secwépemcúl’ecw have been denied a retrial, but say they intend to further escalate their appeal. On Friday, the provincial Court of Appeal dismissed attempts to overturn criminal contempt sentences for Secwépemc land defender April Thomas, Nlaka’pamux land defender Red Deer Billie Pierre and settler ally Romilly Cavanaugh. The decision by the province’s highest court comes more than four months after a lawyer for the trio argued that they were upholding Indigenous law when they were arrested for breaching a TMX construction area protected by an injunction three years earlier. Their lawyer argued that B.C. Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick — who tried and sentenced the...
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