Families demand coroner’s inquest into death of three Indigenous females in B.C
By Chuck Chiang -CP-The families of three Indigenous females found dead in 2022 in British Columbia are demanding the province launch an inquest into the cases, saying there are many unanswered questions about the deaths. Sue Brown, a lawyer for the advocacy group Justice for Girls, says it has sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Garry Begg asking for a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of Tatyanna Harrison, Chelsea Poorman and 13-year-old Noelle O’Soup. Brown says the group has a review by an independent forensic pathologist that says Harrison’s cause of death should have been ruled as “undetermined” rather than the official finding of sepsis after an autopsy by the coroner. The body of 20-year-old Harrison was found in Richmond, while Poorman’s body was discovered behind an abandoned home...
Register
Manitoba First Nation evacuated due to nearby wildfires, one home destroyed
-CP-A tribal council representing seven First Nations in Manitoba’s Interlake region has declared a state of emergency as wildfires have destroyed homes and continue to threaten some communities. The Interlake Reserves Tribal Council said homes in Pinaymootang and Peguis First Nations have burned down as nearby wildfires spread over the weekend because of high winds, hot temperatures and dry conditions. The tribal council said two wildfires on each side of the road into Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation are rapidly approaching and the community has begun evacuation efforts. Peguis First Nation declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening as nearby wildfires spread, resulting in the loss of at least one home and several garages and outbuildings. In a social media post Monday morning, Peguis said 340 evacuees were sent to Selkirk...
Register
B.C. seeks more clean power projects, hoping to reduce U.S. reliance
The British Columbia government says it’s seeking new clean energy projects to provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes, helping protect the province and reduce reliance on the United States amid threats from President Donald Trump. The province is launching a second “call for power” to acquire up to 5,000 gigawatt-hours of energy per year from large renewable projects in partnership with First Nations and independent power producers. Premier David Eby says in a statement that the plan helps build a strong foundation for the province and Canada “at a time of external threats to our sovereignty and prosperity.” The government says it also wants companies to find ways to deliver electricity during peak demand periods and to provide intermittent energy resources to serve as backup, while ushering in an...
Register
Indigenous people raise awareness about their missing and murdered
By Susan Montoya Bryan And Michael Warren ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Indigenous people across North America are calling this week for sustained responses to the violence in their communities, much of it against women and girls. In prayer walks, self-defense classes, marches and speeches at state capitols, they are pushing for better cooperation among law enforcement agencies to find missing people and solve homicides that are among about 4,300 open FBI cases this year. Some parents said they were using Monday’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day to make sure children understand what’s at stake. Others — like Geraldine Toya of Jemez Pueblo, whose daughter Shawna was killed in 2021, and Lynette Pino of Tesuque Pueblo, whose son Darian Nevayaktewa disappeared in 2008 — showed up to demand answers...
Register
The quest for the finish line: Uttak wins the Nunavut Quest dog sled race for the second year
By Jill Westerman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak is the winner of this years’ 26th Nunavut Quest ( Pangaggujjiniq) dog sled race that saw eight participants and their dog teams travel for eight days and 513 kilometres across tundra, rough terrain, steep hills, and sea ice between Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) and the Iglulik finish line. This is the second time Uttak was first in the race after last years’ win. It is also only the second time he has entered the Quest. The traditional race is held each year in the Qikiqtaaluk region and was started in 1999 to coincide with the creation of the territory of Nunavut, with the toal of celebrating and preserving the Inuit culture. The course changes each year and covers between...
Register
Indigenous people raise awareness about their missing and murdered
By Susan Montoya Bryan And Michael Warren ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Indigenous people across North America are calling this week for sustained responses to the violence in their communities, much of it against women and girls. In prayer walks, self-defense classes, marches and speeches at state capitols, they are pushing for better cooperation among law enforcement agencies to find missing people and solve homicides that are among about 4,300 open FBI cases this year. Some parents said they were using Monday’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day to make sure children understand what’s at stake. Others — like Geraldine Toya of Jemez Pueblo, whose daughter Shawna was killed in 2021, and Lynette Pino of Tesuque Pueblo, whose son Darian Nevayaktewa disappeared in 2008 — showed up to demand answers...
Register
They don’t vote in the conclave, but nuns leading the world’s Catholic orders gather in Rome
By Giovanna Dell’orto ROME (AP) — They don’t have a vote in the pope’s election, but nearly 900 superiors of the world’s female Catholic orders met in Rome on Monday to chart a course forward, a few miles from where cardinals will gather in a conclave to choose a successor to Pope Francis. Sister Mary Barron, president of the umbrella group of leaders of women’s religious orders, urged the superiors and the over 650,000 nuns worldwide to pray that the cardinals make the right choice and reflect on how to carry forward Francis′ vision. “We must be vigilant in doing our part to keep that flame of church renewal alive,” she told the assembly of sisters — some in regular clothes, others in traditional habits. The International Union of Superiors...
Register
On Red Dress Day, Northern premiers pledge $75,000 for national Truth and Reconciliation centre
By Eric Bowling, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North Canada’s three territories are pledging $25,000 apiece toward the creation of a new home for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg. A joint announcement was released on May 5 to commemorate Red Dress Day following the Northern Premier’s Forum, which was held in Haines Junction, Yukon, this year. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation’s [NCTR’s] spirit name is Bezhig miigwan, which means “one feather.” “The North has been disproportionately impacted by the legacies of residential schools and colonialism and has played an important role in truth telling and reconciliation,” NWT Premier R.J. Simpson stated. “Supporting the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation as they build a permanent home for survivors’ stories will ensure those truths are never...
Register
Families demand coroner’s inquest into death of three Indigenous females in B.C.
By Chuck Chiang Tatyanna Harrison was someone who always fought for justice, but she hasn’t been given the same treatment by investigators upon her death, her mother said through tears on Monday. Now Natasha Harrison, along with family members of two other Indigenous females and a B.C. advocacy group say they want more answers and a coroner’s inquest into the deaths of their loved ones three years ago. “I miss my baby girl,” Natasha Harrison said. “I remember going into stores, and I couldn’t pass someone in need without her making me help them, even if I was broke.” “She just wanted fairness and justice. And the irony is she’s being failed in that very way,” she said. All three Indigenous females were found dead in Metro Vancouver, and the...
Register
New Manitoba Tory leader says sorry for campaign ads on landfill search
By Steve Lambert Manitoba’s new Opposition leader apologized Monday for election campaign advertisements the Progressive Conservative party ran in the last election that promoted their decision to not search a landfill for the remains of two murder victims. Obby Khan used his first legislature speech since winning the Tory leadership on April 26 to say sorry to the victims’ families and to promise a new tone from his party. “I stand here today as the new leader of the P.C. party and apologize to the families … and to all Manitobans for the harm that was caused by a previous campaign,” Khan, who was a cabinet minister in the former Tory government, said. His words follow a similar apology in March from Wayne Ewasko, who had served as the Tories’...
Register
Alberta premier promises separation referendum in 2026 if petition signatures warrant
By Lisa Johnson Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she will hold a referendum on provincial separation next year if citizens gather the required signatures on a petition. Smith, in a livestream address Monday, said she wants a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada but there is a growing number of Albertans who are unhappy with Confederation, and are organizing petitions to push for an exit. “The vast majority of these individuals are not fringe voices to be marginalized or vilified. They are loyal Albertans,” she said. “They’re frustrated, and they have every reason to be.” The speech comes a week after Smith’s United Conservative government introduced legislation that, if passed, would sharply reduce the bar petitioners need to meet to trigger a provincial referendum. The bill, introduced the day after...
Register
Brantford Police investigating residential fire that claimed the life of a city woman
BRANTFORD, ONT- The Brantford Police Service (BPS) has launched a criminal investigation into a residential fire took the life of a 49-year-old city woman. Brantford Fire , Brant County Paramedics and BPS officers all responded to the 5:45 a.m. fire May 5, 2025, at a Buchanan Crescent home. A woman who lived at the home was taken to hospital where she was pronounced deceased. Three other adults, also present in the home at the time of the fire, were transported to hospital for treatment. The Brantford Police Service, in conjunction with the Office of the Fire Marshall are investigating this incident as a criminal investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Brantford Police Service at 519-756-7050 and reference Incident # 25-16880. Anonymous information can be provided by contacting...
Register
Community comes together to mark Red Dress Day at Fort St. John events
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Although the crowd was small, the message about the “genocide” of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) rang loudly during a lunchtime walk at Fort St. John’s Festival Plaza. They walked in multi-coloured ribbon skirts and wore beaded earrings and red hoodies to honour their loved ones during the Red Dress Day walk on May 5th. First observed in 2010, Red Dress Day honours MMIWG in what is seen by some as a “genocidal” problem in Canada. Data from Statistics Canada shows six times more Indigenous women were murdered or missing between 2009 and 2021 versus non-Indigenous women. The information is more alarming considering Indigenous women make up just four per cent of the total...
Register
‘We stand in solidarity’: Métis society on 15th anniversary of local woman’s disappearance
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — It has been 15 years since the disappearance of a local Indigenous woman – but still no answers as to how and why she vanished. Métis woman Abigail Andrews was last seen on April 7th, 2010. The then 28-year-old was pregnant with her first child, had talked to her mother around 7 p.m. that April evening and informed neighbours she was going to visit a male friend, according to a neighbour’s account. Then she disappeared without a trace. In a statement recently issued to Energeticcity.ca, the Fort St. John Métis Society described the Andrews story as a “deeply sensitive situation.” “The fact that a local Indigenous woman went missing is deeply troubling to us,” wrote the society...
Register
Alberta premier promises separation referendum in 2026 if petition signatures warrant
By Lisa Johnson Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she will hold a referendum on provincial separation next year if citizens gather the required signatures on a petition. Smith, in a livestream address Monday, said she wants a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada but there is a growing number of Albertans who are unhappy with Confederation, and are organizing petitions to push for an exit. “The vast majority of these individuals are not fringe voices to be marginalized or vilified. They are loyal Albertans,” she said. “They’re frustrated, and they have every reason to be.” Last week, a day after the federal election, Smith’s United Conservative government introduced legislation that, if passed, would sharply reduce the bar petitioners need to meet to trigger a provincial referendum. The bill would change...
Register
B.C. MP Don Davies chosen as interim NDP leader to succeed Jagmeet Singh
By David Baxter B.C. MP Don Davies will be the interim leader for the New Democratic Party of Canada, chosen by the party’s national council Monday evening. Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation after he lost his own Burnaby Central seat in the April 28 election. Davies led the NDP negotiations with the Liberal government to advance dental care and pharmacare legislation while serving as the party’s health critic, then finance critic, in the last session of Parliament. The NDP caucus met twice last week to talk about the party’s leadership situation, which helped inform the national council’s decision Monday. The NDP lost official party status last week when it was reduced to seven seats in the House of Commons. The last time that happened was after the 1993...
Register
An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip is met with alarm
By Wafaa Shurafa And Melanie Lidman DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away. “What’s left for you to bomb?” asked Moaz Kahlout, a displaced man from Gaza City who said many resort to GPS to locate the rubble of homes wiped out in the war. Israeli officials said Monday that Cabinet ministers approved the plan to seize Gaza and remain in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time — news that came hours after the military chief...
Register
Six Nations Police’ “Project Roll the Dice” sees two facing drug charges
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police have charged two people in connection with a drug investigation dubbed “Project Roll the Dice.” A Six Nations Police (SNP) Drug Enforcement Unit fentanyl and cocaine trafficking investigation came to an end Friday May 2nd after police armed with drug and substances act search warrants raided a Mississauga Road residence and a vehicle located in the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. As a result of the investigation SNP seized: – Approximiately 58 grams of fentanyl – Approximately 17 grams of cocaine – Bulk currency, drug packaging, digital scales and cell phones Police arrested and charged: Darryl Thomas Wythe Jr. 31, of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, ON, , He has been charged with – Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking...
Register
Can Mark Carney rebuild trust with Indigenous people?
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Indigenous communities are closely watching how the new Carney government will rebuild the trust that some critics say was eroded under Justin Trudeau’s leadership. Trudeau’s government failed to deliver on its promise to lift all long-term drinking water advisories and made little progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. Meanwhile, resource projects such as the Trans Mountain pipeline moved forward without full Indigenous consent. Trudeau was the first prime minister to put Indigenous reconciliation on the national agenda, which was a step forward. But he set expectations that weren’t realistic for his term, said Niigaan Sinclair, Anishinaabe scholar, commentator and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba. As a result, Sinclair said there was a...
Register
Indian Head couple recognized with SaskVolunteer Medal
By Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator A group of people received the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal in Regina recently, including Dr. Bruce Neill and Laura Poppy from Indian Head. The 29th annual presentation of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal took place on April 29 at Government House with 15 honourees from across the province in attendance. Coinciding with National Volunteer Week, the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan presented the medals in person. “The theme of volunteer week this year is Volunteers Make Waves,” she said. “When volunteers come together and push towards a common goal, like waves on the ocean, they roll forward—building momentum, making powerful impacts, sending ripples outward to benefit others that they may never meet. In Saskatchewan, we send out volunteer waves out over...
Register
