Supreme Court dismisses appeal from Saskatchewan government involving Métis group
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal from the Saskatchewan government over a lawsuit alleging a Métis organization wasn’t consulted over uranium exploration permits. The unanimous ruling issued Friday lets Métis Nation Saskatchewan proceed with its legal action against the province, after permits were granted more than three years ago in northwest Saskatchewan near Patterson Lake. The court says it was not an abuse of process for Métis Nation Saskatchewan to sue the province on the issue. “Although abuse of process is possible in proceedings involving Indigenous litigants, the unique context of Aboriginal rights litigation must always be borne in mind,” the decision says. Métis Nation Saskatchewan filed a claim in 2021 against the province arguing it had Aboriginal title and rights to the land where NexGen Energy...
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Fraudulent Status Cards Circulate In Sault Ste. Marie In Attempts To Gain Services
BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION- First Nation communities are being warned to be on the look out for fraudulent status cards that have begun circulating in Ontario. Reports of the fake cards have surfaced at Batchewana First Nation where both leadership and the Batchewana First Nation Police issued warnings to residents, business owners and program managers of reports of fraudulent status cards surfacing and attempts made to use the cards to gain First Nations services. The Batchewana First Nation Police have confiscated two of the fake cards and are advising anyone who encounters a suspicious card to notify the police immediately. Using and manufacturing a fake status card is a criminal offense and individuals using these cards can be charged with fraud and forgery. The cards are described as flimsy, do not...
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The secret lives of polar bear families
By Louise Archer Postdoctoral Fellow, Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Despite being the largest land carnivore and a top Arctic predator that can weigh over 600 kg, polar bears start off surprisingly small. Blind, almost hairless, and weighing just 600g at birth, cubs are born in maternity dens under the snow. These snow caves keep newborns warm and safe for the first few months of their life, when they grow rapidly by nursing on their mother’s rich milk. After three to four months in the den, cubs will have grown to about 20 times their birth weight and will be large enough and furry enough to follow their mothers out into the frigid Arctic spring. In a study published in The Journal of Wildlife Management, we used remote cameras to...
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Hockey gear welcomed in Cat Lake
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal In a show of support, businesses and organizations from across the province demonstrated how easy a village can raise a child. This month, youths in Cat Lake First Nation received 1,300 pounds of gear that was collected from local hockey communities in the Oakville and Milton areas. The initiative reinforces the commitment to making sports accessible for Indigenous youths. The donated new and gently used hockey equipment was also collected from key sponsors and transported to Cat Lake in a large partnership chain. Stephanie Paxton, executive director at Mikinakoos Children’s Fund, said this is the fourth year they have received the donation, which arrived at a crucial time as Cat Lake prepares for an upcoming hockey tournament at the end of...
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Zelenskyy meets Trump at White House and seeks security assurances against future Russian aggression
By Will Weissert And Justin Spike WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine’s leader sought security guarantees as the U.S. tries to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump told Zelenskyy that doing so was disrespectful, as Zelenskky was pushing for U.S. security commitments to keep his country safe from further Russian aggression. You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people,” Trump said. “You’re gambling with World War III, and what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country that’s backed you far more than a lot of people say they should have.” THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Friday with President Donald Trump...
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Progressive Conservative incumbent takes Brantford-Brant
By Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator PC incumbent Will Bouma was criticized for being an “absent” representative during the campaign, but it clearly wasn’t an issue for Brantford-Brant voters. Bouma handily took his third consecutive win in the riding — which includes the City of Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. “It’s gratifying to have the support of the people in the community, because we’ve been working very, very hard for the community,” Bouma told reporters following his victory. The optometrist and volunteer firefighter previously served as a Brant County councillor. During the brief campaign, he received criticism from Green Party candidate Karleigh Csordas, who called Bouma an “absent MPP” in a Facebook post last week...
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Exhibit at McMichael gallery to feature life’s changes in Nunavut village
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com A new exhibit at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection will feature works that showcase societal changes in Kinngait, an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, during the past five decades. The exhibit, titled Worlds on Paper: Drawings from Kinngait, will open on March 8 at the McMichael gallery, located in Kleinburg, Ont., a village just north of Toronto. The McMichael gallery has held in trust more than 90,000 Kinngait drawings in its archives since the 1990s. Many of these drawings have never been shown outside of the Kinngait community, which was known as Cape Dorset until its name change in 2020. Emily Laurent Henderson, McMichael’s associate curator of Indigenous arts and culture, has curated the upcoming exhibit, which will run until Aug. 24. Henderson...
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Indigenous language showcased on new West Coast bus stop signs, a first for BC Transit
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa West Coast, BC – BC Transit has incorporated Nuu-chah-nulth language on all the new bus stop signs within the refreshed West Coast Transit System, a historical first for the province’s official transit service provider. Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ (Ucluelet First Nation) language keepers Marge Touchie (ʔaʔasmacy̓ak) and Jeneva Touchie (Čakʷaasiqḥw̓iłim) worked on the translations for stops within Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ traditional territory. “It’s an honour to share language within our community, it connects us and shows that representation matters,” said Jeneva in a written statement. Prior to the bus stop signage, Jeneva and Marge also supported the translation of street names within the municipality of Ucluelet and provided the Ucluelet Co-op with words and phrases for displays. “Bit by bit we are incorporating more language within our...
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Supreme Court dismisses appeal from Saskatchewan government involving Métis group
-CP-The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal from the Saskatchewan government over a lawsuit alleging a Métis organization wasn’t consulted over uranium exploration permits. The unanimous ruling lets Métis Nation Saskatchewan proceed with its legal action against the province, after permits were granted three years ago in northwest Saskatchewan near Patterson Lake. The court says it was not an abuse of process for Métis Nation Saskatchewan to sue the province on the issue. The organization filed a claim in 2021 against the province arguing it had Aboriginal title and rights to the land. Saskatchewan argued the claims were an abuse of process, as Métis Nation Saskatchewan has other lawsuits against the province over consultation issues. A Court of King’s Bench judge sided with Saskatchewan and struck portions of...
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Leonard Peltier remains defiant in AP interview, maintaining innocence and vowing continued activism
By Graham Lee Brewer BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) — More than 50 years after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation landed him in federal prison, Leonard Peltier remains defiant. He maintains his innocence in the deaths of two FBI agents in 1975 and sees his newfound freedom — the result of a commutation from former President Joe Biden — as the beginning of a new phase of his activism. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life fighting for our people, because we ain’t finished yet. We’re still in danger,” Peltier, now 80, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at his new home on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, his tribal homeland in North Dakota, near the Canadian border. There among the rolling, often snow-covered hills,...
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Vancouver council approves pause on supporting housing; housing minister disappointed
By Brieanna Charlebois and Ashley Joannou -CP-Vancouver’s council has approved Mayor Ken Sim’s plan to temporarily halt net new supportive housing projects in the city. The change is a disappointment for B.C.’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who said Thursday that they know supportive housing works to give people a second chance. A news release from Sim’s office says it will allow the city to focus on “renewing aging, deteriorating stock,” and transition temporary modular housing into permanent homes, while pushing for more supply elsewhere in the region. The city says the pause doesn’t apply to housing for seniors, women, families, youth aging out of care, housing related to health care, or “social housing with occasional supports.” Councillors heard from more than 80 residents, many voicing concerns about the proposal, but...
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Most northwest winter roads not open to transports
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source PIKANGIKUM – Most winter roads to remote First Nations in Northwestern Ontario are now open to light loads only. “The past couple of days we had it closed to heavy traffic, (and open to) just light small vehicles,” Pikangikum First Nation council member Richard Keeper said Wednesday. He said a spell of warmer weather made the winter road to Pikangikum, 100 kilometres north of Red Lake, a tad iffy. “But I think we’re open now because we’re going to have somebody monitoring the road and they’re going to be working on the road daily as the heavy trucks come in,” he added. Pikangikum is not alone among northwest First Nations throttling down winter road traffic. Sandy Lake First Nation, for...
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Doig River First Nation to receive infrastructure loan for urban reserve development
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A northeast B.C. First Nation received the green light for investment from financial backers on Wednesday. First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) announced Doig River First Nation (DRFN) as among the first approved loans from the new Indigenous Land Development Loan Program. DRFN Chief Trevor Makadahay described the announcement on February 26th as “game-changing.” The program is an initiative of FNBC and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). Five First Nation infrastructure projects are to receive funding totalling $140 million. DRFN would not disclose to Energeticcity.ca the financial terms of the loan or the amount allocated specifically to the Nation, but said the funding will be used to oversee the development of Naache Commons, a DRFN development on...
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‘Do better’: Murder victims’ families react after possible remains found in landfill
By Brittany Hobson WINNIPEG,MAN-CP-When Elle Harris got a phone call about potential human remains found at the landfill where searchers are trying to find her mother and another slain First Nations woman, she was overcome with a sinking feeling. “My heart dropped right down to my stomach,” she told reporters Thursday. Since December, trained search teams, including forensic anthropologists, have been combing through debris at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg with the hopes of finding the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. The two women were killed at the hands of a serial killer in 2022. The Manitoba government, which is spearheading the search with guidance from family members and First Nations leaders, announced Wednesday that suspected human remains had been discovered at the site. It could...
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In apology to Inuit, minister calls relocations decades ago a ‘failure’
By Alessia Passafiume -CP-Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree apologized Thursday afternoon on behalf of the federal government for its role in the Dundas Harbour relocations between 1934 and 1948, saying it is “long overdue.” “The Government of Canada deeply regrets the decisions that led to your relocations and the suffering that resulted from them. We recognize and acknowledge the profound harm done to your families, your communities, and your way of life,” Anandasangaree said to those gathered in Arctic Bay. “For taking you from your homes and families, for the hardships you endured, for the displacement and ruptures of kinships with the nuna [land], and for the promises that were broken, we offer our sincerest apology. We are sorry.” The relocations were part of Canada’s strategy to maintain a national...
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Human rights museum removes Buffy Sainte-Marie from exhibit
By Steve Lambert -CP-The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has removed singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie from an exhibit because of questions about her First Nations identity. The musician and activist was among more than a dozen people featured in an exhibit at the Winnipeg museum titled “human rights defenders” until December. A museum official says the move was made following a CBC report that said Sainte-Marie has a birth certificate from Massachusetts and that family members in the U.S. indicated she doesn’t have Indigenous heritage. Matthew Cutler, the museum’s vice-president of exhibitions says that after the report there were extensive consultations with Indigenous communities and advisers. Sainte-Marie has said the report contained mistakes and omissions and that she has never lied about her identity. Sainte-Marie’s Order of Canada appointment was terminated...
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Arctic territories unite against U.S. annexation threats
By Matteo Cimellaro, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer For Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok, comments from U.S. President Donald Trump about a possible takeover of Canada feel personal. Akeeagok sees them as a direct threat to the hard-fought sovereignty of the northern territory. His family was directly involved in the forced relocations of the 1950s, in which Inuit were taken from their communities and shipped to Resolute Bay and Grise Ford, “really as human flagpoles,” to claim Canada’s sovereignty, Akeeagok explains. “When I look back at my own history with my own family, and there are many families that are impacted that really have paid a heavy price in terms of asserting Canada’s sovereignty over the North, and so, it’s very personal,” Akeeagok said in an interview with Canada’s...
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Bronze statue of women’s rights pioneer cut off at ankles, stolen from Edmonton park
EDMONTON-A life-sized bronze statue of Canadian women’s rights pioneer Emily Murphy who said Indigenous people have noplace in the future, has been stolen from a city park. David Turnbull of the Edmonton Arts Council said Thursday only the shoes remain of the statue. He said it appears the statue was sliced off near the ankles with a power tool earlier this week. A plaque glued to the stone platform it stood on is also missing. Edmonton police are investigating. Murphy was Alberta’s first female judge and one of the so-called Famous Five women behind the 1929 Persons Case. The case successfully challenged laws that prevented women from being appointed to the Senate because they were not considered legal “persons.” Turnbull said Murphy was also controversial figure as she also had...
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Gov’t can’t override First Nation authority with mining: Fiddler
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal During a visit to Thunder Bay late last week, Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford reiterated his election promise to speed up project approvals in the mineral-rich Ring of Fire by pushing Ottawa to remove what he called “unnecessary federal barriers and red tape” from major projects under provincial jurisdiction. Ford says his vision to unlock the economic potential of the critical minerals mined in the Ring of Fire is critical in the face of looming tariffs from the U.S., but it does not sit well with Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN). NAN Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler is calling on Ford and the Ontario government to “immediately retract these assertions and uphold the promises that the government made in treaty that respects...
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Iqaluit recovery centre road named Akausigiarvik Road
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Akausigiarvik Road, which means “to feel better road,” will be the name of the street that leads to Aqqusariaq, Nunavut’s new addictions recovery centre which is under construction in Iqaluit. City councillors voted in favour of the name Tuesday night. The city’s planning department proposed it after consulting elders. “By selecting a name that resonates with the centre’s purpose, it strengthens a sense of unity and intention behind both the road and the recovery centre,” said Maiya Twerdin, the city’s planning clerk, in a presentation to council. “The decision to have an Inuktitut street name is a clear demonstration of the city’s commitment to preserving and promoting Inuktitut, particularly in spaces that will be a positive healing space for Nunavummiut.” The...
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