Canada settles class-action lawsuit by military members who alleged racism in uniform
(CP)-The federal government has settled a class-action lawsuit with military members who were subjected to racism during their time in the Armed Forces. The settlement is worth up to $150 million, and individual payments will range from $5,000 to $35,000. The claimants are people who served in the Canadian Armed Forces between April 1985 and Jan. 10, and experienced racism while in uniform. Anyone eligible for the settlement has the option of getting a personalized letter of apology from the chief of the defence staff. The settlement also includes a pledge to make systemic changes to the Armed Forces’ culture. In a written statement, Defence Minister Bill Blair says racism in the workplace erodes the cohesiveness of an effective military and says he’s pleased the settlement was approved by the...
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Ontario looking to future after billions left on the table for our kids..
Ontario is going it alone. After a kerfuffle at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) saw a 47.8 billion child welfare system reform deal struck down Ontario has decided it will be heading to talks…alone The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) had already approved the agreement at their special assemblies prior to the AFN meeting and are hoping, now that a federal election is coming, they will still be able to begin talks. Some AFN chiefs felt the deal negotiated last July was too weak and turned it down and wanted a renegotiation of the terms. The problem is the federal government says no. They sent a confidential letter to the AFN effectively cutting the national body out of any renegotiation telling them they are not...
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Today in History
Jan. 22 In 1690, the Iroquois signed a peace treaty with the British government and the Great Lakes tribes. In 2007, the multiple murder trial of Vancouver-area pig farmer Robert Pickton began in New Westminster, B.C. He was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of 26 women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. But he went on trial on just six of the charges after the case was split into two. After a 10-month trial, Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder on Dec. 9th. Two days later, he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years. In 2010, the other 20 first-degree murder charges were formally stayed after the Crown announced it would not pursue the rest of its case because Pickton...
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Arrows’ brass will be busy at Ontario Junior Lacrosse League draft
By Sam Laskaris Writer Delby Powless will be one of the busiest men around at the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL) draft this Sunday. The draft for the 11-squad Junior A circuit will be held at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville. The draft, which is not open to the public, will consist of just two rounds. Thus, a total of 22 players will be selected in the proceedings. Because of various trades in previous years, the Arrows will be kept rather busy at the draft. That’s because they will enter the draft holding a total of five picks in the two rounds. Powless, a director with the Arrows, will be instrumental in the selections for the Six Nations squad. He oversees the scouting for the local squad and...
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Chiefs building for future with draft picks and protected players
By Sam Laskaris Writer It remains to be seen when they might end up suiting up for the Six Nations Chiefs. But the Chiefs, the two-time defending national Mann Cup champions, have added four new players to their family. The Chiefs had just two picks in the five-round Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) Entry Draft, which was held on Sunday in Whitby. The Six Nations squad selected Riley Ford in the second round, 14th over-all. Ford is a product of the Oakville Buzz Junior A program. And the only other pick the Chiefs had in the draft was in the fourth round. They utilized the 28th pick over-all on goaltender Lindyn Hill, a Six Nations member who starred with the Orangeville Northmen Junior A club during the 2024 campaign. Prior to...
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New Lil’wat ski and snowboard team hits the slopes
By Luke Faulks Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Sandy Ward had only been snowboarding for a year or two when Aaron Marchant, founder of the First Nations Snowboard Team, invited her to join a small group of other Indigenous youth to train for the 2010 Olympics. That was in 2005. Now, Ward is leading her own winter sports youth team, the Lil’wat Nation Qwíxwla7 (sliding) ski and snowboard team. Over the next nine weeks, she and two other coaches will take more than 70 skiers and snowboarders between the ages of eight and 22 up to Whistler Blackcomb for lessons and a whole lot of winter fun. “I started in that program, and it got me to where I am today,” said Ward. “So I see how important it is.” When...
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Liberal leadership race: A look at the potential candidates
Canadian Press-The federal Liberals are running their first leadership race in more than a decade to replace the departing Justin Trudeau. Candidates must declare by Jan. 23 and pay a $350,000 fee to enter the race. The winner will be named on March 9. Here’s a quick look at who’s in and who’s out. Who’s in Chandra Arya Arya became the first current member of the Liberal caucus to announce his candidacy just four days after Trudeau’s announcement. Arya — first elected as an MP in an Ottawa suburb in 2015 — has said he does not believe he needs to speak French to become prime minister, came out against Trudeau’s carbon pricing system and wants to abolish the monarchy. Frank Baylis A former Montreal Liberal MP and businessman, Baylis was...
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Manitoba man sues health authorities for failing to provide timely care: lawsuit
MANITOBA-(CP)A Cree man has filed a lawsuit against two Manitoba health authorities alleging he did not receive timely medical care and was accused of nursing a hangover. Justin Flett spent days in multiple hospitals and travelled more than 600 kilometres to get treated for acute appendicitis in January 2023. Flett filed a lawsuit last month in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench against multiple health authorities and the physician who initially treated him, saying his pleas of severe abdominal pain were ignored. “They left him to suffer in agony, and denied or delayed the urgent care, assessment and treatment that he required,” the statement of claim alleges. “As a result, his appendix ruptured, an aggressive infection spread within his abdomen and his life was unnecessarily placed in peril. He now...
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Liberal fortunes in Quebec may be troubled as third minister ends leadership bid
TORONTO-(CP)-The decision Tuesday by a third Liberal cabinet minister from Quebec not to seek the Liberal leadership is casting a spotlight on the party’s ability to organize support in a province that has long been crucial to its electoral success. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced at a luncheon discussion in Toronto that he won’t be on the ballot when the Liberals choose their new leader on March 9. Champagne, long seen as a potential successor to Trudeau, said instead of running he will focus on ensuring the government is ready to protect Canadian industry from the trade threats posed by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. “It was probably the most difficult decision of my life, but I think it was the right one at the right time,” Champagne said. “There...
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Mamakwa to carry NDP flag once more
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter KIIWETINOONG – Sol Mamakwa has been nominated to be the New Democratic Party’s candidate in the next provincial election. The Kiiwetinoong NDP’s nomination meeting was held Monday evening via Zoom. “It’s certainly an honour to be asked again to represent the people in Kiiwetinoong,” Mamakwa said Tuesday in a phone interview from Toronto. Mamakwa said he brings “a unique understanding” to Queen’s Park as the legislature’s only First Nations member. While considering himself “always First Nations first,” he said, the NDP is a good fit for him. “They fit the beliefs that I have.” There were no other candidates for the nomination. Mamakwa, a member of Kingfisher Lake First Nation, has represented the Kiiwetinoong riding since 2018. He easily won re-election on June...
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Cree Language program now 30 per cent of population at John Diefenbaker School
By Michael Oleksyn Local Journalism Initiative Indigenous language programming in the Saskatchewan Rivers School continues to grow. At the board of education’s regular meeting on Monday Superintendent Jennifer Hingley gave an update on developments over the past year. A major one, according to the report, is that students at John Diefenbaker School taking part in the Cree language program now make up a significant part of the population of the school. “All of our Indigenous language programs are having success, the one that sticks out to me is the one at JD where 30 percent of their overall population is involved in that programming,” director of education Neil Finch said. The school division began Indigenous Language Instruction as a response to Truth and Reconciliation. Finch said the goal is to...
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Chatham-to-Lakeshore power upgrades completed a year early
By Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Hydro One’s new Chatham to Lakeshore Transmission Line has plugged in a year ahead of schedule. Energized last month, the new line adds approximately 400 megawatts to the grid – enough to power the City of Windsor – in support of Southwestern Ontario’s agri-food and manufacturing industries. Ontario Minister of Energy and Electrification Stephen Lecce, along with other dignitaries, made a special trip to Chatham-Kent to unveil the $237-million line, pointing out its early finish has saved $30 million. Lecce, who oversaw Ontario’s recently approved Energy Affordability Act, stressed that when a project is on time and under budget, it boosts public confidence. According to Lecce, the southwest region is seeing “explosive” growth – double the provincial average – with officials predicting the...
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Franklin the tortoise moving out of refrigerator after chilling since October
KAMLOOPS B.C-(CP)-It’s a big day for Franklin the marginated tortoise who is being brought out of his slumber after spending 15 weeks chilling out in a refrigerator. The tortoise, rescued from the shores of Shuswap Lake in the British Columbia Interior in 2022, has been in the refrigerator at the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops since Oct. 1, in a hibernation-like state known as brumation. The park’s animal care manager Tracy Reynolds says marginated tortoises are more at home in a warm and dry Mediterranean climate, and winter in the B.C. Interior is “far too harsh” for Franklin to spend outdoors. She says he’s been kept at 6 degrees Celsius in a refrigerator at the park but is scheduled Tuesday to move into an indoor habitat with his new neighbour,...
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Clark, Champagne drop out, Gould plans to join Liberal leadership race
(CP)-The race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader shifted again on Tuesday when Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and former B.C. premier Christy Clark both bowed out, and Government House leader Karina Gould signalled she’s in. The two high-profile departures will cast a spotlight on candidates’ French language skills and their ability to organize support in Quebec, now that the race lacks a strong, bilingual front-runner from a province that’s critical to the Liberals’ electoral fortunes. Champagne, long seen as a potential successor to Trudeau, said during an armchair talk in Toronto he will not enter the race, adding he plans to focus on ensuring the government is ready to protect Canadian industry from the trade threats posed by incoming U.S. president Donald Trump. “It was probably the...
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Jaime Battiste first Indigenous candidate to join Liberal leadership race
OTTAWA-(CP)Jaime Battiste says that if he can’t be the most powerful and wealthy candidate in the race for the Liberal party leadership, he hopes to be the most interesting. The MP for Sydney-Victoria is the only First Nations candidate to state his intention to join the leadership race so far. Battiste, who serves as chair of the Liberal party’s Indigenous caucus, says reforming the First Nations child welfare system and ensuring adequate funding for First Nations police services would be his top priorities as a leadership candidate. But the Mi’kmaw MP, who grew up in Eskasoni First Nation, says his focus wouldn’t be squarely on Indigenous issues, adding he also thinks Canadians want to see a marked change in environmental policy and in how the country responds to emergencies like...
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Three facing charges in Simcoe break and enter
NORFOLK COUNTY, ON – Three people are facing charges after Norfolk County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a break and enter in Simcoe Monday (Jan. 13,). OPP said at about 5:27 p.m. Monday, January 13, 2025, Norfolk County OPP responded to a reported break-and-enter on Norfolk Street South in Simcoe where OPP said a group of individuals had unlawfully entered a business on the property. OPP arrested three people without incident found on the property. During a search of the three OPP said they found and seized suspected fentanyl, ecstasy, morphine, and Canadian currency. Facing charges are: Kirbie Wamsley, 36, from Haldimand County has been charged with the following alleged offences: Break, enter a place – commit indictable offence, Possession of a Schedule I substance – opioid (other than...
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Norfolk County OPP asking for public’s help in locating two stolen trucks
NORFOLK COUNTY-Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are seeking the public’s help after two pickup trucks were stolen from properties in Delhi Jan., 14, 2025. OPP were called to an Adams Avenue residence Monday, Jan., 13th at about 6:30 a.m. after receiving a report that unidentified individuals had stolen a vehicle from the property sometime during the overnight hours. The vehicle was described as a grey 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Around 7:15 p.m., that same day, the Norfolk County OPP investigated another report of the theft of another truck this time from Main Street in Delhi. OPP said between 4:00 a.m. and 7:15 p.m., “one or more unidentified individuals” entered the property and stole a pickup truck . The vehicle was identified as a silver 2000 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. The...
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Freeland to announce Liberal leadership bid within the next week
(CP)-Former finance minister Chrystia Freeland will announce her intention to run for the Liberal party leadership just before the U.S. presidential inauguration, a source close to her campaign team said Monday. The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the announcement, also said Freeland’s first policy promise will be to impose dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports to match the tariffs U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose on Canada. Trump has promised to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico on Jan. 20, the day he is inaugurated. The federal and provincial governments are working together to set retaliatory tariffs to respond to that threat, trying to target U.S. exports that would wreak maximum damage on regions important to Republican leaders...
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Panellists named for teacher disciplinary matters
By Maggie Macintosh Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A POLICE officer, a First Nations lawyer and a community-health program manager are among a dozen people who’ve been chosen to serve as panellists in disciplinary cases involving teachers under a new Manitoba Education Department professional registry and complaint process. Bobbi Taillefer, the province’s first independent education commissioner, has the discretion to dismiss or investigate reports made regarding allegations of improper teacher conduct. Calling a disciplinary panel is one of the options available to her. The new system, which is intended to increase transparency to the disciplinary process, launched just over a week ago online (edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/commissioner). Members of the public and employers are able to flag incidents to the commissioner’s office via separate forms available on the web page. There is also a...
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