B.C. Conservatives shuffle critics portfolio after Elenore Sturko ousted
British Columbia’s Conservative Party has shuffled its critic portfolios to fill a hole left by Elenore Sturko, who was ousted from the party last week. Party Leader John Rustad says the changes are to focus “oversight across every ministry,” and includes him taking over as critic for Indigenous relations and reconciliation, a ministry portfolio he once held under the former B.C. Liberal government. Scott McInnis, who was the Indigenous critic, moves to tourism, the Columbia Basin Trust and deputy Indigenous relations critic. Among the highest profile replacements is West Kelowna-Peachland rookie MLA Macklin McCall, who is now critic for the solicitor general and public safety, taking over from Sturko. She is sitting as an Independent MLA after Rustad fired her from caucus hours after he won a leadership review with...
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Tŝilhqot’in Nation extends child care agreement with B.C., Canada
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune The Tŝilhqot’in Nation hosted federal and provincial ministers in Williams Lake on Saturday, Sept. 27, to advance the nation’s jurisdiction over its child and family services. The Nitsilʔin-Qi (Council of Chiefs), together with Mandy Gull-Masty, federal minister of Indigenous Services and Jodie Wickens, B.C.’s minister of Children and Family Development, announced the signing of an amendment to their coordination agreement, extending it from a one-year to a five-year agreement. “The child welfare system has never worked for our people. We know how to care for our families and our children. It is deep in our teachings and identity as Tŝilhqot’in people,” said Tribal Chief Otis Guichon in a press release, commending their federal and provincial partners. Listen to the...
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Animated short ‘Pow!’ tells the story of Indigenous Youth learning to appreciate culture
By Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews As a child, filmmaker Joey Clift recalls being “dragged” to powwows by his insistent mother — even though he would have rather stayed home. Despite his resistance, he soon grew to appreciate the events as a show of the thriving culture that Indigenous people have worked to keep alive. That experience is the inspiration behind a new animated comedic short film titled Pow! that’s been premiering at film festivals across “Canada.” It’s set to screen at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 12. With a runtime of just over eight minutes, Pow! is packed with fun imagery as it follows Jake, a young Indigenous boy who prefers playing his video games over being present at a powwow. Clift, who is from...
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Federal government denies funding for rural school food program
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News The Canadian government has denied funding for Yukon First Nations Education Directorate’s rural nutrition program. The program — which was operated in cooperation between the non-profit group and First Nations governments in the territory — provided meals to students in rural Yukon schools. Earlier this year, the federal government announced it would be changing the way that it reviews applications made to access funding through Jordan’s Principle. The legal principle is named for an Indigenous boy whose cost of care was volleyed back and forth between the Province of Manitoba and the federal government. Jordan River Anderson of Norway House Cree Nation was born in 1999 and had a serious medical condition. Per the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, after spending the...
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Saskatoon boy who killed friend while posing with gun sentenced to 18 months
By Jeremy Simes REGINA-CP-A judge has sentenced a Saskatoon boy to 18 months for killing a 12-year-old friend last year while posing with a gun and pretending to be a gangster. The 15-year-old boy, who was 13 at the time and cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, earlier pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing death. Judge Lisa Watson ordered the boy to serve one year in open custody and six months under community supervision, followed by 18 months of probation. “I do wish you the best,” she said Wednesday. “I know this is a difficult day for you and your family, difficult for (the victim’s) family and loved ones. “I expect you to do something with your life. I expect you to move forward in a positive...
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Security may be increased at Manitoba constituency offices after fires and vandalism
By Steve Lambert Security may be increased at the constituency offices of Manitoba legislature members in the wake of recent fires and vandalism that are being investigated by police. “We’re evolving as a legislature to recognize that we’ve got to keep the constituency assistants safe, we’ve got to keep members of the public who are dropping in … we’ve got to keep the (legislature members) and ministers safe themselves,” Premier Wab Kinew told reporters Wednesday. Kinew’s comments came one day after an early-morning fire broke out at the constituency office of Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine in the St. John’s area of Winnipeg. Windows at the same office were smashed earlier this month. In the adjacent constituency of Point Douglas, there have been four reports of small fires being set...
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Canada’s wildlife woes show nature is foundational in nation-building
By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Wildlife populations are plummeting while risks to nature rise across Canada as governments loosen environmental regulations to fast-track major projects, a World Wildlife Fund study shows. A little over half of the 910 vertebrate species monitored between 1970 to 2022 are in decline, according to WWF-Canada’s latest Living Planet Report, which tracks changes in national wildlife populations across different habitats. Wildlife populations have suffered an average decline of 10 per cent over the last half century, with some species faring better and others much worse, according to the report. The situation is stark for the species groups examined — birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles and amphibians — all of which are trending in the wrong direction, said James Snider, WWF-Canada’s...
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River otter attack on Port Alberni tween ‘unusual and rare’, says COS
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Port Alberni, BC – Tseshaht First Nation tween Taiaha Watts has one epic summer story to share on the playground. On Aug. 25 the 10-year-old boy from Port Alberni was attacked by a river otter while floating at a family swimming hole along the Somass River. Taiaha’s dad Len Watts was playing cards on the beach when the shocking incident took place. “This otter comes five feet in front of my son – usually they will look at you and go away – but it looked at him and went right for him, tried jumping on his face and chest,” Watts said. “We’re lucky it was low tide. When he stood up, the water was only to his hips. (Taiaha) was punching...
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Alberta re-enters pipeline arena, plans to propose new oil pipeline to B.C. coast
By Lauren Krugel Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta is committing $14 million to a West Coast oil pipeline do-over that hinges on First Nations getting on board early and Ottawa reversing a tanker ban that would make such a project unworkable on the northern B.C. coast. It’s a project Smith hails as the fulfilment of a higher duty to humanity, while her B.C. counterpart characterizes it as half-baked political gamesmanship. “What stands before us right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unlock our wealth and resources and become a world-leading energy superpower,” Smith told a news conference in Calgary on Wednesday. “There are billions of people around the world living in energy poverty who demand a higher standard of living. This is not just a question of Alberta’s energy. It...
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Alberta ‘on notice’ Coastal B.C. nations opposed to pipeline proposal
By Ashley Joannou The head of a group representing First Nations along British Columbia’s coast says they will not support a new pipeline proposed by Alberta and nothing can be done to change that. Marilyn Slett, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, said Wednesday that First Nations fought for decades to get the federal moratorium that keeps oil tankers out of their waters. “As the rights and titleholders of B.C. North and Central Coast and Haida Gwaii, we must inform Premier (Danielle) Smith once again that there is no support from coastal First Nations for a pipeline and an oil tankers project in our coastal waters,” Slett said moments after Alberta’s premier announced her government will be pitching a pipeline...
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First Nations group questions audit that found $34M in questionable spending
By Brittany Hobson -CP- WINNIPEG- An advocacy group representing First Nations in Saskatchewan is firing back after a forensic audit found more than $34 million in questionable, unsupported or ineligible spending over five years. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations responded to the results of a recent forensic audit saying it has a robust system of financial management, accountability and transparency, but that processes during the probe hindered the organization’s ability to provide relevant information. “(The federation) has excellent capacity and record keeping … unfortunately, due to underfunding, many First Nations and First Nations organizations do not have the level of capacity to respond to such audits,” the organization said in a statement released on Wednesday. “Systemic change is required as transparency and accountability should be a partnership that helps...
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Conservation group preparing to perform necropsies on dead sperm whales in P.E.I.
By Hina Alam A conservation group is planning necropsies on three sperm whales that died after being stranded off the northern coast of Prince Edward Island. Tonya Wimmer, executive director of the Marine Animal Response Society, said one of the first steps is moving the bodies to a suitable place for the necropsies. She explained veterinarians and pathologists would not be able to do their work on the beach where the whales died since it was a remote location. “We’ve got commitment from, thankfully, the Lennox Island First Nation, to be able to take the animals there and do the necropsies on a beach and then bury them on site,” she said. “But it’s still trying to figure out how to get them there off the other islands.” The whales...
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Non-profit ‘trying our very best,’ in face of rising food insecurity
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Iqaluit’s food centre’s serving of meals at record-high levels highlights the “crushing” demand for assistance and worsening food security crisis, says its executive director Joseph Murdoch-Flowers. “We are trying our very best,” he said Friday during a news conference at the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre near St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral. The event came just a month before the Oct. 27 territorial election. About 20 people attending the event, including Iqaluit-area candidates Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster, George Hickes and Gwen Healey Akearok. On Sept. 17, the food centre served 639 meals. In a city of roughly 8,000 residents, that accounts for eight per cent of the population. “But I know that even if we’re providing over 600 meals in a day, we’re still...
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Visiting art exhibit that captures life in the far north like ‘opening an old photo album’
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com KENORA – An art installation that’s currently on display in Kenora captures decades worth of colour photography showing life in the far north around the mid-20th century. People of the Watershed is comprised of dozens of scans of photographs taken from original 35-millimetre Kodachrome colour slides. The photos were taken by John Macfie, a longtime trapline manager for the then-Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, of life in many northern First Nations where he lived and worked. The exhibit by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection was curated by Paul Seesequasis, a Willow Cree journalist and photographic curator. The exhibit is at Kenora’s Douglas Family Art Centre and Lake of the Woods Museum (collectively called The Muse) until they close for the holidays...
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Indigenous education group wants people to go beyond ‘narratives of colonial harm’
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner An Indigenous educational group in New Brunswick wants people to move beyond a single day of reflection on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and take a deeper dive into local Indigenous history and culture. In the lead up to Tuesday’s national day of commemorating an often painful history, Three Nations Education Group issued a release encouraging teachers, students and everyday people to jump onto its website to learn more about the treaties signed between colonial powers and Wabanaki people in the 18th century. The group was established in 2009 by the First Nations at Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church), Neqotkuk (Tobique), and Elsipogtog (Big Cove) to supply educational materials. The release states that for more than a decade, Three Nations...
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Youth paddle together for Truth and Reconciliation Day
By Ina Pace, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Squamish Chief Squamish Nation members and community support services brought youth together to take part in the 5th annual canoe pull at Alice Lake. A day of reconciliation means working in unison, quite literally. Foundry Sea to Sky collaborated with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and the RCMP to share first-hand knowledge of teamwork and community spirit with young people, in co-ordinating a group canoe pull at Alice Lake Provincial Park. The canoe pull this year marked the event’s fifth anniversary at Alice Lake. RCMP Const. Kelly Dean, of the Integrated First Nations Policing Unit, described to participants and onlookers how the pull was literally a transfer of energy from the paddle to the water, and that a successful canoe pull relied on...
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‘My parents couldn’t vote’: Iqaluit Elder on what Truth and Reconciliation means to him
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Canadian history textbooks tell a story of how fur traders built the country, but not about how it was on the backs of Indigenous people trapping and skinning the animals, an Iqaluit elder told Nunavut News. That’s just one example of what Ainiak Korgak reflects on every National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A one-sided story has been taught to Canadians from the point of view of the Hudson’s Bay Company traders, who Korgak said were dishonest with the Indigenous people from whom they purchased furs. Indigenous stories weren’t taught in schools for generations, he said, because Indigenous people weren’t treated as equals. “We were not recognized in this country as citizens, legal citizens, because we couldn’t vote. My parents...
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MP, Inuit leader identify reconciliation priorities
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News When it comes to reconciliation, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. President Jeremy Tunraluk both say they want the federal government to address health and access to food inequality. Idlout said the federal government needs to treat the territory better. “Reverse the chronic underfunding of Indigenous communities and services to improve the lives and well-being of all Indigenous children and families in equal partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples,” Idlout told Nunavut News. She said the federal government should stop fighting Indigenous children in court, adhere to Jordan’s Principle and the Inuit Child First Initiative, providing timely access to health and education. Speaking for Nunavut Tunngavik (NTI), Tunraluk pointed out that it’s been 10 years since...
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‘We’re resilient:’ Guests, dignitaries and residents reflect on the importance of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — As September drew to a close, Indigenous groups across the Peace region came together for what is one of the most important events on the community’s calendar. The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation was only recognized by the Canadian government in 2021, but its importance goes further than that. Also known as Orange Shirt Day, the day commemorates the atrocities experienced by Indigenous peoples within Canada’s residential school system and was first recognized in 2013. For some survivors, the trauma experienced by relatives has had a ripple effect lasting generations. On Saturday, September 27th, local Indigenous groups organized a round dance and tea dance for both the public and the First Nations community at the Taylor...
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Powerful Tsleil-Waututh Nation walk honours residential school survivors
By Abby Luciano, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, North Shore News Nearly 250 people wearing orange filled Dollarton Highway in North Vancouver Tuesday for a walk honouring səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) residential school survivors. Tsleil-Waututh Nation members, politicians and people from the community gathered at Whey-ah-Wichen/Cates Park 11 a.m. Tuesday to walk three kilometres to the community’s reserve. “We walk together to take some of that harm that’s been on our path as Tsleil-Waututh people, as Indigenous people,” said Gabriel George, knowledge keeper and director of the culture, language and protocol department at Tsleil-Waututh Nation to the crowd. “We want to bring that healing.” Tsleil-Waututh elders and residential school survivors led the walk with the community following behind in solidarity. Along Dollarton Highway, many people held signs remembering Tsleil-Waututh loved ones who...
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