Carney’s investment summit draws protests by Indigenous leaders, eco groups
By Alessia Passafiume Prime Minister Mark Carney’s high-stakes pitch for foreign investment is also attracting protests by Indigenous leaders and civil society groups opposed to his agenda. Hundreds of executives and global asset managers descended on Toronto today for Canada’s first-ever national investment summit, and Carney has set a lofty goal of attracting $1 trillion in new investment over the next five years. Demonstrators, including labour unions, Indigenous leaders and climate and housing advocates, are mobilizing against the event and plan to protest outside the summit’s opening gala later today. Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Na’Moks says Carney is blackmailing the public into thinking Canada needs to build more major projects to protect itself from predatory U.S. trade policy. He says no projects will go forward without support from Canadians and Indigenous...
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‘He fought addiction, and he won’ First Nation announces treatment centre
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner Two leaders who have battled addiction were front and centre at an announcement to build a new, $1.3-million treatment centre in Bilijk, a small community west of Fredericton battling a drug and alcohol crisis. Last week, Justice Gruben, a 28-year-old from the First Nation who was recently elected chief, and Rob McKee, the justice minister who is also responsible for addictions and mental health services in New Brunswick, took the podium at the press conference. The money from the provincial and federal governments will go toward an outpatient treatment centre in the heart of the community expected to open next spring. The Bilijk Health Centre is already helping 75 out of the registered population of about 700, but it does...
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‘I made friends that that will last a lifetime’: Nunavut youth reflect on boating trips with Ayalik Fund Slugline: LJI-NU-camp
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Audrey Okpakok, 16, from Gjoa Haven went on her second canoe trip through the Ayalik Fund this July. She and the other Nunavummiut took a 11-day voyage with Jackpine Paddle near Yellowknife. “It was so awesome getting to be out there with people, like getting to know people,” Okpakok said. “I made friends that that will last a lifetime.” The girls canoed 10 km every day, which was exhausting, “but worth it,” according to Okpakok. Learning how to swim for the first time was one of the skills Okpakok picked up on her trip. It took her nearly a week to get the hang of it. “It was scary, but it was fun,” Okpakok said. She also learned how to...
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Indigenous turnout remains low in Quebec amid calls for political inclusion
By Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman There are a number of signs scattered along the suburban streets of the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, across the river from Montreal. A few of them have messages that read “Every Child Matters” or “This is Mohawk Land.” Some feature the local language of Kanien’kéha. But election campaign posters or signs are nowhere to be found in Kahnawake, even though a Quebec general election is only a few weeks away. “We don’t want to participate or be involved in (the elections) in any way, nor do we want it to be right in our face,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo. If someone tried to put up a sign, they’re swiftly taken down, said Diabo. Recently, a video of someone tearing down a sign...
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Ontario minister pledges better communication during wildfire season
By Liam Casey Ontario’s natural resources minister has pledged better communication on wildfires going forward. Mike Harris says the province can do a better job talking with communities when forest fires are approaching. First Nations criticized Harris and the government’s response this summer when wildfires ripped through their lands, saying they were either warned late or heard nothing at all. About 200 fires raged in northern Ontario in July, leading to the evacuation of more than a dozen communities, many of them remote First Nations. First Nations leaders have also called for a public inquiry into the province’s response to the wildfires, a request that Harris has not committed to fulfilling. Harris announced today that the province is investing more than $20 million to upgrade two major wildfire attack bases...
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Woman dies after saying NIHB failed to arrange travel
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – On Aug. 19, Miranda Mamakwa of Fort Severn First Nation posted to social media, “If I die, [pls] go after ’em.” On Tuesday, Mamakwa died at the Thunder Bay hospital after missing four follow-up appointments for open-heart surgery she said were not arranged by the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program. The NIHB’s program exists to ensure access to health care, including transportation and accommodation, for First Nation members. There have been multiple concerns raised about the shortcomings of the program this year, including demands from physicians and politicians, and program recipients at recent rallies. According to Mamakwa’s social media as well as the Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority (SLFNHA) and Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), Mamakwa had open-heart surgery...
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Ottawa offers faster access to tax rulings as Carney kicks off investment summit
By Craig Lord Ottawa is tweaking tax policy to make Canada more attractive to international investors just as Prime Minister Mark Carney is welcoming scores of global asset managers to Toronto. The federal government said in a press release Monday that investors putting $1 billion or more into the Canadian economy will now get priority access to a program that offers binding decisions from the Canada Revenue Agency. Through the existing Advance Income Tax Rulings (AITR) program, qualifying investors can get clarity on how income tax law will apply before they commit capital. “When investors are considering major projects, certainty matters,” Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a media statement. “By prioritizing advance tax rulings for investments of $1 billion or more, we are giving them the clarity and predictability...
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Six Nations Police and MTO hold commercial vehicle safety inspections
OHSWEKEN, ON, September 14, 2026 – The Six Nations Police Service (SNPS), with the assistance of the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), are conducting commercial vehicle inspections on vehicles entering the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory today ( Monday, Sept., 14, 2026). SNP said the inspections are being conducted in tandem with SNPS’s back-to-school traffic safety blitz with the aim to help keep local roadways safe for motorists, pedestrians and students. SNP said they are also being conducted in response to community concerns about roadway damage caused by heavy commercial traffic. Inspections will ensure vehicles meet safety requirements and are in proper working condition. SNP said previous inspections have identified a number of safety concerns, including faulty equipment. As a result, commercial vehicle operators have received warnings and, in...
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Unleash bounty of wealth: Lecce
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce addressed a gathering in Thunder Bay on Thursday during the Central Canada Resource Expo at the Projects in the Pipeline conference, minutes after a provincial cabinet shuffle. “I feel like I won the lottery because I’m remaining the minister of energy and mines in this province,” Lecce said. “And we’ve got a lot of work to do.” When the minister last visited Thunder Bay last year, he said he came with a bias of action and a sense of urgency in his voice. “Today it is quite obvious that we are up against the threat of our lives,” he said, adding that within the last generation, there has never been a more real existential challenge...
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Death comes after missed followup care
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal The death of a mother of three young children who was unable to receive “life-saving” followup care in the wake of her open-heart surgery this spring highlights repeated failings of a federal medical-travel program for Indigenous people who live in remote communities, Indigenous officials said this week. According to a joint news release from Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) and the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority, Fort Severn First Nation resident Miranda Mamakwa was unable to travel for medical followups after her surgery on four separate occasions between the end of May and early August. “These appointments were mandatory for her recovery and survival,” the news release said. It wasn’t immediately clear on Friday why Mamakwa’s travel couldn’t be completed. According...
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Carney teases economic activity already spurring from investment summit
By Kathryn Mannie Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has an unprecedented opportunity to build up the economy as global investors descend on Toronto for a high-stakes summit. Hundreds of executives and global asset managers are arriving in Toronto for Canada’s first-ever investment summit to get a look at major projects in various stages of development. The Prime Minister’s Office later released a list of attendees that names a number of Canadian political officials as well as banking, business and industry leaders. Speaking Sunday evening at the Royal Ontario Museum, Carney told Canadian business leaders and politicians that the world is looking at Canada differently, and that Canada should do the same. Carney also teased that a number of deals have already been signed. “We have what the world wants:...
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Indigenous legislation among top issues at Union of B.C. Municipalities convention
By Wolfgang Depner An annual gathering of municipal leaders from across British Columbia opens in Vancouver today with the province’s Indigenous rights legislation high on the agenda, along with housing and public safety, among other topics. The Union of B.C. Municipalities convention runs until Friday and president Cori Ramsay says the future of B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act will be top of mind for many of the nearly 2,000 expected delegates. Ramsay says local governments are highly committed to reconciliation and have been working for years to build relationships with First Nations. But the city councillor from Prince George, B.C., says uncertainty has stemmed from recent court rulings, including a successful challenge by First Nations to B.C.’s mineral tenure system The B.C. Court of Appeal ruled...
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A Christian pastor called Arapaho ceremonies ‘idol worship.’ Now the tribe wants her church gone
By Savannah Peters ARAPAHOE, Wyo. (AP) — Every Sunday morning on the Wind River Reservation, congregants gather at Foundations for Nations Church to pray while protesters outside do the same. The two rituals have unfolded in parallel since the Christian church’s pastor, Sarah Lucas, preached a sermon condemning Arapaho ceremonial ways. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes that share the reservation have made clear that Lucas is no longer welcome. Lucas, who is not Native American but owns the land under her church, says she isn’t going anywhere. The standoff tests the boundaries of religious freedom and the right of a tribal nation to govern according to its own values and protocols. The conflict stems from a video that circulated in July as Arapaho people surfaced from their weeklong...
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Protests planned for Carney’s investment summit in Toronto
By Kathryn Mannie Protests are planned for the prime minister’s high-stakes summit aimed at attracting new investment to Canada, with organizers saying Mark Carney is keeping company with business leaders they say are exacerbating global crises. Hundreds of executives and global asset managers are set to arrive in Toronto for Canada’s first-ever investment summit to get a look at major projects in various stages of development. The summit is a key part of Carney’s plan for stimulating $1 trillion in investment in Canada over the next five years. Demonstrators, including labour unions, Indigenous leaders and climate and housing advocates, will mobilize Monday carrying a banner reading “The Many vs. The Money,” and plan “direct intervention” with attendees. Organizers say they reject Carney’s plan to put Canada’s economic future in the...
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Coast Salish sport of war canoe racing featured in new docuseries Racing Waters
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Vancouver Island, BC – A nine-episode sport docuseries about Indigenous war canoe racing is sure to get kids pumped on canoe pulling. Racing Waters drops on APTN at 8 p.m., Sunday, September 13. The series follows Snuneymuxw First Nation’s Island Brave Canoe Club on and off the water as they compete in elite war canoe and outrigger racing while several paddlers train for the 2025 International Va’a Federation (IVF) World Long Distance Championship in Brazil. IVF is the international governing body for the sport of outrigger canoe and the Tahitian word “Va’a” is the international term for the outrigger canoe. Island Brave, an All-Native team based out of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, are four-time Canadian Outrigger National Champions in men’s division. They...
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Volunteers clear another 20 km of Goat River Trail
By Kevin Gibson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Rocky Mountain Goat Nine Fraser Headwaters Alliance volunteers spent five days clearing approximately 20 km of the upper Goat River Trail in late August. Equipped with chainsaws and brush saws, volunteers Roy Howard, Taylor Bachrach, Al Birnie, Simon Zukowski, Oliver Berger, Rob Mercereau, Bryan Lepine, Ryan Hunt and Keegan Ouest worked from two previously established campsites until the crews connected their cleared sections. The work builds on maintenance completed earlier this summer, when volunteers cleared more than 20 additional kilometres from the trail’s two ends. Participants were flown into the backcountry from the Milk River and Littlefield trailheads and returned on the sixth day. The volunteers came from Dunster, Quesnel, Williams Lake, Dome Creek, McBride, Prince George and Smithers. A new bear-resistant...
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Radio Silence Amid Lowell Reveals Critical Gap In Emergency Plan
By Kevin Dayton And Noelle Fujii-oride/honolulu Civil Beat For years it has been a mantra of emergency preparedness: Officials across the state urge Hawaiʻi residents to keep portable radios and extra batteries on hand whenever storms or other hazards pose a threat. The idea is those radios will convey urgent government warnings and updates when other systems fail. But when Hurricane Lowell battered Kauaʻi this week, electricity went out and radio communications to the public failed across much of the island. That left residents starved for information, such as which roads were safe for travel, where they could access food and aid and whether hospitals or other public facilities were open. Many were literally in the dark. “I felt really isolated for about 24 hours, but there was no electricity,...
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A community of Indigenous characters occupies the imagination in translation of Tiohtiá:ke
By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Balance in his novel Ninan: Tiohtiá:ke, Montreal is important, says author Michel Jean, but it has little to do with being a former journalist or news anchor. It has to do with being Innu. “I see both sides of the fence, and I wanted to tell the story from both sides of the fence. Being a journalist helped me doing the research. But when I write a book, I don’t feel compelled to, or an obligation to, balance the story as we do in a report,” said Jean, whose roots are in Mashteuiatsh in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec. “For me, I don’t exaggerate things. So if something happens in my book…my characters aren’t going to do things that normally in real...
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Northwest Métis land claim poised to return to court after two-decade stay
By Aaron Walker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com A 32-year-old lawsuit asserting Métis title across a vast northern claim area is poised to return to a Saskatchewan courtroom. It revives a legal test of whether Canada could extinguish collective Métis land rights by issuing scrip to individuals. Gerald Morin, one of the original plaintiffs and now an adviser to Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S), told Windspeaker the plaintiffs have applied to lift a stay imposed in 2005. He expects the matter to be before the Court of King’s Bench for Saskatchewan sometime in October. “I can’t tell you how good it feels,” Morin said. It became difficult to hold onto hope that the land claim would move forward and that the underlying land issues would be addressed, he said. “I’m very happy...
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O’Leary Digital appeal adds new front to Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation’s water license challenge
By Aaron Walker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com O’Leary Digital Limited (ODL), the company behind the proposed Wonder Valley data centre complex in northern Alberta, is appealing an Aug. 13 court ruling that barred it from blocking a legal challenge by Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation (SLCN). SLCN has called for a judicial review of a water license granted by the government of Alberta that would authorize the use of up to six million cubic metres of water a year from the Smoky River without consultation with SLCN. The Nation’s lands in Treaty 8 lie near the river where its members exercise and assert their treaty and inherent rights. Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation argues those rights and interests in the watershed could be affected by the water licence granted to the...
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