Wasauksing to create mobile nursing unit with support from Ontario
By Shania Tabobondung, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Parry Sound North Star Indigenous communities along the Highway 69 corridor are expected to see improved access to primary care services following a new provincial investment announced Friday. Shawanaga, Wasauksing, Magnetawan and Henvey Inlet are some of the communities that will benefit from expanded health services supported by new funding to Wasauksing First Nation’s Health Department. On April 17, Wasauksing Chief Councillor Elizabeth Taylor joined Ontario MPP Graydon Smith in Gravenhurst to announce an investment of $615,900, to support an expanded nurse practitioner program aimed at connecting 656 patients with essential health-care services. Taylor said the investment will fund a mobile health unit lead by Wasauksing’s health department, allowing nurse practitioners to reach neighbouring communities that currently face barriers to care. Wasauksing Chief...
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B.C. to table suspension of Indigenous law on Monday, First Nations sources say
By Alessia Passafiume and Wolfgang Depner First Nations sources say British Columbia Premier David Eby’s government will introduce legislation to suspend parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act on Monday. Independent First Nations sources tell The Canadian Press that the bill that has been vehemently opposed by many Indigenous leaders will seek to suspend the core elements of DRIPA for one year. Eby has said a recent court decision on B.C.’s mineral claims regime that cited DRIPA puts the province at serious litigation risk. His government, with just a single-seat majority, has struggled to find a course that satisfies First Nations leaders, who rejected an initial plan to amend DRIPA, then dismissed the idea to suspend the law to give the Supreme Court of Canada time...
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Carney pledges regular updates on pivot from U.S. and to ‘never sugar-coat’ issues
By Dylan Robertson Prime Minister Mark Carney says he plans to regularly update Canadians with a frank assessment of efforts to diversify away from the U.S. “I promise you, I will never sugar-coat our challenges,” Carney said in a 10-minute video posted Sunday morning to YouTube. “I will talk with you directly and regularly about our plan — why we’re doing what we’re doing, what’s working, what isn’t.” Carney doubled down on moves to deepen economic and defence ties with allies other than the U.S. “Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses — weaknesses that we must correct,” he said. Carney argued it would be wrong to try waiting for “the good old days” of co-operation with the U.S., saying Ottawa...
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First Nations say Eby backs down again on B.C. Indigenous law
By Alessia Passafiume and Wolfgang Depner Two First Nations leadership sources say British Columbia Premier David Eby is backing down again on the suspension of key parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, scrapping plans to table legislation on Monday. One of the sources says the suspension bill — which was already delayed last week — won’t be tabled this legislative session, as a result of planned protests by First Nations. The latest plan to table the suspension on Monday lasted just a few hours after it emerged Sunday, and was immediately repudiated by First Nations leaders who have also opposed previous plans to amend DRIPA instead. Eby has said a recent court decision on B.C.’s mineral claims regime that cited DRIPA puts the province at...
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First Nations say Eby backs down again, now seeks joint path on B.C. Indigenous law
By Alessia Passafiume and Wolfgang Depner British Columbia Premier David Eby has backed down again on the pausing of key parts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, scrapping plans to table a suspension bill this legislative session. The premier’s office says in a brief statement that it “can confirm that the government will not be introducing legislation on DRIPA during this session.” Instead, it says Eby will hold a press conference Monday to outline next steps. A draft document provided by a First Nations source says the government now hopes to work with First Nations to come up with a joint approach to DRIPA, under a framework for negotiations. Eby met with First Nations leaders late Sunday afternoon, one of whom says the suspension law was...
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Brandon 911 dispatcher reflects on 14 years as “lifeline” for callers
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun A Manitoba emergency dispatcher says a frightening 911 call as a teenager set her on a path to becoming a steady voice for others in crisis. Tyne Carmichael, now a system status controller at the Medical Transportation Coordination Centre (MTCC) in Brandon, still recalls the fear she felt when she called for help at age 18. “I think about that day often and how that call felt,” Carmichael said in a release from Shared Health. “Now, as the voice on the other end of the phone, I have the opportunity to help others with the same compassion that was shown to me.” Carmichael has worked at the MTCC for 14 years, helping coordinate emergency medical responses across Manitoba outside Winnipeg. The...
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Gov. Gen. Mary Simon at United Nations to talk Indigenous rights
By Alessia Passafiume Gov. Gen. Mary Simon speaks during Canada Day celebrations at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and other Indigenous leaders are heading to the United Nations on Monday to stress the importance of its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The forum comes as the use of the declaration in Canada has come under fire and after some governments have attempted to water down its application following court rulings that cited it. An advisory from Simon’s office says her opening remarks will “underscore our country’s enduring commitment to reconciliation and the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” The notice also says Simon will meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres...
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Kahnawake Council presses on Seaway compensation
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door When prime minister Mark Carney launched the Major Projects Office under the Building Canada Act, the St. Lawrence Seaway was held up as an example of a Canada that built ambitious projects at a speed not seen in generations, with an urgency he said the country needs to recapture. This building spree has been pitched as an economic necessity at a time of fraught Canada-US relations, but for Kahnawa’kehró:non who still mourn the loss of connection to the St. Lawrence River, the message is an alarming one. “That whole thing with the campaign, citing the St. Lawrence Seaway as a prime example of how we want to move – that’s tone deaf,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Ross...
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Kanesatake creating new local foster care families list to keep children in the community
By Hadassah Alencar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door The Kanesatake Health Center (KHC) is creating an official list of Kanehsata’kehró:non foster care families in the community in an effort to keep children who are removed from their families within the community. This first-time initiative of making a list for Youth Protection (DPJ) is meant to reduce the trauma of children who undergo the difficult circumstance of living apart from their families. It is also meant to encourage more families in the community to foster care, said Emilie Boucher Gauthier, a social worker at the KHC. “We want to involve the community in facing this sad reality: we need foster families in the territory,” said Gauthier. Foster children who are placed with families outside their communities find themselves in...
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Education Council honours Kanesatake’s Linda Simon
By Fern Marmont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door The First Nations Education Council (FNEC) marked its 40th anniversary by honouring key figures who helped transform Indigenous education, including longtime educator and advocate Linda Simon. Simon, married to late grand chief Clarence Simon, died on September 28, 2023. But on Monday, at the FNEC’s headquarters, her legacy was honoured with a ceremony unveiling newly named meeting rooms dedicated to her and three other influential members: John Martin, Eddie Cross, and Raymond Sioui. Family members were invited to be part of the ceremony, which was the final event in a yearlong celebration of the FNEC’s decades of work. “All my mother’s hard work was being recognized in a special way with a plaque mounted on an office door, dedicated to...
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SaskPower plans outage for northern Sask. communities
By Nicole Goldsworthy, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SASKTODAY.ca LA RONGE — SaskPower says a planned power outage will affect a wide swath of northern communities later this month as crews carry out system improvements. The outage is scheduled for April 26, beginning at 5 a.m. and ending at approximately 1 p.m., for a total of eight hours. Communities expected to be affected include Spruce Home, Meath Park, Weirdale, Paddockwood, Little Red, Wahpeton and Hall Lake First Nations, Christopher Lake, Emma Lake, Candle Lake, Narrow Hills Provincial Park, Montreal Lake, La Ronge, Stanley Mission and Grandmothers Bay. Rural areas north and northeast of Prince Albert, extending to Anglin Lake, Little Bear Lake and continuing north to La Ronge and Hall Lake First Nation, will also be impacted. SaskPower said the outage...
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‘Leah carried a deep love for her family’: Mother of 2 mourned at Winnipeg vigil
By Crystal Greene, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Content warning: This story includes details about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two Spirit people (MMIWG2S+). Please read with care for your spirit. About 150 people attended a vigil last Saturday for Leah Faye Keeper in Winnipeg, held in a backlane near where the missing Anishinaabe woman’s partial remains were found five months ago. Attendees offered tobacco and flowers into a sacred fire lit there in memory of the 32-year-old mother of two, who police identified last week from DNA tests. Keeper, from Sagkeeng First Nation, was last seen in the city’s North End nearly three years ago, leaving behind daughters who are now eight and 13. The vigil, held by a backlane garage on the 600-block between Selkirk and...
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‘Gravy plane’: Ontario buys used $28.9-million jet for Premier Doug Ford
By Liam Casey Ontario taxpayers are footing the bill for a $29-million private jet for Premier Doug Ford’s use, a purchase critics say is a waste of money. The premier’s office said the province bought a used 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 jet for $28.9 million. It will operate out of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The plane is expected to be operational by the end of July, Ford’s office said. “As part of the job of being premier of Ontario, there is extensive travel within Ontario, a province twice the land mass of Texas,” Ford’s office wrote in a statement. “This is in addition to travel across Canada for Council of the Federation and first ministers’ meetings, which have increased in frequency, as well as travel to the United States to...
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First Nations chiefs call for inquiry into RCMP after CBC report on surveillance
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations leaders called on the RCMP to apologize and demanded a federal inquiry Thursday after CBC reported the police service spied on Indigenous political leaders in the 1960s and beyond. CBC Indigenous uncovered some 6,000 pages of internal RCMP documents that indicate the RCMP was monitoring Indigenous political activity as early as 1968. The CBC report said police targeted future national chiefs Noel Starblanket, David Ahenakew, Georges Erasmus and Phil Fontaine. CBC Indigenous reported that Ovide Mercredi, who also went on to serve as national chief, was mentioned in the files. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said the RCMP should apologize directly to community members, on their own territories, by the end of the year for the “Native extremism” program. “What we have...
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Manitoba premier visits flood-prone Peguis First Nation, fills sandbags
By Steve Lambert Manitoba’s premier donned a Toronto Blue Jays hat and a safety vest Thursday to pack sandbags and meet volunteers in a community bracing yet again for a fight against flooding. “It really is a race to try and protect the homes in this community,” Wab Kinew told reporters at Peguis First Nation, north of Winnipeg. “It’s clear that the community has rallied together, and so the whole province wants to support that effort and protect homes and the people here.” The First Nation is trying to mitigate potentially disastrous water damage from the rising Fisher River. Kinew took part in a drum song and toured the community’s multiplex, which is being prepped as an evacuation centre. He worked alongside volunteers to make sandbags, shovelling sand into white...
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Canada urgently needs a civilian defence strategy — before the next crisis forces one
By William Michael Carter On April 9, 1917, my great-grandfather, A. Harold Carter, was a 16-year-old underage Canadian Expeditionary Force soldier from the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 8th Brigade, 3rd Division. At 5:30 am, he went over the trench at Vimy Ridge. He was a scrawny, 5’4″ kid from London, Ont., who defied his mother and signed up two years earlier at age 14. He survived. Almost 109 years after the war that was to end all wars, Canada must once again consider training its citizens, as it did my great-grandfather, for a potential global conflict. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first mandate letter in May 2025, a month after his election, clearly prioritized Canada’s industrial, military and civilian global sovereignty as a key pillar of his new government. His first...
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Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is recruiting far and wide
By Maya Ekman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWOnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is expanding its recruitment missions across Ontario and Manitoba to meet its mandate of 80 new officers per year, and the next stop is the Fort William First Nation career fair on April 25. NAPS became the first First Nation police service to join the province’s Community Safety and Policing Act (CSPA) in 2024, which has allowed them to secure the funding needed to expand recruitment. According to recruitment constable, Mason Morriseau, NAPS recruitment officers will be travelling more throughout the coming months. The strategy, he says, is to attend as many events and to be as public as possible. “We believe having a face-to-face, in-person impact is more meaningful than obviously having an...
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Nugent sentenced to 9 years for manslaughter
By Carrie Ivardi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Before a packed courtroom on Wednesday, Brady Nugent was sentenced to nine years in prison for taking the life of Tyler Blouin on May 5, 2024. In her decision Justice Claudia Belda emphasized the devastating loss to Blouin’s family. She said the victim leaves behind two young sons and a family that loved him. The incident took place in the area of Camelot and St. Paul streets around 2:30 a.m. on May 5, 2024. Belda, who reviewed the facts of the case that were heard during the sentencing hearing on April 2, said that in balancing the mitigating versus the aggravating factors, the scale had to be weighted towards severity. Brady Nugent pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Aug. 6,...
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‘Gravy plane’: Ontario buys used $28.9-million jet for Premier Doug Ford
By Liam Casey Ontario taxpayers are footing the bill for a $29-million private jet for Premier Doug Ford’s use, a purchase opposition leaders say is a waste of money. The premier’s office said the province bought a used 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 jet for $28.9 million. It will operate out of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The plane is expected to be operational by the end of July, Ford’s office said. “As part of the job of being premier of Ontario, there is extensive travel within Ontario, a province twice the land mass of Texas,” Ford’s office wrote in a statement. “This is in addition to travel across Canada for Council of the Federation and first ministers’ meetings, which have increased in frequency, as well as travel to the United States...
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Suspect enters new guilty plea in the case of missing Navajo grandmother Ella Mae Begay
By Savannah Peters And Jacques Billeaud PHOENIX (AP) — A man charged in the disappearance of a Navajo grandmother whose case has highlighted the crisis of violence against Native Americans pleaded guilty Thursday to robbery as part of a second agreement reached with prosecutors. Preston Henry Tolth, 26, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in federal prison, with credit for three years already served, under the conditions of the proposed agreement. U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes asked Tolth during a hearing in Phoenix if he was entering the plea because he was, in fact, guilty. “Yes, your honor,” Tolth said. Ella Mae Begay was 62 when she vanished in 2021 from Sweetwater, Arizona, a community in the northern part of the Navajo Nation where she spent her...
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