Trust of First Nations ‘fragile’ as B.C. government considers changes to UN law
The chief of a First Nation in the Great Bear Rainforest says B.C. Premier David Eby risks losing the trust of Indigenous people and could fuel racism if he changes the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Eby has said amendments may be necessary after a B.C. Appeal Court approved a challenge by a First Nation against B.C.’s mining tenure system that gives effect to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Chris McKnight, the chief councillor of the Kitasoo Xai’xais Nation, sent an open letter to Eby saying the declaration act is a proud symbol of reconciliation for his government and a beacon that says the status quo needs to change. McKnight says changing the act could set off racist narratives about Indigenous Peoples...
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Next step in Kahnawake’s renewables strategy
By Olivier Cadotte, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door Awendio Solaris, a United Kingdom-based solar energy startup, has announced its intention to develop a manufacturing facility and global research and development centre in Montreal East, partnering with Kahnawake and other First Nations to do so. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach and the Wendat Nation are joining the project along with Kahnawake as “investor-partners,” although Kahnawake is not making a monetary contribution to the project. Instead, they will be given “Class A Ordinary Shares,” the most common kind of share issued by companies. “We are a minority partner, which means, by holding these shares, we’re entitled to a portion of the profits. As the company increases in value, we will also receive that increase in value,” said Mohawk Council of...
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Feds fund clean energy push for isolated Inuit in Labrador
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer In remote Inuit communities along Labrador’s northern coast, Ottawa is pushing renewable projects forward where power is currently generated primarily by diesel. The federal government recently announced nearly $22 million for clean energy projects in Labrador. The largest share is for a wind-and-battery system in Nain, a fly-in Inuit community of about 1,200 people at the northernmost end of Nunatsiavut. For their community, the funding represents a key milestone — one that turns a long-planned project into a buildable one, Jamie Hewlett, regional energy manager with the Nunatsiavut government, told Canada’s National Observer. “The project just doesn’t happen without that [federal] support,” Hewlett said. “The fact that we’re so far north — logistics alone make it hard to make a...
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Waterfall part of conservatory oasis
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal After almost two years of closure and undergoing a major revitalization, the Centennial Botanical Conservatory will reopen to the public this weekend for a glimpse of the modernized facility. “It’s the culmination of our dreams,” said Sharon Sidlar, chairwoman of Friends of the Conservatory. “It’s what we’ve been working at for so long. Just to see it open and to be able to go in there and take a look at what has happened is beyond our wildest belief.” Cory Halvorsen, the City of Thunder Bay’s manager of parks and open spaces, explained how the work was completed in the first two phases, with the final outdoor third phase beginning this summer. “When we closed for this phase in February 2024,...
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Six Nations Police net over kilogram of cocaine in bust, two arrested
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND- Six Nations Police (SNP) have charged a man and woman from Ohsweken after a drug bust netted more than a kilogram of cocaine and $320,000 in cash from a local home. The SNP drug enforcement unit raided a Seneca Road house Wednesday, Dec., 17, 2025, after spending four months building a case to secure search warrants. Police found a firearm with bulk ammunition, 1.27 kilograms of cocaine, digital scales, drug packaging materials, cellphones and about $30,000 in Canadian currency. Charged with the following criminal offences were : Kenneth Brian Elliott, 51, of Ohsweken is facing charges including: • Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking – Cocaine • Proceeds of Crime Over $5,000 • Firearm: Unauthorized Possession • Firearm: Knowledge of Unauthorized Possession • Firearm, Weapon,...
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Kansas tribe ends nearly $30 million deal with ICE
By Heather Hollingsworth And Joshua Goodman A Kansas tribe said it has walked away from a nearly $30 million federal contract to come up with preliminary designs for immigrant detention centers after facing a wave of online criticism. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation ‘s announcement Wednesday night came just over a week after the economic development leaders who brokered the deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were fired. With some Native Americans swept up and detained in recent ICE raids, the deal was derided online as “disgusting” and “cruel.” Many in Indian Country also questioned how a tribe whose own ancestors were uprooted two centuries ago from the Great Lakes region and corralled on a reservation south of Topeka could participate in the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. Tribal...
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Musqueam chief says talks may be way out of Cowichan Aboriginal title dispute
By Nono Shen The chief of the Musqueam Indian Band says the nation is ready to go to the Supreme Court of Canada as it fights the landmark Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling — but he also see another way out of the dispute that he says has triggered an outpouring of racism. Asked if he’s open to negotiations with the provincial government, private land owners and the Cowichan tribes, Chief Wayne Sparrow says the band is “willing to sit down and have discussions.” Sparrow says that since the Aug. 7 ruling, the Musqueam have had no communications with the Cowichan, whose claim over the 300-hectare title area on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., was disputed by his First Nation, as well as the province and the City of...
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Church repatriates sacred rock covered with petroglyphs after 14-year effort
TREMONTON, Utah (AP) — A large rock bearing petroglyphs created more than 1,000 years ago by the ancestors of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation is finally back home in the mountains of northern Utah. The repatriation effort, which began in 2011, culminated earlier this month when the sacred rock was airlifted to its original location after being freed from a concrete slab in front of a church meetinghouse in the community of Tremonton, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Salt Lake City. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement Wednesday that historians and conservators working on its behalf partnered with the tribe and the state to carefully remove and clean the 2,500-pound (1,134-kilogram) rock. The process involved saws, chisels and eventually soap...
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N.S. premier says fentanyl found in illegal cannabis, police say that’s false
By Lyndsay Armstrong The Nova Scotia RCMP and Halifax police both say no fentanyl has been found in illegal cannabis tested in the province, despite the premier’s claim to the contrary. Premier Tim Houston said last week he had directed police to ramp up cannabis enforcement because of the public health risk, saying he was aware of unregulated cannabis “laced with traces of fentanyl.” Houston said people in law enforcement had told him trace amounts of the opioid were found in cannabis that was tested from an illegal dispensary. But the province’s two largest police agencies say they have no record of those alleged test results. A Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson said they rely on Health Canada to test seized cannabis, and they are not aware of any fentanyl having...
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New $45M investment fund to stimulate economic growth for First Nations, Inuit in Quebec
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com First Nations Venture Capital of Québec (FNVCQ) has announced the creation of a new investment fund by and for First Nations and Inuit peoples. The organization described the $45 million fund as a “decisive step toward real economic self-determination.” “For too long, our economic participation has been limited by structures that didn’t reflect our realities,” said FNVCQ chief executive officer Haskan Sioui in the press release. “Today, we assert our right to choose, invest and develop autonomously according to our priorities. This is our way of reconciling prosperity and identity, as well as performance and responsibility.” Since the organization’s founding in 2002, the FNVCQ has deployed more than $18 million to 40 companies throughout First Nations and Inuit in Quebec. Sioui said...
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Métis Nation reinstates president after ‘much consideration and clarification’
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca SURREY, B.C. — The Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) board of directors has reinstated its president following an investigation. According to a press release on Monday, December 15th, Walter Mineault was reinstated as MNBC president, in a move the board says it made after “much consideration and clarification of the MNBC constitution.” The statement reads the board will now “work together with president Mineault to strengthen the Nation.” Mineault was suspended earlier this year following allegations of “behaviour inconsistent with the organization’s policies,” but MNBC declined to provide further details. In the interim, Melanie Allard was named president. Several Métis groups showed solidarity with Mineault, including the Fort St. John Métis Society and Chetwynd’s Moccasin Flats Métis Society. The release says the...
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Fort Nelson First Nation donates $100K for hospital CT scanner
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Fort Nelson Hospital and Healthcare Foundation got a big boost for its goal of a CT scanner at the hospital in the city. The organization announced a $100,000 donation from Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) as confirmed in a Facebook post on December 10th. A CT scanner is a medical imager which uses x-ray technology to create detailed images of the body. The estimated cost for the project in the hospital is scheduled to be $8.2 million, according to the foundation’s website. Currently, Fort Nelson General Hospital has a medical imaging department, but no CT scanner, something Northern Health told Energeticcity.ca is needed in the community “to support clinical teams and the community.” “Northern Health is currently...
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Musqueam ‘not coming for anyone’s private property’ in appealing Cowichan decision
A British Columbia First Nation appealing the landmark Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title ruling says that it will not be “coming for anyone’s private property” if it wins. Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow says in a statement that it is appealing the August decision by the B.C. Supreme Court to defend its traditional territory and fishing rights. Sparrow says the appeal does not involve the Musqueam claiming private property or fee simple land, and the nation would rather negotiate “settlement and relationship agreements that benefit all parties.” The statement comes after the Aug. 7 decision confirmed the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title over roughly 300 hectares of land on the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., in what the Musqueam calls part of its own traditional unceded territory. The ruling, which says...
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Ontario, Ottawa agree to speed up project approvals, including Ring of Fire mining
By David Baxter Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have signed an agreement to speed up the approval of major projects in the province under a “one project, one process, one decision” model. This approach means that projects that would have been subject to environmental assessments at both the federal and provincial levels will now go through Ontario’s process alone when the project is located primarily within the province. “It’s time for Canada to build big things again. And nowhere will the impact of this deal be felt more immediately than in the development of the Ring of Fire,” Ford told a Thursday press conference in Ottawa. Carney said projects will use the federal process when Ottawa has primary jurisdiction and a mixed assessment system when they...
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Sex offender apologizes to court before sentencing
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince George Citizen The 47-year-old Prince George man guilty of having sex with a girl under age 16 at his basement suite more than five years ago apologized before a judge near the end of his sentencing hearing on Dec. 17. Joseph Alexander Child told BC Supreme Court Justice Michael Stephens that he has full remorse and empathy for all involved. “I don’t know how to show it or put it into words, not a day goes by that I don’t think or wish that I could turn back the clock and make a choice to go left instead of right,” Child said. “This has affected the complainant, her family, friends, etc., as well as my family, my friends and the courts.” A...
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Consultation period set to begin with high-speed rail project
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase As Transport Canada moves forward with the initial segment in Canada’s first high-speed rail network, the Mohawk Councils of Kahnawake and Kanesatake are asking for clarity on how the project will impact their communities. Overall, Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo remains optimistic about the project, noting that the MCK has a strong pre-existing relationship with Alto. “We were a little bit concerned, I’ll say, in terms of Canada’s approach by referring them to the Major Projects Office (MPO),” Diabo said. The project was announced by Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon and Managing Director of Alto Martin Imbleau last Friday. The 200-kilometer stretch between Ottawa and Montreal was selected as to be the first segment in the much larger Toronto-to-Quebec...
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New hospital layout will allow diagnostics for thousands: officials
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com GERALDTON — A slate of services expected to come to a hospital in the region will allow residents to access more care closer to home. That’s according to health care and political leaders in Greenstone, after a recent announcement that the Geraldton District Hospital received up to half a million dollars from the Ontario government toward early-stage planning for a major reconfiguration of its main floor. “We’re able to serve people at home, by people from the area, so people don’t have to travel on the highways,” hospital CEO Darryl Galusha said. “They don’t have to fight the winter weather, they don’t have to dodge moose in the middle of the night getting to a CT scan or coming home.” “I’ve always...
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Candidates set for Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization election in Cambridge Bay
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Elections for the Ekaluktutiak Hunters and Trappers Organization (HTO) chairperson and board of directors are being held on Jan. 22, and the list of candidates has been finalized. Running for chairperson are Monica Angohiatok, James Panioyak and Vivienne Aknavigak. For the two board of directors positions, the candidates are Roland Emingak, Dennis Kaomayok, Mercy Panegyuk, Howard Greenley, Micheal Jancke and Ivor Maksagak. Candidates are required to have lived in the community for over a year and be a resident. An advanced mobile voting opportunity is being held on Jan. 13. All Inuit residents of a community are eligible to become members of the Ekaluktutiak HTO, and only members can vote. William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News/LJI is...
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Feds, Ontario to sign deal reducing regulatory burden on Ring of Fire, other projects
By Liam Casey and Allison Jones Ottawa and Ontario are set to finalize a deal Thursday that will reduce the regulatory burden on large projects, including the road to the Ring of Fire, The Canadian Press has learned. Provincial and federal government sources who are not allowed to speak publicly say Ottawa has agreed to eliminate any duplicative work on its impact assessments on large projects. A draft agreement posted on the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s website says the goal is to work together to implement the “One Project, One Review and One Decision” approach. Ontario Premier Doug Ford was asked if this would be the final piece of the puzzle in order to begin building the roads to the Ring of Fire next year. “I believe so,” he...
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Toronto Police asking for help in identifying man with Island roots
By Jacqueline St. Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Manitoulin Expositor TORONTO—He was found where the city loosens its grip—near the Don River and Queen Street East—on July 26, 2002. No wallet. No papers. No one pacing the shoreline asking questions. Toronto Police say foul play was not suspected. Just a man, unnamed, carried out of the water and filed into a system that is very good at holding onto bodies and very bad at holding onto stories. Twenty-three years later, that man still has no name. But the story has begun to speak. Through Investigative Genetic Genealogy, Toronto Police have learned that most of his ancestry is Indigenous, rooted in Manitoulin Island and the Algoma region, braided with French and Acadian lines. Two-thirds Indigenous. One-third European. A familiar map to many families here. His DNA shares...
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