New Blueberry River First Nations chief outlines goals since election
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The new chief of a northeast B.C. First Nation wants to cater to the needs of the many in her community, not just the few. Sherry Dominic was elected chief of Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) in January after two decades as a councillor beginning in 2006. She told Energeticcity.ca she was unsure about vying for BRFN’s top job, however, her connection with her roots with BRFN and seeing the nation heal after what she described as “turmoil” in the council prompted her to come back. “I grew up there,” said Dominic. “I have lived in different places, but the community was the one that [was] always close to my heart. “For the last six months, I...
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Fort Nelson community forest uses salvageable lumber funds for replanting
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — A joint operation by First Nations and the Northern Rockies community gave an update regarding salvageable lumber within the northeast. The Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) and Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) Community Forest is a joint entity to assist manufacturing companies in the Fort Nelson area, according to its general manager Percy Wright. Wright added it is a 50-50 partnership between both parties. “They received a licence from the provincial government to harvest,” Wright told Energeticcity.ca. “Between the spruce and aspen trees, I believe it was 185,000 cubic metres per year.” Being a community forest with a volume-based licence, it means the company is not allowed to harvest lumber outside a specific area. During the winter of...
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Feds release Musqueam title agreements covering much of greater Vancouver
The federal government has released details of recent agreements with the Musqueam First Nation recognizing Aboriginal title over an area potentially covering much of Greater Vancouver, but it says the agreements do not have any effect on privately owned land. The office of Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Rebecca Alty says in a statement the agreements instead provide “general recognition” of Musqueam Aboriginal rights and title within their territory, while establishing a framework for future negotiations on “how and where those rights and title could apply.” In addition to the 30-page rights recognition agreement, the ministry provided copies of a marine management agreement and fisheries agreement with the band that were all struck last month. The rights agreement says it does not “create, amend, establish, abrogate or derogate” from Musqueam title, and...
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$25M donation to establish new model for tackling homelessness in Toronto
By Kathryn Mannie A philanthropic organization says it’s donating $25 million to establish a new system for tackling homelessness in Toronto that will use an evidence-based approach to move people off the streets and into supportive housing. The Slaight Family Foundation says the money will go to a St. Michael’s Hospital research centre, as well as non-profit United Way Greater Toronto, to establish the Slaight Family Housing Lab — a program that aims to put roofs over people’s heads while providing wraparound services. Dr. Stephen Hwang, director of St. Michael’s Hospital’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, says the new program draws on the centre’s research into the benefits of a housing-first approach. Hwang says the housing lab will work with the City of Toronto to identify open supportive housing...
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EverWind lands more than $240M in financing for N.S. wind and hydrogen projects
By Devin Stevens A wind energy company in Nova Scotia with the backing of local First Nations has secured $240 million in financing to construct onshore wind farms and an associated green hydrogen project that aims to be the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada. Trent Vichie, CEO of EverWind Fuels, said the financing from New York-based investment manager Nuveen Infrastructure Credit will be used to advance work on the first phase of wind turbines that will eventually power a hydrogen and ammonia plant in Richmond County, Cape Breton. Vichie says EverWind has not yet signed up a customer for the hydrogen, but Germany has shown interest in Canadian exports. “We’re excited because it’s an institutional investor, who’s extremely experienced in the space, investing in this Phase 1,” Vichie...
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The Latest: Trump says Iran war could last weeks as Netanyahu defends decision to attack
As the war in the Middle East intensifies, U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. has “the capability to go far longer” than its projected four-to-five-week time frame for its military operations against Iran. Across Tehran, the sound of explosions rang out through the night and into the early hours Tuesday, as the U.S. and Israel have continued to pound Iran since killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday. Tehran and its allies have hit back against Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s production of oil and natural gas. The intensity of the attacks and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences. Israel and the U.S. have given conflicting answers about what exactly the...
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Tens of thousands of people are stranded in the Middle East as Iran war complicates routes home
INTERNATIONAL NEWS- By Stefanie Dazio BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of people, from Romanian religious pilgrims to tourists and diplomats’ family members, are stranded across the Middle East as the Iran war spreads throughout the region. Major airlines have canceled flights to and from the region, and airspace across the Gulf is closed. Some of those who are stuck have been forced to seek shelter amid airstrikes, while others are stuck on cruise ships that currently cannot sail through the Strait of Hormuz. In a major move Monday, the U.S. State Department urged all U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries over the safety risk with the ongoing escalations that have dragged the region into significant chaos. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs...
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Critical minerals in focus as major Toronto mining conference underway
By Ian Bickis The push to accelerate critical minerals development is a key focus at one of the world’s biggest mining conferences in Toronto this week. The Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference, which says it attracts over 27,000 attendees, comes as the push accelerates for countries to secure supplies of key metals like copper, nickel and lithium amid rising global trade tensions. “The industry faces real challenges, serious ones, geopolitical risk. The world is more fragmented than it has been in decades,” Don Lindsay, former CEO of Teck Resources Ltd., said in a keynote speech Monday. “We’re seeing supply chain vulnerability, we’re seeing countries trying to secure critical minerals for themselves. We’re exposed to geopolitical risk like we’ve never been before.” The trends have led politicians to get...
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Alberta Premier Smith hopes failing recall petitions a sign people feel heard
By Jack Farrell Premier Danielle Smith says she hopes failing recall petitions against members of her caucus mean Albertans are feeling heard. Two dozen recall petitions were launched late last year against United Conservative Party legislature members, but so far none have been successful. At least half were confirmed to be unsuccessful as of last week. Most of the petitions were started after Smith’s government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to end a provincewide teachers strike last fall. Smith said Monday she knew the move created “a lot of concern,” but said she believes the results illustrate that concern has subsided. “We made a choice and it is the right of citizens to be able to gather and tell us that they disagree with that,” the premier told reporters in...
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What you need to know about new legislation that could expand First Nations status
By Alessia Passafiume All four opposition parties in the House of Commons are backing legislation to change status rules in the Indian Act to end what is known as the second-generation cutoff. But the Liberals say while they support changes to registration eligibility, more consultations with First Nations are needed before the law is amended. The bill passed second reading in the House of Commons last week and will now go to the House of Commons Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee for further study. First Nations status is a highly complex and personal topic, and changes to the rules on who can claim status will have ripple effects throughout both First Nations communities and individual families with mixed legal standing under the Indian Act. First Nations status under the Indian...
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Brantford Police Nab Driver After Fleeing Scene…Twice
By Alex Murray Writer BRANTFORD, ONT- It may have started out as a seemingly routine traffic stop in Brantford Sunday, March 1, but it quickly escalated when the driver fled the scene, crashed in to a hydro pole and fled again, this time on foot, before being arrested. Brantford Police Service (BPS) said at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, a patrolman pulled a driver over for a traffic stop believing the individual was wanted on outstanding warrants. The woman did stop for the officer initially, but she quickly thought better of it and fled the scene. The BPS did not pursue the vehicle “in the interest of public safety” police said. BPS later found the vehicle had crashed into a hydro pole. The driver fled that scene, this time on foot....
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Membertou’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ feeds people so her heart doesn’t break
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post A woman who says her heart breaks when she thinks of people being hungry has been named the 2026 Citizen of the Year for Membertou First Nation. For over a year, Skye Marie Christmas has been feeding people who – for a variety of reasons – aren’t able to get enough healthy food. And it all started when she began to share her own supper with people she knew would appreciate a meal. The mother of three says she began making a little extra food when she cooked the family meal and giving it away to people she thought might need it. She began to realize that there are a lot more people in her community who could use a...
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Screen all kids between 2 and 10 for high cholesterol, pediatric society recommends
By Nicole Ireland The Canadian Paediatric Society is recommending cholesterol screening for all kids between two and 10 years old. The position statement released Friday says atherosclerosis — or plaque buildup in the arteries, including cholesterol — starts in childhood and is a key driver of heart disease and stroke. Lead author and pediatric cardiologist Dr. Michael Khoury says about one in 300 people have high cholesterol caused by a genetic condition passed down through families. He says universal screening with a blood test will allow doctors to identify the condition early and begin treatment, including diet and physical activity. Khoury says those lifestyle changes aren’t enough for many kids with severely high cholesterol and treatment with medications can begin at age eight. He says treating the condition in childhood...
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Nunavut community should declare state of emergency, visiting mechanic advises
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Two of three water delivery trucks in Gjoa Haven have broken down along with a snow plow truck and a bulldozer crucial to keeping an access road to the water treatment facility open as of Feb. 22. The deteriorating state of the hamlet’s fleet comes over a month into a boil water advisory, issued on Jan. 16, caused by a burst pipe connecting a nearby lake to the water treatment facility. Hamlet officials should have reached out for help from the federal government, according to Shaun Cummins, the manager of infrastructure in Kugluktuk, who was assisting in Gjoa Haven for two weeks. Cummins is a red-seal heavy equipment mechanic and has worked in Kugluktuk for eight years as a foreman,...
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First Nation chiefs say Nova Scotia budget cuts appear targeted at Mi’kmaw programs
By Devin Stevens A group representing the majority of First Nations chiefs in Nova Scotia says the provincial government’s budget cuts appear to be targeting Mi’kmaw-specific programs. Maw-lukutijik Saqmaq, also known as the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, said in a statement Friday that the Progressive Conservative government has cut many programs created to address historic — and persistent — systemic inequalities. The assembly is calling for a government-to-government meeting with Premier Tim Houston. “The Nova Scotia government’s decisions will have drastic impacts on this province,” Eskasoni First Nation Chief Leroy Denny, co-chair of the assembly, said in the statement. “Programs and organizations that, for years, the province and the Mi’kmaq have been partners on, this government decided to claw back or push away from. This is incredibly disappointing.”...
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Mould, asbestos, keep thousands out of Manitoba First Nation after outage
By Brittany Hobson The leader of a First Nation in northern Manitoba that has been dealing with severe water damage, forcing many to leave, says 2,000 people remain displaced due to unhabitable homes. David Monias, chief of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, said mould and exposed asbestos from burst frozen pipes have made hundreds of homes unsafe. More than half the community has been able to return home in the two months since the First Nation 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg suffered a days-long power outage at the end of last year. It led to frozen water systems, sewer backups, electrical issues and burst pipes. Monias said the ones who remain out include members with health issues, elders and families with young children. “You can’t have them return to a situation where...
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N.S. premier will not waive confidentiality so former minister can talk police probes
By Lyndsay Armstrong The premier of Nova Scotia says he won’t allow his former justice minister to reveal cabinet secrets, after she pressed his government about whether there was political interference with the police. Premier Tim Houston heckled former justice minister Becky Druhan in the legislature during question period on Wednesday after she asked if he or someone working on his behalf had ever sought to influence or direct a police investigation or incident response. Although she addressed the question to Justice Minister Scott Armstrong, multiple people present said the premier could be heard heckling as Armstrong responded, saying “she should go out there and say it,” while pointing to the doors of the chamber. Parliamentary rules in Canada allow politicians to speak freely inside the chambers of legislatures, without...
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Wildlife group wants feds out of land management
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun The Manitoba Wildlife Federation is trying to prevent the federal government from gaining control over land-management decisions in Manitoba due to concerns about public access, a senior adviser told the Sun on Friday. The federation put out a call to action on Thursday for the provincial government to create a “Made in Manitoba” solution to manage protected areas and parks in the province. Senior policy adviser Chris Heald said the goal is to keep land-management decisions local to Manitoba, where politicians are more accountable to the public. “If we don’t like the way they’re managing our park system or the protected areas, we have the ability, in four years, to elect a different government,” he said. “With the federal government, it’s...
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The Latest: Iranian-backed militias join fighting as conflict widens and intensifies
AP-Iran and Iranian-backed militias fired missiles at Israel and Arab states, apparently hitting the U.S. Embassy compound in Kuwait, while Israel and the United States pounded targets in Iran as the war expanded Monday with statements of defiance and increasing casualties. In the chaos, the U.S. military said that Kuwait “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles during a combat mission. At least 555 people have been killed in Iran so far by the U.S.-Israeli campaign, the Iranian Red Crescent Society said, and more than 130 cities across the country have come under attack. In Israel, 11 people have been killed, with 31 in Lebanon, according to authorities. Iranian cleric Alireza Arafi, delivering his first public remarks since he was made a member of Iran’s temporary leadership council, said...
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War widens to include Iranian-backed militias as Israeli and American planes pound Iran
By Jon Gambrell, David Rising And Sally Abou Aljoud DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A witness says he saw smoke over a Kuwait neighborhood that home to the U.S. Embassy as Americans had been urged to stay away. Ayman Moawad, an Egyptian worker living near the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, told The Associated Press that he saw smoke over the area on Monday. However, he didn’t know if it was specifically the embassy hit in an ongoing Iranian attack targeting the small Mideast nation. The U.S. earlier issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors. It said: “Do not come to the Embassy,” without elaborating. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran and...
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