Three people injured after helicopter crashed into N.W.T. lake: RCMP
RCMP in the Northwest Territories say three people were injured after a helicopter crashed into a northern lake. Police say they received a call about the crash on Sunday afternoon near Gameti, a First Nation located about 375 kilometres northwest of Yellowknife. Police say the three people aboard the helicopter were found nearly three hours after the crash and taken to a health centre with minor injuries. RCMP say local officials and residents helped in the search for the people. Investigators didn’t provide details on what caused the crash. They say it’s been referred to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada for investigation. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026. ...
Register
Repeated evacuations strain mental health in Northern Ontario
By Jon Thompson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ricochet Nova Moonias is only two weeks old but she has already flown home to Neskantaga First Nation following an evacuation, and five days later, she was evacuated again. Nova’s mother Wanita was living in a Toronto hotel in July, after fleeing forest fires that threatened the northwestern Ontario fly-in community. The baby was expected on August 12, but medical professionals induced labour on July 28 so mother and child could fly back north with their family and neighbours. The three-day-old became a symbol of hope in that moment; Neskantaga’s evacuees were returning home with one more member than had left. Five days later, following a sewage leak, Nova had to fly out again, and leaders say that short-lived hope has given way...
Register
Brantford now has Blue Emergency Phones in Downtown Core
BRANTFORD, ONT-Brantford is enhancing community safety in the downtown area by installing two code blue emergency phones in Harmony Square at 89 Dalhousie Street. In a press release, the City of Brantford said this would improve access to emergency assistance and strengthen public safety. Code Blue phones provide an immediate connection to emergency services, which allows residents to report medical emergencies, public safety concerns, and unlawful activity more quickly. The emergency phones will work through the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) system already in place at Harmony Square. They also support the planned expansion of the downtown security infrastructure. Brandon Partridge, Supervisor of Surveillance for the City of Brantford, said the phones will make it easier for people to access help right when they need it. “Whether someone is experiencing a medical...
Register
More orcas coming to Nunavut waters due to declining sea ice: researcher
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Around 200 killer whales are migrating through waters near Arctic Bay, and those numbers are increasing, according to Department of Fisheries and Oceans researcher Cory Matthews. The whales, also called orcas, don’t all come at the same time. But the predators eat beluga, narwhal, bowhead whales, hurting the hunting opportunities for the local community. Matthews has been going to Admiralty Inlet to study killer whales and their impact on the environment since 2009, and he planned to return during the first week of August. Working with the Ikajutit Hunters and Trappers Association (HTA), researchers shoot tracking beacons using crossbows onto the orcas. “If we can find people who are interested in coming back year after year, and train them up...
Register
Battle for the Bay – Cree Nation Jr Trappers capture national championship
By Jamie Pashagumskum, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation In a stunning come-from-behind victory, the Cree Nation Jr Trappers defeated the Moose Cree Scrappers 4-3 in overtime to secure their first-ever national title at the National Indigenous Junior Hockey Championships held in Toronto July 16-19. In a gold medal game dubbed “The Battle for the Bay”, the two Cree teams from opposite coasts of James Bay left it all on the ice. The Jr Trappers faced off against a stacked Moose Cree team that included tournament MVP Sam McCue, a 7th-round draft pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2024. “Everyone was gunning for us, and we knew it was going to happen,” said Moose Cree coach Jordan Cheechoo. The defending champion Scrappers opening the scoring with an unassisted goal...
Register
A Cree Ambassador – Esquay Masty shines at Miss Indigenous Canada pageant
By Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation Waswanipi’s Esquay Masty proudly represented Eeyou Istchee at the third annual Miss Indigenous Canada pageant, hosted July 24 by Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Ontario. While the title was ultimately won by Brooke Metchewais from Cold Lake First Nation, Masty achieved a place in the prestigious top five. The five-day program was filled with workshops, cultural tours, formal dinners and other activities supporting the development of community leaders. During the final showcase, Masty’s eloquence spotlighted her ability to be an ambassador for Indigenous youth across the country. “You do not need to be on Chief and Council to be a leader,” asserted Masty in her semi-final speech. “You are already a leader. For me, leadership is not going...
Register
Crowning Highlight – Mamoweedow concert honours the return of Kashtin to Chisasibi
By Natalia Fedosieieva, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Nation Hundreds gathered in Chisasibi’s Jobs Memorial Gardens July 19 for what many described as celebration of Indigenous unity. The Mamoweedow Committee hosted an Innu concert featuring legendary duo Kashtin alongside Bryan André, Ninan, Scott Pien-Picard and Maten. According to Mamoweedow president James Napash, this family-friendly gathering brought people together “to share that feeling of a renewed spirit where we enjoy games and activities.” The annual Mamoweedow event attracts visitors from across Eeyou Istchee and beyond. Although rooted in Cree tradition, Napash emphasized the gathering welcomes everyone. “We had visitors coming in from the States,” he said. “They made a trip to the North, and they came all the way by motorcycles. There are always visitors from anywhere and everywhere.” Napash said...
Register
Alex Janvier’s art surrounds audiences in immersive film
By Chantel Downes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeland This Week Soul Symphony: The Art of Alex Janvier was celebrated with a special launch at the Cold Lake Energy Centre on July 31. The event included film screenings inside a 36-foot dome, presentations, traditional drumming, and prayers. The 23-minute film featured Janvier’s artwork and stories, along with perspectives from his family, Cold Lake First Nations Elders and art experts. Janvier Gallery began working with Montreal-based Lucion Media on the project after being approached with the idea in 2020. Written and directed by Bernard Duguay, the film took five years to develop and used digital projection and sound to create an immersive presentation of Janvier’s art. Dean Janvier, the eldest son of the late artist, spoke about the traditional drumming that was...
Register
Canadian military on standby to help as B.C. wildfire losses mount and thousands flee
By Brenna Owen The Canadian Armed Forces are on standby to help the wildfire situation that deteriorated rapidly over the weekend in British Columbia’s Okanagan region, where one person has died, thousands have been evacuated and there’s been extensive property destruction. Defence Minister David McGuinty says B.C. sent a request for assistance to Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski over the weekend, and she approved federal help with shelter and accommodation. McGuinty says that while the province hasn’t formally asked for military help, the Canadian Armed Forces are in “direct, constant contact” with the B.C. government and Ottawa. He says the military is ready the moment it receives a formal request to act, and the situation was being assessed “hour by hour.” Areas around Okanagan Lake have been devastated by the...
Register
Teenager Charged with Assault at Hagersville Business
HALDIMAND COUNTY, ON – A teenager has been charged with assault after Haldimand County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrested a person at a local business. OPP said they received a report of an assault at a Main Street North business Friday, July 31, 2026, at about 11:00 p.m., . OPP said two unknown individuals entered the business and one of the individuals, assaulted a person inside the store. A 14-year-old individual from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation is charged with the following Criminal Code offences; Mischief – obstructs, interrupts or interferes with the lawful use, enjoyment or operation of property Assault The youth’s identity is protected under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Haldimand County OPP would like to thank the public and the media for...
Register
Canadian military on standby to help as B.C. wildfire losses mount and thousands flee
By Brenna Owen The Canadian Armed Forces are on standby to help the wildfire situation that deteriorated rapidly over the weekend in British Columbia’s Okanagan region, where one person has died, thousands have been evacuated and there’s been extensive property destruction. Defence Minister David McGuinty said B.C. sent a request for assistance to Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski over the weekend, and she approved federal help with shelter and accommodation. McGuinty said on Monday that while the province had not formally asked for military help, the Canadian Armed Forces were in “direct, constant contact” with the B.C. government and Ottawa. He said the military was ready the moment it received a formal request to act, and the situation was being assessed “hour by hour.” Areas around Okanagan Lake were devastated...
Register
Proposed women-only taxi service in Iqaluit holding first meeting
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Rosalie DeMaio wants women to feel safe when travelling in Iqaluit. That hasn’t always been her experience when taking a taxi. “I’d be getting a ride home and they’d purposely go the wrong direction, and I’d have to tell them multiple times ‘Just take me home. I know this isn’t the right way’ or another experience is I’m just waiting to get driven home, and they’re like, ‘Hey, baby girl, how are you?’ And I’m like, ‘No, don’t, don’t talk to me like that,’” DeMaio said. She has also had taxi drivers in Iqaluit ask her to get in their vehicle, and when she declines, they follow her by driving in reverse, she said. In February, DeMaio applied for funding...
Register
Watchdog for $46 billion tribal gambling industry can’t enforce the law without a chairperson
By Savannah Peters ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — On opening day at the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma’s new Harrah’s-branded casino, the tribe’s chairman watched customers pack the gambling floor while a queue of cars spilled out of the parking lot. “We couldn’t let them in because we were so full,” Chairman Jacob Keyes said. “That’s a direct impact from the Harrah’s name.” But a vacancy in Washington is preventing the tribe’s partnership with the gambling giant from moving beyond branding. Plans for Harrah’s parent company to take over day-to-day management of the casino in Chandler, Oklahoma, stalled after it opened in April, because no one is at the helm of the federal commission that oversees tribal gambling. The last chairperson of the National Indian Gaming Commission stepped down from the role...
Register
Indigenous Bar Association, MMIWG advocates glad coercion laws coming
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Reforms to Canada’s Criminal Code that could have some positive influence on intimate partner violence came into effect on July 18. One of the most significant changes is the criminalization of the act of coercion in a relationship – still yet to be enacted. While most of the reforms are now in law, the coercion reform will come into effect at a later date after proper training has been undertaken by law enforcement agencies and court officers. The government has up to two years to make this law. Three pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening current legislation were recently passed in Canadian Parliament: The Combatting Hate Act; the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act; and the Protecting Victims Act. An announcement...
Register
More Than 200 Posters Honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous People at Edmonton Awareness Event
By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News More than 200 posters honouring missing and murdered Indigenous people lined the fence at Empire Park near Southgate Mall in Edmonton as community members gathered for a day of remembrance, awareness, and education. The grassroots event was organized by Treaty 6 First Nation member Lee Dreaver, who created the gathering to bring attention to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+). The event took place on June 30 from noon until 7 p.m. at Empire Park by Southgate Mall. Throughout the day, participants gathered every hour to sing songs in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous people. More than 200 posters were displayed along the baseball field fence, featuring individuals whose stories continue...
Register
Evacuations underway as new Okanagan, B.C., wildfire explodes in size
Evacuations are underway around Summerland, B.C., after a new wildfire west of Okanagan Lake exploded in size. Social media videos appeared to show multiple houses and other structures on fire in Faulder, west of Summerland, where residents posted that chunks of ash were falling. Erick Thompson with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen’s emergency operations centre said the fire was first detected at 5:30 p.m. Friday, but grew to 50 square kilometres in about three hours. He said the fire posed an immediate threat and those in the evacuation zone from Summerland north towards Peachland needed to get out in the face of one of the “quickest-moving, fastest-growing” fires the area had seen. Thompson said in a video briefing that the fire was showing aggressive rank-five behaviour, meaning that it had...
Register
2,000 kilometres, 1,000 tonnes of trash: Quebec group leads 16-day shoreline cleanup
By Morgan Lowrie As a marine biologist, Lyne Morissette grew tired of the “doom and gloom” of passively describing the impact of pollution on whales, turtles, and the rest of the wildlife inhabiting the St. Lawrence River. So, about eight years ago, she co-created an initiative with the modest goal of collecting 10 tonnes of trash along the shorelines of the river and seaway. This year, Morissette and a bus full of scientists, divers and volunteers are spending 16 days travelling some 2,000 kilometres up and down the river, where they’re teaming up with local volunteers and organizations on shoreline cleanups as part of the expanded project, now called Mission 1,000 tonnes. The blitz, called L’Expédition Saint-Laurent, includes stops in the Greater Montreal and Quebec City areas as well as...
Register
‘Like doomsday’: Thousands flee explosive B.C. wildfire as RCMP report possible death
By Brenna Owen RCMP in British Columbia say they are investigating a possible death in the explosive wildfire near Summerland in the Okanagan that has triggered a provincial state of emergency and forced thousands of people to evacuate. Firefighting helicopters were diverted to pluck dozens to safety from the blaze that Premier David Eby said on Saturday was “like a bomb” going off as it roared east toward Summerland and Peachland on the shores of Okanagan Lake. More than 20,000 people were ordered to flee, and evacuation alerts extended to the northern edge of Penticton, where many evacuees were sent. The Bald Range wildfire in British Columbia’s south Okanagan region has forced 20,000 people out of their homes in the Peachland and Summerland areas. Police have said they were investigating...
Register
Confusion and anger in wake of tainted evidence and a failed B.C. murder case
By Darryl Greer Gena Edwards, president of the BC Native Women’s Association, said that when Frederick Charlie was acquitted of second-degree murder last month in the killing of Vanessa Terry, there were gasps. It felt like “a punch to the stomach,” she said, as the Indigenous woman’s family started crying, before walking out of the court in Chilliwack, B.C. Terry was found dead in her home on a First Nation reserve near Agassiz, B.C., in 2024, in a case of alleged intimate partner violence. Her relatives say they’re grappling with an intense mix of anger, confusion and grief after the Crown presented no evidence at Charlie’s trial last month. The case collapsed when a judge threw out a confession and other statements by Charlie, saying they were tainted by “oppressive”...
Register
Poilievre tells Carney in letter to not concede to U.S. demands in tariff talks
By Craig Lord Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to show some “backbone” as trade negotiations ramp up with the United States. In a letter to Carney shared with reporters, Poilievre and his Canada-U.S. relations critic Shuvaloy Majumdar said that Ottawa has given in to several of Trump’s demands in the last year. The pair cited scrapping the digital service tax, removing Canada’s counter-tariffs and cutting the United States into a deal to share net toll revenue from the recently opened Gordie Howe International Bridge. Poilievre and Majumdar argued against Carney’s previous claim that no deal is better than a bad deal by pointing to job losses in manufacturing-heavy Canadian cities that rely on cross-border supply chains. “Canadians deserve a government that has the backbone...
Register
