Great-grandfather’s war story shapes young Indigenous leader’s path
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com For 23-year-old Ramon Kataquapit, Remembrance Day is about legacy. A legacy of service, survival, and strength that spans generations of his family. His great-grandfather, James Kataquapit of Attawapiskat, was one of about 20 young men taken from the community to fight in the First World War. Kataquapit said the men, most of whom were 18 or 19 years old, had little contact with the outside world before being recruited. “They did not speak English, did not understand the forms they were signing, and did not understand where they were being taken or why,” he said. “They were taken for training and then sent overseas to fight.” Many of the young men never came home. James, however, survived, but returned deeply changed, Kataquapit said....
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Federal prison service ‘ill-equipped’ for long-term mental health care: watchdog
By Jim Bronskill The federal prison ombudsman says weak policies, insufficient training and a lack of specialized treatment are hindering the Correctional Service of Canada’s efforts to deliver mental health care. In his latest annual report, correctional investigator Ivan Zinger says it’s “abundantly clear” the prison service is fundamentally ill-equipped to provide long-term mental health care to people experiencing acute psychiatric distress, suicidal thoughts or chronic self-injury. In cases involving such serious mental illnesses, transfers to external, secure, community-based psychiatric hospitals are necessary, Zinger says in the report. The Correctional Service of Canada routinely transfers individuals requiring complex physical care — such as chemotherapy or heart surgery — to external hospitals, Zinger notes. “It would be unthinkable to attempt such procedures in-house,” he writes. “Yet, when it comes to mental...
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Railways says rock slide may have caused B.C. derailment that spilled jet fuel
Rail operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City says a rock slide may be partially to blame for a derailment near Kamloops, B.C., that resulted in the spill of more than 70,000 litres of jet fuel alongside a local lake. CPKC Indigenous relations and government affairs director Mike LoVecchio said during a public information meeting in Savona, B.C., Monday night that the exact cause of the derailment is still under investigation. LoVecchio said the Transportation Safety Board’s investigation could take years to complete, but a rock slide is among the elements being “closely considered.” The derailment on Nov. 1 near Cherry Creek, about 20 kilometres west of Kamloops, happened in one of the busiest rail corridors between Calgary and Vancouver. Two of the 17 rail cars involved were carrying jet fuel that...
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Indigenous poppy made official: Canadian Forces dress regulations revised
By Jill Westerman, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North The Remembrance Day poppy, the symbol of honour and sacrifice for veterans, will be seen on the coats of many Northerners in the coming days leading up to the Remembrance Day services held on both Indigenous Veterans Day November 8th and Remembrance Day November 11th. This year, though, that poppy may look uniquely Northern as it is the first time in its history that dress regulations have been changed to allow for it to be Indigenous-made, Floyd Powder, Master Warrant Officer (Retired) said. “The Canadian Forces dress regulations have changed, and accommodate now an Indigenous- made poppy. So it could be beaded, it could be sealskin, or any other kind of fabric or skin. It’s got to be red, the standard...
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Telling stories that ‘haven’t been heard’ about Indigenous veterans
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — Twenty-four hours before Canada observes Remembrance Day, First Nations, Métis and Inuit soldiers were specifically recognized at a ceremony at Lakehead University. The event was in commemoration of National Indigenous Veterans Day which is observed on Nov. 8. Retired lieutenant colonel Darla Oja, who is Métis and originally from northern Saskatchewan, she moved to Thunder Bay nearly 30 years ago, spoke on Monday and called to attention the multiple levels of freedom Indigenous soldiers fought for. “When we talk about freedom, it’s easy to think of it as a simple idea, but in truth, I think freedom has layers, and this is my interpretation,” she told the crowd. “The first is freedom from … fear, oppression and injustice —...
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Canada’s veteran population is dwindling fast. Here are the numbers.
Canada marked Remembrance Day on Tuesday — 80 years after the Second World War ended and 72 years since the end of the Korean War. Only a few thousand Canadian veterans of those conflicts are still alive. Veterans Affairs Canada provided these estimates based on the 2021 census: First World War (1914-1918) 650,000: The number of Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served. 66,000: The number of Canadian service members who died during the conflict. 172,000: The number of Canadian service members who were wounded. 0: The number of surviving Canadian First World War veterans. Second World War (1939-1945) 1.1 million: The number of Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served during the conflict. 45,000: The number of Canadian service members who died during the conflict. 3,691: The number of Canadian Second World War...
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Bill S-2 and the Fight to Belong: When Identity Meets Bureaucracy
By John Wirth, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Bill S-2, officially An Act to amend the Indian Act, is a reintroduction of bill C-38, which never became law before the federal government dissolved. As of October 21, 2025, S-2 is before a Senate committee. It proposes amendments to four key areas of the Indian Act: enfranchisement, voluntary deregistration, natal Band reaffiliation, and outdated language. Each of these changes carries real implications for how Indigenous identity is recognized in Canada. Speaking on behalf of The Assembly of First Nations, National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, “endorses legislative amendments to the Indian Act that repeal the Second Generation Cut-Off Rule and introduce a system whereby an individual who is a direct descendant of a status Indian, or an individual entitled to...
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Six Nations Police search for suspects in robbery at First Line
OHSWEKEN, ONT. – Six Nations Police are currently investigating an armed robbery that occurred at a local business over the weekend. On Sunday, Nov. 9, at around 5 a.m., a security guard working at a business on First Line and Mississauga Road was accosted by four armed, masked suspects. The suspects then stole the company’s safe, put it in the back of the guard’s car and drove off. They also took the victim’s phone. Upon police arrival, no suspects were located. They had fled westbound on Mississauga Road. The victim’s stolen vehicle, a Chrysler 200, was later recovered by police. Six Nations Police are now asking business owners and homeowners on Mississauga Road, between Highway 6 and Cayuga/Ojibway Road, to check their surveillance or dash camera footage, to see...
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The Latest: Prime minister marks Remembrance Day ahead of national ceremony
By Canadian Press Staff This Remembrance Day marks eight decades since the conclusion of the Second World War and 25 years since the entombment of Canada’s Unknown Soldier, a First World War combatant who remains unidentified. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa honours the more than 118,000 Canadians who sacrificed their lives in service to their country. Veterans Affairs Canada estimates that, as of this year, there are 3,691 surviving Canadian veterans of the Second World War — 667 women and 3,024 men. Here’s how Canadians are remembering them today and all those who have since died. All times Eastern. — 10:48 a.m. Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived at the site of the national ceremony to mark Remembrance Day in Ottawa. Joined by his wife Diana Fox...
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Indigenous owners ‘very much’ ready to defend property sold by Norfolk Country due to unpaid taxes
Norfolk County property bought by the Haudenosaunee Development Institute has been sold at a tax sale in Simcoe. By J.P. Antonacci, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator Norfolk County property bought by the Haudenosaunee Development Institute for over $400,000 has been sold at a tax sale in Simcoe. The new owners of 39 acres of Norfolk County farmland could soon be introduced to the complicated world of Indigenous land claims. The property at 1594 Concession 2 Townsend sold for $410,800 at a tax sale in Simcoe on Wednesday. The land at the southern border of the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve was assessed at $338,000. Its owners, the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI), owed $73,657 in property taxes. The sale is not yet final. The winning bidder has...
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Prime minister, N.B. premier tease major project announcement in the province
By Lyndsay Armstrong Prime Minister Mark Carney and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt teased federal support for a major project in the province set to be announced later this week. The pair met Monday morning in Holt’s downtown Fredericton office, before Carney toured the warehouse of a pre-fabricated home manufacturing company where he held a news conference to highlight Ottawa’s buy-Canadian policy. During a separate news conference in the afternoon, Holt said during their meeting she advocated for support for mining projects, modular housing, upgrades on the Port of Saint John and Port of Belledune, and the Eastern Energy Partnership, which could link energy systems across Atlantic Canada and beyond. “We packed a lot into the time together,” Holt said of the meeting. New Brunswick projects have so far not...
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B.C. going door to door to hear residents’ concerns in Cowichan title area
By Nono Shen The office of British Columbia Premier David Eby has appointed a “community contact” whose job is to work with residents of Richmond, B.C., going door to door to talk to those potentially affected by the landmark Cowichan Aboriginal title decision. A flyer sent to residents said the person’s role is to answer questions and listen to residents’ concerns and experiences, including any effect the B.C. Supreme Court ruling in August has had on “mortgages, refinancing, property sales or permits.” “The decision has raised concerns for some homeowners and small businesses. I want to hear from you,” says the flyer. The premier’s office said in response to questions about the flyer that there are about 45 privately owned properties in the 300-hectare Aboriginal title area, and at least...
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Indigenous Services minister says community shouldn’t worry about zeros in budget
By Alessia Passafiume The Indigenous Services minister says community leaders shouldn’t worry about zeros in the recent federal budget for programs their members rely on. Instead, Mandy Gull-Masty says, those holes are an opportunity for leaders to suggest where the government should allocate money in the future. “I also want them to be encouraged by the fact that we still have more work to do to define what the future looks like in the budget for Indigenous Peoples,” Gull-Masty said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “There’s also been a lot of progress made on the amount of investment that we’ve seen in the last decade — the expenditures for First Nations have been significant. We’re not walking back from that progress, we’re maintaining it.” Spending for Indigenous-specific programming...
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Chief justice to stand in for Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Remembrance Day due to illness
By Kyle Duggan Gov. Gen. Mary Simon is recovering in hospital from a respiratory virus, leaving her unable to preside over the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday, Rideau Hall said Monday. Chief Justice Richard Wagner will fill in for the King’s representative in Canada at the National War Memorial. It’s rare that the governor general would not preside over the national ceremony, but routine that the chief justice would stand in for her, since he also serves as deputy governor general. Rideau Hall did not specify the virus or say how long Simon, 78, has been in hospital. “The Governor General is doing well and is recovering in hospital,” said Marilyne Guèvremont, a spokesperson for Rideau Hall. “We appreciate your understanding and respect for her privacy at...
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Next batch of national interest major projects to be released Thursday, Carney says
Prime Minister Mark Carney says the next tranche of projects the government is referring to the Major Projects Office for review will be announced Thursday. Carney revealed the timing while taking questions from reporters at a news conference Monday in Fredericton, when asked whether any projects from New Brunswick will be considered. “New Brunswick is very much part of this,” Carney said, before noting the next batch of projects would be announced Thursday. “We’ve had a number of conversations with the premier about major projects here that meet the criteria. So you would expect to see some of those in the announcement later this week.” Pressed further, Carney told a reporter for the Telegraph-Journal newspaper to “come to Prince Rupert (B.C.) and you can be the first to hear.” Prince...
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Woman charged with attempted murder released from custody
By Judy Cole, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, River Valley Sun Destiny Innis under house arrest in Neqotkuk until next court appearance Destiny Dawn Innis, 23, of Woodstock, was released with conditions after appearing in provincial court in custody via video for a bail hearing on Nov. 6. Woodstock Police charged Innis with attempted murder following a violent altercation at a downtown residence on Oct. 20, when a 74-year-old woman was assaulted and stabbed in her home. Judge Henrik Tonning released Innis under house arrest at a residence at Neqotkuk (Tobique First Nation). She is required to wear an electronic monitoring device attached to her ankle. Innis returns to court on Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m. for monitoring and plea. She was ordered to have no contact with the victim. She...
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Manitoba municipalities renew calls for province to review mental health legislation
By Brittany Hobson Some municipalities in Manitoba are renewing calls for the province to make legislative changes to reduce the role police play in responding to crises as rural and northern communities deal with staffing challenges with law enforcement and an increase in mental health calls. This comes more than a year after the NDP government committed to an extensive review of the Mental Health Act after families and advocates pressed for system changes. Winnipeg police have also voiced support for an approach that would see mental health groups take the lead on non-violent calls. Right now, the legislation dictates that peace officers are the only people able to detain someone experiencing a mental health crisis and often the only ones able to transport individuals to a facility. “The current...
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As Remembrance Day marks 80 years since WWII, fewer surviving veterans remain
By Kyle Duggan Eighty years after the end of the deadliest conflict in history, the number of living Second World War veterans has dwindled to a few thousand. Veterans Affairs Canada said it estimates that as of this year, there are 3,691 surviving Canadian veterans — 667 women and 3,024 men. Veterans Affairs also believes the number of living veterans from the Korean War is 1,909. Previously, it did not separate the numbers from the two wars under the government’s War Service Veteran population statistics, saying in 2024 it believed there were some 7,300. “The events of the Second World War are very rapidly moving from the realm of lived history of people you can talk to about these events into history, where you can’t talk to the people who...
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Nuu-chah-nulth veterans honoured at Tofino Arts Council exhibit
By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Tofino, BC – A new community art gallery space dubbed the Hallway Gallery was warmed on Nov. 6 with traditional songs, a shared meal and stories of fallen soldiers as Tofino Arts Council (TAC) celebrated the opening of their first exhibit, ‘Remembering Nuu-chah-nulth Veterans’. Located below the Tofino Legion, the Hallway Gallery exhibit features a memory wall of Nuu-chah-nulth war veterans and a display of 25 beaded poppies to honour the Nuu-chah-nulth soldiers who have fought for Canada and the United States in wars. “It was important to me that the first exhibit be about recognizing where we are – more than just a land acknowledgement through words, it’s putting it into action,” said TAC Executive Director Carly Butler. Until 1951 an...
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Six Nations Police investigate armed robbery
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police are currently investigating an armed robbery that occurred on First Line over the weekend that saw a gun pointed to the victim’s back. On Sunday, Nov. 9, around 5 a.m., a security guard was held at gunpoint by four men. The suspects then stole the company’s safe, put it in the back of the victim’s car and drove off. They also took the victim’s phone. Six Nations Police were called to investigate and the victim’s car, a Chrysler 200, was eventually located. In a post on Facebook the victim said he had never been through such an experience before ” Never had a gun pointed in my back and certainly have never been held at gun point while being threatened to be...
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