Audit of Saskatchewan First Nations group questions millions of dollars in spending
By Alessia Passafiume A forensic audit of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations says more than $34 million of the organization’s spending between April 2019 and March 2024 was “questionable,” unsupported or ineligible. The forensic audit, conducted by KPMG for the federal government, examined federal funds provided by Indigenous Services Canada to the organization, which represents 74 First Nations in Saskatchewan. The department said last March the audit would review more than $141 million in funding provided since April 2019. The audit found that $25 million of the $30 million the organization received for COVID-19-related funding was spent in a way that was “questionable.” It also said KPMG couldn’t determine if any of the personal protective equipment purchased with the money was distributed to the communities FSIN represents. The audit...
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Police probe threats of violence aimed at businesses linked to B.C. ostrich cull
By Brieanna Charlebois and Ashley Joannou Businesses across British Columbia linked or thought to be associated with a planned cull of about 400 ostriches have been “flooded” with calls and emails with “language intended to intimidate,” the RCMP say. The birds have been spared for now with an interim stay by the Supreme Court of Canada, but Mounties say they are launching an investigation into “escalating threats of violence” against businesses that may or may not be helping the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The agency ordered the cull after birds at Universal Ostrich Farms began dying of avian flu last December, but the farm fought it in court and on social media. The CFIA says it will comply with the stay and file a response with the High Court, while...
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Hudson’s Bay gets court permission to auction off its ‘retail era’ art, artifacts
By Tara Deschamps Canadians hoping to get their hands on treasures from Hudson’s Bay won’t have to wait much longer for the chance. An Ontario court approved a November auction of 4,400 items belonging to the fallen retailer on Thursday. The trove Judge Peter Osborne is allowing to be sold includes more than 1,700 pieces of art and about 2,700 artifacts. Though the company has yet to reveal exactly what will be up for grabs, a lawyer for the firm says the items are from Hudson’s Bay’s “retail era,” rather than its fur trading days. A source familiar with the collection, who was not authorized to speak publicly, has told The Canadian Press the collection includes paintings, paper documents and even collectible Barbie dolls. A full list of items and...
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Quebec scraps forestry bill after pushback from Indigenous leaders, environmentalists
The Quebec government is scrapping a contentious forestry reform bill that has sparked opposition from Indigenous leaders and environmental groups. Quebec Premier François Legault announced the news Thursday during a meeting of the Quebec federation of municipalities. The bill was tabled this spring by the former forest minister in an effort to protect communities dependent on the commercial forestry industry. The legislation would have divided public forests into zones designated for conservation, multi-purpose use or forestry. It was strongly criticized by environmental groups as well as Indigenous leaders, who said reserving vast swaths of forest for logging infringed on their rights. Former forest minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina, who tabled the bill, was shuffled from cabinet this fall and later resigned from the party. This report by The Canadian Press was...
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Conservative Rustad says private property rights, Indigenous title cannot coexist
By Wolfgang Depner B.C.-Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad says “Indigenous rights and private property rights cannot coexist” and called on the Supreme Court of Canada to resolve the conflict as soon as possible. Rustad’s comments came Thursday after a B.C. Supreme Court judge determined last month that the Cowichan Tribes have the right to 7 1/2 square kilometres of land in Richmond, ruling that land titles granted by government, including private property, were invalid. The City of Richmond, the province and the Musqueam First Nation have announced appeals of the decision, but Rustad said the Supreme Court of Canada needs to resolve the issue as quickly as possible through the reference procedure, which allows the federal government to ask the court to rule on foundational questions. “Do private...
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MCA joins in growing coalition to denounce Bill 97
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA) has come out in opposition to Bill 97, after negotiations between the provincial government and the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL) broke down for the second time. In a press release, MCA cited cutbacks to environmental regulations in the forestry bill as posing a serious risk to the community’s right to hunt, fish and gather medicine from the land. “These are rights Onkwehón:we have exercised since time immemorial,” the MCA stated. On Monday, AFNQL alongside 19 others First Nations, labour unions and environmental protection agencies across Quebec issued a joint statement calling for Bill 97 to be withdrawn in its entirety. While MCA did not participate in this joint statement, it’s still...
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Parliament committee retables recommendations on Yukon salmon
By Talar Stockton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Yukon News The parliamentary committee on fisheries and oceans has re-tabled a report on Yukon River salmon. The report comes with 37 recommendations geared to help rebuild the salmon population, which has been in steep decline over recent years. The report comes out of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. The committee agreed to undertake the study into the sustainability of salmon in the Yukon River in June 2022; committee hearings on the topic began in February 2024. The committee heard from multiple Yukoners on the topic of the declining salmon stocks over the nine-meeting run of the study. Witnesses who spoke to committee members included Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost, former Yukon Salmon Sub-committee Chair Tim Gerberding, Kwanlin Dün First Nation...
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Canada Post union launches strike as Ottawa moves to end most door-to-door mail
By Alessia Passafiume and Dylan Robertson The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is declaring a countrywide strike, hours after Ottawa announced door-to-door mail delivery will end for nearly all Canadian households within the next decade. CUPW posted a notice on its website early Thursday evening that all of its Canada Post members were walking off the job. “In response to the Government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nation-wide strike,” the statement reads. The Canadian Press has requested further comment from the union but has not yet had a response. The job action comes after Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound announced sweeping changes Thursday aimed at shoring up Canada Post’s finances in response to a decline in letter mail...
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Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership
By Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that he says will allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States in a way that meets national security concerns. Trump’s order will enable an American-led of group of investors to buy the app from China’s ByteDance, though the deal is not yet finalized and also requires China’s approval. Much is still unknown about the actual deal in the works, but Trump said at a White House signing ceremony Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has agreed to move forward with it. Vice President JD Vance added that “there was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we...
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Canada Post union launches strike as Ottawa moves to end most door-to-door mail
By Alessia Passafiume and Dylan Robertson The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is declaring a countrywide strike, hours after Ottawa announced door-to-door mail delivery will end for nearly all Canadian households within the next decade. CUPW posted a notice on its website early Thursday evening that all of its Canada Post members were walking off the job. “In response to the Government’s attack on our postal service and workers, effective immediately, all CUPW members at Canada Post are on a nationwide strike,” the statement reads. The Canadian Press has requested further comment from the union but has not yet had a response. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu wrote that it’s up to the union and the Crown corporation to find the balance between the future of postal service and respect for...
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Hegseth says Wounded Knee soldiers will keep their Medals of Honor
By Konstantin Toropin WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that he has decided that the 20 soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for their actions in 1890 at Wounded Knee will keep their awards in a video posted to social media Thursday evening. Hegseth’s predecessor, Lloyd Austin, ordered the review of the awards in 2024 after a Congressional recommendation in the 2022 defense bill — itself a reflection of efforts by some lawmakers to rescind the awards for those who participated in the bloody massacre on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek. While the events of that day are sometimes described as a battle, historical records show that the U.S. Army, which was in the midst of amid a campaign to repress...
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Trump escalates retribution campaign with charges against Comey and threats against liberal groups
By Jill Colvin NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump ‘s unprecedented retribution campaign against his perceived political enemies reached new heights Thursday as his Justice Department brought criminal charges against a longtime foe and he expanded his efforts to classify certain liberal groups as “domestic terrorist organizations.” Days after Trump publicly demanded action from his attorney general and tapped his former personal lawyer to serve as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia, former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime target of Trump’s ire, was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to Congress during testimony in 2020. Hours earlier, Trump signed a memorandum directing his administration to target backers of what he dubbed “left-wing terrorism” as he alleged without evidence a vast conspiracy by Democrat-aligned nonprofit groups and...
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Indian Residential School Survivors Society to open Fort St. John office
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A non-profit dedicated to the wellbeing of First Nations’ people who endured Indian Residential Schools will open offices in Fort St. John. The Indian Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS) is scheduled to unveil its new offices in the city in early October. The organization was founded in 1994 and is dedicated to supporting those survivors and their families, including counselling, advocacy and community outreach, according to its website. The offices will be located in the Treaty 8 Tribal Association’s building at 10233 100th Avenue. The IRSSS’ executive director, Angela White, says the opening of the facility allows opportunities for the group to “support the unique needs of the region.” White said in a statement: “This new space...
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Most door-to-door mail delivery to end amid sweeping changes to Canada Post
By Alessia Passafiume Door-to-door mail delivery will end for virtually all Canadian households within the next decade, Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said Thursday as he ordered sweeping changes in an effort to make the Crown corporation financially viable. Those changes also will include slowing down the frequency of mail delivery and shuttering some post offices. Lightbound said the changes are meant to shore up Canada Post’s finances adding that the corporation “needs to show a path to financial viability.” The minister said the federal government will accept all of the recommendations in the Industrial Inquiry Commission’s report on Canada Post, which also called for the introduction of more community mailboxes. “Canada Post is a national institution, older than our country itself, that has been serving Canadians for...
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Canada Post set to reduce frequency of letter mail delivery: minister
By Alessia Passafiume Public Works and Procurement Minister Joël Lightbound said Thursday Canada Post will reduce the frequency of door-to-door letter mail delivery to shore up its finances and save itself from an “existential crisis.” The minister also announced the federal government will accept all of the recommendations in the Industrial Inquiry Commission’s report on Canada Post, which also called for the introduction of more community mailboxes. “Canada Post is a national institution, older than our country itself, that has been serving Canadians for more than 150 years. For generations, postal workers have connected communities in every corner of the country, providing an essential lifeline to hundreds of northern, Indigenous and rural communities,” Lightbound said. “At the same time, Canada Post is now facing an existential crisis,” he added. “Repeated...
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Danger deepens bond between K9 and handler
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun “Break!” says Const. Adam Philpott, commanding his bulletproof-vest clad Belgian Malinois dog to sprint in a field outside of Brandon. The officer of Brandon Police Service shouts again, and his dog stops halfway, fixated ahead on a ball. When the K9 unit dog Zeus is commanded to retrieve the toy and bring it back, he jumps up and pushes his paws on Philpott’s chest. It looks typical of a man and man’s best friend. But most dogs don’t wear bulletproof vests, and most dog owners don’t have on their mind the reason why that vest is needed. The relationship between a K9 handler and their animal is just different from normal dogs, Philpott said in a recent interview. There are many...
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Port Hope to host ‘Canindian’ celebration of truth and reconciliation
By Natalie Hamilton, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, KawarthaNOW Métis actor, musician, philanthropist, and activist Tom Jackson will be participating in a special event in Port Hope to recognize Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on Tuesday (September 30). Currently living in Port Hope, Jackson is the featured guest at “Canindian: A Celebration of Truth and a Celebration of Reconciliation” at the Capitol Theatre at 20 Queen Street in downtown Port Hope. He will be joined by esteemed local Indigenous leaders for an evening of song, storytelling, and performances that explore the heart of Indigenous heritage. The evening was initiated by Municipality of Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky as a way to recognize National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. “By welcoming Tom, along with learning and...
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‘I did it for the victims’: Robert Pickton’s killer tells court during guilty plea
An inmate who has pleaded guilty to murdering Robert Pickton in prison last year says he did it for the serial killer’s victims. Martin Charest admitted today to fatally assaulting Pickton with a broken broom handle at the Port-Cartier federal penitentiary in May 2024. Charest pleaded guilty to first-degree murder during a court appearance in Sept-Îles, Que., northeast of Quebec City. Pickton was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder, but confessed to killing a total of 49 women whom he lured to his pig farm near Vancouver. A statement of facts read out in court detailed how Charest locked himself into a room with Pickton and assaulted him twice while guards were unable to enter. Charest told the judge he murdered Pickton after the serial killer had...
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Hudson’s Bay gets court permission to auction off its ‘retail era’ art, artifacts
By Tara Deschamps Canadians hoping to get their hands on treasures from Hudson’s Bay won’t have to wait much longer for the chance. An Ontario court approved a November auction of 4,400 items belonging to the fallen retailer on Thursday. The trove Judge Peter Osborne is allowing to be sold includes more than 1,700 pieces of art and about 2,700 artifacts. Though the company has yet to reveal exactly what will be up for grabs, a lawyer for the firm says the items are from Hudson’s Bay’s “retail era,” rather than its fur trading days. A full list of items and photographs of each lot will be made available ahead of the auctions on Heffel Gallery Ltd.’s website, Bay lawyers said. Heffel will split the sale between a series of...
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Hudson’s Bay to return to court to get process for auction of art, artifacts approved
By Tara Deschamps Hudson’s Bay is scheduled to be back in court today where it will try to clear the final hurdle before it can sell off its art and artifacts. The retailer is expected to ask judge Peter Osborne to approve an auction process for its 4,400 pieces. The trove includes more than 1,700 pieces of art and about 2,700 artifacts, though the company has yet to reveal exactly what will be up for grabs. The sale it wants Osborne to approve would be hosted by Heffel Gallery and split between an online auction beginning Nov. 12 and an in-person one held around Nov. 19. The sale will not include the royal charter that allowed for the creation of the company in 1670. Hudson’s Bay wants to sell that...
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