Six Nations Police charge man with impaired and dangerous driving
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-A 23-year-old man is facing impaired and dangerous driving charges after a car speeding on Fifth Line Sept. 6th narrowly missed a Six Nations Police cruiser. Six Nations Police Service said officers were on general patrol when they saw a vehicle speeding on Fifth Line at 3:50 am and attempted to conduct a traffic stop but the vehicle failed to stop for police. Police ended their pursuit only to spot the vehicle again later that morning on Bicentennial Trail. SN Police blocked the car when it pulled into a parking spot and found a lone driver in the vehicle. Police said the driver showed signs of impairment when he exited the car. As a result of the investigation, police arrested and charged Jacob Harris with...
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Long-promised flood-prevention project in Manitoba under review with no timeline
(Canadian Press)-A long-promised $600-million flood prevention project in Manitoba is now under review, and the provincial government has opened the door to redesigning it with no timeline for starting construction. The NDP government said it has asked Ottawa to pause a decision on the plan, in order to fully consult First Nations and consider possible alternatives to the design. It would currently have two large outlet channels built to drain water from Lake Manitoba into Lake St. Martin then into Lake Winnipeg. “The federal government had already expressed significant concerns,” Lisa Naylor, Manitoba’s minister of transportation and infrastructure, said Thursday. “If the federal government had withdrawn the licence because of the environmental impact, the project would be dead. And so, I don’t want to see that happen.” The project has...
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NAN Statement from AFN Special Chiefs Assembly
October 17, 2024 CALGARY, AB: On behalf of the leadership of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), the NAN Executive Council has issued the following statement following today’s vote on the $47.8-billion Final Agreement on the long-term reform of the First Nations Child and Family Services Program: “We have travelled a long way to get where we are, not just this week, but throughout this lengthy process. We have heard from many voices across Turtle Island that have vested interests in this Agreement. There are diverse and conflicting views. We are disappointed that the Final Agreement was not ratified today, but we respect the decision of First Nations-in-Assembly. We are grateful for the tremendous work by our leadership and everyone who spent many years negotiating this Agreement. We acknowledge Dr. Cindy Blackstock...
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AFN vote on $47.8B child welfare reform deal doesn’t pass after lengthy debate
CALGARY- Canadian Press-First Nations chiefs have voted to reject a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal, reached in July with the Canadian government. At a special chiefs assembly in Calgary hosted by the Assembly of First Nations, 267 out of 414 chiefs voted against a resolution in support of the deal after a lengthy debate that at points was emotionally charged as they argued either for or against it. Resolutions remain on the agenda for the final day of the gathering on Friday, including for chiefs to be given another 90 days to review the deal, bringing another vote in January. “Our leaders have rejected this draft agreement because they know what’s at stake: our children,” said Mary Teegee, the chair of the Our Children Our Way Society, in a...
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Testy B.C. election campaign sees leaders attacking each other more than policy
British Columbia’s election campaign enters its final day in what is viewed as a too-close-to-call contest where David Eby’s New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad debated big issues of housing, health care, affordability and the overdose crisis, but also tangled over plastic straws and a billionaire’s billboards. The two main party leaders spent a lot of time telling voters why they shouldn’t vote for the other rather than presenting their own case for support. The NDP’s election platform document mentioned Rustad more than 50 times while Eby only received 29 mentions. The B.C. Conservative platform, delivered in the final week of the campaign, included more than 50 Eby references, while Rustad’s name was highlighted 11 times. “I hope we never see another election like this,” Eby...
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Mom urges chiefs to vote in favour of landmark $47.8B child welfare reform deal
CALGARY-CP-The plaintiffs who successfully sued Canada over discrimination in the child welfare system gave emotional speeches on Thursday urging First Nations chiefs to support a landmark $47.8-billion deal to reform that system. The deal was struck in July between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over the federal government’s underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory. It tasked Canada with coming to an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, and also with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in foster care. Chiefs are in Calgary this week for an Assembly of First Nations gathering where they are set to vote on the...
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Trudeau to shuffle cabinet as four ministers say they won’t seek re-election
OTTAWA-CP-With a simmering mutiny plot in the backbenches and four more cabinet ministers deciding not to seek re-election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s attempt to right the Liberal ship and stay on as captain is becoming more challenging. Trudeau is expected to shuffle his cabinet again after the ministers informed the Prime Minister’s Office they won’t be running in the next election. Filomena Tassi, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, announced Thursday she won’t be running for personal reasons. Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough also issued a statement that she won’t be seeking re-election. She offered few details except to say that it is time for her to move on and she is excited to see what comes next. She also thanked her family and the...
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Six Nations Police charge driver after car hits tree
By Austin Evans Writer SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police have charged a woman after a car swerved off the road and a passenger was injured. Six Nations Police, Six Nations Emergency Medical Services and Six Nations Fire officers all responded to a report of a single vehicle collision at the intersection of Fifth Line and Onondaga Road at 4:30 pm on September 8. Police found the car in the ditch against a tree when they arrived. A vehicle passenger had sustained major injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Police said witnesses identified a woman on the scene as the driver of the vehicle. Police said when they spoke with the driver they observed signs of impairment. As a result of the investigation, police...
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Amos Residential School site gets historical-building designation
A pair of plaques recognizing the historical significance of the site of a former Residential School in Quebec were unveiled Monday as part of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In a ceremony, Parks Canada, the Survivors of the Amos Residential School, and the Abitibiwinni First Nation Council recognized the national historic significance of the Amos Residential School. The former Residential School building had already been demolished, but in 2013, Survivors and the Abitibiwinni First Nation Council installed a commemorative stele and interpretive panels on the site of the former building with the aim of making it a place of remembrance and healing. The message from the director of the Pikogan Health Center was short and succinct. “We are still here,” said Malik Kistabish. The federal government first built...
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Google adds first Indigenous language in Canada to its translation service
One of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages in this country is now available through Google’s translation service, the first time the tech giant has included a First Nations, Métis or Inuit language spoken in Canada on its platform. Inuktut, a broad term encompassing different dialects spoken by Inuit in Canada, Greenland and Alaska, has been added to Google Translate, which translates text, documents and websites from one language into another. The latest addition is part of a Google initiative to develop a single artificial intelligence language model to support 1,000 of the most spoken languages in the world. There are roughly 40,000 Inuktut speakers in Canada, data from Statistics Canada suggests. The number of speakers alone is not enough to determine whether a language can be included in Google...
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AFN head urges support for child welfare deal, says they won’t get better from Tories
CALGARY, ALBERTA-CP-The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is urging chiefs to vote in favour of a landmark child welfare deal with Ottawa, saying she doesn’t think a better agreement would be possible under a different federal government. Some chiefs are campaigning to vote down the $47.8-billion child welfare reform agreement at an assembly in Calgary this week. Several stepped up to the floor Wednesday evening expressing concerns they have with the agreement, including that they felt the Assembly of First Nations was working in lockstep with Canada, rather than to advance First Nations priorities, as is their mandate. The deal was struck in July between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over Canada’s...
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Kootenay Central candidates talk healthcare, housing
By Rachael Lesosky, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Valley Voice There was good a turnout from the public at the Kootenay Central riding’s All Candidates Meeting on October 10 at Silverton Memorial Hall – but a not so great turnout from the candidates. NDP Brittny Anderson and Independent Corinne Mori appeared in person, however Green candidate Nicole Charlwood was ill. Technical difficulties prevented her from appearing virtually, but New Denver resident Kathy Hartman read Charlwood’s prepared opening and closing statements. Conservative Kelly Vandenberghe was not present. After opening statements from each candidate, members of the public asked questions. Anderson and Mori had two minutes each to offer answers. Slocan Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Voice co-sponsored the event. What are you prepared to do to make watersheds the number...
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McBride receives Charles III Coronation Medal
By Darlene Wroe Local Journalism Initiative Reporter NOTRE-DAME-DU-NORD, QUEBEC – Carol McBride, past chief of Timiskaming First Nation, and the outgoing president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, recently received the Charles III Coronation Medal. In a ceremony at the Governor General’s Citadelle in Quebec City September 20, McBride was presented with the medal by Governor General Mary Simon. She was one of 59 people selected from across Canada and all walks of life to receive the medal. McBride, who resides in Notre-Dame-du-Nord, Quebec, has been holding the position of president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada for the past 26 months, but stepped down at the end of September. “It is a three-year mandate,” she related in a telephone interview of the position, but “it is...
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Focus on vulnerable communities, improve data sharing before next pandemic: report
An expert panel of doctors and researchers say Canada needs to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and take action before the next health emergency strikes. One of the six experts, Dr. Fahad Razak, says most scientists believe it’s “only a matter of time” before another global health crisis hits. The panel’s report, called “The Time to Act is Now,” says disease surveillance, hospitalization data and research findings need to be communicated much more effectively between the provinces, the territories and the federal government. Razak, an internal medicine specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, says it’s critical to share evolving health information much more quickly with the public to build trust and combat the spread of disinformation. The report says Canada also needs to address inequities among people who are...
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Cedar Leaf Capital to launch this month after securing regulatory approval
Scotiabank says Cedar Leaf Capital is set to become Canada’s first majority Indigenous-owned investment dealer after getting the green light from regulators. As an investment dealer, Cedar Leaf intends to help business and government clients raise money through debt issuance, while it will also potentially expand into advisory services and equity capital markets. The firm is being launched as a collaboration between Scotiabank, which will hold a 30 per cent stake, and Nch’kay Development, Des Nedhe Group, and Chippewas of Rama First Nation that will each hold equal portions of the remaining 70 per cent. Scotiabank says Cedar Leaf plans to start operations later this month now that regulatory approvals are in place. Cedar Leaf, to be led by Clint Davis as CEO, aims to support Indigenous economic participation, create...
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Two running to replace Charlie Angus for the NDP
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath Local Journalism Initiative TIMMINS – As Charlie Angus steps down after two decades, the stage is set for a new political chapter in his Northern Ontario riding. Two people are vying for the federal NDP nomination for the new riding of Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk. Nicole Fortier-Levesque and Terry Metatawabin are the names on the ballot for the nomination meeting on Nov. 23. Fortier-Levesque is from Moonbeam, where she has deep roots in both education and municipal politics. A retired French language teacher, Fortier-Levesque spent over three decades shaping young minds before stepping into the political arena. She served as a Moonbeam from 2014-18 and then as mayor from 2018-22. “I need a new challenge,” Fortier-Levesque said. “It’s good timing based on where I am in my life right now....
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Guy Maddin satire skewers G7 leaders. Cate Blanchett says it felt like a documentary
Even from her native Australia, Cate Blanchett has long felt a connection to Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin’s quirky, singular films. The Oscar-winning actress admires the way the Manitoban auteur’s work — from 2007’s docu-fantasy “My Winnipeg” to 2017’s Alfred Hitchcock love letter “The Green Fog” — possesses “a strange universality” despite its idiosyncrasies. “He can make a film that’s so specifically about Winnipeg and his childhood, and yet I watch it gasping and weeping and not fully comprehending what I’m seeing while on the other side of the world,” Blanchett said during an interview at the Toronto International Film Festival. “I think that’s astonishing. He’s been working in this very particular underground way for so long, and if you look at the work of a lot of filmmakers who may...
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AFN head urges support for child welfare deal, says they won’t get better from Tories
The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is urging chiefs to vote in favour of a landmark child welfare deal, saying she doesn’t think a better agreement would be possible under a different federal government. Some chiefs, meanwhile, are campaigning to vote down the $47.8-billion child welfare reform agreement at an assembly in Calgary this week. The deal was struck in July between Canada, the Chiefs of Ontario, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and the Assembly of First Nations after a nearly two-decade legal fight over Canada’s underfunding of on-reserve child welfare services. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal said that was discriminatory and tasked Canada with coming to an agreement with First Nations to reform the system, along with compensating children who were torn from their families and put in...
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Indigenous researchers seek answers from academic
By Maggie MacIntosh Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Indigenous researchers want answers from an academic at the centre of an open identity fraud case at the University of Winnipeg following two months of silence and the downsizing of her digital footprint. Julie Nagam, a professor, artist and curator who has long identified as Métis, is accused of misrepresenting herself and repeatedly failing to provide evidence to back up her ancestry. Nagam has yet to publicly address the findings of three genealogy reports that challenge her claims or the Manitoba Métis Federation’s vocal rejection of her citizenship application. The allegations levelled against Nagam, a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous arts, collaboration and digital media, sparked investigations by both the national agency that granted her that prestigious position and U of W at...
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Route 54 Annual Harvest Festival give-away is a family event, with a lot of help from friends
By Austin Evans, Writer Photos by Austin Evans & Jim C. Powless Cars lined up on both sides of Highway 54 for their share of the free potatoes, apples, pumpkins, and lots more. If you could grow it, it was given away at Route 54 Variety & Gas’s annual harvest giveaway Saturday (Oct 12). While the Harvest Festival giveaway has been running for 11 years, owner Kris Hill says the format changed from a festival styled event to food giveaways to meet the need and COVID restrictions. “It worked so well, and we were able to not only get more people but get people through fairly quickly. It worked, so we kept it.” The food was all purchased from local farmers and given out for free. “We come together, and...
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