Chiefs of Ontario to vote in favour of $47.8B child welfare agreement with Canada
Chiefs in Ontario have voted in support of a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform agreement with Canada. Regional Chief Abram Benedict called the support of chiefs in the province “a step in the right direction” as they work to reform what he called “colonial systems” that have impacted each and every community. The deal was reached in July, and the Chiefs of Ontario were part of the negotiation process alongside the Assembly of First Nations, Nishnawbe Aski Nation and Canada. It was struck after decades of advocacy and litigation from First Nations and experts, seeking to redress decades of discrimination against First Nations children who were torn from their families and placed in foster care. That was because the child welfare systems on reserves were not funded to provide services...
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‘Libraries are the hubs of communities’: First Nations libraries get funding boost
MATTAGAMI FIRST NATION – A recent provincial funding boost is set to help a northern First Nation’s library open up new chapters by expanding its hours and enriching its reading collection. On Oct. 2, the province announced an additional $1.25 million annually for First Nations public libraries. Mattagami First Nation is one of the 37 libraries in Ontario receiving a portion of the cash. “Libraries are the hubs of communities, and the additional funding will allow us to open our library a lot longer, providing greater access for everyone,” said Chief Jennifer Constant of Mattagami First Nation. Constant noted that Mattagami First Nation relies heavily on the funding to support its elementary schools. “Every year we apply, and every year we’re approved,” she said. The increase in funding will allow...
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‘Take these storms seriously’: Canadians in Florida advised caution post-Milton
As multiple deaths were reported in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and millions in Florida were left without power, a Canadian meteorologist in the area said it’s possible more extreme weather could come in the wake of the devastation and Canadians in the state should heed warnings about severe storms. Mark Robinson, a meteorologist with The Weather Network who is based in Oakville, Ont., travelled to Florida on Tuesday to follow Milton’s development along the west coast. After waiting out the hurricane in the shelter of a parking garage, Robinson said Canadians need to consider severe weather when travelling to the state. “Canadians … they might not be prepared for hurricanes, they might not be prepared for what these storms can do,” he said in a phone interview on Thursday....
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Brant County OPP lay charges in collision, stunt driving and break and enter
By Austin Evans Writer The Brant County branch of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigated three incidents over the weekend of October 5. FAILURE TO REMAIN AT COLLISION LEADS TO IMPAIRED CHARGES Brant OPP officers responded to a reported collision on Highway 403 at 3:37 am on Saturday October 5. One of the vehicles involved fled the scene but police located it shortly after. The driver was arrested and transported to Brant County detachment for testing. Police have charged 45-year-old Heather Sims of Brant County with dangerous operation, failure to stop after an accident, operation while impaired from alcohol and drugs and operation with a blood alcohol concentration of 80 plus. The driver is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice located in Brantford at a later date....
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Hajdu, Woodhouse Nepinak urge MPs to drop politics, support First Nations water bill
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak are urging MPs across party lines to support legislation to ensure First Nations have clean drinking water in their communities. The government has put forward a bill that seeks to do just that, and also seeks to protect source-water on First Nations territories. Hajdu has called it the first piece of truly co-developed legislation between Canada and First Nations — even though some First Nations disagree with that framing. The bill has been before a House of Commons committee for months, where MPs have heard chiefs and experts raise concerns that the legislation does not go far enough to protect their rights. They also question how robust it will be in ensuring their communities receive...
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Manitoba advocate says progress has stalled on curbing sleep-related infant deaths
A new report says Manitoba has made little progress in reducing the number of sleep-related infant deaths and must do more to help disadvantaged families. The report from the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth says there were 48 sleep-related infant deaths in a three-year period that ended in 2021. That’s the roughly the same average annual rate found in an earlier study that looked at the period between 2009 and 2018. The advocate, Sherry Gott, says things have not changed despite government efforts to educate parents about safe sleep habits such as putting babies on their backs in a safe space like a crib. She says the majority of cases occurred in overcrowded homes, 81 per cent of the infants who died were Indigenous, and one-third of the homes...
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Nunavut MP on ‘inhumane’ Labrador food prices: Complain directly to Northern Affairs
A Nunavut MP is urging people in northern Labrador to complain directly to the federal government about food prices that have been described as inhumane. NDP member Lori Idlout says a federal subsidy program to reduce food prices in remote Indigenous communities is not meeting its goal, and she says people should complain about it to Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal. Nain, N.L., recorded a 62 per cent increase in the cost of healthy food between 2011, when the Nutrition North subsidy program was introduced, and 2021 — the highest increase reported among communities that qualify for the subsidies. Pictures on social media show the local Northern Store charging $7.97 for cabbage and $21.49 for a 1.42-litre bottle of Crisco cooking oil — prices Nain resident Rosie Harris has described...
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Crown plans to downgrade murder charge for suspect in Alberta roadside shooting
The Crown will be downgrading the murder charge for one of two men arrested after a deadly roadside shooting near Calgary in August. Thirty-five-year-old Arthur Wayne Penner was originally charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. But the prosecution has indicated in court Penner will now be facing trial on second-degree murder instead. The second suspect, 28-year-old Elijah Blake Strawberry, was arrested at a residence in O’Chiese First Nation last month and charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. They were caught after a manhunt that began Aug. 6 following the fatal shooting of one man and the wounding of another who were working along a roadway in Rocky View County, east of Calgary, when a county truck was stolen from the scene. The two men, who will be tried...
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Iqaluit council approves $5.4M Inuit food voucher program
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Iqaluit city councillors were eager to cast their unanimous votes Tuesday night to adopt a food voucher program for Inuit families in the community. The $5.4-million program is paid for by Indigenous Services Canada through the Inuit Child First Initiative and Jordan’s Principle. The program is specifically intended to help Inuit families and children under the age of 18 purchase food, as well as diapers and other supplies for children aged three and under, said city spokesperson Geoff Byrne. Byrne said that around 1,300 families in Iqaluit may benefit from the program. “It’s very important, it should help them buy more stuff,” Mayor Solomon Awa said in an interview. Coun. Amber Aglukark said it’s good for Iqaluit to be part of an initiative...
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Peter Clarkson running for mayor of Inuvik
By Aastha Sethi Local Journalism Inititative Reporter Peter Clarkson is challenging incumbent Clarence Wood for the title of Inuvik’s mayor in this month’s municipal election. Inuvik, Hay River, Fort Smith, Norman Wells and Fort Simpson are each less than two weeks away from municipal election day, October 21. Clarkson, a longtime resident of Inuvik, has previously served one term as mayor and another as deputy mayor. He said he worked as a GNWT regional director in Inuvik between 2006 and 2020. He told Cabin Radio he decided to put his name forward because he cares about the town’s future and wants to see strong collaboration with local Indigenous leadership. He believes his past experience makes him an ideal candidate for the role. “I think this has prepared me really well...
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Boissonnault appointed to lead federal government’s effort to rebuild Jasper
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has been tasked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the federal government’s share of the work to rebuild Jasper, Alta. In July, a wildfire destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town and displaced some 2,000 residents. Boissonnault, an Edmonton member of Parliament, will be responsible for co-ordinating federal resources with the Alberta government, the municipality and Indigenous groups. Trudeau also appointed a group of cabinet ministers, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Housing Minister Sean Fraser, to support Boissonnault. “This role that the prime minister has asked me to play in terms of ministerial lead is important, but it’s a whole-of-government approach,” Boissonnault told reporters Wednesday. He is expected to meet with officials in Jasper this week to get a better grasp of immediate...
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Dryden mill receives ‘clean and green’ energy funding
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter DRYDEN – The pulp mill in Dryden is receiving money from a “green” fund, and Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa has questions about that. The Northern Energy Advantage Program (NEAP) funding received by Dryden Fibre Canada should be conditional on the mill taking measures to “put an end to the exacerbation of the mercury poisoning crisis in Grassy Narrows First Nation,” Mamakwa said in an interview Wednesday. Dryden Fibre Canada has owned the decades-old mill since the summer of 2023. Under a previous owner, the mill dumped an estimated nine tonnes of mercury into the Wabigoon River in the 1960s and ’70s. The resultant mercury poisoning caused debilitating illnesses in the Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong (Whitedog) First Nations downstream from the mill. Mercury hasn’t...
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Conor Kerr, Anne Fleming among five authors shortlisted for Giller Prize
Conor Kerr was bird hunting in rural Saskatchewan when he learned his book, “Prairie Edge,” had been shortlisted for the Giller Prize. He’s one of five finalists named Wednesday for the prestigious literary award, which goes to the best work of Canadian fiction published in English in the previous year. “My phone’s been cutting in and out all day,” Kerr said, so the congratulations have come piecemeal – perhaps an anticlimactic end to a big couple of weeks that also saw him shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. He said he’s thrilled his crime thriller about two distant Metis cousins planning an attention-grabbing Land Back protest is getting recognition. “It’s just so nice to see my book out in the world and getting some love.” The short...
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Iqaluit mayor, councillor again call for increased RCMP patrols for public drinking
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Iqaluit Mayor Solomon Awa and Coun. Kyle Sheppard say they want to see stepped-up enforcement of open liquor laws continue following a summer of increased patrols from RCMP. The topic came up at Tuesday’s city council meeting, when Sgt. Zhivka Ivanova presented the RCMP’s monthly reports for July and August. During those months, one of the tasks that kept officers busy was seizing open alcohol and patrolling the city on all-terrain vehicles to curb public drinking. Out of 448 beers seized between January and August, 97 were confiscated in July and 88 in August — which comes out to 41 per cent of the total for those eight months. Of the first eight months of 2024, August was the busiest for Iqaluit RCMP...
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Boissonnault appointed to lead federal government’s effort to rebuild Jasper Slugline: Alta-Wildfires
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has been tasked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the federal government’s share of the work to rebuild Jasper, Alta. In July, a wildfire destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town and displaced some 2,000 residents. In his new role Boissonnault will be responsible for co-ordinating federal resources with the Alberta government, Indigenous groups, and the municipal government. Boissonnault says he will be in Jasper this week meeting with local officials to get a better grasp of immediate needs. He says one of the first tasks will be to see if the federal government can support Jasper in establishing temporary housing, which the province and municipality have been working on since August. Trudeau also appointed a group of cabinet ministers, including Environment Minister Steven...
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Ontario launches review following Ford criticism of children’s aid societies
The Canadian Press TORONTO-Ontario launched a review of the province’s 37 non-Indigenous children’s aid societies Wednesday after Premier Doug Ford suggested they are being financially mismanaged, but the unions representing CAS workers say it is a mere “smokescreen.” Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services officials say the review will look at issues such as the quality of protection they provide and their finances. As part of a background briefing Wednesday, they provided graphs that show annual funding for the sector steadily increased over the past decade to $1.7 billion this year, even as the number of children in care declined. Ford indicated last week that his government was doing an audit, as he railed against “nightmare stories about the abuse of taxpayers’ money.” Officials said the process to look...
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SPECIAL: 100 Years: Canada’s Failed Coup d’état Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council still here
Haudenosaunee Confederacy Council still alive despite Canada’s attempt to oust the oldest democracy By Lynda Powless Editor It was a coup d’état that failed. For 100 years Canada has attempted to oust the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC) and for 100 years Six Nation Grand River supporters have fought back keeping it alive. From a violent attempted overthrow of the traditional Haudenosaunee national council in 1924, to the RCMP’s second removal of HCCC supporters in 1959 from the same building to the imposition of an elected band council. Now in 2024 the HCCC has recovered its council building a symbol in the heart of the community that they are still here, a century old Indigenous government still actively operating. This week marks both the anniversary of Canada’s attempted coup d’état and...
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Five unit townhouses completed
By Austin Evans Writer Five new townhouses near Fourth Line Road were unveiled, with promises that they would provide affordable housing for families. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) announced the completion of phase two of the Onondaga construction project on October 3. The Onondaga construction project is a collaboration between SNEC and Habitat for Humanity aiming to provide safe and affordable rental options for families within Six Nations. The newest building, also called Onondaga 2, is a five-unit housing building with one three-bedroom unit, two two-bedroom units and two one-bedroom units. Onondaga 2 sits at 49 Harold Road in Ohsweken, directly beside Onondaga 1 which was completed in December 2023. Onondaga 2 is five townhouses labelled A to E and Onondaga 1 is labelled F to J. The Onondaga buildings,...
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Fairy or mushroom rings, it’s a first for local resident
By Austin Evans Writer The spookiest month of the year started early for one Six Nations resident who found seven fairy circles on his property. Fred Clause didn’t used to believe in fairies, but he’s not so sure after fairy circles started mysteriously appearing on his lawn. Clause was mowing the grass the week of September 16 when he first started noticing dark rings of grass on his lawn. “All of a sudden I’d seen these circles, and I was wondering what it was,” he said. “I phoned my niece in Fredericton, New Brunswick if she’s seen it and she texted me back and she said those are fairy circles.” Fairy circles start off as dark rings of grass in an otherwise uniform field of grass. After a while, mushrooms...
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Family dispute leads to man charged with assault
A Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN) resident was arrested for possession of an illegal firearm and disobeying court orders after a family dispute. The Haldimand detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a family dispute on Ojibway Road in MCFN at approximately 12:10 pm on September 22. Police arrested a 20-year-old MCFN resident following the dispute, though they have not released any information identifying them. As a result of the investigation, the OPP charged the arrested person with assault, unauthorized possession of a firearm, disobeying a court order, two counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition contrary to a probation order, and four charges of failing to comply with a probation order. The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cayuga...
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