Community comes together to mark Red Dress Day at Fort St. John events
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Although the crowd was small, the message about the “genocide” of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) rang loudly during a lunchtime walk at Fort St. John’s Festival Plaza. They walked in multi-coloured ribbon skirts and wore beaded earrings and red hoodies to honour their loved ones during the Red Dress Day walk on May 5th. First observed in 2010, Red Dress Day honours MMIWG in what is seen by some as a “genocidal” problem in Canada. Data from Statistics Canada shows six times more Indigenous women were murdered or missing between 2009 and 2021 versus non-Indigenous women. The information is more alarming considering Indigenous women make up just four per cent of the total...
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‘We stand in solidarity’: Métis society on 15th anniversary of local woman’s disappearance
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — It has been 15 years since the disappearance of a local Indigenous woman – but still no answers as to how and why she vanished. Métis woman Abigail Andrews was last seen on April 7th, 2010. The then 28-year-old was pregnant with her first child, had talked to her mother around 7 p.m. that April evening and informed neighbours she was going to visit a male friend, according to a neighbour’s account. Then she disappeared without a trace. In a statement recently issued to Energeticcity.ca, the Fort St. John Métis Society described the Andrews story as a “deeply sensitive situation.” “The fact that a local Indigenous woman went missing is deeply troubling to us,” wrote the society...
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Alberta premier promises separation referendum in 2026 if petition signatures warrant
By Lisa Johnson Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she will hold a referendum on provincial separation next year if citizens gather the required signatures on a petition. Smith, in a livestream address Monday, said she wants a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada but there is a growing number of Albertans who are unhappy with Confederation, and are organizing petitions to push for an exit. “The vast majority of these individuals are not fringe voices to be marginalized or vilified. They are loyal Albertans,” she said. “They’re frustrated, and they have every reason to be.” Last week, a day after the federal election, Smith’s United Conservative government introduced legislation that, if passed, would sharply reduce the bar petitioners need to meet to trigger a provincial referendum. The bill would change...
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B.C. MP Don Davies chosen as interim NDP leader to succeed Jagmeet Singh
By David Baxter B.C. MP Don Davies will be the interim leader for the New Democratic Party of Canada, chosen by the party’s national council Monday evening. Former leader Jagmeet Singh announced his resignation after he lost his own Burnaby Central seat in the April 28 election. Davies led the NDP negotiations with the Liberal government to advance dental care and pharmacare legislation while serving as the party’s health critic, then finance critic, in the last session of Parliament. The NDP caucus met twice last week to talk about the party’s leadership situation, which helped inform the national council’s decision Monday. The NDP lost official party status last week when it was reduced to seven seats in the House of Commons. The last time that happened was after the 1993...
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An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip is met with alarm
By Wafaa Shurafa And Melanie Lidman DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli plan to seize the Gaza Strip and expand the military operation has alarmed many in the region. Palestinians are exhausted and hopeless, pummeled by 19 months of heavy bombing. Families of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza are terrified that the possibility of a ceasefire is slipping further away. “What’s left for you to bomb?” asked Moaz Kahlout, a displaced man from Gaza City who said many resort to GPS to locate the rubble of homes wiped out in the war. Israeli officials said Monday that Cabinet ministers approved the plan to seize Gaza and remain in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time — news that came hours after the military chief...
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Six Nations Police’ “Project Roll the Dice” sees two facing drug charges
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police have charged two people in connection with a drug investigation dubbed “Project Roll the Dice.” A Six Nations Police (SNP) Drug Enforcement Unit fentanyl and cocaine trafficking investigation came to an end Friday May 2nd after police armed with drug and substances act search warrants raided a Mississauga Road residence and a vehicle located in the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. As a result of the investigation SNP seized: – Approximiately 58 grams of fentanyl – Approximately 17 grams of cocaine – Bulk currency, drug packaging, digital scales and cell phones Police arrested and charged: Darryl Thomas Wythe Jr. 31, of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, ON, , He has been charged with – Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking...
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Can Mark Carney rebuild trust with Indigenous people?
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Indigenous communities are closely watching how the new Carney government will rebuild the trust that some critics say was eroded under Justin Trudeau’s leadership. Trudeau’s government failed to deliver on its promise to lift all long-term drinking water advisories and made little progress on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. Meanwhile, resource projects such as the Trans Mountain pipeline moved forward without full Indigenous consent. Trudeau was the first prime minister to put Indigenous reconciliation on the national agenda, which was a step forward. But he set expectations that weren’t realistic for his term, said Niigaan Sinclair, Anishinaabe scholar, commentator and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba. As a result, Sinclair said there was a...
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Indian Head couple recognized with SaskVolunteer Medal
By Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator A group of people received the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal in Regina recently, including Dr. Bruce Neill and Laura Poppy from Indian Head. The 29th annual presentation of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal took place on April 29 at Government House with 15 honourees from across the province in attendance. Coinciding with National Volunteer Week, the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan presented the medals in person. “The theme of volunteer week this year is Volunteers Make Waves,” she said. “When volunteers come together and push towards a common goal, like waves on the ocean, they roll forward—building momentum, making powerful impacts, sending ripples outward to benefit others that they may never meet. In Saskatchewan, we send out volunteer waves out over...
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Manitoba First Nation evacuated due to nearby wildfires, one home destroyed
A tribal council representing seven First Nations in Manitoba’s Interlake region has declared a state of emergency as wildfires have destroyed homes and continue to threaten some communities. The Interlake Reserves Tribal Council says homes in Pinaymootang and Peguis First Nations have burned down as nearby wildfires spread over the weekend because of high winds, hot temperatures and dry conditions. The tribal council says two wildfires on each side of the road into Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation are rapidly approaching and the community has begun evacuation efforts. Peguis First Nation declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening as nearby wildfires spread, resulting in the loss of at least one home and several garages and outbuildings. In a social media post this morning, Peguis says roughly 350 evacuees were sent to...
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MMIWG: Father says women are disappearing and it must stop
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Close to 50 people, including the father of a woman killed in July, met at the Red Dress Garden to honour the lives of Membertou band members who have died due to violence. The sound of traditional drumming and song wafted skyward while overhead an eagle circled and circled as if listening to the strong and comforting drum beats. It was an emotional and intimate gathering on Saturday afternoon when close to 50 people met at the Red Dress Garden to honour the lives of Membertou band members who have died due to violence. After band member Jeff Ward performed a ceremonial smudge and participated in the “Honour Song,” he spoke what others were thinking: “The eagle circled and circled...
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They don’t have a vote in the conclave, but nuns leading the world’s religious orders gather in Rome
By Giovanna Dell’orto ROME (AP) — They don’t have a vote in the election of a pope, but nearly 900 superiors of the world’s female religious orders gathered in Rome on Monday to chart a course forward, just a few miles away from where cardinals will begin voting this week to choose a successor to Pope Francis. Sister Mary Barron, the president of the umbrella group of leaders of women’s religious orders, urged the superiors and the thousands of nuns around the world who are involved in a myriad of ministries to pray that the cardinals make the right choice and ponder how to carry forward Pope Francis ‘ vision. “We must be vigilant in doing our part to keep that flame of church renewal alive,” she told the assembly...
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Ahead of the conclave, the Vatican staff is to be sworn to secrecy under threat of excommunication
By Vanessa Gera VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cleaners and cooks. Doctors and nurses. Even drivers and elevator operators. All the support staff for the cardinals who will elect the successor to Pope Francis are taking an oath of secrecy on Monday ahead of the conclave that’s starting on Wednesday. The punishment for breaking the oath? Automatic excommunication. The oath-taking is being held in the Pauline Chapel at the Vatican for all those assigned to the upcoming conclave. They include clerics in support roles, including confessors speaking various languages. The cardinals themselves will take their oath on Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel, before they cast their first ballots. But an array of laypeople are also required to house and feed the cardinals. A conclave’s duration cannot be predicted — and it...
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Entrepreneurs working to find funds to restore historic theatres across the Prairies
By Aaron Sousa Not a day goes by that David Stupnikoff doesn’t think about the Princess Theatre. “I drive by it regularly, and I’ve had other friends and people that have visited, and they have such great memories of it,” said Stupnikoff, a courier service owner and show promoter. “People wish it would come back.” Juxtaposed between two brownstones in Edmonton’s historic Old Strathcona district, it is one of a handful of early theatres still standing in Alberta. Opening in 1915, it promised “high class moving pictures” and “high class” vaudeville performances. Until 1940, it was the only movie house in south Edmonton. For a brief period in the 1970s, it showed erotic movies. The theatre shuttered in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and has sat vacant since. “It’s kind...
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Indigenous leaders hopeful for Carney-led government on economy, reconciliation
By Alessia Passafiume Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed says he doesn’t expect Prime Minister Mark Carney to get everything right immediately as he learns about and crafts policies for Indigenous Peoples, but it’s clear he’s willing to learn. And the leaders of the three national Indigenous organizations say that while former prime minister Justin Trudeau — who helped bring forward a national conservation on reconciliation when elected in 2015 — is no longer at the helm of the party, Carney won’t stray too far from the priorities his government worked on, even if there’s an increased focus on the economy. Obed said Carney’s plan shows a commitment to continuing with reconciliation, and an understanding of the important role Indigenous Peoples play in the economy and the role they can...
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Hudson’s Bay Company records give public chance to “reconnect” with ancestors
By Brittany Hobson Dyana Lavallee stares at a copy of a photograph on display to the public at the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives in Winnipeg. The Metis woman quickly recognizes it as the same one her grandmother had years ago. “This is my family,” she said referring to the figures in the picture. “I’m actually shaking a bit.” It’s not the first time Lavallee has visited the archives, but it is the first time she’s seen that photo among the thousands of historical documents that are housed at the Archives of Manitoba. The collection, which is owned by the province, features items including the company’s first minutes book from 1671, historical maps, videos, audio recordings and so many diaries, letters and research notes that the textual records alone take up...
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Indigenous Group of Seven works coming to Whyte Museum
By John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative, Rocky Mountain Outlook BANFF – A new collection featuring the works of the Indigenous Group of Seven is coming to Banff. The Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies is hosting The Ancestors Are Talking: Paintings by the Indigenous Seven starting May 2 to Oct. 19. Curated by Joseph Sánchez, the last living member of the Indigenous Group of Seven, alongside The Whyte’s curators, Dawn Saunders Dahl and Christina Cuthbertson, the exhibition celebrates the work of the Indigenous Group of Seven. The Indigenous Group of Seven consisted of Sánchez, as well as Jackson Beardy, Eddy Cobiness, Alex Janvier, Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, and Carl Ray. The group was formed in 1973 as the group discussed their mutual concerns about art. Originally under the moniker, Professional...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney says he has priorities for his new government — here are 5 of them
By Canadian Press Staff Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out his priorities at his first postelection press conference on Friday, four days after his party won a minority mandate in the April 28 election. Here’s a quick look at the items topping his agenda. — Building up Canadian resilience Carney said he will head into his first tête-à-tête with U.S. President Donald Trump on May 6 anticipating “difficult but constructive discussions” on trade and security. He also said it’s an early meeting and the public should not expect immediate results. Carney vowed to fight for the “best deal” possible for Canada and said he would take as long as necessary to get there. Arguing that Canada can give itself “more than the Americans can take away,” he also promised to...
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Minneapolis shooting suspect is charged with four homicides. The Native American community is shaken
By Steve Karnowski MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Six people who all knew each other were inside a vehicle when one, a man with an alleged gang connection, shot each of them in the head before fleeing, according to newly unsealed criminal charges in this week’s mass shooting in Minneapolis. Three victims died at the scene early Tuesday. Another succumbed to his wounds Thursday. One remains hospitalized after being shot in the face but was able to identify the shooter to police, according to the charges. And investigators believe a fifth person was killed hours later in retaliation. A suspect in the first shooting was arrested Thursday and has been charged with murder. Police say the victims were all Native Americans and the shooting was gang-related. The rash of violence has shaken...
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Alberta Premier Smith says meeting with PM Carney a ‘positive first step’
By Jack Farrell Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she has had a “positive” meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. The meeting is the first since Carney’s Liberals won Monday’s election and Smith warned the prime minister of any “hostile acts” his new government might take against her province. Smith, who frequently diminished Carney throughout the election campaign in favour of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, said on social media Friday that she and Carney had a lengthy conversation about policies and legislation that are holding back Alberta’s energy economy. “We also discussed our ongoing trade dispute with the United States and how the federal government can work co-operatively with our province to advance both Canada’s and Alberta’s interests,” Smith said. “Repairing the damage to Alberta’s economy caused by Ottawa’s last 10...
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Dinner parties, listening and lobbying. What goes on behind closed doors to elect a pope
By Nicole Winfield ROME (AP) — Rome is bustling with jasmine blooming and tourists swarming, but behind closed doors these are the days of dinner parties, coffee klatches and private meetings as cardinals in town to elect a successor to Pope Francis suss out who among them has the stuff to be next. It was in this period of pre-conclave huddling in March of 2013 that Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the retired archbishop of Westminster, and other reform-minded Europeans began pushing the candidacy of an Argentine Jesuit named Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Their dinner table lobbying worked and Pope Francis won on the fifth ballot. Cardinal Vincent Nichols may have inherited Murphy-O’Connor’s position as archbishop of Westminster, but he’s not taking on the job as the front-man papal lobbyist in these days...
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