Quebec launches review of Puvirnituq water crisis
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The Quebec government is launching an independent review of the Puvirnituq water crisis to determine the causes and a path forward, says Ian Lafrenière, the minister responsible for relations with First Nations and the Inuit. “We’re not looking for a Band-Aid solution. I want to see how we can do better, what could be done, what’s feasible. This is a priority for us,” Lafrenière said Tuesday in an interview with Nunatsiaq News. He visited Puvirnituq for a few hours on June 20 for the first time since the state of emergency was declared in Nunavik’s second-largest community of roughly 2,100. The state of emergency lasted 20 days, ending June 6. The water crisis was spurred by a break in the main...
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What to know about “Alligator Alcatraz,” Florida’s immigration detention site in the Everglades
By Kate Payne TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — An immigration detention facility located at an isolated Everglades airfield surrounded by mosquito-, python- and alligator-filled swamplands is just days away from being operational, federal officials said Tuesday. Florida officials are racing ahead with the construction of what they’ve dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” to help carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, working to build a compound of heavy-duty tents, trailers and temporary buildings similar to sites used during natural disasters. The construction of the facility in the remote and ecologically sensitive wetland about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami is alarming human rights advocates and environmentalists. State officials say the installation is critical to support the federal government’s immigration enforcement agenda. Florida is moving forward with the construction on land...
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Canada Post honours Indigenous leaders in their fields
Canada Post has issued a stamp honouring a First Nations Elder and Knowledge Keeper who has spent more than five decades preserving the language and culture of his people . Bruce Starlight from Tsúut’ínà Nation, Julia Haogak Ogina and Sophie McDougall are three Indigenous leaders being immortalized on stamps. The stamps were issued on June 20, a day before National Indigenous Peoples Day. Known as Dit’óní Didlishí (Spotted Eagle), Bruce Starlight is an Elder and Knowledge Keeper who has spent more than five decades advocating to save his language and culture from extinction. The set is the fourth in Canada Post’s multi-year Indigenous Leaders series. Starlight is the son of the late Chief James “Jim” Starlight and was born in 1947 on the Tsúut’ínà Nation. Starlight served as chief...
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OPP asking for public’s help after theft of canoe
BRANT, ON – The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is investigating the theft of a canoe from a property on Salt Springs Church Road. The incident occurred prior to 7:00 a.m. on May 16, 2025. The stolen canoe is described as red in colour and had been stored outside the residence. Video surveillance from the property captured a male suspect taking the canoe and attempting to gain entry to a nearby boathouse. No additional property was reported stolen. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at www.crimestoppersbb.com or 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS)....
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With hot weather Brant OPP urging vigilance…lock those doors and windows
BRANT, ON – The Brant County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is warning the public of what may be a hot weather related increase in break and enter incidents across the region and are encouraging residents and business owners to take preventative action. With temperatures rising during overnight hours, OPP said offenders are taking advantage of open windows, unsecured doors, and the ease of being out in public areas during the late-night hours without drawing attention. The seasonal change also means more people are outside later, increasing the opportunity for both suspicious activity and unintentional security lapses. Homeowners are urged to: Lock all doors and windows, even while at home or during short absences. Use motion-activated exterior lighting and security cameras where possible. Avoid leaving valuables in visible areas near windows...
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BC First Nations are leading a waste revolution
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A thick smoke from a burning garbage dump used to hang over Lil’wat Nation, putting the community’s health at risk. “I’d go up there to clean up, and people would be lighting the dump on fire,” said Calvin Jameson, a public works superintendent for the community about 150 kilometres north of Vancouver. “There was everything you could name — paint, batteries, oil, tires. And when you came up the hill, there’d be a layer of smoke right above the nation.” Smoke drifted into homes, schools and the health centre, forcing families to keep their windows closed as they feared for the health of elders and children. For years, complaints about the dump went unheeded — until Jameson took matters into...
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BC First Nations are leading a waste revolution
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A thick smoke from a burning garbage dump used to hang over Lil’wat Nation, putting the community’s health at risk. “I’d go up there to clean up, and people would be lighting the dump on fire,” said Calvin Jameson, a public works superintendent for the community about 150 kilometres north of Vancouver. “There was everything you could name — paint, batteries, oil, tires. And when you came up the hill, there’d be a layer of smoke right above the nation.” Smoke drifted into homes, schools and the health centre, forcing families to keep their windows closed as they feared for the health of elders and children. For years, complaints about the dump went unheeded — until Jameson took matters into...
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Newly launched Access to Information review is flawed, transparency advocates say
By Jim Bronskill A newly launched federal review of the Access to Information system is being greeted with deep skepticism by transparency advocates. The Treasury Board Secretariat announced the government review, which takes place every five years, in a news release late Friday. The release says officials will seek input from a broad range of Canadians, Indigenous groups, experts and other interested people in the coming weeks and months. For a $5 fee, people can use the access law to ask for federal documents — anything from internal emails to policy memos — but the law is widely seen as out of date and poorly administered. Federal agencies are supposed to respond to requests within 30 days or provide valid reasons explaining why they need more time. Many users complain...
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Indigenous People’s Day provides historical learning in Unama’ki
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post It all began on Cape Breton with a gift of tobacco and a prayer on Saturday as the sun was coming up over the horizon and its light was striking the majestic Louisbourg lighthouse. About three dozen people stood in a circle in strong winds and overcast skies while Eskasoni elder and knowledge-keeper Lottie Johnson prayed and the “Mi’kmaq Honour Song” was drummed to commemorate National Indigenous People’s Day held annually on June 21. Saturday was just one day in a month when the federal government invites Canadians to reflect on what unites us all, such as: equity, respect for human rights, diversity, and a shared hope for a more inclusive future. Johnson, a residential school survivor and acclaimed Mi’kmaw...
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The Latest: Trump ceasefire plan falters as Israel says Iran launched more missiles
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he believed that both Israel and Iran violated ceasefire terms with attacks that followed an early Tuesday deadline to cease hostilities. Israel accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the ceasefire was supposed to take effect. Iran’s state media said its military denied firing on Israel. Trump said Iran “violated it but Israel violated it too … I’m not happy with Israel.” Israel and Iran had accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Trump to end their 12-day war that had roiled the Middle East, following Tehran’s limited, retaliatory missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar on Monday. Here is the latest: Trump ‘exceptionally firm and direct’ in call with Netanyahu President Donald Trump has spoken to Israeli Prime Minster...
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St. John’s, N.L., streets won’t be named for people to avoid problematic legacies
Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city will no longer name new streets and city buildings after individual people. Councillors with the City of St. John’s, N.L., voted unanimously to accept the new policy during a meeting last week. It was presented by Coun. Ron Ellsworth, who said naming streets and buildings after people comes with a host of risks, including political polarization and uneven representation of different demographics. It also comes with the risk of naming a street or building after someone whose legacy later gets tarnished, he said. “Obviously, we’ve seen what’s happened provincially and nationally, around the history of different names being in place, that history was not kind to and therefore may not merely represent the community as a whole,” Ellsworth said in an interview Monday. Both the...
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Early-season heat dome brings highest temperatures in years to parts of Eastern US
By Seth Borenstein NEW YORK (AP) — An intense and nearly historic weather pattern is cooking much of America under a dangerous heat dome this week with triple-digit temperatures in places that haven’t been so hot in more than a decade. The heat wave is especially threatening because it’s hitting cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia early in the summer when people haven’t gotten their bodies adapted to the broiling conditions, several meteorologists said. The dome of high pressure that’s parking over the eastern United States is trapping hot air from the Southwest that already made an uncomfortable stop in the Midwest. A key measurement of the strength of the high pressure broke a record Monday and was the third-highest reading for any date, making for a “near historic”...
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Do special economic zones really work? Economists break down Doug Ford’s controversial Bill 5
By Anushka Yadav, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer In just 49 days, the Doug Ford PC government pushed through Bill 5, despite strong opposition from Indigenous communities, legal experts, civil society organizations and environmental advocates. The justification? The Premier and his PC MPPs have declared that Ontario is engaged in an “economic war” with the United States, and extraordinary measures are necessary. But critics say this crisis framing masks a deeper truth: the policy direction behind Bill 5, dubbed the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, was already underway well before trade tensions were ever on the radar. Central to the legislation is the Special Economic Zones Act, or Schedule 9, which gives sweeping authority to the Lieutenant Governor in Council to designate special economic zones (SEZs) and...
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Mandatory watercraft inspections hope to stop invasive mussels
By Chantel Downes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeland This Week According to the Government of Alberta, invasive mussels are spreading rapidly across Canada and North America, causing major economic damage. Zebra mussels alone cost up to $500 million annually in the Great Lakes region. In Alberta, a single infestation in Lake McGregor could result in $284 million in yearly damages. “First of all, we are mussel-free and we want to keep that designation. So, it was important for us to move quickly on this,” said Grant Hunter, MLA for Taber-Warner and chair of the Provincial Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force. For the Cold Lake area, where boating and recreation are integral to summer life, the new rules are especially significant. A key inspection station has been set up on Highway...
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First Nations police force in growth mode
The Manitoba First Nations Police Service continues to grow this year after it took on an 11th community and prepares for more staff and responsibility. The police force officially took over responsibility for Dakota Plains Wahpeton Nation on June 2. The transfer of service from the RCMP is part of a wider trend in recent years, as MFNPS spokesperson Darryl Hunter told the Sun last month the service would expand to Fisher River Cree Nation in November and discuss expansions to other communities in the coming years. Chief Donny Smoke of Dakota Plains said at the signing this month that the community chose to switch to MFNPS to be more rooted in Indigenous culture. He said the community foresees a better connection with the police service because it puts an...
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Judge signals private property off the table in big Aboriginal title claim
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner One of the judges looking at the Wolastoqey Nation’s massive title claim in New Brunswick says little good would come out of private property owners losing possession of their land to Indigenous people. Justice Ernest Drapeau is one of three judges hearing an appeal launched by three timber firms that fear the Wolastoqey will get a toehold on their vast woodlands where they do business in western New Brunswick. The case before New Brunswick’s Court of Appeal – the province’s highest court – centres around a lower-court ruling last November in which the judge agreed to remove the big private owners from the claim but left their land in the lawsuit, opening the door, they fear, to future expropriation by...
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Kahnawake’s Wealth Fund grows in first year
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door The community is more than $4 million richer after the Kahnawake Sovereign Wealth Fund (KSWF)’s first year of investment, a 13 percent return, but it’s still a long way to go to $1 billion. That’s the amount the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake hopes to reach with the fund over the next 100 years. “When you think about future generations, if we have an investment fund of $1 billion plus, then we’ll really be in control of our future, financially independent, able to make our own decisions, and invest in our sovereignty without the restrictions that come with external government funding,” said MCK chief Paul Rice, who leads the economic development portfolio. Kahnawa’kehró:non won’t have to live 100 years to see...
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Iconic North Bay roadside sculpture laid to ground
By David Briggs, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, BayToday.ca An iconic roadside sculpture has been laid down, ready to return to the earth. Yesterday, the Canadian Ecology Centre hosted a gathering and a ceremony to lay to rest the Nibiising sculpture familiar to so many within the region. About 20 people endured relentless rain and an unseasonable chill to partake in the event, which also commemorated National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. The purpose was to return the sculpture to the earth, following the west coast example of retiring old totem poles. The 26-foot-long sculpture now lies facing the sky, ready for the hands of time to reclaim it to the soil. Elder Richard Assinewe from the Anishinabek Nation led the pipe ceremony, and the Shadow Drummers from Mattawa provided...
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Alberta sovereignty group brings message to city
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald The Alberta sovereignty organization held a sold-out meeting of 375 people in Lethbridge this week to discuss what a possible independent Alberta could look like. Mitch Sylvestre, chief executive officer of the Alberta Prosperity Project, says he’s noticed since the last election an uprise in Albertans who have lost hope in federal politics, and APP wants to offer those discouraged Albertans hope. “I think we’re giving them the opportunity to have hope and to give them the opportunity to support change by participating in a democracy,” says Silvestre. When asked about those who don’t agree with separating from Canada, Sylvestre says they are more than welcome to participate in a referendum on Alberta sovereignty. However, he adds he has yet to...
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First Nations youth say they’re ‘starting a movement’ against major projects bills
By Alessia Passafiume First Nations youth leaders are warning Canadians can expect a long, tense summer of protests as governments push forward with plans to fast-track major projects — and young people will be leading the charge. “You will see us in your cities, your city’s hubs,” said Ramon Kataquapit, a youth councillor with the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation and a member of Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario. The federal Liberal government’s Bill C-5, which passed through the House of Commons Friday night, allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines. It sailed through a Commons committee in the early hours of Thursday with support from the Conservatives. And in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford’s Conservatives have passed legislation...
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