A walk in her shoes marks November’s Family Violence Prevention Month
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Blood Tribe First Responders along with other community members traded their everyday footwear for a dazzling pair of heels to bring awareness to domestic violence. November is recognized as Family Violence Prevention Month across Alberta. For the last 12 years, Kainai Women’s Wellness Lodge has hosted the Walk in Her Shoes event to bring awareness about how domestic violence is affecting the community. Statistics Canada says in a 2018 report that forty-four per cent of Indigenous women have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime, which is almost double the number of non-Indigenous women. According to the Blood Tribe Police, in the last 12 months they received 19 domestic violence reports, with 11 of the 19 files receiving criminal charges. Shayla...
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Iqaluit hydroelectric dam to be fast-tracked by federal Major Projects Office
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Construction of an Iqaluit hydroelectric dam will get referred to the federal Major Projects Office to get fast-tracked, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday in Terrace, B.C. The Major Projects Office is responsible for prioritizing future infrastructure development by granting project approvals. “Today we’re referring the Iqaluit-Nukkiksautiit hydroelectric project to the Major Projects Office. This is a breakthrough. This is a breakthrough for Arctic sovereignty and sustainability,” Carney said. “It will be a 100 per cent Inuit-owned hydro energy project,” the prime minister added. “It will save $1.9 billion in diesel costs over the next 50 years while providing affordable, reliable, emissions-free power in the Arctic.” Carney stressed that the infrastructure development projects his government is fast-tracking are being built...
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New Brunswick’s Sisson Mine added to Ottawa’s list of ‘nation-building’ projects
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt is holding a news availability on the heels of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement of the latest group of projects being submitted for fast-tracking consideration. A tungsten mine in Sisson Brook, N.B., is on the list, as is a nickel mine in northern Ontario, a hydroelectric project in Iqaluit, a transmission line and an LGN project both in northwest British Columbia and a graphite mine in Quebec. Tungsten is an exceptionally strong metal used in steel production for military and mining equipment, and for storing energy. The federal government says tungsten markets are highly concentrated, and this project has the potential to make Canada a reliable supplier of the critical mineral to domestic and international partners while creating hundreds of new jobs. Carney and Holt...
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What is Ksi Lisims LNG, B.C. project being fast tracked by Feds?
By Canadian Press Staff The Ksi Lisims LNG facility in northern British Columbia and the North Coast Transmission Line that is planned to power it are among major projects that Prime Minister Mark Carney says will be reviewed for fast-track permitting and approval. Here are some facts about Ksi Lisims LNG, which has already been prioritized by the B.C. government. What will Ksi Lisims LNG do? The project is designed to be a massive LNG export facility in waters off the province’s northwest, in Nisga’a Nation territory. Based on two floating platforms, it would process up to 22.4 billion cubic metres of gas per year resulting in exports of 12 million tonnes of LNG per year. That is almost as much as the 14-million-tonne capacity of the first phase of...
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Minister promotes rural, western and Indigenous pathways to continued tourism success
By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Macleod Gazette A rich tapestry of western heritage unfolds beyond Alberta’s big cities and more famous destinations, providing amazing opportunities for tourists and rural entrepreneurs alike. That’s among the key messages offered up by Andrew Boitchenko, who joined cabinet last May as the province’s latest minister of tourism and sport. Boitchenko told The Macleod Gazette in a recent interview: “Rural Alberta is a chance to show visitors our communities’ connection to our western heritage, so they can actually see it and experience it.” Traditional farms and ranches are big in Alberta’s story, but there’s much more on offer. Among experiences worth exploring are glamping, hiking and snowshoeing adventures, Indigenous knowledge walks and corporate retreats. One destination success story Boitchenko points to is...
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Manitoba Hydro to Build Province’s First Public EV Charging Network Between Winnipeg and Thompson
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun On the long, lonely stretch of Highway 6, that endless ribbon of asphalt where the radio crackles and cell service is a rumour, something unlikely is coming. Electric vehicle chargers. Fast ones. The kind that can turn a battery from “stranded in the wild” to “rolling toward Thompson” in the time it takes to get a coffee. Manitoba Hydro has selected six northern and rural communities as the first sites for a publicly owned electric vehicle (EV) charging network, a project the Crown corporation says will finally fill the most significant gap in Manitoba’s EV infrastructure. The utility announced plans this week to install fast-charging stations along Highway 6, stretching from Winnipeg to Thompson. The first phase will include stations in...
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Among complaints resolved by Ontario’s patient ombudsman: a person who wasn’t told they had cancer for a year
By Hannah Alberga A growing number of people are filing complaints to Ontario’s patient ombudsman office, which says it wrapped a record number of investigations last year including a case where a person was discharged by a hospital without being told they had cancer. The Patient Ombudsman’s annual report released Thursday says there were 4,886 new complaints filed between April 2024 and March 2025, a 10 per cent increase over the year before. It also notes it resolved 4,863 complaints, some of which carry year-over-year. The report shows that many of the patients don’t feel heard and some left the emergency room prematurely, without followup. Others raised issues with use of force with challenging behaviours, as well as a lack of trauma-informed obstetrical/gynecological care, which The Canadian Press reported on...
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Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo: 2025 Federal Budget fails to uphold fiscal responsibility to First Nations
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase While spared from the harshest austerity measures outlined in the 2025 federal budget, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) is concerned about how upcoming cuts to Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) will impact the community. MCK Grand Chief Cody Diabo accused the federal government of failing to uphold its fiscal responsibility to First Nations with the budget. “One could see it as a way to starve us into submission,” Diabo said. Presented last week, the Liberal Party has touted the 2025 federal budget as an “investment budget,” reducing funding for social services in favour of increased spending on infrastructure projects. Professor Peter Graefe called the shift a clear break from the Trudeau-era approach to public spending. “Carney is changing the direction here, in...
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Kahnawake opposed to federal move to give status to over 3,500 people without consultation
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) Chief Jeremiah Johnson spoke out against the proposed Bill S-2 at the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples last week. The bill aims to update the Indian Act by removing outdated terminology and creating a pathway for people to reclaim Indian status due to involuntary enfranchisement. But Johnson argued that Bill S-2 does nothing to address the deeper colonial framework that is embedded into the Indian Act. “It doesn’t dismantle the system; it simply changes its vocabulary,” Johnson stressed. Tabled last spring by Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty, Bill S-2 would amend the Indian Act to align with the 2021 Supreme Court ruling in Nicholas v. Canada. The bill could allow an estimated 3,500 individuals to...
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Provincial healthcare provider doing Indigenous engagement in Slave Lake
By Pearl Lorentzen Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader Indigenous residents of Slave Lake and area are invited to have their say on health care provided by Covenant. Covenant is a faith-based health care provider in Alberta, with four branches: Covenant Health, Covenant Care, Covenant Living, and Covenant Foundation. The Slave Lake engagement is Tuesday, November 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre. It is the last of a series of engagements held by Covenant throughout Alberta, over the last six months. “One of our goals is to build relationships with Indigenous communities,” says Adam North Peigan. Peigan is the lead for Covenant’s Indigenous Health Development & Community Engagement. Peigan is a member of the Piikani First Nation in Treaty 7. Piikani is...
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In Gitanmaax, new family services department is fighting to protect children
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews This is the first story in a three-part series about child welfare jurisdiction in Gitanmaax. When a young girl handed Jim Woodworth a thank-you card, he hesitated to open it — knowing it might be emotional. As he read the card aloud, Woodworth’s voice caught. “I’m from Vancouver Island and I now know that I am also from Gitxsan, Hazelton,” the card reads. “I am so grateful to know about my Frog Clan and meet my family of which I belong. Thank you for bringing me home.” The card now sits on display inside the recently opened office for Gitanmaax’s new family services department, Wila Dildilsdi’m — which translates to “how we live.” Woodworth, Wila Dildilsdi’m’s director, shares the office with jurisdiction...
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Federal prison service ‘ill-equipped’ for long-term mental health care: watchdog
By Jim Bronskill Weak policies, insufficient training and a lack of specialized treatment are hindering the Correctional Service of Canada’s efforts to deliver mental health care, the federal prison ombudsman says in his latest annual report. Correctional investigator Ivan Zinger says it’s “abundantly clear” the prison service is fundamentally ill-equipped to provide long-term mental health care to people experiencing acute psychiatric distress, suicidal thoughts or chronic self-injury. In cases involving such serious mental illnesses, transfers to external, secure, community-based psychiatric hospitals are necessary, Zinger says in the report. The Correctional Service of Canada routinely transfers individuals requiring complex physical care — such as chemotherapy or heart surgery — to external hospitals, Zinger notes. “It would be unthinkable to attempt such procedures in-house,” he writes. “Yet, when it comes to mental...
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Lawsuits challenge land exchange aimed at allowing a road to be built in an Alaska wildlife refuge
By Becky Bohrer JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Native tribes and conservation groups sued the federal government Wednesday, seeking in at least three separate lawsuits to overturn a land exchange aimed at allowing a road to be built through a national wildlife refuge. Legal challenges to the land exchange agreement reached last month between Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and an Alaska Native village corporation include claims that it was not properly analyzed, that it poses risks to sensitive habitats and that it could threaten migratory birds that some Alaska Natives rely on for food. King Cove, a community of about 870 people near the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, has for years pushed to have a road built through the refuge for access to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, about...
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Ontario urban Indigenous students reclaim identity with Atlantic salmon restoration
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Indigenous students in southern Ontario are raising Atlantic salmon eggs in classroom tanks, reviving a species lost for over a year and reconnecting with their culture in the process. Each January, classrooms welcome about a hundred tiny Atlantic salmon eggs nestled inside “fish condos.” Over the next few months, students in Grades 5 through 8 watch the eggs come to life as they learn about native biodiversity, ecosystem health and stewardship. When it’s time to release the young salmon into restoration streams such as Duffins Creek, the day becomes a ceremony — students lay tobacco and berries on birch bark to honour the fish’s return to local waters. “Throughout the program kids built relationships with the salmon. They help raise...
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Carney government reduces savings targets for some departments, agencies, includes Crown Indigenous Affairs
By Catherine Morrison Eight fewer departments and agencies are being asked to slash their budgets at least 15 per cent over the next three years, a move one economist says shows Ottawa’s cost cutting exercise was not “thought through.” Earlier this year, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne directed most ministers to find ways to cut their departments’ program spending by 15 per cent over the next three years. At the time, the government said National Defence, the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency would have lower savings targets of two per cent. The federal budget proposes to add eight more departments to that list. They include the Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Indigenous Services Canada and the Department for Women and Gender Equality. The other government bodies facing two...
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Addiction recovery program, wellness workshop being offered
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal Options for becoming sober and enhancing one’s well-being have surfaced. Fort William First Nation is offering affected band members a cost-free option for breaking free of addiction. “This program is open to band members who are ready and committed to their recovery,” a reserve bulletin said. “A detox bed will be reserved before departure to (a care facility) to ensure your safety and comfort as you begin your healing journey,” it added. Participants must first complete intake forms and other documents before being accepted into the program, the bulletin said. Those who are interested can contact the community’s mental health and addictions team by calling 807-622-8802. And later this month, Fort William First Nation is hosting a wellness workshop that aims...
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All northern Alberta MLAs oppose the removal of Lesser Slave Lake riding
By Pearl Lorentzen, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeside Leader At the moment, Alberta has 10 provincial electoral divisions in northern Alberta. The Electoral Boundary Commission proposes removing the Lesser Slave Lake riding, and increasing the size of the other ridings. All 10 MLAs for northern Alberta have spoken against the change. Scott Sinclair, MLA for Lesser Slave Lake, has been vocal in his opposition (see article in the Nov. 5 Leader). The remaining northern Alberta MLAs are also opposed to the change. A letter from the nine UCP MLAs is on Page 10 of this week’s Leader. The MLAs are Dan Williams (MLA for Peace River), Glenn van Dijken (MLA for Athabasca – Barrhead – Westlock), Scott Cyr (MLA for Bonnyville – Cold Lake – St. Paul), Brian Jean (MLA...
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‘Fed up’ Mi’kmaw allies to stand shoulder to shoulder for treaty rights rally Saturday
By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post A coalition of Mi’kmaw, settler groups and communities from across Nova Scotia will gather at Halifax Commons this weekend in a movement called “Shoulder to Shoulder.” The rally is being held to call on the provincial Tim Houston government to respect Mi’kmaw rights, follow democratic processes and stop selling off Nova Scotia to corporate interests. Events in Cape Breton are a catalyst for the gathering. “If you live, work, play or pray in Nova Scotia, we want you there,” say Mi’kmaw land defenders Glenda Junta of Eskasoni and Michelle Paul of Acadia First Nation. “We’re standing in solidarity with all resistance movements in Nova Scotia. We want to hear your voices.” Both women are spending time on Hunter’s Mountain in...
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Ignoring Indigenous consent poses real financial risk to investors, securities regulators warned
By Aaron Walker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com The Anishnawbe Business Professional Association (ABPA) is calling on the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) to take stronger action against “redwashing” — the corporate misuse of reconciliation language. ABPA warned that redwashing could expose investors, pension funds, and taxpayers to major financial losses. In a position paper titled From Reconciliation to Regulation, the association argued that many companies use positive imagery and community sponsorships to project reconciliation while continuing large-scale projects on Indigenous lands without securing free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC). “Redwashing is the gap between a company’s marketing and its reality,” said ABPA president Jason Rasevych. “A company cannot ‘redwash’ its operations by sponsoring a community festival while simultaneously ignoring its duty to obtain consent on a project. It’s a corporate...
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Tribes that restored buffalo are killing some to feed people because of the shutdown
By Matthew Brown And Graham Lee Brewer Of And Amelia Schafer Of Ict WOLF POINT, Mont. (AP) — On the open plains of the Fort Peck Reservation, Robert Magnan leaned out the window of his truck, set a rifle against the door frame and then “pop!” — a bison tumbled dead in its tracks. Magnan and a co-worker shot two more bison, also known as buffalo, and quickly field dressed the animals before carting them off for processing into ground beef and cuts of meat for distribution to members of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in northern Montana. As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., plod toward resolving the record government shutdown that interrupted food aid for tens of millions of people, tribal leaders on rural reservations across the Great...
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