Ontario education minister to schools ahead of Oct. 7: keep ‘biases’ out of classroom
(CP)-Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop is telling school boards to keep classrooms free of “political biases” ahead of the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. Dunlop says in a memo to boards that as Oct. 7 approaches, she wants all school boards to “be vigilant in ensuring classrooms remain safe, inclusive, and welcoming for all students and staff.” She says it is particularly important as the province, including its schools, sees a rise in intolerance, racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia. The memo comes as the Ministry of Education investigates a Toronto District School Board field trip that saw students from 15 schools attend a protest on mercury contamination that is affecting a First Nation community in the north. Videos on social media showed some...
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New law requires California schools to teach about historical mistreatment of Native Americans
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — For Johnny Hernandez Jr., vice chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in Southern California, it was difficult as a kid growing up around San Bernardino to hear two different accounts of the histories of Indigenous peoples in the state. One account came from his elders and was based on their lived experiences, and another came from his teachers at school and glossed over decades of mistreatment Native American people faced. “You have your family, but then you have the people you’re supposed to respect — teachers and the administration,” he said. “As a kid — I’ll speak for myself — it is confusing to … know who’s telling the truth.” Now a bill signed into law by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday...
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Winnipeg’s Portage Place to soon ‘breathe again’ as purchase poised to close
(CP)-A real estate developer says it’s poised to close its purchase of a struggling downtown Winnipeg shopping centre and turn it into affordable housing, health-care services and gathering spaces. True North Real Estate Development says it has reached an agreement to buy Portage Place and its underlying land and parking, and that work is to begin to finalize the deal in the coming days. True North, the real estate arm of the company that owns the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets, says the milestone for the $650-million development comes after more than two years of consultations with various orders of government. True North has partnered with the Southern Chiefs Organization to build a 15-storey residential tower, with 40 per cent of its more than 200 units being rented at affordable rates. The...
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Nunavut RCMP say man charged in 1986 death of girl served time for two other murders
(CP)-The Nunavut RCMP says a man recently charged in the killing of a 15-year-old girl about four decades ago had served time for two other murders when he was arrested this week at a halfway house in Ottawa. RCMP spokesman Cpl. George Henrie says Jopey Atsiqtaq was out on parole and living at the halfway house after serving a sentence for killing two other people in Iqaluit in the 1980s. “He did his 25-year life sentence, was released from the prison system, and he was residing at a halfway house with various conditions,” Henrie said in a phone interview Friday. He was arrested Tuesday at the house and appeared in court in Iqaluit the next day on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Mary Ann Birmingham. RCMP...
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How Indigenous relations specialists are bringing reconciliation to the workplace
(CP)-When Annie Korver sits down with a new corporate or small business client, she encourages them to focus first on the “truth” part of Truth and Reconciliation. Organizations often hire Korver to help them develop a reconciliation action plan — the term for a formal document laying out what a company plans to do to improve its relationship with Canada’s Indigenous people. But the Fernie, B.C.-based founder and principal of Rise Consulting says companies first have to grapple with the reality of this country’s painful past. “I’ll ask them, ‘What experiences have you had? Have you read some books? Have you been in (an Indigenous) community?’ And that helps me be able to shape recommendations for how we might walk together,” said Korver. “We always start at the beginning with...
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A tiny tribe is getting pushback for betting big on a $600M casino in California’s wine country
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For decades a small, landless tribe in Northern California has been on a mission to get land, open a casino and tap into the gaming market enjoyed by so many other tribes that earn millions of dollars annually. The Koi Nation’s chances of owning a Las Vegas-style casino seemed impossible until a federal court ruling in 2019 cleared the way for the tiny tribe to find a financial partner to buy land and place it into a trust to make it eligible for a casino. Now the tribe of 96 members has teamed up with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, which owns the biggest casino in the world, and is waiting for U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to decide whether the 68-acre (27-hectare) parcel...
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Rustad wants B.C. Indigenous rights law repealed. Chief sees that as 40-year setback
(CP)-British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them. The law “fundamentally changed the relationship” between First Nations and the province, said Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations. “Rather than having some sort of consultation, right now we’re actually talking about shared decision-making,” Teegee said in an interview. John Rustad threw his support behind the legislation as a member of the Official Opposition B.C. Liberal Party, but as the B.C. Conservative leader he has since signalled his intention to “repeal” the law if his party wins the Oct. 19 provincial election. Rustad...
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National ceremony in Ottawa will mark Truth and Reconciliation Day
The Canadian Press 30/09/2024 A National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony is planned in Ottawa this afternoon to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential school system and the children who never returned home. The event on Parliament Hill is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET and includes survivors and Indigenous leaders, while other events are planned in locations across Canada throughout the day. Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will host a sacred fire ceremony in the morning at Rideau Hall before joining the event on Parliament Hill alongside survivors and Indigenous leaders in the afternoon. More than 150,000 children were forced to attend residential schools, and many survivors detailed the horrific abuse they suffered to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. An estimated 6,000 children died while attending the schools,...
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In the news today: Ontario MPP wants paid holiday for TRC day
The Canadian Press 30/09/2024 Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed… Ontario MPP wants paid holiday for TRC day Ontario’s only First Nation representative at Queen’s Park plans to soon table proposed legislation, in his own Indigenous language, to have the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation declared a paid provincial holiday. The day is a federal statutory holiday, but not a provincial one in Ontario. New Democrat deputy leader Sol Mamakwa, who represents the northwestern riding of Kiiwetinoong, wants Ontario to follow the federal government’s lead and said he hopes Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives will support the idea. The day recognizes the abuse suffered by Inuit, First Nations and Metis people at hundreds of state- and church-run residential...
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teen receives award, hopes to inspire Indigenous youth across Canada
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative MATTAGAMI FIRST NATION – A local teen hopes his accomplishments will encourage Indigenous youth across Canada to achieve their fullest potential. Trentin Thomas, a recent graduate from Mattagami First Nation and valedictorian of Keewaytinook Internet High School, has received the Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s (NAN) Youth Academic Award. “My motivation to excel academically comes from a deep desire to make a positive difference in my community and inspire others to do the same,” Thomas said. “Throughout high school, I always pushed myself to give my best effort in everything I did, not only for myself, but for the people who supported me.” The award recognizes young individuals who not only achieve outstanding academic success but also demonstrate a strong commitment to education and serve as...
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‘Like Lego’: Eby says he’d fast-track prefabricated homes to ease B.C. housing crisis
The Canadian Press British Columbia NDP Leader David Eby says his government would fast-track factory-built homes as part of its strategy to ease the province’s housing crisis. At an election campaign stop on Vancouver Island, Eby said pre-built homes cut waste, reduce emissions, and advances in the industry mean the homes are “beautiful and high-quality.” He said the process was “more like Lego” than normal construction. “The idea is pretty straightforward. In a controlled factory environment, you can build faster, you can build with less waste and the homes that are built are more consistent and more efficient and it’s cheaper.” A statement issued by the NDP on Friday said its government would work with the industry, municipalities and First Nations to create a provincewide framework so builders know what’s...
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Truth & reconciliation: Beyond the orange shirt
Truth & reconciliation: Beyond the orange shirt By Gilles Cyrenne Local Journalism Initiative Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Amy Romer, works as a mentor for Megaphone’s peer newsroom called The Shift in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.The Shift is made up of a diverse group of individuals with lived experience of poverty, who are reporting from the DTES instead of being reported on. Sept. 30 is Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a federal statutory holiday. It is meant to honour Indigenous children who never returned home from residential schools and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. The last day of September is also Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led movement started by Phyllis (Jack) Webstad to raise awareness of the inter-generational harms of residential schools while...
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Sioux Lookout needs more long-term care beds: MPP
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Thunder Bay Source SIOUX LOOKOUT – The “crisis” situation in northern long-term care was easy to see in a recent visit to Meno Ya Win Health Centre, Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa says. Mamakwa visited Sioux Lookout’s 55-bed general hospital on Sept. 10 to “just check on how things are going,” he said in an interview Thursday. All of the beds were occupied, mostly by people waiting for long-term care, he said. Half the 10 makeshift overflow beds were also occupied by “alternative level of care” patients waiting for long-term care placement, Mamakwa added. “That was a bit concerning,” said the provincial parliament member, whose riding includes Sioux Lookout and much of Ontario’s North. “And then also, you know, that particular day they had elders...
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Cold case arrest: Nunavut RCMP charge man with murder in 1986 death of teenage girl
NUNAVUT-(CP)Mounties in Nunavut have made an arrest in the murder of a 15-year-old girl almost 40 years ago. Mary Ann BirminghamMary Ann Birmingham was found dead in Frobisher Bay in what was then the Northwest Territories in May of 1986. Frobisher Bay later became Iqaluit and is now the capital of Nunavut. Police said Thursday an indictment was signed a week ago and on Tuesday, Jopey Atsiqtaq was arrested in Ottawa. He appeared in court Wednesday on a charge of second-degree murder and has been remanded in custody. RCMP have said Birmingham was “brutally murdered” in her home while her family was out of town. Police say she was found by her sister, Barbara Sevigny, who had just returned from visiting her brother in Montreal. The front door to the...
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Judge orders US government to leave Wisconsin reservation roads open
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the U.S. government to temporarily leave roads open on a northern Wisconsin reservation, giving non-tribal homeowners hope that they can maintain access to their properties for a while longer. U.S. District Judge William Conley’s preliminary injunction is the latest twist in an escalating dispute between the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the town of Lac du Flambeau and scores of non-tribal property owners who rely on the roads to access their homes. The tribe granted easements in the 1960s allowing public access to about 1.3 miles (2 kilometers) of reservation roads. The easements allowed non-tribal people to move onto the reservation and build homes there. The easements expired about a decade ago and the tribe and the...
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Walk with residential school survivors on Sept. 30 for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
By Nora O’Malley Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Monday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day or the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It is a special day for honouring residential school survivors and to remember the children that never made it home. In 1831, the Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ontario became Canada’s first residential school to open. It was the longest operating residential school in the country and closed in 1970. Former Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald authorized the creation of residential schools in the Canadian West in 1883, according to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) concluded that residential schools were “a systematic, government- sponsored attempt to destroy Aboriginal cultures and languages and to...
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Disability rights groups launch Charter challenge against MAID law
The Canadian Press-A coalition of disability rights organizations has launched a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying, calling it an “abandonment” of people with disabilities. The group announced Thursday that it had filed a notice of application to challenge what’s known as track two of the MAID law, which it argues has resulted in premature deaths. Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death. Track one, in contrast, involves MAID applications from those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The group alleges some people with disability are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports. It argues MAID should only...
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Tribal Police officer charged with voyeurism in Whistler, B.C.
The Canadian Press Mounties in the resort town of Whistler, B.C., say a Tribal Police officer has been charged with three counts of voyeurism for allegedly filming sexual acts with women without their consent. RCMP say the man charged is a member of the Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police Service, and the alleged offences happened when he was off duty in Vancouver and Pemberton between 2020 and 2022. Mounties say there’s a publication ban on details of the case to protect the alleged victims’ identities. Sergeant Jeffrey Shore with Sea to Sky RCMP says it was a “lengthy investigation,” and he thanked those who came forward for their patience. Mounties first announced they were looking into the case in a two-sentence press release in January 2023 that said a matter had been...
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Alberta First Nation angered over lack of consultation in dam decision
CP-A southern Alberta First Nation says it will fight a government decision on a dam that it says broke promises to take its concerns into account. “The Siksika Nation will strenuously oppose this project with all resources and means available to us,” says a Sept. 25 letter to Premier Danielle Smith from Chief Ouray Crowfoot. “The Siksika Nation is deeply disappointed by your government’s announcement.” On Wednesday, Alberta’s United Conservative government said it had chosen a site for a dam on the Bow River to control flooding and aid water management. It said the Ghost Reservoir upstream of Calgary would be expanded. “Increasing water storage capacity is critical to protecting Calgary and other communities along the Bow River from future floods and drought,” Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said Wednesday in...
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Murder suspects in fatal Alberta highway shooting will be tried together
The Canadian Press The two men arrested after a deadly roadside shooting near Calgary last month will be tried together. A manhunt began Aug. 6 following the noon-hour shooting of two men who were working along a roadway in Rocky View County, east of Calgary, when a county truck was stolen from the scene. One of the men died while the other was seriously injured. Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, was arrested in August with the help of Edmonton police and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. The second suspect, 28-year-old Elijah Blake Strawberry, was arrested at a residence in O’Chiese First Nation earlier this month and charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. The Crown told court in Calgary that although the two men were charged separately they will...
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