‘The Energizer Bunny’: Chief Terry Paul celebrates 40 years as Chief
By Meghan Dewar, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Cape Breton Post MEMBERTOU FIRST NATION-Chief Terry Paul is one of Canada’s longest-serving consecutive politicians and believed to be the longest consecutively elected chief. Chief Paul started his career with Boston Indian Council before returning home to Membertou where he joined the Membertou Band Council as the Economic Development Officer and then Band Manager. He was elected as Chief in 1984 and took on the additional role of C.E.O. in 2012. Chief Terry Paul has a long list of accomplishments under his belt. He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2017, he has tripled the land base for the Membertou reserve and increased employment rate to approximately 80% in the community. He has also increased community’s graduation rate from 30% to...
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New Zealand’s founding treaty is at a flashpoint. Why are thousands protesting for Māori rights?
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A proposed law that would redefine New Zealand’s founding treaty between the British Crown and Māori chiefs has triggered political turmoil and a march by thousands of people the length of the country to Parliament to protest it. The bill is never expected to become law. But it has become a flashpoint on race relations and a critical moment in the fraught 180-year-old conversation about how New Zealand should honor its promises to Indigenous people when the country was colonized -– and what those promises are. Tens of thousands are expected to throng the capital, Wellington, for the final stretch of the weeklong protest march on Tuesday. It follows a Māori tradition of hīkoi, or walking, to bring attention to breaches of the 1840 Treaty...
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Judge releases private land owners from Aboriginal title fight
By John Chilibeck Local Journalism Initiative In what’s being described as a landmark decision, a judge has ordered that several big industrial defendants and everyday private property owners must be removed from a lawsuit launched by the Wolastoqey Nation. But there’s a big catch. If the Aboriginal title claim is proven in court, Indigenous leaders could still demand reparations for the taking and transfer of their land by the Crown – or today’s provincial and federal governments – more than 200 years ago. “We are thrilled by this decision and so happy the court put an end to the attacks on our claim,” said Chief Allan Polchies of Sitansisk, or St. Mary’s First Nation, in a release on Friday. “We applaud the Honourable Justice Gregory for her courageous and well...
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New Indigenous-owned mining royalty company a first in Canada
The Canadian Press-In June of this year, a new company called Nations Royalty Corp. began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. With minimum fanfare, the new company quietly hit a milestone on the road to Indigenous economic reconciliation in this country, becoming the only mining royalty company in the world that is majority-owned by Indigenous people. Backed by billionaire Canadian mining financier Frank Giustra, Nations Royalty aims to lure investors with the promise of exposure to Indigenous-owned royalties, which company executives say is the last untapped pool in Canada. But for the Nisga’a Nation — the self-governing B.C.-based First Nation that owns 77 per cent of the company — Nations Royalty is also a key part of the path to economic independence. “One of the goals of our Nation is...
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Salmon return to lay eggs in historic habitat after largest dam removal project in US history
The Associated Press-A giant female Chinook salmon flips on her side in the shallow water and wriggles wildly, using her tail to carve out a nest in the riverbed as her body glistens in the sunlight. In another moment, males butt into each other as they jockey for a good position to fertilize eggs. These are scenes local tribes have dreamed of seeing for decades as they fought to bring down four hydroelectric dams blocking passage for struggling salmon along more than 400 miles (644 kilometers) of the Klamath River and its tributaries along the Oregon-California border. Now, less than a month after those dams came down in the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, salmon are once more returning to spawn in cool creeks that have been cut...
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Power station plans colliding with First Nation’s concerns
By Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative reporter A proposed multimillion-dollar upgrade to Ontario Power Generation’s Kakabeka Falls generating station is being planned without Fort William First Nation’s input, recalling an outdated and painful era that left Indigenous people being “bulldozed,” the community warned on Friday. “The existing hydroelectric facility was originally developed over 120 years ago without consultation with the Nation, and resulted in flooding, changes to waterways, and irreparable damages to Fort William First Nation’s cultural heritage and ways of life,” the community said in a news release. Work on the 118-year-old station is anticipated to begin next year. The project is expected to take two years, bumping up the power station’s output by 13 per cent to 27 megawatts. Once the upgrade is complete, the station — which is...
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Decision on hold regarding stance on nuclear waste transport
Oliver Paipoonge Mayor Lucy Kloosterhuis says her council will hold off mulling a potential resolution opposing the transportation of spent nuclear-fuel rods through their municipality “until after we hear both sides of the story.” Kloosterhuis said council heard at Tuesday’s meeting from environmental-group reps who oppose the transportation of the rods, but made no decision on a resolution. She said the municipality expects to hear from the project’s proponent, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), but no date for that presentation has been set. There are only two more council meetings before the annual Christmas break, Kloosterhuis noted. Under the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s plan, fuel rods would be transported by truck or rail to a proposed underground storage facility either west of Ignace, or to another candidate location in...
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String of three murders in Nova Scotia raises alarm about intimate partner violence
Canadian Press-Groups working to help victims of domestic violence in Nova Scotia say a recent string of murders of women provides just a glimpse of the extent of intimate partner violence in the province, and they say more action is needed to protect victims. Miia Suokonautio, executive director of the YWCA Halifax, says that while the three killings in the past month have shocked the public, gender-based violence is much more prevalent than what is reported publicly. “Whether it’s zero (deaths reported) or one or two or three, we know based on our experience that gender-based violence is happening all the time,” Suokonautio said. Since Oct. 18, three murder-suicides involving couples have been reported by police in Nova Scotia, and in each case a man killed his female partner before...
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In the polar bear capital of the world, a community lives with the predator next door and loves it
CHURCHILL, Manitoba (AP) — Sgt. Ian Van Nest rolls slowly through the streets of Churchill, his truck outfitted with a rifle and a barred back seat to hold anyone he has to arrest. His eyes dart back and forth, then settle on a crowd of people standing outside a van. He scans the area for safety and then quietly addresses the group’s leader, unsure of the man’s weapons. “How are you today?” Van Nest asks. The leader responds with a wary, “We OK for you here?” “You’re good. You got a lot of distance there. When you have people disembarking from the vehicle you should have a bear monitor,” Van Nest, a conservation officer for the province of Manitoba, cautions as the tourists gaze at a polar bear on the...
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Spirit School founder among business award finalists
By Bhagyashree Chatterjee Local Journalism Initiative When Danielle Searancke first arrived in Squamish 22 years ago, it wasn’t spirituality that brought her—it was race cars. Originally from York Factory First Nation in Manitoba, Searancke had a career in motorsports, a far cry from the spiritual work that now defines her life. “My background in First Nations healthcare and motorsports wasn’t spiritual at all.” It wasn’t until after the birth of her firstborn child in 2013 that reading with a local medium changed her path. “She told me I could do this work, though I didn’t believe it at first,” she said. “I joined a class in Surrey and trained under that medium for years. I loved the process of spiritual development. It requires deep self-reflection and learning the language of...
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California will rename places to remove racist term for a Native American woman
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A racist term for a Native American woman will be removed from nearly three dozen geographic features and place names on California lands, the state Natural Resources Agency announced Friday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 signed a bill into law that bans use of the word “squaw” in future place names and ordered the agency rename all places that used the slur, including on streets, bridges, public buildings and cemeteries, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. New names have been selected in consultation with California’s Native American tribes for over 30 locations in 15 counties. The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names will work to implement approved replacement names by Jan. 1. One example is in the city of West Sacramento, where local officials worked...
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Blueberry River First Nation Elder calls for governance reform
By Ed Hitchins Local Journalism Initiative FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Members of Blueberry River First Nation (BRFN)’s elders council have announced the removal of councillor Shelley Gauthier during a press conference in Fort St. John on Friday afternoon. Under band custom, Gauthier represented the family of Edward Apsassin, and family members did not agree that their best interests were being represented. Family members expressed serious concerns, including an overall lack of transparency and undermining the family’s trust. BRFN Elder Clarence Apsassin expressed his concern about the First Nation’s governing structure at a conference room in the Holiday Inn Express off Alaska Highway. According to Apsassin, the decision to remove has been posted in BRFN offices for at least two weeks, and the motion to remove Gauthier will be presented...
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Iqaluit man imprisoned 12 years following sexual assault of a minor convictions
By Kira Wronska Dorward Local Journalism Initiative Editor’s note: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing. The Nunavut Court of Justice has handed down a 12-year sentence in a sexual abuse case involving a minor. Robert Sheaves will serve 4,308 days in prison after his 48 days in custody was accounted for, justice Paul Bychok decided in Iqaluit on Nov. 12. “Old habits, they say, die hard,” wrote Bychok in the opening of his sentencing judgment. “So too, evidently, do old habits of thought. In 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada… issued a landmark unanimous decision directing courts to modernize its approach to sentencing offenders who sexually abuse children. Despite the Supreme Court’s declared ‘determination’ to see jail sentences increase in appropriate cases for these heinous crimes,...
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City supports budget increase for physician recruitment
By Kimberly De Jong Local Journalism Initiative Reorter City of Brantford Council received the Community Physician Recruitment Program 2024 and 2025 Action Plan during its Committee of the Whole, Planning and Administration meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024. At the recommendation of the Community Health Care Task Force, the Physician Recruitment Committee, which was first created in 2001 after the catchment area known as “Brant,” which includes Brantford, County of Brant and Six Nations of the Grand River, was designated as an “underserviced area” by the provincial government. Since 2002, the City of Brantford has supported Community Physician Recruitment with an annual financial allocation and each year, an agreement is executed between the parties outlining the amount of funding and its intended purpose. The Physician Recruitment Committee has received an...
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More logging is proposed to help curb wildfires in the US Pacific Northwest
The Associated Press-U.S. officials would allow increased logging on federal lands across the Pacific Northwest in the name of fighting wildfires and boosting rural economies under proposed changes to a sweeping forest management plan that’s been in place for three decades. The U.S. Forest Service proposal, released Friday, would overhaul the Northwest Forest Plan that governs about 38,000 square miles (99,000 square kilometers) in Oregon, Washington and California. The plan was adopted in 1994 under President Bill Clinton amid pressure to curb destructive logging practices that resulted in widespread clearcuts and destroyed habitat used by spotted owls. Timber harvests dropped dramatically in subsequent years, spurring political backlash. But federal officials now say worsening wildfires due to climate change mean forests must be more actively managed to increase their resiliency. Increased...
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Australian senate censures Indigenous lawmaker who yelled at King Charles III
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month. The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues’ disapproval of her conduct during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years. The motion was carried 46 votes to 12. Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Thorpe’s outburst sought to “incite outrage and grievance.” “This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia,” Wong told the Senate. Thorpe launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra and Sydney. “You are not our...
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Cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault apologizes over Indigenous identity claims
The Canadian Press-Canada’s Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is apologizing after shifting claims of his Indigenous identity came under scrutiny. The Edmonton Liberal member of Parliament says he’s sorry he hasn’t been clear about who he is and his family’s history and that he’s still learning about his heritage. Boissonnault has previously referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree from Alberta” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.” The apology comes after reports that a company co-owned by Boissonnault unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts while identifying itself as Indigenous and Aboriginal owned. Boissonnault says he never claimed Indigenous status to his business partner, and he corrected the Liberal party as soon as he became aware of its public claim that he’s Indigenous. The Conservative party has called for...
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Québec solidaire member faces rebuke for saying fellow politicians target minorities
Canadian Press-Amid heavy criticism across party lines, an opposition member of the provincial legislature is not backing down from comments that his fellow lawmakers say painted them as racist. Haroun Bouazzi of Québec solidaire has been criticized this week for a speech delivered recently before a community group that works with immigrants. He told the audience that every day in the national assembly he witnesses “the construction of the other” — which he described as a perception that the cultures of people who are North African, Muslim, Black or Indigenous are dangerous and inferior. Other political parties said Bouazzi’s remarks equated to labelling members of the national assembly as racist, and there have been calls for him to be sanctioned. The co-leaders of Bouazzi’s left-leaning Québec solidaire rebuked him on...
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Do you live in a floodplain? How the City of Courtenay is managing flood risk
By Madeline Dunnett Local Journalism Initiative Reporter There’s no silver bullet when it comes to managing flood risk and damage, but using a variety of tactics over time could help. That’s what the City of Courtenay is doing as part of its flood management plan to protect infrastructure and homes as climate change-related flood events become more frequent and severe. The City of Courtenay was built alongside the Courtenay River, with many low-lying sections of the city situated within the river’s floodplain. Floodplains are areas adjacent to a river or moving water, and their geography places them at high risk for flooding and erosion. Floodplains provide rich soil that supports agriculture, but building so close to (and within) one also puts areas of the city at risk when flood events...
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Ojibway National Urban Park Push Gains Momentum as Bill C-248 Passes First Hurdle
By Aaron Mahoney Local Journalism Initiative Reporter PROTECT MY OJIBWAY National Urban Park FOREVER … Pass BILL C-248. Is what’s was stated on lawn signs created by the Friends of Ojibway Prairie and the Wildlands League. And they were distributed by the office of Brian Masse, NDP MP for Windsor-West, who co-hosted a launch event with the help of Unifor and an elementary-school teacher’s union at Mic Mac Park. Supporters of the proposed Ojibway National Urban Park picked up their signs, posters and free bbq during the rainy afternoon. Bill C-248 which Masse introduced in 2022 on the floor of the House of Commons has finally passed. Now, it must be approved in the Senate to receive a national urban park designation. And the Friends of Ojibway Prairie, the Wildlands...
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