Prime Minister Mark Carney in Winnipeg for Grey Cup, Louis Riel ceremony
By Steve Lambert Prime Minister Mark Carney has paid tribute to Métis leader Louis Riel on the 140th anniversary of Riel’s execution. Carney joined other dignitaries at Riel’s grave site in Winnipeg, and said Riel fought for people’s rights while the Métis faced injustice. Carney said Riel’s execution divided a young nation but his legacy helps to unite a Canada determined to learn from history. The Manitoba Métis Federation said Carney is believed to be the first sitting prime minister to attend the annual ceremony at Riel’s grave. Riel fought for a list of rights that paved the way for Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. Riel was arrested after a later rebellion in what is now Saskatchewan, convicted of treason and hanged. This report by The Canadian Press was first published...
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Federal and Manitoba governments announce more steps toward port project
By Steve Lambert The federal and Manitoba governments say they are continuing to take steps toward a possible expansion of the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay. The idea of improving the port and a railway that serves it is among several nation-building projects touted by Prime Minister Mark Carney. But it’s not clear when the project may come to fruition, as it is based on several requirements including a Crown-Indigenous corporation the province has yet to establish. Carney met with Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew today and announced funding for a study on the potential of specialized icebreakers, ice tugs and research vessels at the port. Kinew announced $51 million for improvements to the rail line and a new critical-minerals storage facility at the port. The two politicians also attended...
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Fact File: No ‘plan’ to ‘euthanize’ 15 million Canadians with Medical Assistance In Dying
By Marissa Birnie Podcast clips recently shared on social media claim that Health Canada plans to save money by “euthanizing” 15 million Canadians. The clips cite a journal article that presents a scenario in which members of specific vulnerable groups receive medical assistance in dying, (MAID) with or without consent. The authors estimate that from 2027-2047 that would result in a total of 16.7 million MAID deaths in Canada. There are no “plans” by Heath Canada to force MAID on patients, who must meet certain criteria to choose assisted dying, and a palliative care doctor says the article’s scenario overstates the number of expected MAID deaths. One of the article’s co-authors emphasized the paper was a “scenario analysis” and acknowledged its findings do not represent the current reality of MAID...
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Feds send Ksi Lisims LNG to Major Projects Office amid court challenges
By Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Months after promising that respect for Indigenous rights is fundamental to his major projects agenda, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Ksi Lisims LNG project — which would require a new gas pipeline snaking through First Nations territory — will head to the Major Projects Office for possible fast-tracking. In Carney’s telling, Ksi Lisims is one piece of a trio of interlocking major projects: a floating liquefaction plant off the northwest coast of British Columbia, the estimated 900-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline to move gas from northern BC to the coast, and a new transmission line to power the export terminal with electricity. “LNG is an essential fuel for the energy transition,” he said. “We’re home to the...
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Ottawa fast-tracks Inuit-led hydroelectric project to power Iqaluit
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer A new hydroelectric project that promises to transform energy in Nunavut’s capital has been fast-tracked by the federal government as part of a broader nation-building push. For decades, Iqaluit’s electricity has relied on outdated and heavily polluting diesel power plants that emit roughly 130,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year and drive some of the highest power bills in Canada. “The fact that we have a capital city in Canada that’s still diesel dependent is an embarrassment and a reflection of colonialism,” said Jess Puddister, strategy and operations manager of Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation, the territory’s first fully Inuit-owned clean energy developer, which will be leading the project. On Thursday in Terrace, British Columbia, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced federal support...
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Manitoba government seeking suppliers for new monument in front of legislature
By Steve Lambert The Manitoba government is looking for design teams to help build a new statue on the front lawn of the legislature. The government announced plans a year ago to have a monument of a mother bison and her child erected in the spot where a statue of Queen Victoria had been torn down by protesters in 2021. The province is now looking for submissions from design teams interested in drawing up the monument, and is hoping to have a shortlist of qualified teams by February. Premier Wab Kinew has said the mother and child bison will serve as a reminder of the harm residential schools inflicted on Indigenous communities by separating families. Kinew released an image, created by artificial intelligence, last year showing a possible version of...
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‘Backdoor dealing’: B.C. farmer decries omission of private owners from Cowichan case
By Nono Shen The co-owner of an eight-hectare farm on the Cowichan Tribes Aboriginal title lands said he and fellow private landowners were unfairly left out of the court case that confirmed the title claim. Gord Maichin said Friday that the decision of the B.C. Supreme Court not to inform landowners about the case that has set off a debate about its impact on private land ownership was “backdoor dealing” that left the owners unable to defend themselves. Maichin, speaking at a news conference about the case called by Richmond City Coun. Alexa Loo, said he and his cousins and uncles have owned the farm for 20 years. He said provincial and federal governments should have been more transparent and brought private owners to the table during the trial instead...
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Pope returns 62 artifacts to Indigenous peoples from Canada as part of reckoning with colonial past
By Nicole Winfield VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Saturday returned 62 artifacts from its vast ethnographic collection to Indigenous peoples from Canada, as part of the Catholic Church’s reckoning with its role in helping suppress Indigenous culture in the Americas. Pope Leo XIV gave the artifacts, including an iconic Inuit kayak, and supporting documentation to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, which said it would return the items to Indigenous communities “as soon as possible.” A joint statement from the Vatican and Canadian church described the pieces as a “gift” and a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.” The artifacts are expected to land in Montreal on Dec. 6 and be taken first to the Canadian Museum of History in Ottawa, which will arrange for them to...
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B.C.’s NDP vote against leadership review for Premier David Eby
By Wolfgang Depner Almost 83 per cent of delegates attending a convention of British Columbia’s New Democrats signalled their support for Premier David Eby by not asking for a leadership review. Of the 740 delegates who cast ballots, 609 opted against calling for a review of Eby’s leadership. The announcement of the vote comes after Eby used his appearance at the convention to highlight several resource projects, while saying that the federal ban on tankers off B.C.’s northern coast is here to stay. Eby says B.C. will turn its natural resources into the wealth needed to “sustain strong public services for generations to come,” citing several natural resource projects which his government is pursuing. They include the North Coast Transmission Line set to power mining and LNG projects in northwestern...
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Two people charged after missing person in Kenora, Ont., confirmed dead
Provincial police say two suspects have been arrested in the death of a missing Kenora, Ont., resident, and one of them is facing a murder charge. Police say Mekhi Pelly of Grassy Narrows First Nation was reported missing on Oct. 26. They say the 21-year-old has since been confirmed dead. A 24-year-old suspect has been charged with first-degree murder and a 43-year-old suspect was charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Both suspects from Kenora remain in custody and are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 4. Police say their efforts to find the victim’s remains are ongoing in collaboration with Grassy Narrows First Nation and Washagamis Bay First Nation. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2025. ...
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Kinew weighs in on killer’s release from prison, reaches out to prime minister
By Brittany Hobson Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and First Nations organizations are calling for a review of the justice system after learning a man who killed two Indigenous women is being released from prison. Shawn Lamb pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2012 deaths of Carolyn Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith and was sentenced to 20 years the following year. By law, most federal inmates are automatically released after serving two-thirds of their sentence, which is known as statutory release. Offenders serving life or indeterminate sentences are not eligible. Kinew told reporters Thursday that he was drafting a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney after learning Lamb had been granted statutory release. He said he didn’t plan on asking to discuss Lamb’s case with Carney but would touch on concerns about...
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Inukjuak band’s 2nd album hits the right notes with contest judges
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Inukjuak-based band Qimutjuit brought home the award for album of the year Indigenous languages from the 2025 Premier Gala de L’ADISQ. The 46th edition of l’Association québécoise de l’industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la video — or Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries — celebrated the best of Quebec’s music and art at a ceremony Nov. 5 at Montréal’s Théâtre Wilfrid-Pelletier. The self-titled album Qimutjuit, the band’s second album, was released last December. It’s available on Spotify and Apple Music. The band, including singer and guitarist Charlie Iqaluk, singer and drummer Eric Atagotaaluk, keyboardist Pauloosie Kasudluak and bass player Jobie Oweetaluktuk, was formed in 1990. “We were pretty much dumbfounded. We were genuinely not expecting to...
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The path to responsible mining in northern Ontario starts with Indigenous consent
By Tamara Krawchenko, Associate Professor, School of Public Administration, University of Victoria; and Darren Godwell, CEO, Stronger Smarter Institute Canada and Ontario are accelerating efforts to attract global investment and speed up approvals for new mining projects. Ontario’s government has introduced new policies aimed at attracting investors and accelerate project timelines. Central to this strategy are laws like Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, and Bill 71, the Building More Mines Act. The surge in global demand for “critical minerals” such as nickel, lithium and cobalt — essential inputs for electric vehicles and clean energy technologies — has positioned mining as a cornerstone of energy transition strategies. Northern Ontario, endowed with vast mineral resources, has become a focal point in Canada’s emerging green economy. Yet this...
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Speeches, music mark James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement’s 50th anniversary
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News As Remembrance Day events were being held across Canada, Nunavik commemorated its own historic moment Tuesday. On Nov. 11, 1975, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement was signed by the governments of Quebec and Canada, alongside representatives of Inuit of Nunavik and the Crees of Eeyou Istchee. The agreement is considered the first modern Indigenous treaty and led to the creation of institutions in Nunavik such as a school board, a regional government and health-care system. Makivvik Corp. — which itself was formed as a result of the agreement, to administer the $90-million treaty settlement and manage economic development — organized a day-long event in Kuujjuaq Tuesday to commemorate the anniversary. The event began at the Katittavik Theatre with an...
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LNG project, mines, hydro dam, power lines among latest major project referrals
By Nono Shen The federal government announced Thursday the latest list of major building projects to be considered for fast-track approval under legislation passed in June — a list focused entirely on critical minerals and energy. Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement in Terrace, B.C., a community that will be connected to the North Coast Transmissions Line, which was one of the projects put forward for possible fast-tracking. It is intended to power local communities and projects like the Ksi Lisims LNG project, which was also on the list. That project would feature a floating LNG facility and marine terminal, with a pipeline to move the product from northeast B.C. The proposal, which received federal environmental approval in September, has faced opposition from some First Nations groups which have...
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A look at the second batch of projects being weighed by the Major Projects Office
By Lauren Krugel Prime Minister Mark Carney has revealed the second batch of potentially “nation-building” infrastructure projects to be reviewed on expedited timelines, making good on his promise to make the announcement before the Grey Cup football championship this weekend. The projects being referred to the new Major Projects Office include an LNG export terminal and electrical transmission line in northwestern British Columbia within a proposed infrastructure corridor stretching from that region into Yukon. Also on the list are critical minerals mines in Ontario, Quebec and new Brunswick, and a hydro project in Nunavut. None of the investments being considered by the Major Projects Office have yet received a national-interest designation that would confer special treatment in permitting and approvals. All told, the federal government says projects for consideration announced...
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You can end a shutdown overnight – but you can’t reopen a government that fast
By Deepti Hajela NEW YORK (AP) — The longest government shutdown in U.S. historyis over — on paper, at least. But the American public isn’t done with it yet: Getting everything back up and running doesn’t happen all at once. The disruption of the closure, clocking in at 43 days, varied in its impact. Some people, like unpaid federal workers, were immediately and directly affected. Others included recipients of federal funding through programs like Head Start and food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As the shutdown progressed, effects rippled. Delays and flight cancellations started racking up for passengers as the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut back on flights because of air traffic controller shortages. There were closures at Smithsonian museum sites and the National Zoo (although...
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Alberta’s Smith supportive of new major projects, says pipeline negotiation ongoing
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s on board with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s second batch of key major projects picked for potential fast-track approval. Smith says she’s encouraged that many are resource-based and primed for generating royalties and tax revenue. “This is going to be good for the country,” she told reporters in Calgary. Carney announced Thursday that the seven additional energy and infrastructure projects are being referred to his government’s major projects office. An initial list of five was announced in September. The additions include a nickel mine in northern Ontario, a hydroelectric project in Iqaluit, and a transmission line and an LNG project that are both in northwest British Columbia. Two mineral mines, located in Quebec and New Brunswick, are also on this list. Not on the list...
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Alberta’s Smith supportive of new major projects, says pipeline negotiation ongoing
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’s on board with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s second batch of key major projects picked for potential fast-track approval. Smith says she’s encouraged that many are resource-based and primed for generating royalties and tax revenue. “This is going to be good for the country,” she told reporters in Calgary. Carney announced Thursday that the seven additional energy and infrastructure projects are being referred to his government’s major projects office. An initial list of five was announced in September. The additions include a nickel mine in northern Ontario, a hydroelectric project in Iqaluit, and a transmission line and an LNG project that are both in northwest British Columbia. Two mineral mines, located in Quebec and New Brunswick, are also on this list. Not on the list...
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Through the years: How Gitxsan women fought to assert child welfare jurisdiction away from MCFD
By Amy Romer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews This is the second story in a three-part series about child welfare jurisdiction in Gitanmaax. You can read the first part here. Ayawasw (Audrey Woods) sits at the end of a large grey table in the boardroom of Wila Dildilsdi’m — the new Gitanmaax family services department. She reflects on how, back in the 1980s, she, her aunt Charlotte Sullivan, and then-chief councillor Marjorie McRae made a decision that would change the way child welfare unfolded in their community. On their own time — without pay or formal recognition — the three Gitxsan women put themselves on call for every home visit the Ministry of Child and Family Development (MCFD) made. Day or night, they showed up. “It was just an impromptu...
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