Stage four of Tewatohnhi’saktha’s Indigenous Initiatives Fund enters its final year
By Lucas-Matthew Marsh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase Stage four of Tewatohnhi’saktha’s Indigenous Initiatives Fund (IIF IV) has entered its final year, but funding still available for interested applicants. Tammy Delaronde, Executive Director of Tewatohnhi’saktha, said the initiative aims to address systemic inequities in the financial sector by providing local entrepreneurs with access to start-up capital. “Each year, funds are allocated for economic development initiatives, and what we oversee is the entrepreneurship envelope,” Delaronde said. “So, it’s designated for for-profit businesses.” IIF IV has been funded through the provincial government’s Indigenous Initiatives Fund, formerly known as the Aboriginal Initiatives Fund, since 2008. According to Delaronde, two major projects in the community have received funding in this phase, which began in 2022. “It typically goes in five-year increments, and they make...
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Quebec premier stepping down ahead of provincial election
By Dominique Gené, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Quebec Premier François Legault is stepping down, just months ahead of the provincial election. Legault — who co-founded the Coalition Avenir Québec party in 2011 before leading it to power with election wins in 2018 and again in 2022 — made the surprise announcement Wednesday morning during a news conference in Quebec City. “I see that currently many Quebecers want change first and foremost, and then a change of premier,” he said in French in his resignation speech. Currently, Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec has a majority government with 79 of the 125 seats in Quebec’s national assembly, including Denis Lamothe, who represents the Ungava riding which includes Nunavik. A former police officer in Nunavik, Lamothe was first elected in 2018 then...
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‘Staggering’ disparity as Indigenous adults overrepresented in prisons by 10 times
By Brieanna Charlebois A new report by Statistics Canada says Indigenous adults were incarcerated at a rate 10 times higher than non-Indigenous adults in six provinces, a disparity that justice advocates called staggering, and a roadblock to reconciliation. The agency’s new measure, called the overrepresentation index, was used to make the finding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in British Columbia, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 2023/2024. Indigenous legal experts and advocates were not shocked by the findings, but say it shines a light on systemic issues that persist after centuries of colonization. “The numbers in this report are staggering, but not surprising,” Kory Wilson, chair of the BC First Nations Justice Council, said in a statement Wednesday. “Indigenous people are not inherently more criminal —...
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7 First Nations receive minerals infrastructure money
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — The chief of Bingwi Neyaashi says an upgraded power transmission line can’t come soon enough. Paul Gladu’s community, also known as Sand Point First Nation, was one of seven First Nations in Northwestern Ontario to receive a total of $350,000 from the federal critical minerals infrastructure fund. Six of the communities, including Bingwi Neyaashi, Animbiigoo Zaagi’igan, Aroland, Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging, Ginoogaming and Red Rock Indian Band each received $50,000 for engagement studies to inform ongoing work to upgrade hydro lines that would run from existing 230 kV infrastructure near Nipigon though Greenstone to points north. “We have a line … coming from Rocky Bay and we’d have a power outage at times, two or three times every couple of months,”...
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Indigenous adults overrepresented in prisons by 10 times, Statistics Canada says
A newly released report by Statistics Canada says Indigenous adults were incarcerated at a rate 10 times higher than non-Indigenous adults in six provinces. It says its new measure, called the overrepresentation index, was used to make the finding for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in British Columbia, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta in 2023/2024. The report says Indigenous people made up 33.2 per cent of the custodial population in those provinces despite only making up 4.3 per cent of the overall adult population of those regions. Indigenous adults were incarcerated at a rate of 89 per 10,000 population on an average day, compared with eight per 10,000 among non-Indigenous adults. It also notes 2.6 per cent of the Indigenous adult population was incarcerated at some point...
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Coastal First Nations say they are open to cooperation, not pipelines
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer Following a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Coastal First Nations leaders said they are still firm in their opposition to a new oil pipeline. “Our interest isn’t about money in this situation, it’s about [the] responsibility of looking after our territories and again nurturing the sustainable economies that we currently have here,” said Gaagwiis Jason Alsop, President of the Council of the Haida Nation and vice president of CFN, speaking at a press conference. The group of coastal nations has been a primary voice against the proposed pipeline carrying bitumen from Alberta since an MOU was signed between Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in November. Their opposition goes back more than a decade to a...
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Fort St. John Friendship Society appoints new executive director
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Friendship Society has appointed a new executive director in charge. Energeticcity.ca has confirmed Todd Morrow has stepped away from the executive director position and he will be replaced by Jolene van Wieringen, who will begin her new post on Monday, January 19th. Wieringen has a background in social work and graduated from the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) with a bachelor’s degree, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has previously worked for the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) as a suicide prevention workshop facilitator, with School District 60 as an Indigenous social, emotional, learning specialist and most recently as the community social worker in Doig River First Nation (DRFN). She also ran...
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Snuneymuxw First Nation buys Coquitlam casino
By Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Tri-Cities Dispatch Snuneymuxw First Nation has reached an agreement to acquire Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, one of the Lower Mainland’s largest gaming and entertainment venues. The purchase of the Coquitlam property just north of the Fraser River, announced on Dec. 19 by Petroglyph Development Group (PDG) – the economic development arm of the Nanaimo-based nation – marks a significant expansion of the its gaming portfolio. Chief Mike Wyse (Xum’silum) said the deal reflects Snuneymuxw’s disciplined approach to growth and long-term economic independence. “The proposed acquisition of Great Canadian Casino Vancouver marks another step toward economic self-determination for Snuneymuxw, strengthening our long-term prosperity, financial independence and restoring an economy that thrived for thousands of years,” he said. The agreement represents Snuneymuxw’s fifth major casino...
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Storybook ending for student warming hut winners
By Maggie Macintosh , Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba’s newest student-designed warming hut doubles as a public awareness campaign for a child advocacy centre. Bison Run School has partnered with the Toba Centre for Children and Youth to create “Cozy Up With a Book.” The triangular structure, which mimics an upside-down novel, is being decorated with information about the local charity that supports young victims of abuse and their families. A QR code installed on the outside of the hut will take anyone who scans it to the centre’s website. “Toba Centre gives a kid a voice when they feel like they don’t have one,” said Arya Samim, one of the Grade 7 students who’s spent the better part of the 2025-26 school year working on the...
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International media flock to Greenland as Trump turns the Arctic island into a geopolitical hot spot
By Emma Burrows NUUK, Greenland (AP) — For several weeks, international journalists and camera crews have been scurrying up to people in Greenland’s capital to ask them for their thoughts on the twists and turns of a political crisis that has turned the Arctic island into a geopolitical hot spot. President Donald Trump insists he wants to control Greenland but Greenlanders say it is not for sale. The island is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark and the prime minister of that country has warned that if the U.S. tries to take Greenland by force, it could potentially spell the end of NATO. Greenlanders walking along the small central shopping street of the capital Nuuk have a hard time avoiding the signs that the island is near the top of the...
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Gitanyow wins court battle to restart forestry licence consultation
By Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer The BC Supreme Court has set aside the transfer of a major forest licence in northwestern BC after ruling the province failed to properly consult to arrange a fair deal. The province granted the license to the Kitsumkalum First Nation in 2024 after Skeena Sawmills went bankrupt. The province’s top court ruled the province breached its duty to consult the neighboring Gitanyow, because that First Nation also wanted to buy the sawmill in 2023. In a decision released on Jan. 7, Justice F. Matthew Kirchner ordered the province to restart the consultation. The proposed transfer would have granted Kitsumkalum, another First Nation based near Terrace, the timber rights in the Lax’yip — territory that the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs are already...
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Pimicikamak faces long road to repair after havoc-wreaking power outage
By Crystal Greene, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Paige Paupanakis, a Pimicikamak Cree Nation member and community volunteer, has been working non-stop since a power outage happened in her community over the holidays. One of the 21-year-old’s first tasks was rounding up pizza donations to send to her Cree community — located about 530 kilometres north of “Winnipeg” — to feed people. It was during frigid -20 C temperatures on Dec. 28 that a Manitoba Hydro powerline broke, along a 300-metre crossing between two islands on the Nelson River. It caused a power outage that lasted four days, until electricity was restored. But the outage caused lasting infrastructure damage, such as frozen pipes, backed up sewers, and other problems. On Thursday, about 70 people gathered to drum and round-dance outside...
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Oglala Sioux president walks back claims of DHS pressure, member arrests
By Safiyah Riddle, Rebecca Santana And Graham Lee Brewer -Associated Press-The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe has walked back claims he made in a memo and press release earlier this week that immigration enforcement arrested four tribal members and that the federal government tried to extract an “immigration agreement” out of the tribe in return for information about their members’ whereabouts. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said it can’t verify claims that any of their officers arrested or “even encountered” members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe or found anyone in their detention centers claiming to be a tribal member. They denied asking the tribe for any kind of agreement. Tribal President Frank Star Comes Out has not responded to repeated requests for comment, including after his updated memo...
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Heavy snow in southern Ontario and Quebec shutters schools, snarls commutes
By Rianna Lim Heavy snow hammered much of southern Ontario and parts of Quebec on Thursday, shuttering schools and causing commuter chaos throughout the day. Environment Canada said some parts of Ontario, including the Greater Toronto Area, could see up to 40 centimetres of snow by Thursday evening, even as snowfall warnings for Toronto, Hamilton and Kitchener were lifted by the late afternoon. Earlier in the day, the weather agency had issued orange alerts – reserved for weather that’s likely to cause significant disruption or damage – in several regions. Toronto, York, Peel and Halton Region schools closed Thursday morning, and post-secondary schools including the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University announced their campuses were closed. Environment Canada said the Ottawa area would also see up to...
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N.S. government says even more cannabis dispensaries than originally estimated
By Lyndsay Armstrong Nova Scotia’s justice minister says there are more illegal cannabis dispensaries in the province than the 118 the government had initially estimated — though he won’t say how many. The real number is in flux, Scott Armstrong told reporters Thursday following a cabinet meeting. His vague comments are the latest in the series of confusing statements government members have made over the past few weeks to defend their crackdown on illegal cannabis shops. “I’m not going to give you a number …. But I can tell you it is bigger than the first number we released,” Armstrong said, adding that new illegal shops have opened since he issued a directive on Dec. 4 for Nova Scotia police to prioritize cannabis enforcement. On that day he also wrote...
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Blueberry River First Nations release election results
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca BUICK, B.C. — The election in Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) for chief and council went ahead earlier this week, and the results are out. There were 149 votes cast on January 12th out of 398 electors for a voter turnout of around 37 per cent. As required by its election code, each of the five major families in the BRFN community selects a councillor to represent them, with nominations for chief being separate. The chief was appointed by council on January 13th and 14th. Nominees for chief included former councillors Sherry Dominic and Shelley Gauthier in a field of eight candidates. Both Dominic and Gauthier were in the previous administration, which was shrouded in turmoil after the removal of former chief...
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Don’t expect spike in arrests after B.C. ends drug decriminalization: police chief
By Ashley Joannou The chief of Victoria’s police department supports ending drug decriminalization in British Columbia, but says she doesn’t expect to see a spike in arrests once the program ends this month, since it was already wound back 20 months ago. Fiona Wilson was originally a prominent advocate for decriminalization of personal possession of small amounts of drugs in 2023 when she was vice-president of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police, saying it had the “potential to address harms associated with substance use” as an “important part of an integrated approach.” In an interview Thursday, Wilson, who was also Vancouver’s deputy police chief at the time, said supporting decriminalization was an attempt to “move the dial” during the opioid crisis in B.C. “I think that, as important as...
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Manitoba First Nation urges province to address hotel space for evacuees
By Brittany Hobson The Canadian Red Cross says some evacuees from a northern Manitoba First Nation rocked by a severe water crisis won’t be displaced for a second time in as many weeks, as the community’s chief called on the province to do more to ensure they get priority in hotels. About 1,200 residents from Pimicikamak Cree Nation have been staying in Thompson, although it’s unclear how many are in the city’s hotels or have other accommodations. Chief David Monias had said he was concerned some would have to leave Thompson, due to a minor hockey tournament there this weekend. The Red Cross said Thursday that accommodations in Thompson have been secured for evacuees, although some may need to temporarily go to another location in the city depending on room...
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Grand Falls-Windsor asking public, Qalipu First Nation for evidence of sacred land
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram Grand Falls-Windsor is holding a public consultation on Jan. 28 to determine whether the Louis John Hill area — a walking spot of sorts behind residential and commercial properties that connects downtown, which is named after a famed Mi’kmaq outdoorsman — has “cultural, historical, or natural significance.” Its other goal is to define its boundaries, which are presently unclear, in part to determine where it can begin development plans for an apartment building. Simultaneously, it’s taking care to respect the land and wishes of residents, as it did with an unrelated proposed development on Grand Bank Road in 2016. Residents are behind the claims of its significance; the four that spoke with The Telegram were unanimous in hoping the area is...
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2025 was the third warmest year on record. What does that mean in Canada?
By Jordan Omstead This past year was the third warmest on record and stood on the cusp of surpassing a major climate threshold globally, according to new data from the European climate agency. The Copernicus data indicates 2025 was about 1.47 degrees warmer than pre-industrial levels, following the previous year’s record-setting 1.6 degrees. When 2023 is added to the mix, it’s the first three-year period on record to exceed 1.5 degrees, the data suggests. At the current rate, the 2015 Paris Agreement’s long-term global warming limit of 1.5 degrees could be reached by the end of this decade, about a decade earlier than predicted when the climate pact was signed, the agency said in a press release. Canada is warming even faster than the global average. The loss of snow...
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