Jordan’s Principle of helping
By Darrell Greer Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The hamlet of Baker Lake has been approved for more than $5 million in funding ($500 per month support each for kids 18 and younger, with an extra $250 for kids aged one day to three years) from the Inuit Child First Initiative/Jordan’s Principle programs through partnership with the Indigenous Kids Network of Canada . Jordan River Anderson (from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba) passed away in hospital at the age of five in 2005 due to government incompetence at the provincial and federal levels. Jordan’s Principle works to ensure First Nations youth (Inuit are also eligible) aged up to 18 (19 in some provinces) have access to the services they need. The program covers health, education and social services, including specialized...
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Native Women’s Association of Canada without CEO
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is without a CEO after being hit with $48 million in federal government cuts. NWAC announced the departure of CEO Lynn Groulx who had been with the organization for 6.5 years in an email to staff. “As of today (April 12) Lynne Groulx is no longer employed as NWAC Chief Executive Officer,” the board announced in an email to staff. In the email the board said it wishes Groulx “well in her future endeavours.” Groulx, is a lawyer and former Canadian Human Rights Commission adviser and a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario In a statement posted by NWAC Groulx said “Leaving the role, you love is always difficult.It has been an honour and incredible journey leading NWAC and contributing to its...
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Man found deceased on Second Line
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-Six Nations Police are continuing an investigation after a deceased person was found near the side of the road on Second Line Road near Chiefswood Road Friday April 12th. Police, Fire and ambulance services responded to the scene. Police closed Second Line at about 5:15 p.m. and motorists were asked to avoid the area. The road has reopened. ...
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How to tackle crime in Indian Country? Empower tribal justice, ex Justice Department official says
By Lindsay Whitehurst THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)- A quarter-century ago, the Justice Department had few meaningful relationships with Native American tribes. While the federal government worked with state and local police and courts, tribal justice systems did not have the same level of recognition, said Tracy Toulou, who oversaw the department’s Office of Tribal Justice from 2000 until his recent retirement. “They were essentially invisible,” he said. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Toulou built the office from an idea into an “institution within the Justice Department.” Its relationships with the nation’s 574 federally recognized tribes are important, in part because federal authorities investigate and prosecute a set of major crimes on most reservations. Public safety statistics reflect the serious challenges. Native Americans and Alaska Natives are more than twice...
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TBM receives $50,000 youth climate action grant
By Chris Fell Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Town of The Blue Mountains has announced that it is one of 100 municipalities world-wide to receive a special youth climate action grant. The town made the announcement this week that it has received $50,000 to distribute as microgrants to fund youth-led climate initiatives. The grant comes from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Youth Climate Action Fund. “We are super excited about this, because we are one out of 100 municipalities in the world that have received this,” Mayor Andrea Matrosovs said in an interview with CollingwoodToday. “There are only six municipalities in Canada and only 29 in all of North America who are going to be using this fund.” The funding is a result of the mayor’s recent attendance of the COP28 climate summit...
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A dozen Indigenous led podcasts receive funding boost from new program
By Odette Auger Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Kori Czuy is the Metis host of the podcast Ancestral Science, which emphasizes the importance of Indigenous culture, spirituality and worldview in scientific inquiry. On the show, Elders and Indigenous scientists talk about how science is defined, embraced and understood through spirit and relationality or connectedness. Ancestral Science is just one of 12 podcasts to share $300,000 from the new Podcasting Program launched by the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), an advocacy and funding organization serving Indigenous creators. The ISO money will support the podcasts to grow their audiences by partnering with Acast, a Swedish podcasting platform that makes 100,000 podcasts available to 400 million monthly listeners. The Ancestral Science podcast delves into diverse topics, including the relational nature of numbers and the interconnectedness of...
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Nearing 50 Supreme Court arguments in, lawyer Lisa Blatt keeps winning
By Mark Sherman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP)- No woman has appeared more often before the Supreme Court than Lisa Blatt, who will make her 50th argument this month. No lawyer, male or female, has done it with quite the same mix of humor, passion and style. And her win-loss record isn’t bad, either: 40-6, with two cases yet to be decided. She elicits laughs and the occasional sharp response from the justices, who seem to enjoy Blatt’s presentations as much as they respect her legal acumen. When Blatt joked that Justice Samuel Alito was being her “enforcer” with a friendly question in a case about a claimed retaliatory arrest that was argued last month, the justice said, “I’m not trying to be your enforcer by any means. … You...
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Supreme Court of Canada says treaty entitled Alberta First Nation to larger reserve
An Alberta First Nation ended up with less land than it should have received under a treaty made with the Crown well over a century ago, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. In a 7-0 decision Friday, the top court declared that the Blood Tribe was entitled to more than 420 square kilometres of additional territory, saying the Crown “dishonourably breached” the treaty provisions. Members of the Blood Tribe near Lethbridge, Alta., had long argued that Canada did not fulfil a promise made in 1877 to set aside a reserve with an area of one square mile for each family of five people. In its decision, the Supreme Court noted the Crown recently acknowledged its breach of the land entitlement commitment. However, the court characterized the admission as...
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Overdoses prompts B.C. First Nation to declare state of emergency
WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C.- A spike in overdose deaths in the six British Columbia nations that make up the Tsilhqot’in National Government has prompted the chiefs to declare a local state of emergency. The Cariboo area nation says in a statement that toxic drugs combined with the historical and present-day harms of colonialism are contributing to higher rates of overdose deaths among Indigenous people. Tribal Chair and Chief Joe Alphonse says in the statement that drugs are a major problem in the community, and while they feel like their hands are tied, they need to act to save lives. The statement says the RCMP know who the dealers are, and that is something that needs to be addressed. The Tsilhqot’in says the emergency declaration provides the nation with access to additional...
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‘Very smart’ B.C. orca calf evades rescuers, forcing switch in tactics
The team trying to rescue an orphaned killer whale trapped in a British Columbia lagoon says they will have to change tactics after being “truly humbled at the intelligence, adaptability and resilience” of the calf that managed to evade capture Friday. A statement issued by the Ehattesaht First Nation chief and council and the rescue team said they made the decision to stand down after the young orca “simply decided she was not ready to be moved.” It said experts and veterinary staff from the Vancouver Aquarium were able to get a good look at the young female during the capture attempt and say she still appears to be in good health, that her breathing is solid and she is swimming well. The statement said the team would regroup after...
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Former Thunder Bay police chief arrested and charged in misconduct probe
THUNDER BAY, ONT-A former police chief in the northern Ontario city of Thunder Bay was arrested and charged on Friday, marking the third arrest in an ongoing investigation by provincial police into allegations of misconduct at the force. Ontario Provincial Police said they arrested Sylvie Hauth, 57, and charged her with two counts of obstructing justice, one count of breach of trust and one obstruction count. Hauth was then released, the force said. She is set to appear in court on May 7. The OPP did not provide any further comment on the case. Shortly after the charges were announced, Hauth’s lawyer, Scott Hutchison, said the former police chief “is confident she will prevail.” “The decision to charge Chief Hauth is both disappointing and regrettable,” Hutchison wrote in a statement....
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Supreme Court of Canada says treaty entitled Alberta First Nation to larger reserve
By Jim Bronskill THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- An Alberta First Nation ended up with less land than it should have received under a treaty made with the Crown well over a century ago, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. In a 7-0 decision Friday, the top court declared that the Blood Tribe was entitled to more than 420 square kilometres of additional territory, saying the Crown “dishonourably breached” the treaty provisions. Members of the Blood Tribe near Lethbridge, Alta., had long argued that Canada did not fulfil a promise made in 1877 to set aside a reserve with an area of one square mile for each family of five people. In its decision, the Supreme Court noted the Crown recently acknowledged its breach of the land entitlement commitment. However, the...
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Priest accused of sex assaults against children in Nunavut dies in France
By Brittany Hobson THE CANADIAN PRESS A priest accused of sexually abusing Inuit children in Nunavut decades ago has died in France after a long, undisclosed illness. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, including the Oblates of Lacombe Canada and the Oblate Province of France, say Joannes Rivoire died Thursday. He was in his 90s. Rev. Ken Thorson with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate Lacombe Canada says the death may be difficult news for those who advocated for the priest to face justice in Canada. “We sincerely regret that … Rivoire never made himself available and will never face the charges that were laid against him. We further regret that efforts for him to be formally removed as a priest were unsuccessful,” he said in an emailFriday. A recent independent review...
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Liberals say their plan to ‘solve the housing crisis’ will build 3.9M homes by 2031
By Nojoud Al Mallees THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- The federal Liberals have unveiled their plan to solve the housing crisis, building on recent announcements with new tax incentives, more than a billion dollars for homelessness and a country-wide effort to build more housing on public lands. “Today we are releasing the most comprehensive and ambitious housing plan ever seen in Canada,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in Vaughan, Ont. on Friday. “It’s a plan to build housing, including for renters, on a scale not seen in generations. We’re talking about almost 3.9 million homes by 2031.” The parliamentary budget officer released a report Thursday that estimates Canada would need to build 3.1 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap. The Liberals’ 28-page plan, which comes days ahead of...
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CP NewsAlert: Priest accused of sex assaults against children in Nunavut dies
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate say Johannes Rivoire, a priest accused of sexually abusing Inuit children in Nunavut, has died after a long illness. More coming....
Orphaned orca: Rescue attempt begins at remote B.C. lagoon
A rescue attempt to save a killer whale calf stranded in a remote tidal lagoon near Zeballos, B.C., is underway. Road access to the lagoon is blocked by members of the Ehattesaht First Nation, but an official at the scene said an attempt to get the female orca calf out of the lagoon and transferred into the open ocean began before dawn. A First Nation official who declined to provide his name said the attempt was launched because of favourable weather conditions. A statement from the First Nation said work was expected to take “much of the day” and the federal Fisheries Department, the Vancouver Aquarium, and the nation will brief the media when the operation has concluded. The two-year-old calf has been alone in the lagoon for more than...
Lake St. Martin chief declares innocence after being charged with sex assault
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A First Nations chief charged with sexually assaulting a child is proclaiming he is innocent and said he has no plans to voluntarily walk away from his leadership position. Charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and child pornography charges against Chief of Lake St. Martin First Nation Christopher Traverse were announced Wednesday. The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) confirmed the chief of the community located in the Interlake, about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was arrested in February and court records say alleged offences happened on Dec. 29, and involve an elementary-school-age child. Traverse was released on bail. Traverse took to Facebook on Wednesday to state his innocence and said that he has and will continue to be cooperative with police, even now that...
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B.C. tables anti-racism legislation, promises to hold public bodies accountable
The British Columbia government tabled legislation Thursday that’s designed to hold public bodies accountable for addressing systemic racism in policy and programs, the province’s attorney general said. Niki Sharma said the proposed law would cover provincial ministries, agencies, health-care and social service providers, and require the development of a public action plan using data the government has collected on systemic racism. She said it would give her ministry the power to issue compliance orders if it finds a lack of response to the action items in the plan. Before tabling the bill, Sharma said she sometimes thinks of the politicians who have come before her in the legislature, who passed laws designed to hurt people based on the colour of their skin. “The power that was wielded in that place,...
Goodstoney, Bearspaw First Nations receive over $540,000 in business funding
By Jessica Lee Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Goodstoney First Nation and Bearspaw First Nation were among 10 First Nations to benefit from the province’s Aboriginal Business Investment Fund in 2023-24, with funding to support ongoing business ventures. Funding issued to Goodstoney and Bearspaw is supporting $370,000 in renovations for the Goodstoney Meadows development and $170,140 for the purchase of new service vehicles to increase service offerings and business opportunities for Stoney Nakoda Telecom, respectively. “We went and got some quotes on a couple vehicles from a dealership and the fit-out costs and put a business plan together on what we’re doing and passed it onto the government,” said Bearspaw First Nation CEO Rob Shotclose. “Fortunately, we were successful in that application and we’re going to be purchasing two new trucks,...
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Orphaned B.C. orca: Rescue team prepares landing site for complex rescue
ZEBALLOS, B.C. -A team of about two dozen people is preparing the planned landing area for the complex rescue of an orphaned killer whale calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off northwest Vancouver Island. Veterinarians, whale response experts, First Nations members and logistics experts are expected to conduct a series of dry runs ahead of the planned rescue, which could occur within days. The federal Fisheries Department says in a statement many people are working tirelessly to develop and put finishing touches on the rescue of the two-year-old female calf, which has been alone in the lagoon for more than two weeks after its pregnant mother became beached at low tide and died. It says the calf’s health will be a key consideration during the capture, transport and release...
