B.C.’s new clean-energy czar is a climate ‘wild card’
By Rochelle Baker, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Adrian Dix is B.C.’s new climate and clean energy czar, but it’s not clear whether his appointment signals a new commitment by the NDP government to tackle the province’s growing oil and gas emissions. Dix, the former health minister who once ran for premier himself, was appointed as the Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions during Premier David Eby’s cabinet shuffle. With the appointment, Eby also combined responsibility for energy and climate accountability under one roof. Dix’s appointment and changes to the ministry could be pivotal to B.C.’s clean energy future and low carbon economy, if the province weans itself off fossil fuels and prioritizes clean electricity for economic sectors aligned with climate priorities, say political and climate experts. However, unless the Eby...
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Kashechewan evacuees make best of a bad situation
By Clint Fleury Local Journalism Initiative THUNDER BAY — It’s been two weeks since the evacuees from Kashechewan First Nation arrived in the City of Thunder Bay. Community Liaison Victor Stephen told Newswatch that, for the most part, “everything has been running smoothly” despite nearly 160 community members not being able to be home for the holidays. “We arrived here during the holidays and everything has been ups and downs,” Stephen said. He noted that some community members are beginning to feel a little cooped up staying in their rooms and wandering the halls of the Superior Inn. “Everything’s been closed where people can be activated to go to activities and all that kind of stuff,” Stephen said. “So, now that the holidays are ending, we will be taking advantage...
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Politicians look back at 2024 and ahead to 2025
By Clint Fleury Local Journalism Initiative THUNDER BAY — As the calendar turns to a new year and the last one comes to its inevitable end, Dougall Media asked some of Thunder Bay’s political representatives to reflect of some of their highlights for the past year in office and their hopes for the year to come Thunder Bay–Superior North MP Patty Hajdu said her highlight of the year was working on First Nations water legislation. “It really imbues the desires and aspirations of First Nations communities around not just how to make sure that they can access clean water, but how to protect water for generations. I found working on this bill extremely fulfilling,” Hajdu said. Another highlight for the federal MP was advocating for Thunder Bay to get much-needed...
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50 Mission hits the stage in support of Stedman Hospice
By Kimberly De Jong Local Journalism Initiative The local Tragically Hip tribute band is gearing up to return to the stage for its Hip for Hospice event, held in support of the Stedman Community Hospice, on Saturday, January 4, 2025. The hospice, which serves residents living in Brantford, the County of Brant, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Norfolk and Haldimand counties, provides-end-of-life patient care through its ten bed in-residence program, community outreach, and grief and bereavement support programs. Julie Powell, President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Lifecare Foundation (the official fundraising organization for Stedman), explained that because the government only provides 50 per cent of funding for the hospice, the team there depends on the community to help cover the other 50 per...
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China slams Canada human-rights criticism as ‘hypocritical farce of double standards’
China is accusing Canada of hypocrisy for criticizing Beijing’s human-rights record, pointing to issues faced by Indigenous Peoples. The blowback comes after Ottawa sanctioned eight Chinese officials it accuses of “grave human rights violations” against ethnic and religious minorities, and voiced concern about democracy in Hong Kong. Ottawa issued a statement last month that cited reports of arbitrary and violent detainment of Uyghur people, as well as repression toward Tibetans and Falun Gong practitioners. Global Affairs Canada also says it “deplores” that authorities are issuing international bounties for Hong Kong democracy activists and former lawmakers from the territory, including Canadians. Beijing says those claims are baseless and it has sanctioned groups and activists in Canada who advocate for minorities in China, barring citizens from certain interactions with these activists. Since...
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Auditions being held in Iqaluit for feature film ‘In Alaska’
By Kira Wronska Dorward Nunavut News On the heels of a new Inuit series for Netflix and CBC, more Inuit representation in film is on the horizon with a new movie under a casting call in Iqaluit. Filmmakers Jaap van Heusden and Arviat’s Vinnie Karetak have been seeking actors for their feature ‘In Alaska.’ “We’ve expanded our search from some of the roles that we have that are Inuit, that we will need to fill for our filming to be done in Nunavut, hopefully at the end of April,” Karetak told Nunavut News. He became involved when van Heusden sought “an eye for an Inuit project” in the fall of 2019, “and to see if it was something that the Inuit community could stand behind… [Van Heusden] being a white...
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Former Banff superintendent releases new Alberta centric anthology book
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative BOW VALLEY – Former superintendent of Banff National Park, Kevin Van Tighem, released his new book, Wild Roses Are Worth It: Reimagining the Alberta Advantage, Nov. 5. “I have been writing a column for many years for Alberta News Magazine called ‘This Land,’ and so I dealt with nature conservation, sustainable ways of living, all that stuff — there was a theme of it,” said Van Tighem. “You have to write a column every couple of months and you have to keep on coming up with new ideas. After a number of years, I looked at that plus some future articles I had written… and I thought if I put those together, the sum would be greater than the parts.” Van Tighem described the...
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‘Twisted and sexy’: CBC’s new comedy ‘North of North’ redefines Inuit women’s stories
(CP)-In developing “North of North,” a new Inuk comedy co-produced by Netflix and CBC in partnership with APTN, the creators made one thing clear: it had to be “a horny show.” “So often Indigenous women don’t have any bodily autonomy in shows and aren’t allowed to enjoy sex. They’re often victims of it,” said Nunavut-born co-creator Stacey Aglok MacDonald during an interview last month in Toronto. “We really wanted to show Inuit women and Indigenous women being in control of their bodies, having feelings and wanting romance and wanting sex and all of that stuff.” Turning to star Anna Lambe and co-creator Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, who were sitting beside her at the CBC headquarters, she added: “It also felt real to us, and we’re all about authenticity.” The three burst into...
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Governor General urges Canadians to care for their mental, physical health
(CP)-Gov. Gen. Mary Simon is urging Canadians to treat their mental health with the same care as their physical health as they prepare for the year ahead. In a new year’s message, Simon says she is thinking of all the inspiring people she met in 2024. Simon praises them for working hard to improve their communities, protect nature, build bridges between cultures and give voice to the marginalized. She implores people to continue building the more inclusive world and sustainable environment Canada’s children deserve. Simon has asked Canadians to share their hopes for the future, and says she will share the responses in the coming days. She adds that she remains committed to working with people to advance climate action, foster reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and celebrate Canada’s diversity. “This...
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Lil’wat Forestry launches old-growth forest research project
By Luke Faulks, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter V) is leading a data-collection project to assess old-growth areas within the First Nation’s traditional territory. The Old Growth Stewardship Data Collection Project will give the Nation a snapshot of the forest to help promote wildfire management, wildlife habitats and the growth of traditional plants. The key to the project is old-growth forest management. Decades of fire suppression policies preventing forest fires have led to unnaturally dense forests that don’t leave enough space for native plants and wildlife to thrive. “I’m sure if you live in the Sea to Sky, you see how thick some of the forests are,” said Klay Tindall, general manager at LFV. “That’s not normal.” “Normally, a lot of our Lil’wat Nation forests without fire suppression would see fires...
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Parallel crises: Ontario losing biodiversity as new federal climate targets disappoint
By Anushka Yadav, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Canada’s wilderness, one of the last great frontiers of biodiversity, is home to unique species found nowhere else on Earth. A new report warns that the ongoing global decline in biodiversity poses serious risks to food security, water, health and climate stability — as decision making around the world increasingly favours economic gains at dangerous costs. From the wetlands of Ontario to the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, these pristine ecosystems are vital not only to the country but to the planet’s ecological health. Canada is home to an estimated 80,000 species, 24 percent of the world’s boreal forests and about 25 percent of the planet’s temperate forests. Canada also has the world’s longest coastline, more than 2 million lakes, the third-largest glacier-area...
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Six Nations giving spirit was in full force over the holidays
Six Nations giving spirit was in full force over the holidays including from the Six Nations Fire Fighters Association who donated $5,000 to the Six Nations Food Bank. The donation came from their first annual golf tournament held in 2024. The fire fighters included Alex Howling, Chancy Johnson, Ben Purchase, Charles Gamble, Martin MacNaughton, Kevin McDonald, Rory Smith, Braiden Shaw, Kolton Debus. Six Nations Food Bank board chair Mary Monture and coordinator Tracey Martin....
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Survivors’ Secretariat says it’s at risk of bankruptcy without funding decision
(Canadian Press)- The Survivors’ Secretariat says it will be bankrupt by the end of the month unless Canada makes a decision on whether it will fund the group’s work. The organization documents what happened at the Mohawk Institute, a residential school that operated in Brantford, Ont., and supports survivors of the school. Laura Arndt, the secretariat’s lead, says it has been waiting months to hear whether it will get funding through the residential schools and missing children community support fund. In 2021, after numerous First Nations reported finding what appeared to be human remains on the sites of former residential schools, Ottawa set aside money to fund searches of the sites and documentation of what happened at the schools. Arndt says bureaucratic processes in the department of Crown-Indigenous relations are...
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Ohsweken man facing impaired driving charge
OHSWEKEN-A 55-year-old man is facing impaired driving charges after Six Nations Police received a complaint of a suspicious person in a neighbourhood. On Sunday, November 17, 2024, at approximately 3:10 a.m. Six Nations Police received a complaint about a suspicious person on 3rd Line. Police were told the individual approached a residence and knocked on the door. The complainant said they saw the man then approach a vehicle that was parked on the roadway at the end of the laneway. The man was occupying the driver’s seat of the motor vehicle. The complainant told police while they were calling emergency services, the vehicle ended up in the ditch. No other occupants were observed in the area. Police arrived on scene and found a lone male in the area with signs...
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Six Nations Elected Council provides donation to BRISC
Six Nations provided the Brantford Region Indigenous Support Centre (BRISC) with a donation to assist with its Christmas programs. Despite a lack of information in the donation request from BRISC, Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) passed a motion to provide the organization with up to $2,000 at the General Finance meeting November 18. Councillor Dayle Bomberry said a lack of information about the use or amount of funding made it difficult to approve. Becky Greene, operations coordinator provided background and said in 2018 SNEC wrote a letter in support of its Christmas activities, but this is the first time they’ve asked for financial support. Councillor Helen Miller supported the donation regardless of the lack of information about what the donation was for, or how much BRISC wanted because many Six...
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Six Nations looking to find funds to finish Social Services building expansion
Six Nations Council must find $800,000 to finish the Social Services Building Expansion. Arliss Skye, Director of Social Services, presented a change order request for the ongoing Social Services Building Expansion project during the Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) General Finance meeting on November 18, but SNEC deferred it until December 2 to give finance time to find a funding source, which will delay the project even further. The Social Services building at 15 Sunrise Court expansion is at $15 million, having used $1.3 million of its contingency fund. It was approved for a $10 million expansion in April 2023, but at the time Skye noted it has been in the works since 2014. The building was originally built in 1995. “There was a big cost when we started building...
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Six Nations hears Metis self-governance bill is dead
Legislation to grant Metis self-governance and ancestral land rights is dead. Six Nations Elected Chief Sherri Lyn Hill told the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) at its Dec., 16th General Council session the Bill C-53 was recently killed. Hill said it happened during a recent meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee of Indigenous and Northern Affairs,. Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Gary Anandasangaree, said the bill “would not move forward.” “Six Nations of the Grand River has been strongly opposing Bill C-53 as this bill would have set a dangerous precedent for the recognition of false claims for First Nation identity,” Hill said. She congratulated SNEC on its hard work and wanted the community to know about SNEC’s success. “It’s great news,” she said. “It...
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Brantford launches city’s Truth and Reconciliation Action plan
BRANTFORD-The City of Brantford’s journey to create a Truth and Reconciliation Action Plan continues to creep forward. Brantford’s Committee of the Whole recommended a motion for approval at its meeting on December 10 that included a direction to staff with steps to take to develop the action plan, and endorse truth and reconciliation as a priority in the 2025-2028 Community Safety and Well-being Plan. Staff project the action plan will take two to three years to complete. The proposal includes four steps to take toward completing the first phase of plan creation. Staff will bring recommendations for the action plan to Brantford’s council in June 2026. The first step is to hire a consultant with Indigenous expertise, and previous experience in developing municipal Truth and Reconciliation Action Plans. In November...
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Brantford woman facing charges after attempt to evade police
(OHSWEKEN, ON) A Brantford woman is facing a series of charges after a Six Nations Police traffic stop of a vehicle driving erratically saw the driver flee from police., Six Nations Police were on general patrol Sunday, November 17, 2024, at about 2:25 a.m. When they saw a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Fifth Line. Police said the vehicle continued to drive erratically and a traffic stop was conducted of the vehicle. Police approached the vehicle and found a female driver and multiple passengers inside the vehicle, including a toddler in a car seat. While police confirmed the identity of the female driver signs of impairment were observed, and the driver was read an Approved Screening Device demand to check the sobriety of the driver. As...
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2024 – Year in Review
January 3 Six Nations Elected Council ordered a review of Iroquois Lodge policies and process after Turtle Island News revealed allegations of sexual abuse and questionable care. Six Nations Elected Band Council said it would be conducting a “thorough review” of all existing policies, clinical processes and procedures at the Iroquois Lodge after a Turtle Island News article detailed issues found by a Ministry of Long-Term Care inspection including allegations a patient had been sexually assaulted. January 10 Sexual assault at Iroquois Lodge never reported to police. While Six Nations of the Grand River says it will “review” policies and process at the Iroquois Lodge and Nursing Home, it has yet to contact Six Nations Police over an alleged sexual assault that occurred at the lodge last fall. January 17...
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