RCMP may need to review training involving Indigenous people, B.C. watchdog says
Rojun Alphonse was a “great family man,” who was proud of his Indigenous roots, and the circumstances around his death remain an open wound for his family and the community, said Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation in B.C.’s Cariboo region. B.C.’s Independent Investigations Office released a report this month detailing what led up to Alphonse taking his own life, suggesting RCMP policy or training may need to change to better respond to calls involving Indigenous people after complaints that police actions were more forceful than necessary. Alphonse died in Williams Lake after an hours-long standoff with Mounties in July 2022. “We would like to see meaningful change happen within the RCMP when you’re dealing with Indigenous peoples, when you’re dealing with individuals suffering from mental health...
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Carney showed ‘real dedication’ at Bill C-5 summit, but Onigaming chief remains concerned
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com WARNING: this story contains references to suicide. ONIGAMING — “We just don’t want to be left behind.” Ojibways of Onigaming First Nation Chief Jeffrey Copenace said he feels he was able to bring to federal leaders his concerns about what the government’s Building Canada Act and stated focus on economic and infrastructure development could mean for his community. Copenace was one of hundreds of First Nations leaders in Gatineau for the July 17 summit, sparked by widespread opposition to parts of Bill C-5. Copenace said he met Prime Minister Mark Carney for as much time as a quick handshake, but spoke to senior ministerial staff and Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin. “I was able to express all of those different...
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Kipling, Grenfell receive traffic safety money
By Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator There will be new signage popping up across Saskatchewan over the summer as the provincial Traffic Safety Fund announced $1.54 million in funding to 62 new projects. The fund awards grants of up to $100,000 twice per year with a goal of reducing collisions and traffic fatalities across the province. “The Government of Saskatchewan and SGI are committed to delivering safer roads for everyone in Saskatchewan,” said the Minister Responsible for SGI, Jeremy Harrison. “This $1.5 million in provincial grants will enable 61 municipalities and First Nations throughout our province to deliver enhancements to traffic safety in their communities.” Locally, the communities of Kipling and Grenfell were recipients of funding for their safety initiatives. Kipling received $5,622 for their project Stop...
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Federal money provided to return unproductive farmland back to forest in Alberta
By Bill Graveland The federal government is providing over $100 million to help return unproductive Alberta farmland to its original forested state. Corey Hogan, parliamentary secretary to Canada’s natural resources minister, says the cash is part of the $3.2 billion “2 Billion Trees program” and the reforestation will help capture carbon and reduce greenhouse gases. The goal is to support provinces, territories and third-party organizations in planting two billion trees across Canada by 2031. Hogan says cleared farmland will be turned back into thriving forests, providing employment to Indigenous women and youth, and providing economic benefits. Mike Toffan from Project Forest says through four different projects, 12 million trees will be planted in Alberta, including on the Siksika Nation and in the Peace Country. He says some of the land...
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Premiers meet with Indigenous groups on first day of three-day Ontario gathering
By Liam Casey and Allison Jones Canada’s premiers are pledging economic reconciliation with Indigenous people as they head into discussions with First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups at a three-day meeting in cottage country north of Toronto. The premiers have gathered at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ont., to talk trade and tariffs, particularly when they meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Mark Carney. But first they are set to have discussions with leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, among other Indigenous groups. That meeting comes as Indigenous communities have expressed concerns with federal and provincial laws meant to fast-track major infrastructure projects as a way to stimulate the economy facing tariff impacts. “We think this is a great opportunity...
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‘Indigenous helpers’ are essential to culturally responsive mental health care
By Louis Busch For nearly two decades, I worked as a therapist in a large psychiatric hospital in Toronto, supporting people living with severe mental health challenges. Many of those I encountered were navigating complex intersections of psychiatric diagnoses, chronic physical illness, poverty, and the breakdown of family and social support. Stories of fear, isolation, abuse and abandonment were pervasive. Occasionally, I witnessed transformative outcomes; patients reconnecting with loved ones, reclaiming aspects of their identity and building meaningful lives beyond their diagnoses. Unfortunately, such outcomes were typically the exception. More commonly, individuals cycled through repeated hospitalizations, and were placed in institutional or custodial settings. Some lost their lives before they got any better. While our mental health system certainly fails people of all backgrounds, I observed a unique disservice done...
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Karen MacKenzie shares her understandings of ‘Wise Practices’
By Laura Mushumanski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News (ANNews) – Since hearing her mother’s advice, “be a good mixer,” Karen MacKenzie, Co-Founder and President of MacKintosh Consulting, an Indigenous owned, international company, has walked with these words of wisdom of how to be in the world. “I was taught the importance of walking into any space and being able to connect with someone or something is part of being [in good relations],” said MacKenzie. For Karen, her strength comes from knowing how to be self-sufficient and a good mixer – that eventually led her to finding magic in the field of science when studying chemistry. These teachings have shaped how she walks in her current role as a leader, consultant, mentor, and neighbour. MacKenzie’s approach to engaging with...
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‘Empty promises’ on big national projects won’t work: regional chief
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner Joanna Bernard is driving a hard bargain when it comes to the prime minister’s new law to fast-track national projects. New Brunswick’s regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations, along with hundreds of other Indigenous leaders from across the country, listened to Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney give a speech on Thursday morning in Gatineau, Que., at the Great Hall of the Canadian Museum of History, on the same floor dedicated to Indigenous peoples. The event was closed to the media, but Bernard said the chiefs gave the prime minister an earful. “After hearing the chiefs on the floor speak to him, I think he’s understanding you can’t just come and make empty promises, as was done in the...
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Evacuees return home after weeks in Kapuskasing area
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KAPUSKASING – After four weeks of displacement, the last group of Sandy Lake First Nation evacuees boarded their flight home Friday. It marked the end of an emergency evacuation that brought over 400 people to Kapuskasing amid northwestern Ontario’s wildfire season. The evacuation was managed by Creemergency, whose CEO Tyson Wesley, said the final departures were emotional for everyone involved. “It was really great to bring those final people back home,” said Wesley. “We know how it feels to be away that long, not knowing when you’ll return. Our team was really excited to see them go back.” The evacuation began in early June, when out-of-control wildfires forced Sandy Lake residents to leave their homes. Kapuskasing, along with neighbouring Smooth Rock Falls, stepped...
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Area chiefs declare Ring of Fire a protected homeland
By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com ATTAWAPISKAT – A youth-led movement is gaining momentum as Mushkegowuk Council chiefs formally declared the Ring of Fire a protected homeland. Meeting in Ottawa on July 15, the Mushkegowuk Council of Chiefs passed a resolution asserting that no development can take place in the Ring of Fire without the free, prior, and informed consent of any affected Mushkegowuk First Nation. The resolution also called for the withdrawal and repeal of Ontario’s Bill 5 and Canada’s Bill C-5, legislation many say undermines Indigenous rights by streamlining development approvals on traditional lands. The motion was sparked by a presentation from 21-year-old Jeronimo Kataquapit, an Attawapiskat resident who recently launched the movement Here We Stand. For nearly a month, Kataquapit and his family have camped along...
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Premiers to meet with Indigenous groups on first day of three-day Ontario gathering
A three-day meeting of the country’s premiers gets underway today, and the first item on the agenda is discussions with Indigenous groups. The premiers are gathering at Deerhurst Resort in Ontario’s cottage country and trade and tariffs are expected to be the main topics, particularly when they meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Mark Carney. But first they are set to have discussions with leaders from the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council and the Native Women’s Association of Canada, among other Indigenous groups. That meeting comes as Indigenous communities have expressed concerns with federal and provincial laws meant to fast-track major infrastructure projects as a way to stimulate the economy facing tariff impacts. The federal law known as Bill C-5 allows cabinet to quickly grant federal approvals for...
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Quebec police watchdog investigating fatal shooting by Nunavik Police Service
Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating after Nunavik police shot and killed a person in Inukjuak, Que. late Thursday. The Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes says its early investigation shows that officers from the Nunavik Police Service responded to a call about a possible kidnapping at about 8:20 p.m. The BEI says a person at the home allegedly approached the officers with a sharp weapon. The watchdog says officers then shot and injured the person, who was taken to hospital where they were declared dead. The death marks the third fatal shooting involving the Nunavik Police Service since November 2024. The previous shootings prompted Inuit organizations to call for change in the way policing is delivered across Quebec’s Far North. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2025....
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Public will have ‘opportunities throughout the process’ to weigh in on nuclear waste storage site: NWMO
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com IGNACE — Before a high-level nuclear waste site can be built in the region the project’s proponent has a long regulatory process to navigate. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization held a media briefing Wednesday afternoon to explain what is scheduled to happen over the next nearly 20 years. That’s how long the NWMO says it will take to go through the process the government-mandated and industry-funded organization is counting on to approve the construction of a deep geological repository at Revell Lake, between Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation. Now that a preferred site has been chosen, the impact assessment process will soon begin, said Carolyn Fell, the NWMO’s manager of impact assessment communications. “This is coordinated by the Impact Assessment Agency...
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How a federal monument’s new welcome center in Maine honors Native Americans
By David Sharp ATOP LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Maine (AP) — The founder of Burt’s Bees envisioned a tribute to Henry David Thoreau when she began buying thousands of acres of logging company land to donate for what would become the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. But there was a major pivot: The monument’s new welcome center tells its story not from the perspective of the famed naturalist but through the eyes of the Wabanaki tribes who were the land’s original inhabitants. Roxanne Quimby’s family collaborated with four tribal nations, private entities and federal officials to create the $35 million center that the National Park Service opened to the public on June 21, providing a focal point for the 87,500-acre (354 square kilometer) monument. Dubbed “Tekαkαpimək” (pronounced duh gah-gah bee mook),...
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‘Truly amazing and really emotional’: Historic mortuary poles returned to Tla’amin Nation after decades-long search
By Abby Francis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews In late 2022, Drew Blaney was at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) viewing some paddles and masks from his nation that were being held in the institution’s basement. While he was walking around, the culture and heritage manager for Tla’amin Nation stumbled across two striking carved wooden figures — one depicting a man and the other depicting a woman holding her arms out, as if she was carrying a child. They looked familiar, so he immediately sent a text to his brother, Tiy’ap thote (Erik Blaney), who had been searching for two mortuary poles belonging to their community for nearly three decades. Blaney asked Tiy’ap thote — who was at a hockey game at the time — if he could send photos...
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Trade top of mind as Canada’s premiers are set to hold three-day meeting in Ontario
By Allison Jones Tariffs and trade are top of the agenda as the country’s premiers arrive in Ontario’s cottage country for a three-day meeting that comes at a pivotal time for both Canada-U.S. and domestic relations. The premiers’ summer gathering in Muskoka will also feature a Tuesday meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, as trade talks with the United States are expected to intensify. Most of what the premiers are likely to discuss stems from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs: trade negotiations, the direct impact on industries such as steel and aluminum, the increased pushes to remove interprovincial trade barriers and speed up major infrastructure and natural resource projects to counteract the effects of tariffs, as well as Indigenous communities’ concerns about them. Day 1 of the premiers’ meeting Monday...
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Smoke hampers firefighting in Manitoba, but rain in forecast for early this week
Precipitation that’s in the forecast early this week could help crews fighting wildfires that have been threatening a northern Manitoba city after smoke that’s blanketed much of the Prairies over the weekend kept some firefighting aircraft grounded and forced the cancellation of a number of weekend events. In an update posted to social media on Sunday, the City of Thompson said rain was forecast for the area on Monday as the community continues to advise residents to be ready to flee at short notice due to several fires. But the battle against the flames was hampered on Saturday, the post said, because intense smoke meant that aerial crews were unable to do suppression work with helicopters and water bombers. The smoke also meant crews weren’t able to be deployed by...
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Expert group says the next six months are ‘crucial’ for major projects bill success
By David Baxter Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government should prioritize Indigenous engagement and declare “low-risk, high-impact” projects as being in the national interest within the next six months to validate the major projects bill, an Ottawa-based group of experts says in a new paper. The Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations at Carleton University released a white paper on the future of Canada’s energy sector Monday morning, the before Carney was set to meet with Canada’s premiers in Huntsville, Ont. Carney asked to join the premiers during their annual summer premiers gathering after President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 35 per cent tariffs starting Aug. 1. The Building Canada Act, also known as Bill C-5, is a central piece of the Carney government’s response to Trump’s tariffs. The legislation gives the...
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Commemorating 1990 in solidarity
By Marcus Bankuti, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Door During the Siege of Kanehsatake in 1990, Ellen Katsi’tsakwas Gabriel would speak at night with the men on the front lines after wrapping up the day’s negotiations. One of the men, Richard Two-Axe – “Boltpin” – had a saying. You can break one arrow very easily, but if you take a bunch of arrows, you cannot break them. “That’s what solidarity is,” said Gabriel, speaking to more than 200 people assembled at Place du Canada in Tiohtià:ke on July 11 to mark the 35th anniversary of the Siege. The commemoration was not merely a remembrance, but a call to action that highlighted the pivotal importance of solidarity. “I really think that if we understand one another and have a relationship...
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Carney to hold talks with Inuit leaders on major projects bill in N.W.T. next week
Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in Inuvik, N.W.T. on July 24 to continue talks with Indigenous groups on the government’s major projects bill. Carney will co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee with Natan Obed, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president. The meeting will cover a range of issues according to the Prime Minister’s Office, including how the Building Canada Act can be implemented consistent with Inuit land claims agreements and in partnership with Inuit. The Building Canada Act gives the government the ability to fast track projects that are deemed to be in the national interest by sidestepping some review requirements under a host of federal laws. Carney hosted a meeting with hundreds of First Nations chiefs in Gatineau, Que. Thursday in the for the first of three meetings with Indigenous groups....
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