Indigenous explainers: How the First Nations education program benefits School District 60 students
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — With her stoic demeanour and unmistakable presence, one might see Pat Jansen as an Indigenous knowledge keeper or storyteller. In a way, she is one: but rather than telling the stories of her people of Horse Lake First Nation in Alberta, she shapes children’s stories as the principal of Indigenous education in School District 60 (SD60). Sitting at the desk in her office, she tells the story of how she came to be an educator – going back to her school days, when she was part of what she described as a “silent generation” of Indigenous people. “You don’t know of [colonial education] when you are growing up,” said Jansen. “You are amidst it and it is...
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B.C. First Nation meets with Alberta minister to oppose changing tanker ban
By Ashley Joannou Cameron Hill was six or seven years old in the 1970s when he and his father took to the water in a wooden skiff to help form a blockade to stop a ship of oil executives who were looking for a tanker route through Gitga’at First Nation territory on B.C.’s northern coast. Five decades later, now as the First Nation’s deputy chief, Hill is repeating a pledge to protect the water on which the nation depends, as talk returns to a possible pipeline in the north and oil tankers traversing their waters. Hill was part of a group of Gitga’at First Nation leaders who met Friday with Alberta’s Minister of Indigenous Relations Rajan Sawhney, a meeting that he described as a “open and honest” as leaders expressed...
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Fourth trial ordered for Nunavut teacher accused of sexual abuse
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Editor’s note: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing. For the fourth time since 2018, a former Sanikiluaq teacher will stand trial relating to charges of sexual abuse against Inuit children. Johnny Meeko successfully appealed his conviction of 29-year sentence for the alleged abuse that spanned 1984 to 2003. Meeko can ask the Nunavut Court of Justice to be released from prison on Jan. 5, 2026, when a new trial will be scheduled. The previous judge made errors in admission of evidence and instruction to the jury, creating an unfair trial for Meeko, the Nunavut Court of Appeal ruled in a decision released on Dec. 5. Specifically, one piece of witness testimony was ruled to have been...
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N.S. RCMP says it was already tackling illegal cannabis before minister’s directive
By Lyndsay Armstrong The Nova Scotia RCMP say they have no plans to change their approach to tackling illegal cannabis in the province, despite a new provincial government directive calling for a police crackdown. Nova Scotia RCMP spokesperson Cst. Mandy Edwards said that’s because Mounties in the province are already enforcing existing laws. “For us it’s business as usual. This does not change how we operate and enforce those provincial and federal laws,” Edwards said in an interview Monday. The comments come a few days after Justice Minister Scott Armstrong issued the directive to the RCMP and other Nova Scotia police forces, instructing them to prioritize cannabis enforcement. It specifically directs police to focus on intelligence collection, identify and disrupt illegal cannabis operations and distribution networks and report “enforcement outcomes”...
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Eby rejects a recall of the legislature, will amend, not repeal UN Indigenous Act
By Wolfgang Depner Opposition politicians and a business group are urging the British Columbia government to recall the legislature in order to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples Act after the province’s Appeal Court ruled in favour of Indigenous groups over the mineral claims regime. Trevor Halford, the interim leader of the Conservative Party of B.C., said Monday the uncertainty can’t drag on until the next session of the legislature in February. “Reconvening the (legislature) is appropriate, when a court decision creates urgent legal, or constitutional consequences requiring immediate legislative action,” Halford said, standing just outside the closed doors to the main legislative chamber. The Dec. 5 ruling says that the provincial declaration should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate the UN declaration into law immediately, and...
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National Arts Centre promotes communications exec Annabelle Cloutier to CEO, president Slugline: NAC-New-President
By Cassandra Szklarski The National Arts Centre has appointed a longtime communications executive to its top post. NAC’s board of trustees says Annabelle Cloutier begins a five-year term as president and chief executive officer immediately. Cloutier takes the reins after serving as NAC’s executive director of strategy and communications and corporate secretary to the board. She worked closely with former president and CEO Christopher Deacon, who retired Dec. 3 and describes Cloutier as someone who “lives and breathes the arts of the stage.” Cloutier is credited with helping the NAC usher in a digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and navigate a post-pandemic renewal, and was central to 50th anniversary celebrations and the launch of the Indigenous Theatre, both in 2019. More recently, she helped steer cultural showcases at Expo...
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Inuvialuit kayak, other items from Vatican to be unveiled at Museum of History
By Alessia Passafiume A selection of Inuit items returned from the Vatican this weekend will be shown at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., today. They include a traditional Inuvialuit kayak, believed to be one of five built more than 100 years ago. First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders welcomed back dozens of Indigenous artifacts released from the Vatican collection at Montreal’s airport on Saturday. The 62 items ultimately will be returned to their communities of origin as an act of reconciliation. First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders have for years called on the Vatican to repatriate Indigenous items in their collection. Indigenous leaders were on hand Saturday to watch as the priceless artifacts were removed from the belly of an Air Canada cargo jet in large crates....
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Gull-Masty signals go-slow approach to changing First Nations status eligibility
By Alessia Passafiume Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty says the Assembly of First Nations sent a strong signal to her government to end the second-generation cutoff in the Indian Act, but her government won’t make that change without broad consultations with leaders. First Nations chiefs voted last week to support Senate amendments to a government bill that would expand eligibility under the Indian Act by eliminating the provision that prevents individuals from registering for status under the Indian Act if they have a parent and a grandparent who did not have status. Gull-Masty says that while she has heard from chiefs who want the issue addressed, not all chiefs participate in AFN meetings. She says that while there’s a national consensus on dropping the second-generation cutoff, she still has work...
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‘One Battle After Another’ dominates Toronto Film Critics Association Awards with 4 wins
By Alex Nino Gheciu “One Battle After Another” picked up one prize after another from the Toronto Film Critics Association on Sunday night. The action thriller about an ex-revolutionary turned stoner whose past catches up with him won four awards, including best picture and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson during the group’s annual live vote. The film, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” also won best adapted screenplay and outstanding supporting performance by Benicio del Toro. Outstanding lead performance awards went to Rose Byrne for her portrayal of a therapist and mother whose life comes crashing down around her, and Ethan Hawke for his turn as down-and-out Broadway legend Lorenz Hart in “Blue Moon.” B.C. filmmaker Sophy Romvari won best first feature for “Blue Heron,” her semi-autobiographical drama about...
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Indigenous Act can be repealed in days if Eby recalls legislature: Opposition leader
By Wolfgang Depner The interim leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. says the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples Act can be repealed in a few days, if Premier David Eby immediately recalls the provincial legislature. Trevor Halford says British Columbia cannot wait until February to repeal the legislation, following a court ruling that found the province’s mineral claims regime was “inconsistent” with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The ruling says that the provincial declaration should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate the UN declaration into law immediately, and the Crown has a duty to address “inconsistencies” between the UN declaration and B.C. laws. Halford says the ruling is causing “uncertainty” and “chaos,” and if Eby waits until the next regular session of...
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B.C. First Nation meets with Alberta minister to oppose changing tanker ban
Leaders of a First Nation on British Columbia’s northern coast say they met Friday with Alberta’s minister of Indigenous relations to express opposition to any changes to Canada’s tanker ban to service a potential new pipeline. The Gitga’at First Nation says in a statement that they presented Rajan Sawhney with scientific and historical evidence affirming there is no proven method for recovering bitumen spills on B.C.’s north coast, which it says has some of the highest tidal ranges on Earth. Chief councillor of the Gitga’at First Nation Bruce Reece says in the statement that the nation remains opposed to any removal or weakening of the oil tanker moratorium that has been in place for more than 50 years and that the nation will uphold its responsibility to safeguard marine ecosystems....
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Nunavut murders reached five-year high in 2024
Four murders in Nunavut last year marked the highest number of homicides for the territory since 2019, when there were seven, according to Statistics Canada data released on Dec. 2. The statistics agency includes first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and infanticidee in its definition of homicide. Homicides in Nunavut had only numbered one or two since 2020, until 2024. In 2024, the murder victims in Nunavut were Tracy Oqaituq, Tracey Netser, Jimmy “Sam” Kownirk, and Zipporah Kalluk. The number of murders in Nunavut last year is tied for the third-lowest in the country, with no homicides in Yukon, two in PEI, and four in Newfoundland and Labrador, which has a population more than 10 times that of Nunavut. From a per capita perspective, Nunavut had the second-highest murder rate in...
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Former national chief’s $5M lawsuit against AFN to go before court
By Carly McHugh Writer After more than a year of delays in reaching a settlement, a legal case filed against the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) by former national chief RoseAnne Archibald will be heading to court. Naming the AFN, then-members of its Executive Committee and the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB), the civil lawsuit will soon enter its discovery stage, where both parties will formally exchange and examine information, documents and evidence. This process is designed to encourage settlement before the case goes to trial. Archibald seeks to claim at least $5 million in damages from the defendants for “defamation of character, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and negligence,” as well as the legal indemnities she has incurred as a result of what she believes was a “campaign...
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Ontario’s Bill 5 erodes good governance in the province
By Kristen Lowitt Associate Professor Ontario passed Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, in June 2025. The omnibus bill amended environmental laws and proposes “special economic zones” where the government can decide what laws will or won’t apply. The bill eliminates key environmental protections and grants the provincial government sweeping powers to fast-track development with little to no oversight. This risks undermining the rights of Indigenous communities, the public and nature. As stated by Michel Koostachin, founder of the Indigenous grassroots group the Friends of the Attawapiskat River: “The government is using the ‘tariff war’ as an excuse for greed, to advance personal and private gain.” Bill 5 is an affront to Indigenous rights and natural law because it authorizes the government to potentially cause irreparable...
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Quebec announces plan to cut environmental assessment times in half
Quebec’s environment minister says the province will reduce the amount of time it takes to complete an environmental assessment by about half. Bernard Drainville says the time savings will come from simplifying the process for industry and government, without compromising standards. He says the time to complete an environmental assessment will drop to nine months, down from the current 13 to 18. The new rules are expected to accelerate major projects in the energy, industrial, mining and transportation sector. Drainville says his plan would also allow affected members of the public and Indigenous communities to get involved in reviews, earlier in the process. There will be a consultation on the new rules that begins later this week, after they are published in the province’s official Gazette. This report by The...
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Carney says back-to-office plan for federal civil servants coming soon
By David Baxter Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday his government’s plan to get public servants to spend more time in the office will come into “sharper view” over the next several weeks. The issue came up when Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe asked Carney about the prospect of public sector job cuts during the mayor’s monthly breakfast event with the Ottawa Board of Trade and the Ottawa Business Journal. Carney said his government will be “engaging with the public sector unions on the modalities” of the back-to-office policy. “We will come to a much sharper view on it over the course of the next several weeks,” he said. “There will likely be different levels of return depending on seniority, depending on the role and obviously, depending on capacity.” Carney said...
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‘It’s not safe to live here.’ Colombia is deadliest country for environmental defenders
By Steven Grattan PUERTO ASIS, Colombia (AP) — Jani Silva sits inside the wooden house she built on the banks of Colombia’s Putumayo River — a home she hasn’t slept in for more than eight years. The longtime environmental activist has been threatened for work that includes protecting part of the Amazon from oil and mining exploitation. She describes a tense escape one night through a back window after community members tipped her that armed men were outside. “Since leaving because of the threats, I’m afraid … it’s not safe to live here,” she told The Associated Press. She only comes now for brief daytime visits when accompanied by others. “The two times I’ve tried to come back and stay, I’ve had to run away.” Activists like Silva face steep...
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Interim leader Halford says Conservatives will “work co-operatively” to repeal DRIPA
By Wolfgang Depner The interim leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. says Premier David Eby must immediately recall the legislature to repeal the province’s Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples Act and related legislation. Trevor Halford says his party is “prepared to work co-operatively” after a court ruling found that the provincial mineral claims regime is “inconsistent” with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The appeal ruling says that the provincial declaration should be “properly interpreted” to incorporate UNDRIP into provincial laws with immediate effect. Halford says that this decision opens up the door for judges, instead of MLAs, to decide whether provincial laws are inconsistent with UNDRIP, and only a full repeal of DRIPA can restore what he calls “legislative supremacy and...
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Writer and photographer Stephen Thorne remembered as dogged, keen-eyed storyteller Slugline: Obit-Stephen-Thorne Source: The Canadian Press Published: 07/12/2025 09:59 New item for followed topic: Mining Category: National Word count: 1070 View this item in your account: https://cpnewspro.com/wire?item=3040f637-7867-4435-be4f-a3412b34ebd7 By Jim Bronskill Journalist Stephen Thorne, who movingly chronicled some of the most difficult episodes in recent Canadian history, died Friday after being ill with prostate cancer. Thorne spent much of his career at The Canadian Press and later worked as a freelance writer, photographer and communications consultant before joining Legion Magazine. He toiled for CP for almost three decades, covering everything from major crime and federal politics to offshore fishing disputes and professional baseball. But he was most drawn to events that tested the human spirit. Thorne served as the eyes and ears of the public on stories including the 1992 Westray coal-mine explosion, the 1998 Swissair Flight 111 disaster and the Canadian military’s foray into Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. His incisive writing style let the facts, punctuated by telling details, propel the story’s narrative. Thorne was also an accomplished photographer who captured moments of tense drama, unspeakable sorrow and joyful camaraderie. He garnered many accolades for his journalism. Among other honours, Thorne received National Newspaper Awards for spot news and international reporting, the Ross Munro Media Award for defence reporting and four RTNDA national radio awards. Former CP editor-in-chief Scott White said he once told Thorne he was the best breaking news reporter he ever worked with. Thorne was often competing with many other news outlets chasing the same spot story. “But he told it differently and better,” White said. “The guy was a beautiful writer.” Thorne was the lone reporter with 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry during its assault on the Whale’s Back in eastern Afghanistan in March 2002, Canada’s first wartime combat operation in half a century. In words and photos, he also portrayed the rhythm of the daily lives of Canadian soldiers and Afghans in the war zone. White spoke to Thorne frequently by phone during his time in Afghanistan. “He was completely in his element — pissing off the brass, telling good, human stories, breaking some stories,” White recalled. Thorne was raised in Halifax, where he attended Queen Elizabeth High School before studying political science at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. He worked at the Halifax Chronicle Herald as a reporter and photographer in the early 1980s, and joined CP in 1984. “I interviewed political leaders, Nobel laureates, grieving families, wounded soldiers, disaster survivors, artists, heroes, villains, celebrities, entertainers and sports icons,” Thorne wrote on his website. “I have walked the windswept sands of Sable Island, chased the dancing northern lights in Canada’s High Arctic, and ascended the lofty peaks of the Rocky Mountains — and the Hindu Kush.” Former CP journalist Dean Beeby, who supervised Thorne in Halifax and Ottawa, described him as a dogged and independent-minded reporter who grabbed a story and wouldn’t let go. “He had that very rare combination of somebody who chased a story hard, and when he had it, he was able to sit down and write it so that you felt like you were there,” Beeby said. “His charm gave him an ability to get people to talk to him. People felt at ease around him, and he they would open up to him.” Beeby remembered Thorne using those abilities to elicit exclusive details from the rescue workers who clambered through the wrecked Westray mine in search of survivors and bodies. Six years later, Thorne talked his way on to a small fishing boat to survey the aftermath of the Swissair crash off Peggy’s Cove, N.S. “On the windswept sea 10 kilometres southwest of this postcard place, the acrid smell of jet fuel is almost overpowering; the blunt, visceral reality of death is all about, washed clean by the constantly rolling ocean,” he wrote. “And always there are the reminders. Purses. Suitcases. A shaving kit. Documents with names and Swiss addresses.” White remembers Thorne’s dispatch well. “That is the only story I ever edited that made me cry at CP,” White said before pausing. “It still breaks me up when I think about it.” Thorne wrote of that day years later in a piece for Legion Magazine about his father, who was a Canadian Air Force doctor in Europe during the Second World War. Thorne was driving back to the CP office when he saw his dad crossing the street. He pulled over, opened the passenger-side window and told him he had spent the day on the water at the crash site. “I didn’t need to tell him what we found there. He knew. He nodded, pursed his lips and studied my face: ‘I know, son,’ he said. ‘I know where you’ve been.’ There was a silence and then I headed off. “It was probably the most poignant moment we’d ever had. I returned to the newsroom and wrote the words: ‘The lives of the 229 passengers and crew who died aboard Swissair Flight 111 float by in 100,000 tiny pieces.’ “My life would never be the same again.” Thorne delivered an incredible story, Beeby said. “But I think it stayed with him and haunted him.” White acknowledges that decades ago media outlets, including CP, were not as aware as they are now of the mental toll that covering grim tragedies can take on a journalist. Thorne spent much of his later career telling the stories of those who went to war. He mounted several photographic exhibitions across North America, including one on Afghanistan that featured his stories and pictures as well as video from documentary filmmaker Garth Pritchard. Another exhibition featured images of wounded soldiers. Thorne served for a time as editor of The CWCA Newsletter, the Canadian War Correspondents Association journal. In 2018, he joined Legion Magazine, focusing on military history as a staff writer, photographer and copy editor. Thorne also wove his own experiences and the tales of veterans into his book “On War: Exploring Why and How We Fight.” Valour in the Presence of the Enemy, a non-profit organization dedicated to honouring and supporting Canadian soldiers, published a salute to Thorne on social media after learning of his illness. “He didn’t just report our stories — he carried them with him, protected them, and made damn sure they were told right. His tireless work at Legion Magazine has preserved countless stories that might have been forgotten,” the message said. “He’s given voice to the fallen, honour to the veterans, and visibility to causes that desperately needed a champion.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2025. Regards, The Canadian Press Team Contact us at 1-800-268-8149 or help-aide@mycpnewspro.com Visit https://www.thecanadianpress.com/ for more services from Canada’s trusted news leader.
By Jim Bronskill Journalist Stephen Thorne, who movingly chronicled some of the most difficult episodes in recent Canadian history, died Friday after being ill with prostate cancer. Thorne spent much of his career at The Canadian Press and later worked as a freelance writer, photographer and communications consultant before joining Legion Magazine. He toiled for CP for almost three decades, covering everything from major crime and federal politics to offshore fishing disputes and professional baseball. But he was most drawn to events that tested the human spirit. Thorne served as the eyes and ears of the public on stories including the 1992 Westray coal-mine explosion, the 1998 Swissair Flight 111 disaster and the Canadian military’s foray into Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. His incisive writing...
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Document reveals approval to harvest remnant old-growth in B.C.’s northwest
By Brenna Owen British Columbia’s logging agency has changed a policy that conserved remnant old-growth forest in the province’s northwest, with a government briefing note showing a plan to open those areas for harvesting has been approved. The note, obtained by The Canadian Press and written by a BC Timber Sales manager in the Babine region, acknowledged the shift “may invoke scrutiny” from conservationist environmental groups. It says First Nations in the Bulkley, Morice and Lakes timber supply areas do not support old-growth logging deferrals recommended by a provincially appointed panel in 2021, and continuing to conserve remnant stands “does not demonstrate respect of the First Nations’ responses” to that process. Photographs of the document show the word “approved” marked with yellow highlighter, just below the recommendation to stop sparing...
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