First Nations leaders to meet in Winnipeg to talk major infrastructure projects
-CP-The Assembly of First Nations’ annual general assembly is expected to kick off this morning in Winnipeg, where the federal government’s major infrastructure legislation is set to be debated. The bill, which passed in June, has seen strong opposition from some First Nations leaders and community members who fear it will infringe on their inherent rights. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the assembly will hear diverse opinions, including from First Nations leaders who are in support, who are reluctant and some who lack information. One draft resolution calls for First Nations infrastructure ventures to be included in the national push for projects. The assembly recently put forth a pre-budget submission to the federal government recommending $800 million over the next two years to support a First Nations review of...
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Newfoundland town declares state of emergency, closes businesses as water runs out
A mayor near Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city says his town of about 27,000 people is about to run out of water. Darrin Bent says a pipe carrying water to Conception Bay South has broken and the town’s water reserves are draining quickly. The municipality on the outskirts of St. John’s declared a state of emergency and asked all businesses to close. It also asked residents not to use water for anything other than emergencies. Bent says neighbouring towns have water tankers ready in case water is needed to put out a fire in Conception Bay South. He says it’s not clear when the broken pipe will be fixed, adding that the situation is an added stress for a community that has already spent part of the summer on evacuation...
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Six Nations Police seeking information on attempted armed break in
OHSWEKEN, ON- Six Nations Police (SNP) are seeking the public’s help in tracking down two individuals , one armed, who attempted to break into a home on Onondaga Road. Police said the attempted break and enter occurred Saturday, August 30th, 2025, at approximately 5:52 a.m.. with the Six Nations Police responding to a call of an attempted break and enter involving a firearm on Onondaga Road. According to SNP the homeowners said they were awakened to the sounds of two people attempting to enter their home. One male suspect was carrying a firearm. The victims were able to stop the suspects from entering the home and the suspects are believed to have fled the area on foot. A police search of the immediate area was launched with no results. The...
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Assembly of First Nations to lay out budget priorities during general assembly
By Brittany Hobson The federal government’s major projects legislation, closing the infrastructure gap on First Nations, and federal budget expectations are expected to be discussed at this week’s annual meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. The meeting begins Wednesday in Winnipeg and marks the first time leaders from more than 600 First Nations across Canada will gather to discuss Ottawa’s legislation to fast-track major projects. It aims to shore up the Canadian economy in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, but some Indigenous leaders have opposed the law, saying it infringes on their rights. One draft resolution calls for First Nations infrastructure ventures to be included in the national push for projects. National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak says the federal government’s upcoming budget is an opportunity...
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Experts push for more renewable energy action in NL
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram As the raging wildfire season in NL begins winding down, climate change and environmental policy experts are looking to the future and urgently pushing for more action on renewable energy investments in order to minimize the damage to the climate going forward, as well as put the local economy in a secure place. While the provincial government has been trying to balance continuing oil production off NL coasts with developing renewable energy sources, experts say it is an irresponsible approach and more focus should be on the latter. “We’re in the midst of a global energy transition,” explained MUN Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and ‘Fossilized’ author Dr. Angela Carter. “Global oil demand will be in decline and...
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A Day to Mark Thousands Lost to Unregulated Toxic Drugs
By Michelle Gamage, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Tyee More than 18,000 British Columbians have died due to unregulated toxic drugs in the province over the last decade. On Sunday, around 100 people gathered at Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park to mourn and celebrate the lives of their lost friends and family and mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Similar gatherings were held across the province and country. At 1 p.m. the B.C. groups held a minute of silence for the dead, which was then followed by a minute where those gathered said the names of those they’d lost out loud. “We want this solemn event to shake the government as much as possible,” said Dave Hamm, vice-president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. “It’s a celebration of life for those...
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Major firefighting training event planned
By Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal The Emergency North Training (ENT) FireCon is returning to Thunder Bay, bringing hundreds of volunteer and municipal firefighters, more than 45 exhibitors and more than 40 instructors from the Ontario Fire College. The instructors will oversee two new pilot courses in incident command and exterior attack, along with training scenarios aimed at certification for the participants. Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Chief Dave Paxton said the event will take place between Sept. 9-13 in three locations, which include Gary’s Towing, Thunder Bay Fire Training Centre, and the Valhalla Inn Hotel and Conference Centre. Firefighters will train in passenger vehicle extrication, apparatus equipped with a fire pump, hazardous materials operations, fire instructor, fire investigator, live fire attack, and the Warren Brinkman Being a...
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Brant residents asked to limit water use
By Celeste Percy-Beauregard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Hamilton Spectator Residents in Brant County are being asked to reduce water use by 20 per cent following a dry summer with high temperatures. The plea comes a week after the conservation authority asked residents to reduce use by 10 per cent. “With the lack of rain, stream flows have continued to drop in the Whitemans Creek and Lower Nith sub-watersheds,” the Grand River Conservation Authority said in a news release Friday. The most effective way people can help is by reducing outdoor water use — even if they’re on private water sources, the release said. This applies to well water users too — because they are fed by the same aquifers that feed Whitemans Creek and the Lower Nith, well water...
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Six Nations Fire fighters were out to remind motorists it’s the first day of school
Six Nation students walking through Ohsweken got a helping hand from Six Nations fire fighters, including Jess Martin, who were out with signs reminding motorists to slow down children are walking to school in the village. (Photo by Jim C. Powless)...
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Idlout ‘disgusted’ with Carney over elimination of food vouchers
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Multiple times per day, Nunavut Member of Parliament Lori Idlout hears another story of a family going hungry in one of Nunavut’s small communities, she told Nunavut News. Rising hunger coincides with the federal government putting an end to hamlet food vouchers, according to Idlout. Nunavut’s only representative in the House of Commons said she believes Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government is more concerned with resource development than ensuring her constituents can afford groceries. “They would rather dig for critical minerals than ensure Inuit have food to eat. I am disgusted by the Carney government’s response to Nunavut,” Idlout said. Families with children under age 18 were receiving $500 per month while those with children under age three in...
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New study shows how Amazon trees use recent rainfall in the dry season and support the production of their own rain
By Magali Nehemy Assistant Professor, Department of Earth & Environmental Science University of British Columbia The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical forest, home to unmatched biodiversity and one of the planet’s longest rivers. Besides the Amazon River, the Amazon rainforest also features “flying rivers:” invisible streams of vapour that travel through the atmosphere, fuelling rainfall both within the forest and far beyond its boundaries. The forests play a central role in this system. Much of the moisture that rises into the atmosphere comes from transpiration. Trees pull water from the soil through their roots, transport it to the leaves and release it as vapour. That vapour becomes rainfall — sometimes locally, sometimes hundreds of kilometres away. In the dry season when rain is scarce, up to 70 per cent...
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Son of late Innu leader says Hydro-Québec does not have consent for Gull Island, wants work halted immediately
By Heidi Atter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent A Sheshatshiu man is calling for Innu leaders to step down and for all work at Gull Island to stop after Innu Nation gave Hydro-Québec a green light to resume preliminary work before Innu have their say in a referendum. Innu Nation’s assent precedes a forthcoming vote by Innu on an agreement between Innu and the Québec public utility for the proposed hydroelectric megaproject in central Labrador and to settle a legal challenge. “I was furious. I was very upset,” said Jerome Jack, an Innu land defender and son of late Innu leader Bart Jack, who was instrumental in the Innu resistance to Muskrat Falls nearly a decade ago. “They still don’t have the consent from people, and they’re still going...
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Six Nations actor Graham Greene, known for role in “Dances With Wolves,’ dies at 73
By Cassidy McMackon Oscar-nominated Six Nations of the Grand River /Canadian actor Graham Greene, who broke through with memorable roles across several genres at a time when the entertainment industry shunned Indigenous talent, has died at age 73. Greene’s management team said he died on Monday in Stratford, Ont., after a long illness. The actor, who was born in Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River , Ont., and is from the Six Nations Reserve, starred in a steady stream of film, television and theatre projects from the late 1970s onward. Last year, he won a Canadian Screen Award for playing a version of himself in the comedy thriller “Seeds,” directed by Kaniehtiio Horn. Horn, who was born in Ottawa and raised on a Mohawk reserve, says she first encountered...
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Warming temperatures affect glaciers’ ability to store meltwater, contributing to rising sea levels
By Danielle Halle and Wesley Van Wychen In higher elevations, firn, frozen water that is something between snow and ice, covers the top of glaciers. Firn plays a critical role in regulating glacial meltwater and sea level rise. It does this by absorbing meltwater, the water released by melting glaciers. The ability of the firn layer to absorb meltwater — its “sponginess” — can be determined by the amount of pore space available, which is impacted by several variables such as temperature, firn grain size and presence of ice layers within the firn layer. A more spongy firn layer allows for more meltwater to be stored as it trickles down and refreezes when it reaches colder temperatures at depth. Layers of firn can exist between refrozen ice layers. The greater...
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Two-way race in ITK presidential election
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Two candidates will be on the ballot in September for the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami presidential election. Incumbent Natan Obed will face former CBC North managing editor Kevin Kablutsiak. ITK, the national organization representing Canadian Inuit, made the announcement Friday morning, a day after the nomination deadline. The winner will be determined Sept. 18 during the organization’s annual general meeting in Cambridge Bay. Obed, 49, has been at the helm of ITK since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the organization’s history. He won the 2015 and 2018 presidential elections, then was acclaimed in 2021 when no one ran against him. Obed announced he will run in the upcoming election as a “veteran,” despite previously saying this would be his final...
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Quebec has turned down funds aimed at addressing systemic racism in the courts
By Miriam Lafontaine The Quebec government has turned down federal funding aimed at combating systemic racism in the criminal justice system, saying it doesn’t agree with the program’s approach. The federal government first offered $6.64 million in funding to provinces and territories in 2021 to improve fairness in the courts. Spread out over five years, the money was aimed at addressing the overrepresentation of Black people in the criminal justice system by promoting the use of race and cultural assessments before sentencing. These assessments — known as Impact of Race and Culture Assessments, or IRCAs — analyze how a convicted person’s experience of systemic racism contributed to their criminal charges. While most provinces have accepted the federal funding aimed at supporting defendants or to cover the costs of assessments through...
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Sam Laskaris, Turtle Island News contributing writer, receives Excellence in Journalism Award
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige presents Sam Laskaris with his Excellence in Journalism Award. Turtle Island News is pleased to announce that its sports writer Sam Laskaris has been chosen as the 2025 Debwewin Citation winner. The award is presented by the Anishinabek Nation for Excellence in Journalism. It recognizes excellence in reporting or storytelling about Anishinabek issues Anishinabek Nation is a political advocate of 39 First Nations across Ontario Sam was presented with the award on Aug. 28 at Casino Rama Resort in Chippewas of Rama First Nation during the Anishinabek Evening of Excellence ceremony Sam is a veteran journalist and sports writer and has been a contributing writer to Turtle Island News for over a decade. We congratulate him on his award....
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Tourism operators’ bottom line burned by another summer of wildfires
By Lauren Krugel Fewer tourists are coming to Jasper, Alta., than usual this year, but it’s not for a lack of people eager to visit the picturesque Rocky Mountain town. Numbers are about as good as they can be, considering about one-fifth of the town’s overnight accommodations burned when a ferocious wildfire swept through last summer, said Tourism Jasper CEO Tyler Riopel. “There’s about as many people visiting Jasper this summer as we have overnight accommodations for, so I say it’s a win,” he said. “We’re seeing between a 16- and 20-per-cent actual visitor number reduction overall, and that is 100 per cent directly attributed to the loss in fixed-roof accommodations and campgrounds.” Spots that are available are almost entirely full, Riopel said, adding the squeeze is likely to last...
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Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated pouring $98 million into housing
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated has approved $98 million in spending on housing after receiving the money from the federal government’s Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy, according to an Aug. 29 press release. Housing will be prioritized for women and children fleeing violence; Elders; and youth in crisis, according to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), which held a board of directors meeting in Kinngait this week. “Members noted a 46 per cent increase in project spending, with significant investments in Inuktut revitalization, community infrastructure, housing, the Inuit Health Survey, post-secondary education, tuberculosis care, and suicide prevention initiatives,” the NTI press release states. In the same board meeting, NTI learned that the Nunavut Trust will pay out $92.9 million this year, more...
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Hundreds of Manitoba wildfire evacuees face uncertain September
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Six-year-old Raylynn Mercer spent much of his summer break bicycling around hotel parking lots and cuddling with his Chihuahua, Princess. “He’s a trooper,” Irene Mercer said as she reflected on the abrupt end of her son’s first school year and uncertainty surrounding his entry into Grade 1. “Due to fires, they weren’t allowed to celebrate the end of kindergarten. He was very crushed.” The Mercers and others from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, also known as Pukatawagan, were forced to flee south about 100 days ago. The 2025 wildfire season is the worst on record in 30 years. More than two million hectares of Manitoba have burned and while most fires are out or under control, widespread infrastructure damage is delaying...
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