AMC accuses Ottawa of child neglect
By Connor McDowell, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Brandon Sun The leaders of First Nations across the province accused Ottawa this week of neglecting children, following recent changes the federal government made to a children’s aid program. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs put out a statement on Friday saying there is ongoing failure toward First Nations children through Jordan’s Principle. The assembly asserted that children’s lives and rights are being jeopardized as requests through the program face delays and a lack of clarity about the future. “There is so much that’s changing right now, and we have no correspondence that speaks to what Canada is doing,” AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson told the Sun Friday. “Right now, we’re not getting any answers from Canada … about the future of Jordan’s Principle.” The...
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MLA wants to help bring 5-year-old girl’s remains back to Fort Smith
By Tom Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, NWT News/North MLA Richard Edjericon shared a heartbreaking story about a young Indigenous girl named Alma during the Feb. 25 session of the legislative assembly. Alma, he explained, was born in Fort Smith, but was moved to St. Joseph’s residential school in Fort Resolution, where she died at just five years old. “Alma’s mother went to meet the boat from Fort Resolution at the dock in Fort Smith,” Edjericon said. “When Alma didn’t get off the boat, Alma’s mother asked the other children why Alma wasn’t there, and she was told that the nuns said that she has gone to heaven.” Alma’s death was attributed to tuberculosis, according to Edjericon, though it is not certain that was actually the cause. Whatever the case,...
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Carney, Macron vow to strengthen ties to tackle geopolitical, economic crises
By Kyle Duggan -CP-Canada must strengthen ties with France and other allies in the face of geopolitical and economic crises, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday in France. Making opening remarks in Paris before a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Carney stressed both countries’ shared values of sovereignty, solidarity and sustainability. “Those are values that we hold dear, and unite us,” he said, noting that the French language defines the identity and culture in each country. He said France and Canada have been reliable partners for centuries, and are now committed to “unwavering support” for Ukraine. Carney also said Canada and France know that economic co-operation, not confrontation, will help build strong economies. This is Carney’s first in-person meeting with an international leader as prime minister. Macron called Canada...
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“The height of arrogance:” professor calls out Bill 6, Houston’s dismissal of provincewide movement to ban fracking, uranium exploration
By Lauren Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Coast “Let’s not mince words,” Jonathan Langdon tells The Coast. “Anybody who tells you that the evidence around fracking has changed–that it’s more healthy, that it’s safer–this goes against all the studies up-to-date which show the health risks are the same or more acute than they were 10 years ago when we put this ban in place.” Langdon is a development studies professor at St. Francis Xavier University and a Canada Research Chair in Sustainability and Social Change Leadership. He’s concerned about a new provincial bill–Bill 6, or An Act Respecting Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources–that would overturn longstanding bans on fracking and uranium exploration and mining if passed. Langdon was part of the groundswell movement leading to the provincial ban on...
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New curriculum coming to Nunavut schools this fall
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Some Nunavut students will be learning from a new academic curriculum starting this fall. Education Minister Pamela Gross announced the rollout of the territory’s new kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum on March 11 at the legislative assembly. “This is an important milestone in supporting the vision of our elementary education system,” Gross said. “The content developed in the made-in-Nunavut curriculum will help ensure that what students learn in schools is reflective of and applicable to the lived experiences and realities of Nunavummiut and responsive to students, families and communities.” The new curriculum has been in the works since 2018. Its development included consultations with Inuit elders, educators, language specialists and knowledge keepers, Gross said, without going into detail about what’s in...
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Closing arguments set to begin in pipeline company’s lawsuit against Greenpeace
By Jack Dura MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Closing arguments are scheduled to begin on Monday in a pipeline company’s lawsuit against Greenpeace, a case the environmental advocacy group said could have consequences for free speech and protest rights and threaten the organization’s future. The jury will deliberate after the closing arguments and jury instructions. Nine jurors and two alternates have heard the case. North Dakota District Court Judge James Gion told the jury last month when the trial began, “You are the judges of all questions of fact in this case,” and to “base your verdict on the evidence.” Dallas-based Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access alleged defamation, trespass, nuisance and other offenses by Netherlands-based Greenpeace International, its American branch Greenpeace USA, and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. The...
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Montreal police investigating after woman pinned to ground by hotel security guard
By Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News A security company is apologizing to an Inuk woman for the “regrettable” way a guard treated her at a Dorval hotel that serves as an overflow facility for the Ullivik medical boarding home in Montreal. Sevim İlgün, however, says she is “traumatized” from being pinned to the ground by an Ullivik-hired security guard who kicked her out of the hotel on March 6. “I did not sleep for two days because I was in a lot of pain, I was having nightmares of that security sitting on top of me laughing,” she said in an interview. İlgün, an Inuk woman living in Montreal, entered the hotel with a friend around 1:30 a.m. that morning. Her friend was staying at the hotel...
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Jordan’s Principle ‘not a suggestion,’ AMC grand chief says in call for full implementation
By Sam Thompson & Melissa Ridgen Global News The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has called for full implementation of Jordan’s Principle saying the program has been mismanaged by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and they want the federal government to end its neglect and systemic failures when it comes to First Nations children. The AMC called for the full implementation of Jordan’s Principle, Friday saying ISC mismanagement has left the program in shambles and families without crucial health, education and social supports The AMC call comes after Min. Patty Hajdu charged last month, Jordan’s Principle was no longer operating “within the spirit” of why it was created, and changes were under way to make sure spending aligns “with the long-term sustainability” of the program. “We feel that it’s time that we actually have much...
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Iqaluit military base, spending on ‘nation-building’ projects on NDP agenda
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News An Iqaluit military base, increasing Canada’s defence budget and investing in major infrastructure projects are some of the key items on the New Democratic Party’s Arctic security agenda. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh unveiled his party’s defence plan Sunday morning during a press conference in Iqaluit alongside Nunavut MP Lori Idlout. “We are living in some dangerous times,” Singh told reporters, pointing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s levying of tariffs on Canadian imports and his threats to make Canada the 51st state. Singh’s platform commits to meeting the expectation that NATO members spend two per cent of their GDP on defence. He said that under an NDP government, Canada would do that by 2032. In the current fiscal year, Canada is spending...
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Area flood warnings issued include Six Nations, Brantford and Brant County
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND-Six Nations Grand River flooding thresholds are in effect for Fourth Line and Bateman Line to Monday March 15. Six Nations flooding coordinators and emergency services are monitoring conditions after the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has issued updated flood warnings to Brant, Brantford and Six Nations and the city of Cambridge . GRCA says the “Flood Watch previously issued for the remainder of the Grand River watershed remains in effect.” Flood warnings have also been issued for Drayton, Grand Valley, Waldemar, West Montrose, the Village of Conestoga, New Hamburg, and Ayr. The GRCA says watershed temperatures increased to double digits above freezing over Saturday, March 15, 2025, and have remained high throughout the weekend. A Colorado low system has moved across the watershed on Saturday...
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Alert issued on potential measles exposure after case confirmed in Calgary
-CP-Alberta Health Services is warning the public about a possible exposure to measles after a case was confirmed in the Calgary area. The health agency issued an advisory Friday, saying the case had been in public settings while infectious and provided a list of places and dates for people who were at risk of contracting the virus. AHS says individuals who visited Airdrie Superstore on 300 Veterans Boulevard NE in Airdrie on March 8 between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. may have developed symptoms of measles. Anyone who was present at the Sky Castle Family Entertainment Centre and cafeteria in the New Horizon Mall in Balzac on March 9 between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. may have also been exposed. Other locations and times for potential exposures include Airdrie Urgent...
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Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre gets $50 million funding boost
By Kira Wronska Dorward, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The Inuit Heritage Trust has announced the signing of a contract between Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the federal government, and the GN.Funding worth $50 million will go towards the construction of the Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre (NIHC) in Iqaluit. That’s roughly one-third of the estimated $150 million price tag to build it. The expected completion date is 2030 and when it’s done, it’s expected to measure around 6,000 sq. m and house more than 200,000 Inuit cultural belongings that are currently in the south. “The cultural belongings are near and dear to our hearts and we want them returned home where they belong,” stated IHT president Donna Adams. “Our vision is that the centre will allow the telling of Inuit...
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Via Rail on-time performance plunges after CN imposes new speed rules
By Christopher Reynolds Via Rail’s on-time performance hit new lows in recent months, internal documents show, a decline the Crown corporation blames largely on new rules from Canadian National Railway Co. Files obtained through an access to information request show that Via trains, which run mostly on CN tracks, arrived late along its Windsor-Quebec City corridor 80 per cent of the time in February and two-thirds of the time in January. That’s a significant leap from late-arrival numbers below 30 per cent during the same two months last year, though the heavy snowfall was also a factor in last month’s figures. In court filings in November, Via said that recently imposed speed restrictions on its Venture passenger trains were causing delays along its busiest corridor, affecting thousands of customers daily....
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Reclaiming the Navajo language — through English: A conversation with poet Esther Belin
By Dionne Phillips, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Diné poet Esther Belin has noticed the unique way writers from her community often engage with the English language. “Originally forced on us, English is now being reconstructed with Diné sound and thought,” she writes in the March issue of Poetry magazine. “Indigenous poetics is growing in numerous directions as writers continue to re-embody Indigenous thought and sound — in new and repatriated forms.” This idea is at the core of this month’s issue, which she guest-edited, of the 113-year-old “Chicago” magazine published by the Poetry Foundation. Belin worked with more than 20 Indigenous authors — most of them also Diné — to create a collection of poetry and prose that capture the essence of Diné bazaad (the Navajo language). Diné bazaad...
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Advocates and family of man shot by RCMP launch ‘people’s tribunal’ to probe police
By Nono Shen Legal advocates and relatives of an Indigenous man shot dead by RCMP officers in Campbell River, B.C., in 2021 have launched what they call a “people’s tribunal” to investigate crimes committed by police. Laura Holland, the mother of Jared Lowndes, says she’s “tired of waiting” for justice for her son, who was shot twice in the back in his car at a Tim Hortons drive-thru. The B.C. Prosecution Service last year declined to lay charges against any of the three officers involved in the incident, which the service says included Lowndes reversing his car into a police vehicle, trying to bear-spray police and stabbing a police dog to death. A group including Wet’suwet’en First Nation member Holland and her supporters, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and Pivot...
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Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government terminates consumer carbon price
By Sarah Ritchie Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first move after taking office on Friday was to eliminate the consumer carbon price, undoing Justin Trudeau’s signature climate policy. Carney addressed members of the media after the Friday afternoon cabinet meeting, saying the government is “focused on action.” “We will be eliminating the Canada fuel charge, the consumer fuel charge, immediately, immediately,” he said. The order-in-council Carney signed in front of cabinet ministers and the press actually stipulates that the “the fuel charge be removed as of April 1, 2025.” That’s when the price was scheduled to rise again. Instead, it will be eliminated for consumer purchases. The price for big industrial emitters remains in place. Carney also said people who have been getting rebates on the carbon price will get one...
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Trump pledges to ‘expose’ his enemies in political speech at Justice Department
By Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer And Zeke Miller WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trumppledged to “expose” his enemies during a norm-breaking political speech Friday at the Justice Department in which he aired a litany of grievances about the criminal cases he faced and vowed retribution for what he described as the “lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls.” The speech was meant to rally support for Trump administration policies on violent crime, drugs and illegal immigration. But it also functioned as a triumphant forum for the president to boast about having emerged legally and politically unscathed from two federal prosecutions that one year ago had threatened to torpedo his presidential prospects but were dismissed after his election win last fall. Though other presidents have spoken from the...
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SpaceX launches a new crew to the space station to replace NASA’s stuck astronauts
By Marcia Dunn CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out. Arrival is set for late Saturday night. NASA wants overlap between the two crews so Wilmore and Williams can fill in the newcomers on happenings aboard the orbiting lab. That would put them on course for an undocking next week and a splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting. The duo will be escorted back by astronauts who flew up on a rescue mission on SpaceX last September alongside two empty seats reserved for...
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Advocates and family of man shot by RCMP launch ‘people’s tribunal’ to probe police
By Nono Shen Laura Holland’s voice shook with emotion as she talked about her smart and affectionate son, saying she is “tired of waiting” for justice for him. Jared Lowndes, or Jay as his family called him, was shot twice in the back by police as he sat in his vehicle at a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Campbell River, B.C., in July 2021. Holland said at a news conference on Friday that her family was torn apart following her son’s death at aged 38, and she has been doing everything she can to seek justice for him and other Indigenous people who have been killed by police in the province. “The only spark of life that we have is that our loved ones are pushing us because if we don’t...
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Judge won’t review case involving officer who kicked teen’s head like a soccer ball
By Aaron Sousa An Alberta judge won’t review the Crown’s decision not to charge an Edmonton police officer who kicked an Indigenous teenager five years ago. In a recent decision, Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Kraus dismissed a judicial review by Pacey Dumas, who was given a severe “soccer ball” style kick to the head by Edmonton Police Service Const. Ben Todd. Kraus dismissed the review because he found no evidence to support Dumas’s argument that failing to prosecute constituted an abuse of power. “The applicant has failed to point to any evidence of Crown conduct bordering on corruption, violation of the law, bias against or for a particular individual or offence, flagrant impropriety, improper motives, or bad faith,” he wrote. “Nor has the applicant established that the conduct...
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