Homelessness unresolved amid northern Sask housing project
By Kimiya Shokoohi THE STARPHOENIX Despite the small size of its population, the northern Saskatchewan town of La Loche often confronts problems that plague much larger cities. Panhandlers can be found outside shops in the town of around 2,500 people. Some customers spend too many hours at the local bar. Mental health issues persist for many. Article contentLeaders in and around the community hope the recent addition of eight more “tiny home” units to an ongoing development can be a small part of helping those who face such struggles. “It gives people a little more structure in their lives,” said Rebecca Rackow, director of advocacy with the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Mental Health Association. “Those determinants of health are also determinants of mental health, the feeling of safety and the feeling...
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Magnetawan First Nation Launches Mobile Communications App For Member Notifications
MAGNETAWAN FIRST NATION, Ontario, Oct. 09, 2023 – — The Chief and Council of Magnetawan First Nation have released a new mobile application to help connect their members to administration, services, and resources. The official Magnetawan First Nation app is designed for members to stay informed of community news and events, regardless of whether they live on or off-reserve, and to enable private and secure communications between app users and the administration office. “Staying connected to our members who live off-reserve can be difficult; a mobile app gives our communications department an additional tool for time-sensitive notifications where something like Facebook or a newsletter isn’t an ideal solution,” said Chief Lloyd Myke. The Communikit platform on which the Magnetawan First Nation app runs on is the first of its kind in...
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Indigenous chiefs accuse Higgs government of damaging relations
By John Chilibeck Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Six Wolastoqey chiefs are blasting the Higgs Progressive Conservative government for centralizing power and vetting their requests through lawyers. In an open letter published Friday, the chiefs whose communities hug the St. John River or Wolastoq, as they prefer to call it, expressed frustration with recent statements made by two provincial ministers. They called out Gary Crossman, the environment minister, who claimed during a recent legislative committee hearing that Premier Blaine Higgs had been having weekly meetings with First Nations chiefs in New Brunswick. Crossman’s assertion turned out to be incorrect. They also expressed exasperation that Arlene Dunn, the aboriginal affairs minister, keeps defending her government’s decision to centralize First Nations requests through her department, rather than letting different departments speak directly to...
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All RDN sponsored resolutions endorsed at UBCM convention
By Rachelle Stein-Wotten Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Regional District of Nanaimo-sponsored resolutions on housing, water supply, parking in rural areas and more were endorsed at the September Union of BC Municipalities convention. The membership endorsed 162 resolutions in total. All six resolutions submitted by the RDN were endorsed as was the single resolution submitted by the Islands Trust. That resolution called for the B.C. government to co-develop new legislation wth First Nations on the protection of biodiversity, ecosystem health and species at risk. The RDN’s resolution on B.C.’s Homes for People Action Plan requests that the province not implement aspects of the plan such as allowing up to four homes on a parcel where currently only one home is permitted until legislation is drafted in consultation with local governments and...
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It’s a new season of whale song on the West Coast
By Rochelle Baker Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Autumn is the season of whale song on the Pacific Northwest Coast, says longtime researcher Janie Wray. Male humpbacks off the B.C. coast are beginning to get vocal, practising and modifying a supernatural and intricate song that is transmitted and almost simultaneously adopted among themselves before and during their winter migration to warmer climes. “It’s phenomenal. The males are just starting to sing these long, beautiful songs that we’re quite certain 1/8are 3/8 connected to breeding on some level,” said Wray, CEO of the North Coast Cetacean Society (BC Whales). “I feel blessed to be able to listen to them. The humpback whale song has been changing, evolving for thousands of years. And yet, all of the males in the Pacific population are...
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Historic Treaty 3 wins celebrated
By Mike Stimpson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Election-wise, Tuesday was a big day for Treaty 3 territory. While Onigaming First Nation’s Wab Kinew was on the way to becoming premier-designate of Manitoba Tuesday night, Francis Kavanaugh was celebrating election to a record-breaking fourth term as Treaty 3 Grand Chief. Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP, was born in Kenora and spent his early childhood in Onigaming before his family moved to Winnipeg. His party won a majority of seats in Manitoba’s 57-seat legislature. Kavanaugh, from Naotkamegwanning (Whitefish Bay) First Nation, secured his fourth term as Ogichidaa on Tuesday in a selection process that saw each member nation cast four votes. Like Kinew’s victory in Manitoba, Kavanaugh’s re-election was also a historic first. He is the organization’s first grand chief to...
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Sisters in Spirit vigil honours missing and murdered Indigenous persons
By Michelle Dorey Forestell Local Journalism Initiative Reporter If you noticed red dresses hanging in the breeze yesterday, October 4, it was because Sisters in Spirit were reminding you to remember Canada’s 5,000 (known) missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse+ people. October 4 is recognized each year as Sisters in Spirit National Day of Action for Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Two-Spirit, Transgender, And Gender-Diverse+ (MMIWG2STGD+) People. The day is established by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and observed through vigils, walks, or marches that honour the memory of those lost to violence. Sisters in Spirit’s website states, “United, we will demand action on an issue that impacts us all while honouring the lives of our loved ones.” Kingston Interval House hosted a special...
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`ENERGIZED’: North’s `forgotten people’ welcome Manitoba’s change in government
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The chief of a northern First Nation says she woke up on Wednesday morning with renewed hope and optimism for the future of her community and the province, after Manitoba voters elected the first First Nations premier on Tuesday. “I’m feeling very optimistic, very hopeful, and energized,” Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) Chief Angela Levasseur said on Wednesday, after the Manitoba NDP were elected to a majority government and Wab Kinew will be the next premier. Levasseur said it was not that long ago that she was doubtful that a First Nations person would ever be elected premier in this province. “As Manitobans, we have come together to vote for a First Nations premier and in my mind that is true and meaningful reconciliation, because there...
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Six Nations appoints former election officer to empty post
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER- Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) new Chief Executiive Officer (CEO) has appointed a former election officer to take over the post of Chief Electoral Polling Officer (CEPO) for the coming election. A statement released Thursday (Oct., 5th 2023) said that Dorothy Patterson “is the individual tasked with ensuring that the election process runs smoothly and that all eligible community members can cast their vote,” The statment went on to say “SNGR believes that this new hire will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position and will help to ensure that the election is fair and transparent. We look forward to working with Patterson as the new CEPO and wish them all the best in their new role.” “We are very happy...
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Chief, mayor call for P.E.I. village councillor’s resignation over racist sign
MURRAY HARBOUR, P.E.I.- A First Nation chief and the mayor of a Prince Edward Island community are calling for a councillor to resign over a sign posted on his property denying the existence of residential school graves. A begweit Chief Junior Gould drove to Murray Harbour to see the sign after hearing about it on the weekend. The words have since been removed. (Submitted by Junior Gould – image credit) begweit First Nation Chief Roderick Gould Jr. and Terry White, mayor of Murray Harbour, say John Roberston should immediately step down from council. White says a large sign on Robertson’s property displayed the message, “Truth: mass grave hoax” and “Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A.’s integrity.” The mayor of the community of about 300 people says Robertson initially refused to remove...
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Supreme Court will hear Quebec’s challenge to ruling on Indigenous police funding
OTTAWA-The Supreme Court of Canada said today it will hear an appeal to a ruling that ordered Ottawa and Quebec to increase funding for a First Nations police force. Quebec’s highest court ruled in December 2022 that the provincial and federal governments owed the Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan First Nation $1.6 million to make up for years of police underfunding. The Quebec government is asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision. In 2019, Quebec’s Superior Court sided with the province, but that ruling was overturned on appeal. A three-judge Court of Appeal panel said the governments had acted dishonourably by refusing to provide adequate funding for the Indigenous police force in Quebec’s Saguenay, ac-St-Jean region. The governments had argued that Indigenous communities could use Quebec provincial police for free. This...
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Indigenous Environmentalists Slam AER and Federal Inaction Over The Kearl Mine Leakage
By Jeremy Appel Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Indigenous climate advocates are harshly criticizing an Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) report into Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine leaking 5.4 million tonnes of contaminated water, which concluded that the oil company followed all required regulations, even after it failed to notify members of the downstream First Nations. While it was initially reported that the AER concealed the leakage from Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Misikew Cree Nation for almost a year until contaminated water surfaced in February 2023, the regulator knew about the leakage for years prior, according to reporting from The Canadian Press. Groundwater reports Imperial submitted to the AER in 2020 and 2021 acknowledge that tailings were seeping from the ponds intended to contain them. In May 2022, the First Nations were first...
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Quebec slow to improve public services for Indigenous people, says ombudsman
By Pierre Saint-Arnaud THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL- The Quebec government has failed to implement most of the recommendations in a landmark report that found Indigenous people suffered systemic discrimination when accessing public services, the province’s ombudsman said Wednesday. Quebec has fully implemented just 11 of the 142 recommendations made in 2019 by retired judge Jacques Viens, while another 34 are in progress, ombudsman Marc-Andre Dowd said. But there have not been any “satisfactory outcomes” related to 96 recommendations, he found, while one still remains under analysis. “Four years after the (Viens) Commission tabled its report, this is obviously below expectations,” Dowd told reporters in Val-d’Or, Que., as he presented his report on the implementation of those recommendations. Dowd found that progress suffered because the province doesn’t have an overall strategy to...
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HOPEFUL: Indigenous leaders believe a landfill search for murder victims now possible
By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Two First Nations leaders say they feel certain that the Manitoba PC’s decision to campaign on a promise not to search a landfill for human remains of Indigenous women turned off Manitoba voters, and was one of the reasons the PCs and Heather Stefanson were defeated in Tuesday’s provincial election. “I would have to say that really backfired on them,” Long Plain First Nation Chief Kyra Wilson said on Wednesday morning after Tuesday’s provincial election saw the Manitoba NDP handed a majority government, and NPD leader Wab Kinew voted in as Manitoba’s next premier. “That was just truly disgusting, and I believe that it worked against them to campaign in such a negative and cruel way.” Wilson has been one of the leading...
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AFNQL adopts its own cultural safety declaration
By Marc Lalonde Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Assembly of First Nations of Labrador and Quebec (AFNQL) unanimously adopted its own cultural safety declaration last week in Montreal, saying First Nations should be leading the charge for Quebec as they seek to adopt their own such law. The AFNQL officially adopted the body’s `Declaration on the Rights of First Nations to Self-Determination and Cultural Safety’ last Thursday, saying the provincial government has left First Nations and their concerns to the side in drafting its own cultural-safety law, Bill 32. “For the chiefs, cultural safety is of utmost importance to First Nations, because our rights and the safety of our people must be at the forefront and fully respected. By failing to integrate First Nations organizations and governments at the very...
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Ottawa puts more money toward study of Winnipeg landfill search for women’s remains
By Kelly Geraldine Malone THE CANADIAN PRESS The families of two slain First Nations women whose remains are believed to be in a Winnipeg-area landfill say they have renewed hope after Manitoba’s provincial election and the federal government’s commitment of $740,000 toward further assessing the scope of a search. “We’ve been beat down so many times and never wanted to lose that hope,” said Melissa Robinson, whose cousin, 39-year-old Morgan Harris, is one of the women. “I just feel like everything has been renewed and that fire has been relit.” Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree said in Ottawa on Wednesday that more research is needed to figure out how a search could be done to find the remains of Harris and Marcedes Myran, believed to be at the Prairie Green...
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Six Nations man facing charges including Dangerous Driving in single vehicle accident
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND RIVER-A Six Nations man is facing a series of charges including Dangerous Driving after being arrested following a single vehicle collision on Cayuga Road. On Monday, October 2, 2023, at about 5:40 p.m.Six Nations Police were notified of a motor vehicle collision involving four people including two children had just occurred. Upon arrival Six Nations Police found a man at the scene who said he was the driver of the motor vehicle. The driver was assessed by Emergency Medical Services at the scene for minor injuries. A female passenger and two children involved sustained minor to no injuries and declined medical services. As a result of the investigation, it was determined that the driver was impaired by drug. In a move to protect the identity...
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Incoming Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says focus turns to fixing health care
WINNIPEG- Incoming Manitoba premier Wab Kinew says the hard work begins now as his New Democrats work to fulfil their campaign promise to fix health care in the province. Kinew says that work includes adding front-line health staff while building new emergency rooms and a cancer care facility. Kinew is set to become Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier. His party defeated the Progressive Conservatives on Tuesday to form a majority government. The result led to the resignation of the other two main party leaders, including PC Premier Heather Stefanson. Stefanson announced she would step down after leading the Tories for nearly two years. As of Wednesday morning, Stefanson was narrowly holding onto her seat in the Winnipeg riding of Tuxedo. Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont resigned after he lost his...
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Federal government, QIA announce funding for 21 new Nunavut housing units
By Tom Taylor Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Government of Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) are combining to invest nearly $30 million to construct 21 new housing units in Nunavut. The federal government’s Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI) will provide $17.9 million while the QIA will put up $11.9 million, according to an Oct. 3 news release. The housing units will be erected in Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, Clyde River, Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet, but it was not specified when they will be built. The units in question, all rentals, will “include a mix of affordable, accessible, four-bedroom detached units and three-bedroom semi-detached dwellings designated for Indigenous residents and women,” the news release states. “Through the Rapid Housing Initiative, we are quickly providing new affordable homes for people...
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Native Women’s Association of Canada congratulates Wab Kinew on his historic election as Premier of Manitoba
The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) congratulates Wab Kinew on his historic victory as the first First Nations Premier of a province of Canada. “I cannot understate the importance of this moment and this achievement,” NWAC President Carol McBride said Wednesday. “The Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island have long been demanding seats at the table of power. With their votes, the citizens of Manitoba have said `yes, we want a First Nations voice at the very head of that table in this province.”’ Manitoba voters have rejected a party that promised it would never fund a search of Winnipeg landfills for the bodies of three Indigenous women who are the victims of a serial killer. “That sends a clear message to Mr. Kinew and his NDP government that the...
