Two LU professors inducted into Royal Society of Canada
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY — A pair of professors at Lakehead University have been recognized by the Royal Society of Canada. The historic liberal arts and academia organization will induct Christopher Mushquash and Sarah Olutola at a ceremony in November, according to a media release issued by Lakehead. Mushquash will be inducted as a fellow, while Olutola will be inducted into its College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Mushquash, a member of Pawgwasheeng, or Pays Plat First Nation, is being recognized for “his remarkable contributions to shaping policy and practice that improve systems of care across the country,” the university’s media release said. “His work integrates traditional knowledge with scientific approaches to ensure care for Indigenous peoples is culturally and contextually appropriate.” “It...
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Chiefs of Ontario developing new First Nations business directory
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com TIMMINS — First Nations-owned businesses are being invited to register for what officials are calling the first Indigenous-led and certified commercial directory in Ontario. The Chiefs of Ontario and the province announced on Thursday that the organization that represents 133 First Nations in Ontario is building a First Nations business directory that officials say will showcase Indigenous-owned businesses, give them better access to public procurement and contracting opportunities and help cut down on what Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict called “the growing issue of First Nation identity fraud in business,” according to a media release. “We’ve seen lots of controversy in the last little while around businesses taking opportunities … or contracts that are designed for First Nation businesses when, at the...
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Woodstock Art Gallery raising $30K to buy Indigenous artist’s work
By Brian Williams, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, London Free Press Woodstock Art Gallery is seeking help expanding its permanent collection by launching a fundraiser to acquire the art of an award-winning Canadian artist. The gallery wants to raise $30,000 to add Indigenous artist Shelley Niro’s Borders series – which is on display in the art gallery’s lobby until Jan. 24, 2026 – to its permanent collection, director and curator Alex Hartstone said. “It’s four works and they portray outstretched hands and there’s a lot of symbolic imagery, and they reference wampum belts, which are traditional Indigenous artifacts that record traditions, histories, laws and those sorts of things,” Hartstone said of Borders. “It’s kind of an exploration of relationships and agreements and that can be between individuals or nations or organizations,...
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Pangnirtung grandmother doubtful that Inuktitut lessons will be effective
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunavut News The biggest concern Luii Qaapik has for her six grandchildren’s education in Pangnirtung is ensuring they are taught in Inuktitut. She thinks Nunavut’s strategy of teaching Inuktitut and English in the same schools will only cause problems in both languages. “You don’t teach Inuktitut in an English-language school. If you want to teach Inuktitut, you have to get an Inuktitut-licensed school like English schools and French schools have a licence,” Qaapik said. Nunavummiut students in kindergarten and Grade 1 will receive a made-in-Nunavut curriculum for the first time this year, according to the Department of Education. Inuktitut and English will be taught together up to Grade 2 next year, with another grade level of the Nunavut curriculum being rolled out...
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Indigenous communities can be ‘Canada’s competitive edge,’ new federal council appointee says
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com BINGWI NEYAASHI ANISHINAABEK — The only Indigenous leader from Ontario on a new council expected to provide input to large-scale national development projects says it’s an opportunity to make a difference. JP Gladu, who is from Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek or Sandpoint First Nation, is one of 11 Indigenous leaders recently named by Prime Minister Mark Carney to the Indigenous Advisory Council of the federal Major Projects Office. The projects office initiative, according to a media release from the Prime Minister’s Office, will “serve as a single point of contact that gets major, transformative projects built, faster.” It was created after the passage of the legislation formerly known as Bill C-5, which aims to fast-track development deemed to be in the “national interest.”...
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Liberals, Conservatives talk co-operation but trade jabs as Parliament returns
By David Baxter After talking up the prospect of cross-party collaboration in the House of Commons, Liberal and Conservative MPs wasted little time after Parliament resumed Monday before reverting to partisan attacks over housing and the cost of living. The tone was set early Monday afternoon, when the first-ever question period exchange between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began cordially before turning belligerent. “When I left, there was a Liberal prime minister who was making excuses about breaking promises, running massive deficits. Costs, crime, chaos were all out of control,” Poilievre said. “Whereas today… we have a Liberal prime minister breaking promises, making excuses, running massive deficits with costs, crime and chaos out of control.” “I understand the leader of the opposition was busy,” Carney said...
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B.C. approves massive Nisg̱a’a-led LNG project on the north coast
By Shannon Waters, Matt Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Narwhal The B.C. government has just approved the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, which will produce up to 12 million tonnes of LNG annually by 2028. Ksi Lisims LNG — pronounced s’lisims, meaning “from the Nass River” in the Nisg̱a’a language — is a joint venture involving the Nisga’a Lisims Government, Canadian natural gas consortium Rockies LNG and Western LNG, a U.S.-based LNG project developer. Located at the north end of Pearse Island, close to the Alaska border, the facility will be the second largest LNG producer in B.C., nearly matching the 14-million-tonne production capacity of the first phase of the LNG Canada export terminal, which began shipping LNG to Asia this year. In their reasons for...
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Yellowknife to host annual Take Back the Night march on Thursday
By Aastha Sethi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio A gathering focused on ending sexual violence will take place at Yellowknife’s Somba K’e Park on September 18. Take Back the Night is a global movement that works to end sexual violence, including sexual assault, harassment, trafficking, and relationship violence, while offering support to survivors in their healing journey. Yellowknives Dene First Nation drummers and a prayer by Elder Darlene Powder will kick off Thursday’s event at 6 p.m. The gathering is co-hosted by the Yellowknife Women’s Society, Native Women’s Association of the N.W.T., Status of Women Council of the N.W.T., Home Base YK, N.W.T. Seniors’ Society and YWCA N.W.T.. Speeches will be followed by a short march through the city’s downtown. The night will conclude at Javaroma Gourmet Coffee and...
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Big year ahead for Kanesatake education centre
By Eve Cable, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Eastern Door From new channels to connect with parents to a visit from a sports superstar, the first few days back at school in Kanesatake have been off to an excellent start. “It’s been very, very busy, but it’s honestly been so amazing, everyone was very welcoming to everything that was happening, and we’ve all learnt a lot together,” said Watsenniiostha Nelson, director of education at the Kanesatake Education Center (KEC). The return to school began with teacher development days, where Nelson said a big focus was talking with Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers about the priorities for the school year, with a particular focus on making sure non-Indigenous support staff understand the contexts in which they’re teaching. Staff participated in a facilitated KAIROS...
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Petitions call for BZA chief’s removal
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Thunder Bay Source ROCKY BAY — Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek (BZA) members “just want to move forward” but can’t do that until their chief steps aside, Mercedes Hardy told Newswatch on Friday. That, she said, is why she and other members started a petition for the removal of Chief Gladys Thompson. The paper petition and a complementary online petition will be presented Sunday at a BZA band meeting in Rocky Bay, Hardy said. One band councillor has told Newswatch he expects there will be “another motion to toss (Thompson) out” at Sunday’s meeting. Hardy said the petition is a last resort, but the chief has left dissatisfied BZA members with no alternative. The band office and medical centre in Rocky Bay have been closed...
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Workshops in Churchill Aim to Empower Indigenous Entrepreneurs
By Steven Sukkau, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun Community Futures North Central Development (CFNCD) is bringing a three-day series of workshops to Churchill later this month, offering Indigenous women and youth practical tools, funding opportunities, and cultural support to start or grow their businesses. The sessions, running September 25–27, are funded in partnership with the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) and the Indigenous Prosperity Foundation. They will highlight both long-running and newly launched programs aimed at helping northern Manitobans turn their business ideas into reality. The series begins the evening of September 25 with the Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneur (IWE) Workshop. The session will focus on building financial capability, developing a healthy money mindset, setting business goals, and learning the basics of financial statements and bookkeeping. Supper will be...
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Manitoba cabinet briefing on landfill search for murder victims not being released
By Steve Lambert A report that could shed more light on why Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative government rejected calls to search a landfill for the remains of two murder victims is being withheld under the province’s freedom of information law. Records obtained by The Canadian Press show senior bureaucrats assembled a presentation for cabinet ministers on a potential search in the weeks before the government decided not to proceed with the idea in 2023. The contents of that presentation — a 13-page digital slide deck that would reveal for the first time what civil servants told politicians — are not being released under Manitoba’s freedom of information law, which one expert says is among the most secretive in the country. Families of the victims and Indigenous leaders had called on...
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Cariboo evacuation orders, alerts were up to 12
By Andie Mollins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Williams Lake Tribune A fire 2,385.05-hectare fire burning 1.3 kilometres north of Elkin Creek has prompted two evacuation alerts issued on Saturday, Sept. 13. Due to fire C51842 posing a potential danger to life and health in the Scum Lake Area, the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation Government, the Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG) and the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) issued an evacuation alert at 9 p.m. impacting 18 CRD parcels of land and covering an area of 34,745 hectares. A second alert was issued 15 minutes later for the community of Xeni Gwet’in as there is a risk the fire may compromise Taseko Lake Road. At this time, the fire is not considered a direct threat to the community except for its potential...
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B.C. left out of housing announcement by Carney to build 4,000 units on federal lands
By Wolfgang Depner British Columbia’s housing minister Christine Boyle says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement to build more housing on federal lands is a “good start” but does not include any B.C. projects. Carney said Sunday that the newly created Build Canada Homes agency will oversee plans to build 4,000 homes on six federally owned sites, but none of them are located in B.C. Boyle says in a written statement that B.C. has an “abundance of shovel ready affordable housing projects,” adding that the province looks forward to hearing which projects will eventually receive federal funding. Boyle, who became minister of housing and municipal affairs in July 17 following her role as minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation, says she is “glad to see surplus federal land being used for...
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RCMP say four passengers dead in northern Manitoba plane crash
-CP-Two men and two women from a remote Manitoba First Nation died Saturday when the bush plane they were in crashed, leaving the pilot and sole survivor with serious injuries. RCMP say their detachment in Island lake, Man., got a report on Saturday evening that a plane had crashed approximately 40 kilometres south of St. Theresa Point First Nation, near its destination of Makepeace Lake. Sgt. Paul Manaigre said police were informed of the crash by an iPhone satellite emergency crash notification service, which he said was able to pinpoint the location for police. St. Theresa Point is a fly-in community, and police knew they’d need to reach the crash site by air. “With the co-ordinates in hand, the RCMP chartered a helicopter and were able to bring an officer...
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Logging firm wins injunction to halt Walbran Valley blockade on Vancouver Island
By Darryl Greer A forestry company has won an injunction to halt a blockade against old-growth logging in the Walbran Valley on Vancouver Island. Tsawak-qin Forestry Inc., which is co-owned by Western Forest Products and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, had sought an end to the blockade outside Port Renfrew, B.C., that began on Aug. 25. Tsawak-qin Forestry filed a lawsuit against the blockaders last week, claiming the “unknown individuals” have prevented the company and its contractors from accessing the site by erecting structures and “a large wooden sculpture” to block a forest service road. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Amy Francis says the protesters appear “highly organized” and have illegally obstructed the company’s lawful access to the area and cannot “impose their will” by force. Francis says the court cannot weigh...
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Mountie injured in crash while responding to Manitoba mass stabbing hopes for healing
By Brittany Hobson A Mountie seriously injured in a highway crash while responding to a mass stabbing on a Manitoba First Nation says she’s doing well but the tragedy will stay with her forever. Cpl. Brianne Bartmanovich, a member of the detachment in Powerview, says she has served Hollow Water First Nation for seven years and her thoughts are with the victims and their families. “I am hopeful that together, we will be able to heal in our own time,” she said in a statement released by the RCMP on Friday. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out and sent kind message for my recovery. It means so much to me and to my family.” Police have said 26-year-old Tyrone Simard of Hollow Water First Nation killed his 18-year-old...
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Métis facility to receive proceeds from Winnipeg boxing gala
By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com As far as Jack Park is concerned, it’s a win-win situation. Boxing fans in Winnipeg will have the opportunity to see some live boxing action, and it’s hoped that plenty of money will be raised for a worthwhile cause. Melee Gala X, Manitoba’s premier boxing gala event, is scheduled for Sept. 27 at Club Regent Casino in the city. The Melee Gala, first held in 2013, was established by Winnipeg’s United Boxing Club. Over the years it has served as a fundraiser for various charities within province. This year’s beneficiary is Michif Manor, a short-term stay facility that offers accommodations at a reduced price to Red River Métis families that travel to Winnipeg for critical health services. M Builds, a Winnipeg-based construction...
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Fort Prov firefighters earn less than GNWT counterparts, union says
By Claire McFarlane, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio As wildfire evacuees from Fort Providence began returning home on Thursday, the union representing 32 firefighters in the community and in Hay River said those workers earn lower wages than their Northwest Territories government counterparts. In a Thursday morning news release, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and Union of Northern Workers said firefighters employed by Evergreen Forestry have been working without a collective bargaining agreement for the past two fire seasons. In a statement to Cabin Radio, Evergreen Forestry said the company and the union could not come to an agreement. “We have now both agreed to resolve the dispute by arbitration,” said the company’s manager, Robert Lafleur, in an email. “This means that we will continue operating as usual,...
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Minister says Indigenous advisory council just the start of major project talks
By Alessia Passafiume The newly appointed Indigenous advisory council marks the start — not the end — of talks with community leaders on how to move the government’s major projects agenda forward, Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty said on Thursday On Wednesday, 11 Indigenous leaders from across the country were named to the federal government’s new Indigenous Peoples’ Council tasked with advising the new federal body working to fast-track major infrastructure projects. While First Nations, Inuit and Métis representatives were selected, some Indigenous groups, including the Southern Chiefs Organization in Manitoba, raised concerns about the makeup of the council and the lack of representation from their nations. “Our province has the largest urban Indigenous population in Canada, yet our Nations are entirely absent,” Southern Chiefs Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels...
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