Manitoba school division brings back plan to play ‘God Save the King’ in classrooms
By Brittany Hobson -CP-A western Manitoba school division’s plan to reintroduce the playing of “God Save the King” during morning announcements is back on despite being met with controversy. Mountain View School Division chairperson Jason Gryba confirmed the plan will go ahead during a school board meeting on Monday evening. “We will be following the (Schools Patriotic Observances Regulation),” Gryba said at the end of the meeting. “That will be implemented based on legal counsel that we’ve had.” Gryba did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The decision has been a contentious one within the board as the majority of trustees with the division, which oversees 16 schools in and around Dauphin, Man., voted last month to pause the plan to see whether it is legally required and...
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Feds considering Competition Bureau probe of Northern grocery pricing practices
By Nick Murray The federal government is looking to have the Competition Bureau investigate pricing practices of food retailers in Canada’s North, Northern Affairs Minister Gary Anandasangaree said Tuesday. He made the remark at a news conference in Ottawa where he announced the appointment of Inuk leader Aluki Kotierk to head an external review of the Nutrition North food subsidy program. While taking questions from reporters, Anandasangaree said he’s working with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister François-Philippe Champagne to explore whether the Competition Bureau should look deeper into the underlying costs of doing business in the North. “If there are costs that are somewhat fixed, if prices are not quite up to market conditions, it may be appropriate for the Competition Bureau to also look at this issue in...
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New Indigenous Justice Centre in Kamloops to help ‘strengthen community safety’
By Macarena Mantilla, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Wren Content warning: This article includes statistics of sexual abuse, violence, the topic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, and the criminal system. Please read with care. Boyd Peters (Xoyet thet), a member of the Sts’ailes Nation, is the vice-chair for the B.C. First Nations Justice Council (BCFNJC). Present at the press conference hosted to celebrate the opening of the new Indigenous Justice Centre (IJC) in Kamloops (Tk’emlúps), Peters shared his take on why these centres are vital for healthy communities. “IJCs are meant to strengthen community safety and break cycles of repeat offending in meaningful ways,” he says. “They provide a way for people to step out of the criminal justice system and return to their true selves, grounded in...
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‘This was hate speech’: Ontario drag performers win defamation case against blogger
By Jordan Omstead -CP-A Thunder Bay drag performer who successfully sued a Facebook blogger for defamation over baseless accusations of pedophilia says she hopes the case serves as a cautionary tale to those who traffic in anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and hate speech. “I want them to know that they need to be afraid to be bigots again, because we’re tired of it,” said Felicia Crichton, one of the three drag performers who won their cases against the administrator of a Thunder Bay Facebook page. Brian Webster was ordered to pay $380,000 in combined damages to drag performers and a Dryden, Ont.-area LGBTQ+ non-profit after a judge found he falsely and recklessly accused them of being “groomers” in posts about drag story time events at libraries in northwestern Ontario. Crichton said the...
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Ontario election: Here’s what the main parties are promising on five key issues
-CP-With Ontarians heading to the polls on Thursday, here’s an overview of what the Progressive Conservatives, NDP, Liberals and Greens promised on five key issues during the snap campaign. HEALTH CARE Progressive Conservatives: — Spend $1.8 billion over four years to connect two million more people to primary care. — Spend $88 million to expand the Learn and Stay grant to provide free tuition for medical students who practice family medicine in a community for at least five years. Expand medical school seats to 500 new undergraduate spots and 742 new residency positions by 2028. — Continue building and upgrading 58,000 long-term care beds and 50 hospitals across the province. — Spend $66 million to support 100,000 more patients access MRI and CT services annually, and connect 60,000 more...
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Doug Ford has big goals but cares about small stuff. It’s how he wins, colleagues say
By Liam Casey -CP-Doug Ford is a man of things. Things he can see, things he can touch and most importantly, things he can build. Big things matter to Ford. The Progressive Conservative leader is a self-proclaimed visionary who makes decisions with his gut. When he has swung and missed, like he did with opening up protected Greenbelt land that sparked public furor, he has apologized and walked it back. Little things are important to him too. He will famously find out about a small problem and try to fix it. Ford has bet big on building things. Early in the election campaign, he pledged an additional $22 billion in spending for infrastructure projects in the face of American tariffs. But that promise wasn’t contingent upon U.S. President Donald Trump...
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Media, telecom firms ask CRTC to ease up on regulation as they compete with streaming
By Anja Karadeglija -CP-As the Canadian broadcast system is upended by streaming, old-school media and telecom companies say they’re struggling to compete and they want the country’s broadcast regulator to take a lighter touch. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is holding consultations on how the Canadian broadcasting system can survive the shift away from traditional TV to international streamers. It’s a part of the regulator’s work on implementing the Online Streaming Act, which updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms. The CRTC launched a consultation in January to study market dynamics as Canadians move from traditional broadcasting and cable — which is subject to various CRTC rules and regulations — to streaming services dominated by international giants like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+. Filings were due Monday and the...
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Ottawa appoints Inuk leader for external review of embattled Nutrition North program
By Nick Murray -CP-The federal government has appointed Inuk leader Aluki Kotierk to head an external review of a northern food subsidy program. Kotierk is the former president of Nunavut Tunngavik, which represents the territory’s Inuit, and will serve as a special representative to the northern affairs minister. Nutrition North is a food subsidy program that provides money to retailers to help bring down the high cost of groceries in some 124 communities. Some retailers have faced accusations of not applying the full subsidy to items. Kotierk will be asked to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and produce a report next year. Ottawa also announced a $20-million injection into the program. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2025. ...
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B.C. First Nation files Charter challenge over RCMP refusal to enforce bylaws
By Ashley Joannou -CP-Inaction by the RCMP has emboldened criminals to enter and stay on First Nation reserve lands without the fear of consequences, worsening a drug crisis and violence, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council says. The small First Nation on British Columbia’s Central Coast says it is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because police refuse to enforce its bylaws, including those around trespassing that would allow officers to remove people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett told a news conference Tuesday that her community in Bella Bella, B.C., is experiencing a crisis due to drugs and drug trafficking and that harms from overdoses and sexual violence are made worse because of the Mounties refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law....
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Human trafficking is ‘calculated’ says event organizer
By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TBnewswatch.com THUNDER BAY – Human trafficking is a much more complex issue than one might think. It’s often described as an abduction where an individual grabs a person, more often a female, off the street and holds them captive. Although there are cases where this scenario happens, the co-chair of the Thunder Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking, Cindy Paypompee, said this is only one scenario of how bad actors claim their victim. To educate the public about human trafficking, the Thunder Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking held an awareness event at Intercity Shopping Centre. “It’s not an abduction. Some people might think it’s an abduction, but it’s not. It’s calculated,” said Paypompee. “The other thing is like sometimes people mistake smuggling...
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Laronde to receive Governor General’s award for lifetime achievement
By Sam Laskaris Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com Sandra Laronde, a member of Temagami First Nation in northern Ontario, is the 2025 recipient of the Lifetime Artistic Achievement in Dance honour from the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. Laronde is a director, producer, choreographer and author, and the executive and artistic director of Red Sky Performance, a company she founded in 2000. Laronde says she’s grateful for this latest accolade that acknowledges a lifetime of work, but there’s still quite a bit more she still wants to accomplish in her career. “I don’t know why they give that to people so young,” Laronde jokingly said of the award. She said she has no plans to slow down. “My energy level is good,” she said. Laronde’s now focused on one of...
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Dauphin-area school division revives ‘outdated’ royal anthem tradition; rainbow, treaty flags banned
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Dauphin-area schools are once again being asked to play the royal anthem daily to align themselves with a dusty and controversial government regulation that has not been enforced in 30 years. Ward 4 trustee Jarri Thompson said she was “deeply disappointed” by what was decided during the latest board meeting in the Mountain View School Division. ”God Save the King will be making its return to our schools,” Thompson wrote in a post on social media. “Let me be clear: My kids won’t be standing. If that’s a problem, so be it.” During a 75-minute meeting filled with heated debate, the board of trustees discussed the God Save the King protocol and a new policy that bans the flying of rainbow and treaty...
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B.C. First Nation files Charter challenge over RCMP refusal to enforce bylaws
-CP-A small First Nation on British Columbia’s Central Coast is taking the attorney general of Canada to court, arguing its Charter rights have been violated because the RCMP refuses to enforce its bylaws. The Heiltsuk Tribal Council says in its lawsuit that the police are “emboldening drug dealers” and other wrongdoers to enter and stay on reserve lands by refusing to enforce its bylaws banning people engaged in dangerous activities. Elected Chief Marilyn Slett says her community in Bella Bella, B.C., is experiencing a crisis due to drugs and drug trafficking and that harms from overdoses and sexual violence are made worse because of the police refusal to enforce Heiltsuk law. Slett says if a non-Indigenous municipality, landowner or business asks for enforcement of a property law, the RCMP takes...
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LFES takes on Blood Tribe fire dispatch service
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Transitioning Blood Tribe Emergency Services fire dispatch to Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services will better serve Blood Tribe members, says the tribe’s fire chief. In announcing the change, Chief Travis Coleman said it will be a major step forward in enhancing the ability to respond quickly and effectively for the community. “The advancement leads for faster response times, clear communication and better coordination, ultimately improving the safety of our people and our land.” Before now, the Blood Tribe Fire Department relied on cell phones, which resulted in emergencies occasionally being missed. Coleman said having radio dispatchers will help not only streamline the process of calls, but also allow the Blood Tribe to connect with mutual aid partners. “Now we can actually...
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Dancing, honours highlight Peace Powwow
People gathered from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border to celebrate Indigenous culture, food and dance at the 25th annual International Peace Powwow. Powwows are traditional celebrations of Indigenous culture, with the International Peace Powwow being a competition of many different types of Indigenous dancing. The powwow also held honour dances for significant members of the Indigenous community on Saturday afternoon. Family members and friends were able to join the honour dance recipients to show their support as they made their way around the dance floor to the beat of an honour song. The first recipient of an honour dance was Leroy Wolf Collar, a former chief from the Siksika Nation, who is also the author of the book First Nations Self Government: 17 Roadblocks to Self Determination and One...
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Another earthquake for B.C., less than four days after cities rattled
-CP-An earthquake has struck off the British Columbia coast, less than four days after major population centres were shaken by a similar-sized tremor. But Earthquakes Canada says the latest quake wasn’t felt by anyone and it occurred in the Pacific, 182 kilometres west of Port Alice in northwest Vancouver Island. It says the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 5 took place at 9:37 p.m. Monday at a depth of 10 kilometres. Earthquakes Canada says there’s no risk of a tsunami and there have been no reports of damage from the quake, which Emergency Info BC initially said had a magnitude of 5.2. On Friday, a 4.7-magnitude earthquake hit the southwest coast near Sechelt. Tremors were felt on the Sunshine Coast, Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Though several smaller aftershocks...
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Ontario PCs pledge $500-million for critical minerals processing but spending questions loom
By Darius Snieckus, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have pledged to set up a $500-million critical mineral processing fund to invest in “strategically located” facilities to develop the province’s vast resources of lithium, graphite, zinc, cobalt and other key minerals and metals. The fund, a central economic plank in the party’s re-election platform released on Monday, is the biggest government pledge so far to build a network of refining facilities mining experts say are needed to ensure Canada reaps the benefits of producing minerals and metals important for the global energy transition. The fund would target regions home to numerous deposits of the 34 metals and minerals identified in the federal government’s critical minerals strategy as key to the defense, energy and automotive sectors, including the Ring of...
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Icy stairs and snow bank signs: campaigning in Ontario’s winter election
By Allison Jones and Liam Casey -CP-Falling down stairs, pushing stuck cars out of snow banks and cancelling events are just some of the challenges candidates have faced on the winter campaign trail, but Sol Mamakwa may have them all beat. This is Ontario’s first winter election campaign since 1981 and the incumbent NDP candidate for Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario has rented a plane with skis so he can try to visit some of the 24 fly-in First Nation communities in his riding that spans nearly 300,000 square kilometres. “(It’s) not too bad, but it’s frickin’ cold right now,” he said recently during a break from campaigning in Pickle Lake. “Last week has been minus 40.” He was trying to visit two to three fly-in communities a day with his...
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Alberta truck driver on probation after plea bargain
By Bob Mackin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A man charged with sexual assault and sexual interference instead pleaded guilty to common assault Feb. 24 and will spend the next two years on probation. BC Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church gave Darryl Martin Perry a suspended sentence with conditions, after he maintained his not guilty pleas to the two charges. Court heard that Perry was accused of committing offences between Sept. 24, 2017 and Sept. 17, 2021 in Prince George. The 51-year-old was arrested 3 1/2 years ago after a victim told RCMP that Perry had frequently been drunk and violent towards her. Prosecutor Anne Baines read from the victim’s statement to police, that said Perry yelled and screamed, used an open hand and sometimes a lightly closed fist in attempts...
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Nunavut health minister again warns of shortfall in Non-Insured Health Benefits funding
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News The Government of Nunavut is still struggling to reach a deal with the federal government to fund a health services program covering medical boarding homes and dental care for Inuit, says Health Minister John Main. Speaking in the Nunavut legislative assembly Feb. 20, Main told MLAs his department has found itself in a “difficult situation” with Indigenous Services Canada for a funding agreement for the Non-Insured Health Benefits program. The comments came up when Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet MLA Alexander Sammurtok pressed Main about the possibility of building a medical boarding home for patients travelling through Rankin Inlet — something he’s asked the GN about many times in the past. For the boarding home, Main said his department is still working...
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