Second Generation Cutoff hurting Indigenous children
Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) is coming under fire for consulting with Indigenous organizations on proposed Second Generation cutoff changes before consulting with the communities themselves. Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC) chastised ISC during a meeting Friday (Nov., 28) for moving to amend the Second Generation cutoff for future band members without talking to them. “How come no First Nations were involved to be the advisory?” Elected Chief Sherri-Lynn Hill asked ISC reps. ISC representatives met with SNEC to discuss Bill S-2 and plans to amend the second-generation cutoff. ISC senior policy analyst and portfolio manager Alexa Hajjar, and operational policy officer Paula Suitor provided an overview of recent Senate amendments and is coming collaborative process. Instead, they were questioned over why First Nation organizations were being consulted before First Nation...
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Former junior defenceman credited with first senior win with Ironmen as a goaltender
By Sam Laskaris Writer Chris Hrabec is living out his childhood dream. And now Hrabec, who is 31, can brag about getting his first win as a Senior A hockey goalie. Hrabec made 33 saves and backstopped the Six Nations Ironmen to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Halton Hills Coyotes in a Northern Premier Hockey League (NPHL) contest on Sunday. The game was held at the Six Nations Sports & Cultural Memorial Centre. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Ironmen. The local club is now sporting a 5-6 record in its inaugural season in the NPHL. “That one felt good for sure, to get off our back and get off that losing streak,” said Hrabec, a Brantford resident who is a citizen of the Métis Nation...
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Jamieson backstops FireWolves to victory in historic NLL game
By Sam Laskaris Writer For the first time since he broke into the National Lacrosse League (NLL) back in 2017, Six Nations member Doug Jamieson will not have to make lengthy cross-border trips to play home games. That’s because Jamieson, a 29-year-old goaltender, is now a member of the Oshawa FireWolves. Jamieson has spent his entire pro career with the same organization, starting off with the Connecticut-based New England Black Wolves. He played four years with the Black Wolves. The club relocated to New York and became known as the Albany FireWolves in 2021. After four seasons in Albany, the franchise moved once again this year, to Durham Region, and now calls Oshawa’s Tribute Communities Centre its home. Jamieson played a key role in NLL history this past Friday during...
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Local junior lacrosse clubs to stage joint December training sessions
By Sam Laskaris Writer Representatives from three Six Nations junior lacrosse clubs are once again joining forces to get a glimpse into their futures. This marks the second year the Six Nations Arrows (Junior A), Six Nations Rebels (Junior B) and Six Nations Stealth (Junior C) will co-host a late December training camp. The event, named the Six Nations Junior Lacrosse Training Camp, will be held Dec. 27-28 at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena. “It gives everybody, all the team managers and coaches a good chance to see some of the boys get a run during the Christmas break,” said Delby Powless, a director with the Six Nations Arrows. All three junior clubs traditionally commence their own training camps in the spring. But officials from the Arrows, Rebels and Stealth opted...
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Class-action lawsuit certified against CN and CP railways over Lytton, B.C., fire
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge says a class-action lawsuit against Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways can move ahead after a catastrophic fire in June 2021 burned most of the community of Lytton, B.C. The ruling released Tuesday from Justice Ward Branch says there’s “some basis in fact” to support the plaintiffs’ allegations that the “horrific fire” was caused by railway operations, where CN and CP have parallel tracks that run through the town. It says several lawsuits were filed after the fire, including by individuals and First Nations, and a “competing” class-action was denied certification in 2023. The representative plaintiff in the certified action is Carel Moiseiwitsch, whose home in Lytton was destroyed by the fire, along with the assets of her and her husband’s home-based information technology...
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Carney says First Nations clean water legislation will come next spring
By Alessia Passafiume Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will introduce clean drinking water legislation in the spring, delaying a bill that had been promised for this fall. Carney promised to revive the legislation during an address to the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa on Tuesday, saying he will host a joint meeting with federal, provincial, territorial and First Nations leaders early in the new year and that co-ordination on water solutions will be a key agenda item. Minister of Indigenous Services Mandy Gull-Masty said in July she would reintroduce legislation to ensure First Nations’ right to clean drinking water this fall, despite calls from Alberta and Ontario for Ottawa to scrap the bill altogether. The Ontario and Alberta environment ministers sent a letter to their federal...
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Miller says government needs to start Indigenous consultation on B.C. pipeline
By Sarah Ritchie and Nick Murray Heritage Minister Marc Miller says his government needs to “sit down and start working now” on consultation with Indigenous communities and stakeholders about a possible new pipeline in B.C. “The work starts now. It should have started yesterday. We need to engage with Indigenous communities in a respectful, thoughtful way,” Miller said Tuesday. Miller made the comments on his way into the cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, just one day after Prime Minister Mark Carney returned him to cabinet in a shuffle on Monday. Miller, who held multiple cabinet roles under former prime minister Justin Trudeau include minister of Crown-Indigenous relations, told reporters he sees a difficult road ahead for any pipeline project. “If everyone thought Thursday was difficult, that was probably the easiest day...
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Bearspaw First Nation re-elects chief for fifth term, changes on council
By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Rocky Mountain Outlook ÎYÂRHE NAKODA – Darcy Dixon will continue a 25-year legacy as Bearspaw First Nation chief alongside a new council following Friday’s (Nov. 28) election. Receiving 434 total votes, Dixon defeated Dacster Amos, who secured 282 votes and previously served on council, in the two-way bid to lead Bearspaw Nation, one of the three bands of the Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation. Chief Dixon will serve alongside a shuffled council after Harry Daniels (Eden Valley) and Lena Wesley (Mînî Thnî), with 222 and 243 votes respectively, secured their spots in place of previous councilors Amos and Keith Lefthand. Rod Hunter (Mînî Thnî) with 231 votes, and Pierre Lefthand (Eden Valley) with 308 have kept their seats and will serve another three-year...
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Indigenous Services minister to address Assembly of First Nations gathering today
Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty will address hundreds of chiefs gathered in Ottawa today for a special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. She’s expected to discuss proposed changes to the Indian Act after Senators made sweeping amendments to a bill that would see an unknown number of new people eligible for status. The chiefs will also debate issues ranging from child welfare reform to the impact of major projects on First Nations communities. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at the event Tuesday and promised to meet with Coastal First Nations leaders after chiefs voted unanimously to press the government to uphold the B.C. oil tanker ban and withdraw an agreement with Alberta that clears a path for a new oil pipeline. Carney also said his government will introduce...
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Feds commit nearly $22m to Labrador renewable energy projects
By Sean Ridgeley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Telegram The federal government is investing nearly $22 million in Inuit-led Labrador clean energy projects focused on solar, wind, and tidal power. The first is the Nain Wind Microgrid Project, the over $22m in federal funding for which will support installation of two 1.5 kW wind turbines and battery storage. The result: 1.6 million litres or 63 percent less annual diesel consumption in the region. “I think is just an incredible win for the community, for the environment, for Canada,” said Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Rebecca Alty told The Telegram. Apart from the obvious environmental benefits, it’s said power will become more affordable for Nain residents, and combined with increased power availability, more economic opportunities will open up. An unspecified region near...
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The 1.3 Billion Cubic Meter Problem: Why ‘Treat and Release’ is a Broken Promise to Treaty 8
By John Wirth, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News Treaty 8 Chiefs from Cree, Beaver, Fort Chip Métis, and Chipewyan First Nations communities are gearing up to defend their people against continued damages from the waste “water” produced by tar sands developers. A collective statement declares their opposition that, “‘Treat and release’ remains of critical concern to all First Nations across Treaty 8 territory, especially those living downstream who experience the daily impacts of industrial development.” For decades now, these people have been living with the cost of our economy as crude oil and methane gas extraction remains a major source of Canada’s GDP. Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi (Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta) notes that, “When it comes to the health of our people, we’re being ignored. development...
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What do snowboards and mountain goats have in common? Indigenous weaver knows
By Ashley Joannou Meghann O’Brien used to feel connected to the mountain through her snowboard, but now she finds that link through the wool of a mountain goat used in her weaving for the last 15 years. O’Brien said she looked for years to find someone who had killed a goat and was also willing to let her use its wool, a material of great importance to many Northwest Coast Indigenous communities, but it isn’t used much anymore. The artist, who uses the name Jaad Kuujus in her work, has been weaving with the mountain goat wool in projects ever since, but not before the mountains helped her make a name for herself as a professional snowboarder. “It was the process of working with the mountain goat wool that felt...
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In the news: Indigenous Services Minister meeting with coastal B.C. First Nations
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed … Gull-Masty to address Assembly of First Nations Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty will address hundreds of chiefs gathered in Ottawa today for a special meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. She’s expected to discuss proposed changes to the Indian Act after Senators made sweeping amendments to a bill that would see an unknown number of new people eligible for status. The chiefs will also debate issues ranging from child welfare reform to the impact of major projects on First Nations communities. Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at the event Tuesday and promised to meet with Coastal First Nations leaders after chiefs voted unanimously to press the government to uphold the B.C....
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Matthew Wildcat offers “Indigenous realist” view of Alberta separatism
By Jeremy Appel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Alberta Native News The forces that Alberta’s separatist movement represents pose a far greater threat than the prospect of Alberta separating from Canada, according to a scholar in the University of Alberta’s Department of Native Studies. “It might be better for us to shift our energies from trying to foreclose the possibility of Alberta separation from a legal standpoint,” said Prof. Matt Wildcat, “to thinking through what the Alberta separatist movement is and how it should be responded to.” Wildcat, a member of Erminskine Cree Nation in Maskwacis, made these remarks at the Parkland Institute’s annual conference at UAlberta on Saturday. He emphasized that all 48 First Nations in Alberta — either individually or via the organizations that represent them — have spoken...
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CP NewsAlert: Carney says First Nations clean water legislation will come next spring
By Alessia Passafiume OTTAWA-Prime Minister Mark Carney says his government will introduce clean drinking water legislation in the spring, delaying a bill that had been promised for this fall. Carney’s promise to revive the legislation came in an address to the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa today, where he also said he will host a joint meeting with federal, provincial, territorial and First Nations leaders early in the new year and that co-ordination on water solutions will be a key agenda item....
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Assembly of First Nations: First Nations Chiefs vote against Prime Minister’s proposed pipeline
By Carley McHugh Writer OTTAWA First Nations Chiefs from across Canada voted unanimously against the proposed pipeline from Alberta to B.C.’s North Coast, after an emergency resolution came forward at the Special Chiefs Assembly in Ottawa on Dec. 2. Moved by Chief Donald Edgars of Old Massett Village, on Haida Gwaii, and seconded by proxy Merle Alexander of Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation, the resolution sought to affirm the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act (OTMA), as well as support the North, Central and South Coast, and any other affected territories, in rejecting any proposed oil and bitumen pipeline along the B.C. coast. The resolution came in response to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last week between the Government of Canada and the Province of Alberta, to advance pipelines west to the coast...
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Fort Nelson First Nation Chief denies conflict of interest allegations
By Ed Hitchins, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT NELSON, B.C. — The Chief of a northeast B.C. First Nation says the matter of owning local businesses in the area is not only not a conflict of interest, it’s also untrue. Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) Chief councillor Archie Harrold submitted a written affidavit on the nation’s Facebook page, denying allegations he is in conflict of interest in owning several local establishments. Harrold was elected to FNFN’s council in August 2024. He was later elected by councillors to the role of Chief councillor, as is the custom of the election code of FNFN. However, allegations have been levied against Harrold that he is financially benefiting from several companies – including ones involved in logging and energy – committed to projects...
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Miller says government needs to start Indigenous consultation on B.C. pipeline
By Sarah Ritchie Heritage Minister Marc Miller says his government needs to “sit down and start working now” on consultation with Indigenous communities and stakeholders about a possible new pipeline in B.C. “The work starts now. It should have started yesterday. We need to engage with Indigenous communities in a respectful, thoughtful way,” Miller said Tuesday. On his way into a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, the former minister of Crown-Indigenous relations told reporters he sees a difficult road ahead for any pipeline project. “If everyone thought Thursday was difficult, that was probably the easiest day in the life of that pipeline,” Miller said. On Thursday, the Liberal government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Alberta government that could clear a path for a pipeline to the West Coast. The...
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Advocates demand clarity from Carney on status of feminist foreign policy
By Dylan Robertson Dozens of advocates for women and LGBTQ+ people in Canada and abroad are demanding clarity from the Carney government on its message shift on feminism. In an open letter co-ordinated by Oxfam Canada, 92 organizations and 162 individuals say they’re deeply concerned by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent statement that Canada supports equality but no longer has a feminist foreign policy. “Anti-rights actors are organizing and looking to roll back gains and make future progress more difficult. Women, girls and gender-diverse people are looking to Canada for support,” reads the letter, dated Monday. “To back away from this position of leadership at a time of dramatic global rollbacks sends the wrong message to the world.” Carney told reporters last month that while Canada no longer has an...
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AFN vote against northern pipeline shows there are better ideas to move oil, Dix says
By Wolfgang Depner British Columbia’s energy minister says a vote from chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa to uphold the oil tanker ban is more support for the provincial argument that there are better alternatives than a northern coast pipeline. Chiefs representing more than 600 First Nations voted unanimously to ask Ottawa to uphold the oil tanker ban off the northern coast and withdraw the MOU signed last week between the federal and Alberta governments. Adrian Dix says the assembly’s vote reflects the historic position of First Nations, and the memorandum was signed “in spite of the fact that there is no project, no proponent, no possibility of the project going forward.” Dix says a new pipeline across northern B.C. doesn’t make economic sense and no...
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