Washing ceremony marks settlement of Canadian Tire racial profiling complaint
By Ashley Joannou and Darryl Greer Dawn Wilson gestures towards representatives from Canadian Tire and Blackbird Security during a Heiltsuk Nation during a washing ceremony in Vancouver, on Tuesday, ...
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Marathon port project gets $2 million from FedNor
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com MARATHON — The Town of Marathon’s ambition to build a new commercial port took a big step forward Tuesday with a $2-million funding announcement by local MP Patty Hajdu, Mayor Rick Dumas said. Hajdu, the Liberal MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North and minister responsible for FedNor, announced the funding to help restore a port to Marathon in a news conference at the Lakeview Community Hall. “Major infrastructure projects like the Port of Marathon play a key role in strengthening local economies, connecting communities and creating opportunities for Northern Ontarians,” she said. “Today’s announcement supports local businesses and natural resource development, while delivering lasting economic benefits. It is about building a stronger, more resilient Canada, now and for the future.” The Peninsula Harbour...
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Youth suicide prevention shouldn’t hinge on a ride to the city — cabinet minister
By George Lee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Macleod Gazette No matter how rural, remote, complex or demanding their homelives are, youths at risk of suicide should be able to find support when and where they need it. That ideal underpins a $2-million grant program accepting applications until June 1, Alberta Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton told The Macleod Gazette. Myriad programs and options for youth are at most a bus ride away in the big city. But that isn’t true in Fort Macleod, Pincher Creek or “in my neck of the woods,” said Turton, the UCP member representing Spruce Grove-Stony Plain. “The last thing I want to hear about is someone that’s going through their darkest day and they don’t know where to turn to for...
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Moose Hide Campaign Day sparks conversations about Indigenous men, their roles in the community
By Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Energeticcity.ca FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — As he stood speaking to the crowd gathered at Fort St. John’s Festival Plaza, John Lambert spoke candidly about being a young boy in Oliver, B.C. and his introduction to domestic violence. “I can remember my father chasing my mother down the stairs,” said Lambert, an Indigenous man whose band roots are near Fort St. James. “I still remember her running down the stairs, screaming, running into the street, calling for the police to be called. They were, and Dad was subsequently arrested.” “The majority of assaults against women today are done by First Nations people, by our own people. Now ask: how did we get here? How did we go from a culture that didn’t even hit our...
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Three-week break ahead for Geraldton gas pumps, closest station 35 km away at Long Lake #58 First Nation
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, SNnewswatch.com GERALDTON — Gas pumps in Greenstone’s most populous community will be unavailable for three weeks beginning Monday, May 25. But Iqbal Singh, manager of Wayne’s Esso in Geraldton, says the station’s convenience store will remain open during that time. “Only the gas station will be closed as we will be renovating the gas pumps and (replacing) the tanks,” he told Newswatch on Tuesday. The nearest gas station is about 35 kilometres away in Long Lake #58 First Nation, and there’s one a little farther away in Longlac. Another gas station is in Rocky Bay (Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek), about 100 km from Geraldton. Singh said customers have said they wish the gas bar could remain open during renos “but they think they can...
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Alberta NDP says last-minute petition meeting may signal referendum vote
By Lisa Johnson Alberta’s Opposition says the decision by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives to schedule a last-minute committee meeting suggests the government might be looking for a new way to get a separation question on a fall referendum. A bipartisan legislature committee headed up by the UCP is to meet Wednesday to discuss a pro-Canada petition put forward by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Lukaszuk gathered more than 400,000 names to force either a legislature vote or a provincewide referendum on keeping Alberta in Canada. The committee has been discussing what to do with his petition. Lukaszuk has said he wants a legislature vote, not a referendum. Smith and her UCP members of the committee have argued that Albertans who signed Lukaszuk’s petition believed they were demanding a referendum...
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Agnico Eagle’s $3.3B Hope Bay mine moving ahead
By Arty Sarkisian, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. is moving ahead with its third gold mine in Nunavut — the Hope Bay gold complex, located 150 kilometres southwest of Cambridge Bay. The board has approved a $3.3-billion investment to develop the site, with “initial production” starting as early as 2030, according to a company news release. “This includes the core infrastructure needed to build and operate safely and reliably in Nunavut,” said CEO Ammar Al-Joundi during Tuesday’s ceremony at the Hope Bay site. Among other upgrades, the work may include building a high capacity processing facility, a 37-megawatt power plant with heat recovery, water management infrastructure and fuel and logistics systems, he said. Once finished, Hope Bay could produce 400,000 to 435,000 ounces of gold...
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Funding boost for adult education evokes emotional response
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press Tears of joy were shed on Tuesday as mature students, teachers and government leaders gathered to celebrate a multimillion-dollar boost for adult education in Manitoba. The 2026-27 earmarks $24.9 million to help adults with interrupted schooling upskill and complete their Grade 12 or equivalency education. It includes $2.5 million in new funding — 10 times the top-up announced in the last budget. Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable called Manitoba’s adult learning centres and literacy programs “a forgotten piece of the puzzle.” Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 and post-secondary institutions have long overshadowed these key programs, Cable said. “We need to make sure that, where K to 12 hasn’t been as successful as it ought to have been — maybe it wasn’t...
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Washing ceremony marks settlement of Canadian Tire racial profiling complaint
By Ashley Joannou and Darryl Greer The sounds of Indigenous drums and song bounced off the walls of an East Vancouver banquet hall Tuesday evening as members of British Columbia’s Heiltsuk Nation gathered for a traditional washing ceremony years in the making. Dawn Wilson and her father Richard filed a human rights complaint against Canadian Tire and security company Blackbird Security over a racial profiling incident at a store in Coquitlam. Canadian Tire acknowledged its former employee contravened the human rights code against racial profiling and discrimination when they searched Richard Wilson’s bag in 2020. The ceremony, held at the Croatian Cultural Centre on Commercial Drive, drew dozens to take part in the cultural healing process. Dawn Wilson thanked representatives of both companies for showing up. “We wholeheartedly forgive everything...
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Alberta NDP says last-minute meeting on petition may signal looming referendum vote
By Lisa Johnson Alberta’s Opposition says the decision by Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservatives to schedule a last-minute committee meeting suggests they might be looking for a new way to get a separation question put to a referendum this fall. NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says a bipartisan legislature committee headed up by Smith’s UCP plans to meet Wednesday to discuss a pro-Canada petition put forward by former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Lukaszuk gathered more than 400,000 names to force either a legislature or a provincewide referendum vote on keeping Alberta in Canada. The committee has been discussing what to do with Lukaszuk’s petition, but the NDP has said the committee has been bogging down the process in order to move ahead with a second petition put forward by Alberta separatists...
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Inuit lamp symbol approved for headstones at national military cemetery
A headstone featuring a traditional Inuit lamp is seen in this undated photo. The lamp has been approved as an optional spiritual emblem for headstones at the National Military Cemetery. The qulliq emblem was unveiled in a ceremony at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa on May 19, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout – Beechwood Cemetery Foundation By Alessia Passafiume A traditional Inuit lamp has been approved as an optional spiritual emblem for headstones at the National Military Cemetery. The qulliq emblem was unveiled in a ceremony at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, attended by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon on Tuesday. Traditionally carved from soapstone and fuelled by whale or seal oil, the lamp symbolizes light, warmth, guidance and survival and is meant to reflect Inuit members’ service in the Canadian Armed Forces. First...
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Hamilton man arrested, Brantford police seize over $12,000 in illicit drugs
By Alex Murray Writer BRANTFORD, ONT-Brantford Police Service (BPS) arrested a 48-year-old Hamilton man May 19, on six weapons- and drug-related charges. The arrest was made in connection with a March 13 shooting incident at a Colborne Street motel in Brantford. On May 13, members of the BPS Emergency Response Team, K9 Unit, Drug and Firearm Enforcement Unit, Major Crime Unit, and Criminal Intelligence Unit executed a 487 Criminal Code Search Warrant for an Allan Avenue residence in Hamilton and arrested the suspect. The warrant was issued on May 11. Police seized 95.7 grams of cocaine, 26.7 grams of fentanyl, a nine-millimetre round, and an undisclosed amount of Canadian currency during the search. BPS said the street value of the seized fentanyl is about $2,670 when trafficked by the gram....
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First Nations leader says UCP government ‘on notice’ after judge dismisses separation petition
By David Boles, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, St. Albert Gazette Indigenous leaders say a judge’s decision to quash Alberta’s separatist petition is a warning to Premier Danielle Smith’s government that any proposed referendum on Alberta independence cannot proceed without First Nations consultation. “This ruling puts the premier on notice and the other separatist MLAs who are pushing for this referendum,” said Treaty 8 Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi. Mercredi made the comments following a move by Justice Shaina Leonard to dismiss the separatist petition on Wednesday, May 13, saying the province had a duty to consult with First Nations peoples. First Nations argued Alberta separation could affect treaty rights and the Crown’s constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples, triggering a duty to consult. Leonard said in her decision the petition should never...
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Cherokee Nation integrates culture into new treatment center built with opioid settlement funds
By Sarah Liese And Sierra Pfeifer TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — Culture is vital for recovery. That’s a lesson Juli Skinner, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, learned during her time in foster care, years later working in child welfare and now, as the senior director of the Cherokee Nation’s behavioral health center. Tribal traditions have given her a healthy way to self-regulate and strengthen her connection with Spirit. “Culture is such a protective factor,” Skinner said. “Historical trauma has hit a lot of people — Native Americans, tribes — hard. Lost language, lost traditional ways, and we’ll never get all of that back.” Despite seeing the benefits, culture has never been baked into the inpatient treatment options available to citizens of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, a tribe...
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Goats hard at work in Delta!
By Radha Agarwal, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Delta Optimist Drivers passing through Tsawwassen are greeted by the bleats and excited hooves of a herd of goats, busy clearing vegetation as part of an innovative goatscaping effort. “Guided by research and shared expertise, the team identified goatscaping as an environmentally friendly approach to land management, helping reduce invasive species, enhance ecosystem health, and care for the land in a sustainable way,” said the Tsawwassen First Nations (TFN) online. This initiative is a collaborative measure by TFN’s Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability, Natural Resources, Public Works, and Lands departments. The project began after the land was overrun with species, and community members expressed concern about the abundance of blackberries. Moira K. Barron, along with her husband, is the owner and operator of Oceanside...
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Cherokee Nation integrates culture into new treatment center built with opioid settlement funds
By Sarah Liese And Sierra Pfeifer TALEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — Culture is vital for recovery. That’s a lesson Juli Skinner, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, learned during her time in foster care, years later working in child welfare and now, as the senior director of the Cherokee Nation’s behavioral health center. Tribal traditions have given her a healthy way to self-regulate and strengthen her connection with Spirit. “Culture is such a protective factor,” Skinner said. “Historical trauma has hit a lot of people — Native Americans, tribes — hard. Lost language, lost traditional ways, and we’ll never get all of that back.” Despite seeing the benefits, culture has never been baked into the inpatient treatment options available to citizens of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, a tribe...
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Alberta’s timing targets for West Coast pipeline ‘best-case scenario’: CIBC analysts
By Lauren Krugel Analysts at CIBC World Markets say the timeline the Alberta government set out for construction to begin on a potential new West Coast oil pipeline reflects a best-case scenario. The province aims to submit a proposal to the federal major projects office by July 1, have it designated a project of national interest by Oct. 1 and have shovels in the ground as early as Sept. 1, 2027. The Alberta government laid out those targets after it and Ottawa finalized one of the last outstanding elements of their energy accord signed late last year — an agreement on how the market price on carbon is to gradually increase to $130 a tonne by 2040. The last remaining side-agreement to sew up is between the province, federal government...
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Hands-on career expo gives Lakeland students a look at opportunities close to home
By Chantel Downes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lakeland This Week The expo took place May 13 and May 14. Organizers expected just under 1,000 students from Cold Lake, St. Paul, Kehewin, Cold Lake First Nations, Bonnyville, and surrounding communities to attend the event. Now in its third year, the Lakeland Regional Career Expo has continued to grow, with organizers planning to make it an annual event. Jasmine Arndt, program coordinator with Careers Next Generation, said the event is organized by a planning committee that includes local school divisions, Community Futures, and Portage College. Arndt said the expo is meant to help students discover career options in the Lakeland that they may not have been exposed to through family or friends. Unlike a traditional career fair, the event focuses on interactive...
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People for Education explore convergence of public education and truth and reconciliation
By Maggie Macintosh, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Free Press A national charity is putting Manitoba’s school system under the microscope as it develops a plan to protect and bolster publicly funded classrooms across Canada. “Winnipeg is a site of a lot of learning for the rest of the country on reconciliation in the school system and more broadly,” said Paris Semansky, co-executive director of People for Education. “That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. That doesn’t mean it’s done, but there’s clear and demonstrable progress that — really critically — seems to cross partisan lines.” People for Education, founded by a group of Toronto parents in 1996, has typically focused on research and policy-making initiatives in Ontario. The non-partisan organization’s latest project broadens its scope while acknowledging that education is under...
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Chiefs respond to the separatist petition being squashed
By Alexandra Noad, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Lethbridge Herald Chiefs from both Piikani and Blackfoot Nations have responded to the squashing of the separatist petition. Last Wednesday, Justice Shaina Leonard ruled the Stay Free Alberta never should have been issued, citing the provincial government’s failure to fulfill its duty to consult with First Nations and the outcome of a successful referendum would create direct and adverse effects on First Nations Treaty rights. This decision comes after a commenced joint legal proceeding from the Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation and Siksika Nation, which began in January. Following court augments from all parties, Mitch Sylvestre, chief executive officer of Alberta Prosperity Project, which is a leader in the Alberta separatist movement, put forward an application which asked Justice Leonard to remove herself from...
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