B.C. Conservative MLA says drug crisis cost lives of four relatives
By Marcy Nicholson -CP-The House Leader of the Opposition B.C. Conservatives has described the “unsurmountable” price paid by her family in the province’s toxic drug crisis, which she said had claimed the lives of three of her cousins and a niece. A’aliya Warbus said in question period in the B.C. Legislature on Thursday that she had lost two of her brothers, a niece and a nephew, but later clarified to reporters that the male relatives were all her first cousins. She told the legislature that just last week she attended a memorial for one cousin who died from “a lethal dose of drugs” a year ago. “Not only did it take two of my brothers, but also my niece, who died alone in a tent, in one of the tent...
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What to know about Fort Knox’s gold depository
By Rebecca Reynolds LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves, to make sure the gold is still there. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says there is an audit every year and that “all the gold is present and accounted for.” The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the United States since 1937 and has become synonymous for secure and well protected. Along with protecting gold reserves, Fort Knox is currently also used as the Army’s human resources command center, and it hosts the Army’s largest annual training event each summer. “We’re going to open up the the doors. We’re going to inspect Fort Knox,” Trump...
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The Latest: Judge declines to halt Trump administration’s federal workers layoffs
-AP-A federal judge on Thursday refused to temporarily block the Trump administration’s mass layoff of federal workers while a lawsuit brought by five unions moves forward. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper found the unions must bring their claims under federal employment law rather than in district court. Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that places him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency, despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do President Donald Trump’s bidding. Here’s the latest: Musk shows openness to auditing Federal Reserve Musk suggested he was open to auditing the Federal Reserve and accused Democrats of “treason” as he drew cheers from activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington....
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Wikwemikong Police ink $112 million funding agreement
By Jacqueline St. Pierre, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter WIIKWEMKOONG—A new era of stability and security has arrived for the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Service (WTPS) with the signing of a landmark funding agreement. This historic deal, reached with Canada’s Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and the Solicitor General of Ontario, represents a $112 million investment over 10 years—an unprecedented commitment to First Nations policing. For the first time in history, WTPS can engage in long-term, strategic planning rather than operating under short-term, unstable agreements. This transformative funding secures critical resources, enhances officer capacity and strengthens public safety across the territory. “This agreement is a paradigm shift for public safety in our community,” said Ron Gignac, chief of police, WTPS. “For the first time, it allows us to plan both...
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‘We need to be strong’: Music producer Bob Ezrin boasts of Canadian pride after performing arts award
By Cassandra Szklarski -CP-Veteran music producer Bob Ezrin says he’s “beyond proud” to be among this year’s recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, especially as a newly repatriated Canadian in the midst of renouncing his U.S. citizenship. The dual citizen said Thursday that he declared his intent to give up U.S. ties in January and is awaiting approval, which could take months. Ezrin said he spent much of the past year straddling the border but has moved permanently to Toronto, ending nearly four decades of U.S. residency, in large part over what he expected from a second Donald Trump presidency. He’s particularly concerned about threats to Canadian sovereignty and says he values distinctions like his Governor General’s award for lifetime artistic achievement — considered Canada’s highest honour for...
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Poilievre’s proposed incentives for First Nations water, resource projects draw fire
By Alessia Passafiume Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he would incentivize First Nations to support natural-resource projects through industry taxes and revisiting how much sway Indigenous Peoples and environmental considerations have over approving projects. The proposals drew some swift criticism from experts and researchers. Speaking at a rally in Ottawa on Saturday, Poilievre said he would encourage Indigenous leaders to support natural resource projects by “letting companies pay a share of their federal corporate taxes to local First Nations” — a position he first announced last year. He added that First Nations could spend that revenue on “clean drinking water and a better future for their people.” “I want the First Nations people of Canada to be the richest people in the world,” Poilievre said, adding he would repeal Bill...
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Indigenous healer admits to sexually assaulting 12 women in Saskatchewan
-CP-A Saskatchewan man who said he was an Indigenous healer has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting 12 women. Cecil Wolfe, who is 63, entered the pleas Wednesday in Saskatoon court. Wolfe was accused of sexual assaulting the women between 2013 and 2021. Police have said Wolfe met the victims in various communities under the pretext of being a healer or medicine man. Wolfe pleaded guilty to the charges three years ago but they were expunged. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 26. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2025. ...
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No damages reported after earthquake shakes parts of Alberta, B.C.
-CP-Earthquakes Canada says some Alberta and B.C. residents may have felt the ground shake this morning. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake was detected roughly 63 kilometres northeast of Grande Cache, Alta., but it isn’t believed to have caused any damage. The agency says the quake would have been lightly felt in the surrounding communities of Edson, Grand Prairie and Whitecourt, as well as in Prince George, B.C. Its magnitude scale says quakes between 3.5 and 5.4 are “often felt, but rarely cause damage.” A 3.6 magnitude earthquake last week in B.C. shook the ground in Victoria, Sidney and parts of Vancouver Island. Alberta’s most recent earthquake was a 3.7 magnitude rumble last month that was felt in Lake Louise and Banff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb....
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First Nations, Holt Liberals on verge of new tax deals
By John Chilibeck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner First Nations in New Brunswick are close to cutting new tax-sharing deals with the Holt Liberal government, but the large title claims in the courts for all the province’s territory could still take years, if not decades, to resolve. Unlike the previous Progressive Conservative government which cancelled the decades-old tax agreements and mounted a spirited legal defence against the Wolastoqey Nation’s Aboriginal title claim, the Liberals are trying to see eye-to-eye with Indigenous leaders. Meghan Cumby, a provincial spokesperson, said government officials have been meeting separately with both the Wolastoqey and Mi’gmaq nations to discuss new tax agreements. “These negotiations are proceeding with a government-to-government lens, and we are committed to that approach,” she wrote in an email. “It is...
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Michigan appeals court upholds permits for Great Lakes pipeline tunnel project
By Todd Richmond Enbridge Energy’s plans to build a protective tunnel around an aging pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes can continue, a Michigan appeals court ruled. The state Public Service Commission properly issued permits for the $500 million project, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in rejecting arguments from environmental groups and Native American tribes that commissioners failed to consider the overall need for the pipeline. Tunnel would encase pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac Enbridge wants to build a protective tunnel around a 4-mile (6-kilometer) section of its Line 5 pipeline that runs along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Enbridge has been using the pipeline since 1953 to transport crude oil and natural gas...
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Boy charged with murder in quadruple homicide on Saskatchewan First Nation
-CP-A 15-year-old boy is facing first-degree murder charges in the shooting deaths of four people on a First Nation in southern Saskatchewan. The teen cannot be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He is scheduled to appear today in Regina court. Police say the boy and 18-year-old Darrius Racette were arrested Tuesday for the killings of two women and two men at a home on Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation in early February. Racette also faces four counts of first-degree murder and is to appear in court today in Yorkton, Sask. Mounties say investigators are confident the home was targeted but have not provided details about whether the two accused knew the victims or a possible motive for the killings. This report by The Canadian Press was first...
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Supreme Court dismisses appeal for Alberta man convicted in Métis hunter killings
-CP-Canada’s top court has dismissed the appeal of an Alberta man convicted of manslaughter for aiding his son in the killings of two Métis hunters. Roger and Anthony Bilodeau confronted Maurice Cardinal and Jacob Sansom in 2020, shot them and left them on the side of a road near Glendon, Alta. The pair were found guilty of manslaughter, and Anthony Bilodeau was also convicted of second-degree murder. Roger Bilodeau was sentenced to 10 years. The Supreme Court of Canada says it dismissed his conviction appeal for the same reasons outlined by the Alberta Court of Appeal in 2024. Lawyers had argued the trial judge made errors in instructions to the jury, but the Appeal Court found the errors benefited Roger Bilodeau and there was no miscarriage of justice. A dissenting...
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Helpline for Indigenous women gets funding from province
By Marc Lalonde, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Iori:wase The creation of a 24/7 helpline for Indigenous women in Quebec will see the light of day after a recent government investment into the project. The province committed nearly $900,000 into the creation of a helpline for Indigenous women experiencing violence or who find themselves in “precarious” positions that could end in violence, the government announced. The government has committed $882,979 over three years to create the Quebec First Nations Women’s Space (QFNWS), which will support the” implementation of psychosocial and referral services for First Nations women who have experienced domestic, family, and sexual violence,” the government said. Statistics show Indigenous women are at higher risk of being subjected to domestic violence and experience more serious forms of violence that non-Indigenous women....
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Federal government moving ahead with high-speed rail in Toronto-Quebec City corridor
By Jim Bronskill and Sidhartha Banerjee -CP-The federal government is moving ahead with the next phase of a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday. The planned rail network will be 100 per cent electric, span approximately 1,000 kilometres, and reach speeds of up to 300 kilometres an hour. There will be stations in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City. On Wednesday, Trudeau announced $3.9 billion over six years, starting in the 2024-25 fiscal year, to iron out specifics, including where the stations will be located in each city and the trajectory of the network, before the final phase of the project — construction — can begin. Officials say it’s too soon to estimate the final cost of the project...
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No charges yet from RCMP investigation into brawling hockey parents
By Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun The RCMP investigation into a brawl that broke out at a First Nations hockey arena in November continues, as police try to piece together what happened and who is at fault. “The investigation is still very much ongoing,” RCMP spokesperson Paul Manaigre said in Wednesday in an email to The Winnipeg Sun about a November incident on the Sagkeeng First Nation. On Nov. 10, RCMP were called to the Sagkeeng Arena Multiplex in the community to break up a brawl that had broken out at a U18 hockey game between the Sagkeeng Hawks and the La Broquerie Habs. The game involved hockey players between the ages of 15 and 17. Police say they arrived after getting reports that a fight had...
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Native American activist Leonard Peltier, freed from prison, is welcomed on North Dakota reservation
By Jack Dura And Steve Karnowski BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) — Native American activist Leonard Peltier was defiant toward the government but grateful for his supporters as they welcomed him home to North Dakota on Wednesday, a day after his release from a Florida prison where he had been serving a life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. Peltier, 80, grew emotional as he addressed about 500 people who gathered at the festive event that included food, a drum circle and dancers at a center in Belcourt. The small town is just south of the Canadian border on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians’ reservation. “I’m so proud of the showing and support you’ve given me,” Peltier said. “I’ve got a hard time keeping myself from crying....
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Suspect in stabbings on Saskatchewan First Nation arrested after days-long search
SASKATCHEWAN-CP-A man has been arrested days after stabbings at three different homes on a northern Saskatchewan First Nation. Ryan Lachance had been wanted by RCMP for charges including aggravated assault and robbery in the stabbings last Saturday on Big River First Nation. The 29-year-old was arrested at a home on the First Nation and is now facing additional charges. RCMP said on Tuesday that the third stabbing victim was determined to be a suspect in the first two stabbings. Twenty-five-year-old Jacky Lachance of Big River First Nation was arrested after being released from hospital. He was charged with aggravated assault, robbery with a weapon, and break and enter. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025. ...
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Trump wants to know if there’s gold in Fort Knox. (There is)
By Chris Megerian WASHINGTON (AP) — While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether Elon Musk would pursue budget cuts at the Pentagon. His response might be confusing to anyone who hasn’t spent the last several days monitoring Musk’s account on X. Trump said Musk would be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository for American gold reserves in Kentucky. Why? “To make sure the gold is there,” Trump said. Another reporter seemed puzzled. Where would the gold have gone? “If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset,” Trump said. Musk, the world’s richest man, who was traveling with the Republican president aboard Air Force One, has spent days posting about this issue. “Who is confirming...
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Operation Nanook about to begin in Inuvik and elsewhere
By Aastha Sethi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cabin Radio A large contingent of Canadian soldiers arrived in Inuvik earlier this month to conduct elements of 2025’s Operation Nanook. The annual Canadian Armed Forces operation – full name Operation Nanook-Nunalivut – involves a series of military activities in locations like the NWT, Yukon, Nunavut and Labrador. The operation tests the forces’ ability to carry out exercises under the “harshest conditions” of the High Arctic. It will run from February 23 to March 9, though some participants arrived in Inuvik on February 4 and will stay until mid or late March to clean up. LCol Darren Turner told Cabin Radio this year’s Operation Nanook-Nunalivut includes nearly double the 350 personnel who took part last year, along with allied forces from the United...
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Music producer Bob Ezrin, actor Graham Greene among Governor General’s performing arts laureates
By Cassandra Szklarski -CP-Music producer Bob Ezrin and actors Graham Greene and Patrick Huard are among the latest recipients of Canada’s highest honour in the performing arts. The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation announced the laureates this morning for its lifetime artistic achievement award. They include Sandra Laronde, the founding artistic director of the Indigenous performance company Red Sky Performance, and classical composer Denis Gougeon, whose array of works include music for solo instruments, chamber groups, orchestra, ballet and opera. Ezrin earned the distinction for a lengthy career that included work with Pink Floyd, U2, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Rod Stewart, Andrea Bocelli, Taylor Swift, Alice Cooper and Nine Inch Nails. Meanwhile, Greene was lauded for a stage and screen career spanning more than five decades and credits around...
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