Current Problems:
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Alberta"
Updates on this page: 299
April 24, 2024
For First Nations in Alberta, drought only compounds existing water issues
There are more than 3,700 wells on reserves in Alberta, advisory group says CBC Indigenous: Like many in Alberta with a severe drought bearing down, Rupert Meneen has water on his mind. “Our source water is a little creek that runs near our community,” says the chief of Tallcree First Nation in northern Alberta, roughly 100 kilometres...
April 24, 2024
Elderly dementia patient not handled appropriately says family
Family asks RCMP to review case at hospital in northern Alberta APTN News: A Dene family from the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation is unhappy with the treatment of their 80-year-old father, who has dementia, in a Fort McMurray hospital that resulted in an injury that required medical attention. The family complained to Alberta Health Services...
April 22, 2024
Racism, discrimination may lead to First Nations patients leaving emergency rooms: Alberta study
A Siksika Nation councillor says the study reflects community members’ experiences CBC Indigenous: Systemic racism and inequity in health care may be contributing to why First Nations patients in Alberta disproportionately leave emergency departments without being seen, or against medical advice, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The peer-reviewed paper builds...
April 19, 2024
The federal government must tackle water pollution from the oilsands
The government already has the necessary power. It just needs the courage to use it to stop contamination from tailings ponds. NationTalk: Policy Options – Perched on the shores of the Athabasca River in northern Alberta are a staggering 1.4 trillion litres of toxic industrial waste, stored in open pits known as tailings ponds created...
April 19, 2024
UN puts spotlight on attacks against Indigenous land defenders, journalists
Indigenous peoples around the world are harassed and killed at alarming rates. Will the world act? Tear gas is deployed by police during a Maasai rights demonstration outside the Tanzanian High Commission in Nairobi in 2022. Ben Curtis / AP Photo APTN News: When around 70,000 Indigenous Maasai were expelled from their lands in northern Tanzania in 2022,...
April 17, 2024
Alberta pipeline sparks wildfire west of Edmonton
More than two dozen firefighers are battling the blaze A wildfire burns near Edson, Alta., in this Tuesday, April 16, 2024 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Alberta Wildfire APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Canadian Energy Regulator says it’s working with the province and federal departments after a natural gas pipeline owned by TC...
April 12, 2024
Cree lawyer says cows and plows settlements don’t reflect spirit of treaty clause
‘It didn’t just mean cows, plows, agriculture. It meant livelihood,’ says Deanne Kasokeo CBC Indigenous: A Saskatchewan-based lawyer says “cows and plows” settlements do not reflect the spirit and intent of treaties from an Indigenous perspective. Under treaties 4,5,6 and 10, the Crown promised agricultural benefits — livestock and farming equipment — to the First Nations that signed. That promise...
April 12, 2024
Canada broke its treaty promise, but Blood Tribe is barred from suing, Supreme Court rules
High court upholds time limits on filing of treaty-based lawsuits CBC Indigenous: Canada acted dishonourably by breaking its treaty obligations to the Blood Tribe in Alberta but the band is barred from suing by the province’s statute of limitations, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled. The high court on Friday handed down a unanimous decision...
April 9, 2024
Child and Youth Advocate releases update on investigative reviews into child deaths and serious injuries
Among the 47 young people who passed away, 35 were Indigenous. Terri Pelton, provincial Child and Youth Advocate, has provided an update to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on her office’s investigative reviews spanning from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. Reviews were completed and publicly released for 47 young people who were...
April 3, 2024
How Alberta’s Social Studies Curriculum Design Went So Wrong
Despite major reservations from experts, the Education Ministry has forged ahead with the new plan. There’s little accountability. The Tyee: Imagine a new school is being built, but it’s amateur builders who get charged with creating blueprints — and the education minister insists it is safe because the ministry “consulted” engineers who in reality had...
March 20, 2024
Alberta’s ‘Astonishingly Bad’ New K-6 Social Studies Curriculum
Pull the plug and start over pleads a panel of experts asked by the province to weigh in. David J. Climenhaga is an award-winning journalist, author, post-secondary teacher, poet and trade union communicator. He blogs at AlbertaPolitics.ca. Follow him on X @djclimenhaga. The Tyee: How bad is the social studies curriculum the United Conservative Party wants...
March 19, 2024
Nehiyaw and Dene Nations of Treaty No. 8 Adoption and Private Guardianship Law
Nehiyaw and Dene Nations of Treaty No. 8 Adoption and Private Guardianship Law NationTalk: Children and youth are a gift from the Creator and as Sovereign Nations, we maintain the true authority over our children, youth and families. I. When children and youth are adopted or taken into private guardianship without the voluntary consent...
March 15, 2024
Flip-flop in regulating mental health counsellors will slow getting urgent services to Indigenous people: Treaty 6, 8
A counsellor at work (CTV News Vancouver) NationTalk: Windspeaker.com – The decision by Alberta to regulate counsellor therapy through the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) will not meet the urgency of mental health care required by Indigenous populations in the province. Letters sent from Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 nations in February to provincial ministers...
March 15, 2024
‘Our Children are not for sale’: Treaty 8 chiefs
Treaty 8 chiefs announce a new law that prevents adoption and private guardianship without parental or First Nation consent APTN News: First Nations leaders from Treaty 8 met today to announce a new law that supersedes previous legislation over First Nations children within that Treaty area. The law, called the Nehiyaw and Dene Nations of...
March 14, 2024
Edmonton police investigating death of Dene man in university hospital
APTN News: The Edmonton police have opened a probe into the death of Darryl Sabourin, a Dene man and father of four from Hay River, N.W.T., after he died in a local hospital. On March 4, Sabourin, 45, who was addicted to alcohol checked himself into the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton for detox...
March 14, 2024
Flip-flop in regulating mental health counsellors will slow getting urgent services to Indigenous people
Treaty 8 Grand Chief Arthur Noskey and Treaty 6 Grand Chief Cody Thomas. Windspeaker.com: The decision by Alberta to regulate counsellor therapy through the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) will not meet the urgency of mental health care required by Indigenous populations in the province. Letters sent from Treaty 6 and Treaty 8 nations in...
March 13, 2024
B.C. judge warns of ‘tsunami’ of Indigenous identity fraud cases
Baptist pastor charged with possessing child pornography claimed Métis status based on great-great-grandparent WARNING: This story contains details of child sexual exploitation and pornography. CBC News: After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future. The Prince Rupert, B.C., man...
March 13, 2024
Alberta announces intention to create organization with ‘police-like services’
Further consultation with Indigenous communities to follow APTN News: The Alberta government announced Bill 11 which would allow for the creation of a new police agency on Wednesday that would take over the responsibilities of Alberta sheriffs. “Residents have a right to feel protected in their everyday lives,” said Mike Ellis, minister of public and...
March 11, 2024
Painful discrimination still confronts too many Indigenous people: Ken Coates for Inside Policy
Canada has a long way to go before Indigenous peoples can be assured of fairness before the law or consistent acceptance in Canadian society. March 11, 2024 in Ken Coates, Inside Policy, Columns, Latest News, Indigenous Affairs Program, Social issues NationTalk: McDonald-Laurier Institute: Inside Policy – Most Canadians believe that life is getting better for Indigenous peoples in the country and...
March 11, 2024
First Nations, Métis and environmental groups request investigation of harmful tailings pond substance
NationTalk: OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE – In January 2024, Canada announced their decision to not include naphthenic acids in the list of regulated substances in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Environmental groups and a First Nation have submitted a formal request for the federal government to assess the harms caused by...
March 9, 2024
Brian Mulroney’s complicated relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada
From laying the foundations of Nunavut to the Oka crisis, the former PM’s legacy was one of contradictions CBC News: The late Brian Mulroney’s legacy with Indigenous peoples in Canada is marked by its contradictions — failures remembered for their good intentions, successes accompanied by catastrophic disappointments. The former prime minister is praised by some Indigenous leaders for creating a...
March 8, 2024
Why this First Nation is Right to Sue the Alberta Energy Regulator over Last Year’s Toxic Tailings Leak
NationTalk: Environmental Defence – Last year, one of Imperial Oil’s mines in the tar sands leaked toxic industrial waste into the surrounding environment. Instead of informing downstream communities, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) helped Imperial cover up the spill for over nine months. Now the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) – one of the downstream...
March 6, 2024
Homeless reception centre generates big numbers as well as ‘abject misery’: advocate
NationTalk: Taproot Edmonton – The United Conservative Party government describes its recently-launched homeless reception centre as a success, but some advocates for people without housing strongly disagree. The province launched a navigation and support centre out of a Hope Mission building in January. Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community, and social services, said the centre was in the works...
March 6, 2024
‘Everything is going downhill’: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan files lawsuit against Alberta regulator over Kearl spill
Reaction mixed to spill and whether tar sands are harming environment. Jean L’hommecourt co-chair of the Keepers for the water holds up a sign at Tuesday’s meeting. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN. APTN News: At a tense community meeting, Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) Chief Allan Adam served the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) with lawsuit papers...
March 5, 2024
Leaders from 11 Western Canadian cities issue formal request to Statistics Canada: halt release of annual Crime Severity Index rankings until formal consultations are held with smaller communities and Indigenous leadership
NationTalk: Saskatoon, SK – Elected officials from eleven municipalities, all in Western Canada, issued a public call-to-action today for Statistics Canada: an immediate stop in the publication of the Crime Severity Index (CSI) rankings for communities until consultations are held with smaller communities and Indigenous leadership. The call-to-action stems from a full-day conference initiated by...
March 4, 2024
MNC Statement on Bilodeau Unescorted Absences
NationTalk: The Métis National Council is deeply disappointed by the unescorted temporary release (UTR) of Roger Bilodeau despite the many of objections of the victims’ families, and community. Bilodeau was convicted of manslaughter 2020 for the shooting deaths of two Métis men, Jacob Sansom and Morris Cardinal. The MNC adds our voice in supporting the...
February 29, 2024
The protection of wetlands is tied to Indigenous and human rights
Despite their ecological, social, cultural and economic importance, over the past two centuries wetlands have been systematically destroyed for industrial, commercial and residential development. First Peoples Law Report: Rabble.ca, David Suzuki – In his 1972 non-fiction book No Name in the Street, James Baldwin asked, “Does the law exist for the purpose of furthering the ambitions...
February 29, 2024
Senate committee hears from information commissioner on residential schools records access
Guidance on information disclosure ‘comes from the top,’ says Caroline Maynard CBC Indigenous: A Senate committee examining barriers to the release of records of deaths at residential schools heard Tuesday that federal departments and agencies should make information disclosure processes more accessible and informal. “We heard that the privacy and information regimes cannot work if the government itself does not believe...
February 29, 2024
Police watchdog finds police used ‘reasonable’ force on man at Sucker Creek First Nation
Report finds police acted reasonably due to the circumstances The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, or ASIRT says police acted reasonably in the case of a Sucker Creek First Nation man who was arrested and later hospitalised for several days. On Dec. 11, 2021...
February 29, 2024
Treaty 6 and 8 grand chiefs call for action on mental health crisis in Alberta
Chiefs Noskey and Thomas say province must establish regulatory college to address First Nations mental health crisis Kevin Ma NationTalk: Airdrie City View – The grand chiefs of most of Alberta’s First Nations have called on the province to proclaim a counselling college and address an ongoing mental health crisis. Treaty 8 First Nations of...
February 27, 2024
Man convicted of manslaughter in the death of two Métis hunters granted unescorted absences from prison
RCMP says in parole documents that approving UTA will ‘display holes in the justice system.’ Sarah Sansom by family and supporters after the verdict on Anthony Bilodeau. Photo: APTN file. APTN News: The parole board of Canada has granted Roger Bilodeau, one of the men convicted of killing two Métis hunters in Alberta unescorted temporary...
February 18, 2024
7 First Nations in Alta. want answers on carbon capture and storage plans
1st phase budgeted at $16.5B, will stash up to 12M tonnes of carbon per year by 2030 CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Press – Seven Alberta First Nations have banded together to seek answers as industry and government move on billion-dollar plans to inject and store millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases underneath or adjacent to...
February 16, 2024
Alberta investing $4M to redevelop Indigenous-led homeless shelter in Lethbridge
The provincial government, City of Lethbridge, and Blood Tribe Department of Health announced plans to redevelop and expand the homeless shelter in Lethbridge APTN News: The Alberta government announced that the province will provide $4 million to expand the capacity of a First Nations-run homeless shelter by 125 beds in Lethbridge on Friday. The Blood...
February 15, 2024
Joint APTN and CBC News investigation examines the impact of rising food prices in Canada
NationTalk:TREATY 1 TERRITORY, WINNIPEG, Man. — In a joint investigation, APTN Investigates and CBC’s The Fifth Estate are speaking with industry leaders and Canadian families, farmers and food producers to understand the reasons behind soaring food prices. In March 2022, APTN and CBC/Radio-Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the creation of more Indigenous content. The agreement emphasizes the need for the...
February 15, 2024
What does the duty to consult First Nations, Inuit and Métis mean?
And why some advocates say Canada needs to move from consultation to consent CBC Indigenous: You’ve probably heard the phrase duty to consult, or failure to consult, when it comes to governments and their relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. But what does it actually mean? Stemming from three Supreme Court of Canada decisions in 2004...
February 15, 2024
Federal housing advocate says Indigenous people grossly overrepresented in Canada’s homeless population
APTN News: Canada’s housing advocate says a staggering number of Indigenous people are part of the country’s growing homeless population. “Manitoba reported that in Winnipeg in 2018 two-thirds of people experiencing homelessness were Indigenous and that number climbs to 94 per cent in Thompson,” Marie-Josée Houle told Nation to Nation. “In Saskatoon an estimated 90...
February 14, 2024
First Nation sends notice of opposition over drilling plans in northern Alberta
Obsidian Energy plans to increase production by 12% this year CBC Indigenous: Thomson Reuters – A First Nation in northern Alberta says it has told the Alberta Energy Regulator that oil and gas producer Obsidian Energy cannot proceed with plans to expand drilling on its territory due to concerns about earthquakes. The Woodland Cree First...
February 14, 2024
Alberta First Nation sends notice of opposition to Obsidian Energy drilling plans
The Globe and Mail: Reuters – A Canadian First Nation on Wednesday said it has told the Alberta Energy Regulator that oil and gas producer Obsidian Energy Ltd. OBE-T +3.43%increase cannot proceed with plans to expand drilling on its territory owing to concerns about earthquakes. The Woodland Cree First Nation in Northern Alberta criticized Obsidian earlier this week for failing...
February 8, 2024
Report on Alberta emission ‘astonishing’ says Athabasca Chipewyan chief
APTN News: When Allan Adam read a joint study from Yale University in the United States and Environment Canada, he says it affirmed everything his community has been finding for years. “We’ve been doing our own community-based monitoring program probably back in 2010, 2009. We do water sampling and everything and stuff like that. We’ve...
February 7, 2024
Feds’ labour data shows wage gap for Indigenous workers
Canada’s National Observer: Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched labour data tool Equi’Vision on Friday. Photo from file by Carl Meyer. Listen to article A new tool created by Ottawa to reveal potential barriers in the workplace shows a significant gap in wages for Indigenous workers. On Friday, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched a tool called Equi’Vision that...
February 6, 2024
Indigenous and Environmental Groups Denounce Government Inaction on First Anniversary of Imperial Oil Tailings Disaster
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, KEEPERS OF THE WATER NationTalk: Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – A year ago, news broke that Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine had been leaking toxic industrial wastewater for over nine months while keeping local Indigenous communities in the dark. The public only learned about the leak after a...
February 1, 2024
NDP, Plains Cree doctor slam Alberta premier’s transgender policy changes
APTN News: A Plains Cree physician who practices family medicine in Alberta says it’s shameful that Conservative Premier Danielle Smith is playing politics with transgender issues. “It’s really important to know that people don’t do this [gender affirmation] lightly,” said Dr. James Makokis, who identifies as Two-Spirit and works directly with trans patients. “It is...
February 1, 2024
What charges against journalist Brandi Morin mean for Canadian democracy
Trends show a clear sign that Canada is allowing tendencies of an oppressive state where law enforcement’s action cannot be documented by independent journalists and instead they are slapped with bogus charges. The Toronto Star: The arrest, detention and bogus charges against journalist Brandi Morin launched by the Edmonton police should concern everyone. On Jan. 10, Morin...
January 25, 2024
Cree leaders, scientists to excavate ‘communal grave’ near former Alberta residential school
NationTalk: Daily Guardian – Leaders of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation are planning to unearth a potential mass grave near a former residential school, while accusing the RCMP and medical examiner of negligence and racism. The announcement came after scientists at the International Commission on Missing Persons in The Hague, Netherlands, concluded that a skull...
January 25, 2024
Canadian tar sands pollution is up to 6,300% higher than reported, study finds
Call for companies to ‘clean up their mess’ as Athabasca oil sands emissions vastly exceed industry-reported levels The Guardian: Toxic emissions from the Canadian tar sands – already one of the dirtiest fossil fuels – have been dramatically underestimated, according to a study. Research published in the journal Science found that air pollution from the vast Athabasca...
January 24, 2024
First Nation organization denounces Alta. government, RCMP for lack of assistance in excavating communal grave
Warning: This story contains details that some people may find triggering. If you want to reach out, call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat at Hope for Wellness online centre. APTN News: Leah Redcrow, executive director for the Acimowin Opaspiw Society or AOS, says both Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Officer of Health...
January 24, 2024
Excavation planned at suspected burial site near Blue Quills residential school at Saddle Lake
Investigators say if excavation doesn’t happen soon, animals will continue to disturb the site WARNING: This story contains distressing details CBC Indigenous: A group investigating a suspected communal grave near the site where Blue Quills (Sacred Heart) residential school stood in Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta says it hopes to begin an excavation as early as this summer. Leah Redcrow, CEO...
January 24, 2024
Prevention measures, not crisis management needed to address emergency situation in Bigstone Cree Nation
Bigstone Cree Nation called on ministries to address “mental health, policing, gangs, rising crime rates, poverty, food security, child and family-related issues, homelessness and the housing crisis that we face.” — Bigstone Cree Nation Chief Andy Alook Chief Andy Alook (centre) is pictured with some of the councillors from Bigstone Cree Nation. Windspeaker.com: Armed with...
January 18, 2024
Advocate says new plan to triage homeless in Edmonton lacks humanity
Police tearing down a homeless encampment in Edmonton. Photo: Chris Stewart/APTN. APTN News: Undefined Indigenous cultural supports and liaisons to be offered at a navigation centre to be opened to support homeless people removed from encampments being torn down in Edmonton are not good enough says the co-founder of Tawaw Outreach Collective. “Given most unhoused...
January 15, 2024
Siksika Nation State of Local Emergency Update: January 14, 2024
Originally announced on January 14, 2024 NationTalk: The State of Local Emergency (S.O.L.E.) in Siksika will remain in effect today as temperatures remain around -30 today and into the night as a precautionary measure. The Siksika Nation Emergency Management team has been working around the clock since yesterday morning responding to several calls from residents...
January 8, 2024
Survey: Over Half of Indigenous Canadians Polled have Experienced Workplace Discrimination
62.4% HAVE EXPERIENCED BIAS WHEN APPLYING FOR JOBS NationTalk: TORONTO – ComIT.org, a registered charity that believes the democratization of education and opportunity is Canada’s best path forward, recently uncovered several startling statistics in a survey to 500 Canadians who identify as Indigenous Canadians. ComIT.org created the survey to take a pulse check of current...
January 1, 2024
Consulting Indigenous communities on critical minerals is key to net zero ambitions
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 31, 2023 UPDATED JANUARY 1, 2024 The Globe and Mail: Two years ago, First Nations leaders made clear what Canada must take to heart if it wants to be a global player in critical minerals and the energy transition: The only road to net zero runs through Indigenous lands. That is, any efforts to develop...
December 19, 2023
Alberta Ethics Commissioner says rules followed in rescinding Deena Hinshaw’s job offer
The Globe and Mail: The Alberta Ethics Commissioner has determined that the province’s health authority followed the proper process when it revoked its job offer to Deena Hinshaw, the former chief medical officer of health. Marguerite Trussler, in a letter dated Dec. 18, said she stopped her investigation into the role played by John Cowell,...
December 18, 2023
Dismissal of Dr. Deena Hinshaw from Indigenous health team prompted Alberta ethics investigation
Two people say they gave testimony to ethics commissioner Marguerite Trussler in October After Dr. Deena Hinshaw was briefly hired and quickly removed from a position with an Indigenous health team at Alberta Health Services earlier this year, more than 100 physicians signed a letter calling for an ethics investigation. Unbeknownst to the public, they got their wish. CBC...
December 14, 2023
Albertans’ priorities for new social studies curriculum
NationTalk: Albertans are looking for a stronger focus on history and global events in the new social studies curriculum. Alberta’s government has begun the process of reviewing and redrafting elementary social studies curriculum. As part of the transparent and collaborative curriculum redraft process, Alberta Education held a public survey from Sept. 18 to Oct. 16....
December 12, 2023
Open Access: Exploring paramedic care for First Nations in Alberta: a qualitative study
John G. Taplin, Lea Bill, Ian E. Blanchard, Cheryl M. Barnabe, Brian R. Holroyd, Bonnie Healy and Patrick McLane CMAJ Open: December 12, 2023 11 (6) E1135-E1147; DOI: https://doi.org/10.9778/cmajo.20230039 Abstract Background: Prior work has shown that a greater proportion of First Nations patients than non–First Nations patients arrive by ambulance to emergency departments in Alberta. The objective of this study was to understand First Nations perspectives on...
December 6, 2023
Deadly Edmonton police shooting caught on video
Cree man died after witnesses say he was tasered APTN News: A Cree man shot and killed by Edmonton police officers on Dec. 3 was remembered at a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening. Friends placed photos and a wreath on a tree near where the shooting occurred in downtown Edmonton. A poster identified the victim as...
December 5, 2023
AFN national chief candidates would back inquiry into Sixties Scoop
National inquiry into removal of Indigenous children could become a key task for next AFN leader CBC Indigenous: Some First Nations chiefs say the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations should push for a national inquiry into the “Sixties Scoop” and the continued removal of Indigenous children from their families. About 22,000 Indigenous children were...
November 30, 2023
Are Canada’s museums honouring their promises to Indigenize and decolonize?
Aylan Couchie explains why she drafted a statement of concern, co-signed by Indigenous artists worldwide CBC Indigenous: Following reports of Anishinaabe curator Wanda Nanibush’s departure from the Art Gallery of Ontario, more than 50 artists have signed an open letter expressing concern that Canadian cultural institutions are failing to deliver on their promises to Indigenize and decolonize...
November 29, 2023
Balancing Indigenous perspectives and international policies at COP28
There are a wide range of perspectives from Canada headed to the UN climate conversation People walk near a logo for the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) APTN News: A major annual international climate meeting kicks off tomorrow in Dubai, in the United Arab...
November 29, 2023
Office of child and youth advocate reports 81 total deaths in 2022-’23
“This represents a massive 29.4 per cent increase in deaths of children in care over last year. This is an outrage” Published Nov 28, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 3 minute read The Tyee: Edmonton Journal – Published Nov 28, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago Alberta’s child and youth advocacy agency released its annual report Tuesday revealing a...
November 27, 2023
Treaty 8 chiefs suing Alberta, Canada over stolen children’s special allowance benefit
APTN News: Treaty 8 First Nations chiefs in Alberta are suing Canada and the province over the children’s special allowance benefit payments saying the money never made it to the children who needed it. Chiefs say the money from the benefit is transferred from the federal government to the province but never reaches or is...
November 24, 2023
Third Imperial Oil infraction raises Indigenous communities’ environmental alarm bells
Released sentiment due to a culvert collapse causing stress in Fort Chipewyan Aerial photograph from Kearl tarsands site. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN APTN News: Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam says he’s frustrated again with Imperial Oil Ltd. after learning that the Kearl oilsands facility had an incident where 670,000 litres from a settling...
November 24, 2023
Federal committee forces another round of Kearl questions on Alberta Energy Regulator
Alberta Energy Regulator president and CEO Laurie Pushor answers questions from reporters immediately after testifying before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on April 24, 2023. Photo by Natasha Bulowski Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: A federal committee is forcing the president of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to testify for a second...
November 17, 2023
Treaty 6 nations tell Alberta it needs to consult before changing health-care system
APTN News: Chiefs from Treaty 6 nations in Alberta say they weren’t consulted on the province’s plan to completely revamp the way health is delivered. The plan, announced on Nov. 8 by Premier Danielle Smith, will bring sweeping changes to dismantle Alberta Health Services. It will be broken up into four separate divisions: acute, primary...
November 15, 2023
Proof Point: Closing Canada’s infrastructure gap could boost Indigenous output by up to 17%
NationTalk: RBC Proof Point Stubborn employment gap between Indigenous & non-Indigenous population persists Unemployment rate, %, prime age population; off-reserve Source: Statistics Canada, RBC Economics Canada’s Indigenous populations grapple with a huge infrastructure gap It is well-known that Canada is one of the most educated countries in the world, with the second highest share of...
November 1, 2023
Advocates say Calgary shelter no longer run by Indigenous women
APTN News: In the early ‘90s, Elder Ruth Scalplock founded Awo Taan Healing Centre which means shield in the Blackfoot language. The centre was created to meet the needs of Indigenous women in a traditional and spiritual way. But Scalplock says only one Indigenous person is in a decision-making role at the centre. “Women need a place...
October 27, 2023
Working 118th: The legacy of Edmonton’s ‘killing fields’
The Hope for Wellness Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-855-242-3310. NationTalk: A gust of wind drifts through the prairie grass and into the city of Edmonton. A peaceful setting until you learn the history of the area. The rural city limits have long been an informal resting ground in Alberta’s capital city, where dozens of...
October 26, 2023
Limitations Legislation and Treaty Rights at the Supreme Court: First Peoples Law Report
In the following post, my colleague Kate Gunn summarizes the points raised in our submissions at the Supreme Court last week, where we had the privilege of representing the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta in their intervention in the Jim Shot Both Sides appeal. I hope you find it informative and helpful. You can also read it on...
October 26, 2023
Senate Committee shocked by difficulties faced gathering residential school records from Catholic Church
“Who specifically asks for a 21-year NDA? Who within their organization needs to die within that 21 years that is being protected?” — Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson Windspeaker.com: Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson didn’t mince words when she spoke to members of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples Oct....
October 18, 2023
Climate change solutions need to keep Indigenous knowledge at centre of approach
“It all comes down to resources…Resources are very important to be able to do what we need to do to work together.” —interim National Chief Joanna Bernard AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Windspeaker.com:The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has released its National Climate Strategy and is calling on all levels of government to “make...
October 12, 2023
Supreme Court hears arguments on time limitations to bring claims of treaty obligation breaches
“The Treaty 8 First Nations submit that the Crown’s treaty promises must always be fulfilled. And that limitations legislation should not ever be used as basis to prevent the fulfillment of those obligations.” — Kate Gunn, legal counsel for Treaty 8 First Nations in Alberta Supreme Court of Canada Justices (from left to right): Hon....
October 12, 2023
A need for action on reconciliation
NationTalk: Winnipeg Free Press – Each year, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation prompts us to take stock of the progress we are making, as a country, on the journey towards reconciliation. Often this progress — or the lack of it — is measured by counting how many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s...
October 6, 2023
People accused of killing Indigenous women less likely to be charged with first-degree murder: study
Several factors from funding to distrust of colonial systems may contribute to the sentencing decisions APTN News: A report from Statistics Canada shows that there’s a disparity in the way homicide cases involving Indigenous women and girls are handled in the Canadian legal system. Data between 2009 and 2021 indicated that first-degree murder charges, the...
October 5, 2023
Canada and the Culture Wars: Majority say legacy of colonialism still a problem, two-in-five disagree
Deep divisions over continued challenges from residential schools, special status for Indigenous Peoples Angus Reid Institute Poll Survey Results October 5, 2023 – Canada was officially proclaimed a dominion by the British in 1867, but this land’s history extends thousands of years prior. For most in this country, the legacy of first contact between Indigenous Peoples and early...
October 3, 2023
Imperial Oil knew Kearl oilsands was leaking tailings into groundwater for years
Tailings samples are tested in Calgary on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018. File photo by The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – Documents filed by Imperial Oil Ltd. show the company and Alberta’s energy regulator knew the Kearl oilsands mine was seeping tailings into groundwater years before a pool of contaminated fluid...
October 2, 2023
Why Residential School Deaths Are Higher than Reported
New findings support the accounts residential school survivors have been sharing for decades. Terri Cardinal recently completed a contract as the Indian residential school co-ordinator with Blue Quills University. This article was originally published in the Conversation. The Tyee: Over the past year I have worked at University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills, or UnBQ, as the Indian...
September 30, 2023
Orange Shirt Day: Canada faces rise in residential school denialism
Hate speech and confrontations are growing over the truth about missing children, graves and genocide People attend the second annual Orange Shirt Day Survivors Walk and Pow Wow on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sept. 30, 2022. With Orange Shirt Day approaching Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, a surge in residential...
September 30, 2023
This should be a day when Canada rededicates itself to seeking justice
Toronto Star: “Hubert O’Connor: Child Molester.” That’s how the Victoria Times Colonist headlined the obituary for Catholic bishop Hubert O’Connor. He worked at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., where he began a career as a serial rapist of young Indigenous girls. In 1996, he became the highest ranking Catholic official...
September 30, 2023
Is corporate sector listening to Indigenous business leaders?
Toronto Star: Businesses aren’t exempt from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to address the ongoing, centuries-long oppression of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The 94 calls to action cover everything from the constant removal of Indigenous children to non-Indigenous households, medical racism and the multi-generational damage done to survivors of the Canadian government’s genocidal residential...
September 28, 2023
Siksika man lodges human rights complaint against Alberta hospital after wife’s death
Myra Crow Child, in an undated photo, died in an Alberta hospital in 2022. APTN News: A member of Siksika Nation in southern Alberta has launched a human rights complaint against Alberta Health Services and Strathmore District Health Services. Ben Crow Chief claims “anti-Indigenous racism” played a role in the death of his wife, Myra...
September 28, 2023
Siksika Nation Member Brings Human Rights Complaint in Response to Systemic Anti-Indigenous Discrimination in Alberta’s Healthcare Sector
NationTalk: Siksika Nation, AB – A Siksika Nation member has filed a human rights complaint against Alberta Health Services and Strathmore District Health Services in response to systemic, anti-Indigenous discrimination in the healthcare sector. On August 24, 2023, the Alberta Human Rights Commission accepted a complaint filed by Benedict Crow Chief, whose wife, Myra, passed away in...
September 25, 2023
Mounties investigate group attack on Métis boy at Cochrane school
The Reconciliation Action Group claimed the boy was targeted for being a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta and his mother’s outspoken advocacy on anti-racism matters Police and school officials are investigating after a teenage Métis boy was injured in what a local advocacy group is calling a “hate-fuelled” attack at a Cochrane school...
September 21, 2023
Centre for Truth and Reconciliation still waiting for residential school records to be submitted, hears Senate
“It sounds to me like this might take quite considerable time, some number of years for this (documents advisory) committee to do its work,” —Senator David M. Arnot. Chair of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples Mi’kmaw Senator Brian Francis. Windspeaker.com: It took referencing a dozen different sources to identify children who died at St....
September 13, 2023
‘They’re ramming it down our throats,’ Cold Lake First Nation Chief says of Pathways carbon capture project
Network to transport carbon from oil sands facilities and store it underground CBC Indigenous: The Chief of the Cold Lake First Nation said his community has concerns about a proposed carbon capture and storage network that’s the centrepiece of a plan by major oilsands producers to hit net zero by 2050. The plan by the...
September 12, 2023
Racism partly to blame for unequal health care provided to Indigenous women: PHAC study
Indigenous communities are still deeply affected by the 2020 death of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan in a Quebec hospital, where she filmed staff insulting her as she lay dying, Lee Clark said. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson NationTalk: Racism and the lack of primary care providers mean off-reserve First Nations, Metis and Inuit women and girls...
September 7, 2023
Man convicted in killing of Métis hunters begins appeal
Defence lawyer argues jury did not receive proper instructions APTN News: Roger Bilodeau, the Alberta man convicted of two counts of manslaughter for the slayings of two Métis hunters in March 2020, had a hearing for the appeal of his 10-year sentence Thursday. Bilodeau was convicted of two counts of manslaughter for the fatal shootings...
September 7, 2023
Alberta First Nations declare state of emergency over drug crisis
A tribal council representing five First Nations in northeast Alberta have declared a state of emergency over an escalating mental health and addictions crisis. Athabasca Tribal Council Grand Chief Allan Adam speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on March 20, 2013. ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS The Globe and Mail: A council representing five First...
September 6, 2023
More than 500 Indigenous classes won’t have a teacher this week: here’s what we should do
Amid national teacher shortages, Indigenous communities are struggling enormously to recruit and retain teachers. The Toronto Star: Students start school this week in Eabametoong First Nation, a community 360 km northeast of Thunder Bay, where seven teaching positions remain unfilled; this includes two all-important kindergarten teachers for students who are starting school for the very...
August 31, 2023
City of Edmonton slapped with lawsuit over encampment removals
‘Unhoused people have the same rights as anyone else,’ says lawyer who launched a lawsuit about encampment removals Sign saying “affordable housing for sale” beside an encampment. Photo: Danielle Paradis/APTN APTN News: The Coalition for Justice and Human Rights (CJHR) initiated legal action against the City of Edmonton regarding its policy of encampment removals where...
August 28, 2023
Barriers like racism, distrust may be main cause of health-care disparities for Indigenous women, study says
National study quantifying health-care inequities is 1st of its kind, lead author says Brishti Basu · CBC News · Posted: Aug 28, 2023 4:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 29 CBC News: Just before Tina Campbell had a minor medical procedure recently, she remembered the discrimination she says she felt while trying to access health care nearly two decades...
August 27, 2023
Indigenous females face more hurdles in health care access, study finds
The Globe and Mail: New research confirms what many Indigenous women have known all along: First Nations, Inuit and Métis females face many disparities in accessing health care. A study, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada and published in the CMAJ on Monday, found that First Nations, Inuit and Métis females have less access...
August 10, 2023
‘Pretendian’ conference delves into how to deal with false claims of Indigenous identity
APTN News: More than 30 people attended a conference in Tsuut’ina, just outside of Calgary, to talk about the issues of people falsely claiming Indigenous identity. They have come to colloquially be called “Pretendians. ”Participants came from as far as Halifax to hear about how to deal with increasing false claims of Indigenous identity.“ You...
August 7, 2023
Bearspaw First Nation to meet with federal officials as opioid crisis worsens
FRÉDÉRIK-XAVIER DUHAMEL The Globe and Mail: Indigenous Services Canada officials are set to meet with the leaders of a First Nation in Alberta this week to discuss support for the small community that is struggling to cope with the devastating impact of the opioid crisis. Bearspaw First Nation Chief Darcy Dixon said his people have faced...
July 20, 2023
Indigenous people 17.7% more likely to be incarcerated in Sask.
Non-Indigenous people charged with crimes are more likely to receive bail than Indigenous people Jeremy Appel / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter / Alberta Native News Jul 20, 2023 10:00 PM NationTalk: Saskatoon Today: ALBERTA NATIVE NEWS — Saskatchewan has Canada’s highest rate of Indigenous over-representation in provincial custody, with Alberta in second place, according to new data...
July 19, 2023
Senate committee to question groups that have not released residential school records
Governments and churches ‘standing between Indigenous Peoples and the truth,’ committee member says CBC News: A Senate committee is pledging to hold a hearing this fall to demand answers from organizations that have not released records tied to Canada’s residential school system. In a news release Wednesday, P.E.I. Sen. Brian Francis called it “disheartening” that so many governments and...
July 19, 2023
Canadian wildfires hit Indigenous communities hard, threatening their land and culture
NationTalk: Associated Press – EAST PRAIRIE METIS SETTLEMENT, Alberta (AP) — Carrol Johnston counted her blessings as she stood on the barren site where her home was destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire that forced her to flee her northern Alberta community two months ago. Her family escaped unharmed, though her beloved cat, Missy, didn’t make...
July 14, 2023
Wildfires are disproportionately harming Indigenous communities
CTV News: Canadian wildfires are disproportionately affecting Indigenous people at a greater rate than non-Indigenous Canadians, a recent report finds. The audit published in June by Indigenous Services Canada and authored by a Metis fire researcher, found that in the past 13 years, Indigenous communities had more than 1,300 wildfire-related emergencies leading to more than...
July 10, 2023
Treaty 6 Chiefs declare state of emergency over opioid deaths
By Danielle ParadisJul 10, 2023 Treaty 6 chiefs are speaking out about drug poisoning APTN News: The Confederacy of Treaty 6 Nations in Alberta announced Monday it has declared a state of emergency due to the opioid drug crisis. Families, friends, and loved ones are being lost to this devastating crisis,” Grand Chief Leonard Standingontheroad said...
July 6, 2023
National Inuit leader skipping premiers’ meeting over matter of respect
Natan Obed says relationship with premiers still a ‘long ways away’ from one needed for true reconciliation CBC News: The leader of the national organization representing Inuit turned down an invitation to meet with Canada’s premiers next week over the inclusion of non-rights-holding Indigenous groups. Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapirit Kanatami (ITK), told...
July 5, 2023
UNESCO report on Wood Buffalo National Park shows urgent need to fix problems, First Nation says
Document reaffirms threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. But of 14 objectives for the park, UNESCO says only two are improving, with five stable and seven deteriorating. CBC News: A report from a United Nations body on environmental threats to Canada’s largest national park shows the urgency of the problems, says a spokesperson...
July 5, 2023
Wood Buffalo National Park still on environmental threat list; UNESCO calls for action on oilsands
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer – A United Nations body has affirmed earlier findings that Canada’s largest national park remains under environmental threats from dams, oilsands development and climate change. The UNESCO report, issued Friday, concludes that the vast Wood Buffalo National Park on the Alberta-Northwest Territories boundary shouldn’t lose its place on the list of World Heritage Sites at this time. Some things in the...
July 4, 2023
First Nations life expectancy plummets in Alberta due to opioid deaths
First Nations women and men have had their life expectancy decline seven years since 2015. APTN News: Between 2015 and 2021 the life expectancy dropped a shocking seven years for First Nations men and women living in Alberta due in part to drug poisoning deaths. In 2015, the average life expectancy for a First Nation...
June 27, 2023
Doctors sign open letter to decry AHS decision to revoke Hinshaw job offer
130 Alberta doctors had signed the letter by late Monday afternoon CBC News · Posted: Jun 26, 2023, Last Updated: June 27 More than 100 Alberta physicians have signed an open letter condemning the move by Alberta Health Services to revoke a job offer to Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who was set to start working on a key...
June 27, 2023
Experts call on Alberta government to strengthen treaty relationships
Partnerships, autonomy, key to moving forward, experts say CBC News: Treaty experts are calling on the new Alberta government to uphold and strengthen obligations under Treaty 6, 7 and 8. MLAs with the new UCP government were reminded of those responsibilities as they were sworn in last week. “The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations reminds...
June 27, 2023
IPAC Statement in response to the shocking and disrespectful events that precipitated Dr. Tailfeathers’ resignation from Alberta Health Services
NationTalk: At the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada, we stand in solidarity with Dr. Tailfeathers as she made the difcult decision to resign from her position with Alberta Health Services and the brave words she has offered to the media in the aftermath of this decision. It is deeply painful for our community of Indigenous...
June 26, 2023
St. Bruno’s residential school ground-penetrating radar report released
88 potential unmarked graves discovered at St. Bruno’s residential school but more work to be done to confirm It was an emotional weekend for residential school survivors as over 1,000 people joined in from across Treaty 8 at the St. Bruno’s Indian Residential School Gathering as local chiefs and the University of Alberta released a...
June 26, 2023
Considerations for collecting data on race and Indigenous identity during health card renewal across Canadian jurisdictions
Andrew D. Pinto, Azza Eissa, Tara Kiran, Angela Mashford-Pringle, Allison Needham and Irfan DhallaCMAJ June 26, 2023 195 (25) E880-E882; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221587 KEY POINTS Canada’s health care systems do not routinely collect self-reported race and Indigenous identity data and often lack a standardized and consistent approach to data collection that would permit comparisons between organizations or jurisdictions. Collecting racial and Indigenous identity data is necessary for...
June 23, 2023
The hiring and unhiring of Dr. Deena Hinshaw warrants answers that we aren’t getting
Consequences have spread beyond the former public health official’s employment status CBC News: We know who hired Dr. Deena Hinshaw to a new role supporting public and preventive health in Alberta. We don’t know who un-hired her. But we’re starting to learn about the consequences of that somebody’s decision to rescind the appointment of Alberta’s...
June 22, 2023
Dr. Deena Hinshaw was hired by the AHS Indigenous health team, then removed against their wishes
Dr. Esther Tailfeathers resigned as team lead after saying she felt ‘disposed of’ CBC News: On June 2, a screengrab of an announcement welcoming Dr. Deena Hinshaw to her new position began circulating on social media. Hinshaw was Alberta’s chief medical officer of health until she was fired last November by Danielle Smith, shortly after...
June 20, 2023
Residential School Denialism Is on the Rise. What to Know
And how to confront it. Because without the truth, there can be no reconciliation. The Tyee: May 27, 2023 marked the two-year anniversary of the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc’s announcement about the location of 215 potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in the Interior of British Columbia. In recognition of the anniversary,...
June 19, 2023
Is A Genocide Taking Place in Canada? Short Answer: Yes.
NationTalk: (OTTAWA, ON) – A genocide is being perpetuated against Indigenous peoples in Canada. That was the unambiguous declaration of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. But, despite a death toll that climbs year after year, many Canadians have difficulty understanding how the Inquiry reached its finding, or accepting that...
June 14, 2023
During the worst wildfire season this century, Indigenous communities need to consider their participation in resource extraction: says researcher
37 per cent of the total burned forest area in Western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. ‘These fires are a culmination of ongoing resource extraction projects’ says climate researcher APTN News: In light of increasing extreme weather and...
June 8, 2023
Wildfire season highlights the need for more emergency resources in remote Indigenous communities
You can’t be depending on people out there to defend your community’ says Athabasca Fort Chipewyan chief APTN News: A wildfire 10 km outside Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta has slowed but authorities say the problems are a lack of rain in the forecast and the weather is hot and windy. The closest community to...
June 7, 2023
Every Canadian has a role in ending the MMIWG crisis, advocate says
Empathy ‘must stay in Canadians’ hearts past the evening’s news broadcast’: Hilda Anderson-Pyrz This column is an opinion written by Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle, as part of CBC’s “Mother. Sister. Daughter,” a project that tracked progress on the 231 calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered...
June 5, 2023
The Lie of a Cleaner Oilsands
Pollution protections are stripped while Canada boasts progress. This is the history of promises made and betrayed. The Tyee: In May 2022 a tailings pond at Imperial’s Kearl Lake facility started leaking toxic waste into groundwater and outside its lease boundaries. The foul water, the product of bitumen mining, contained arsenic, sulphates and hydrocarbons and other...
June 5, 2023
Search for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls hampered by police apathy: Researchers
‘The problem of Indigenous women being overpoliced and underprotected is all across Canada’ Participants walk in the Women’s Memorial March in Vancouver to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua via Getty Images) Content warning: the following contains disturbing subject matter. NationTalk: University of Toronto – In Canada, research shows...
June 5, 2023
Indigenous coalition urges Canada’s healthcare system to ‘Rise Above Racism’
NationTalk: themessage. Who: A coalition of Indigenous health organizations (First Nations Health Managers Association, First Peoples Wellness Circle and Thunderbird Partnership Foundation); with NationTalk for strategy, creative and media (supported by Cleansheet Communications). What: “Rise Above Racism,” a new government-funded awareness campaign highlighting the issue of anti-Indigenous racism within the Canadian healthcare system. This is the second...
June 1, 2023
They say Canada’s health system is broken. But can First Nations leaders create a new one in the shadow of colonialism?
“We’ve been very clear with Canada that any federal health legislation that moves forward must recognize the Treaty and Inherent Right to health,” says Vice Chief David Pratt Toronto Star: First Nations leaders are wrestling with what the future of Indigenous health care should look like as they piece together legislation meant to deal with...
June 1, 2023
The Hamlet of Fort Chipewyan evacuates due to wildfires
By Danielle ParadisJun 01, 2023 Reports of looting in the area are not confirmed by RCMP Nearly a 1,000 people in the community of Fort Chipewyan located 300 km north of Fort McMurray were ordered to leave their homes this week ahead of approaching wildfires. The remote location of Fort Chipewyan in Alberta is complicating the...
May 30, 2023
Fireside Chats on Indigenous Health – Improving the health of Indigenous Peoples
Credit: Canadian Medical Association NationTalk: Canadian Medical Association President Dr. Alika Lafontaine joins Dr. Paula Cashin, Canada’s first Indigenous radiologist and a member of CMA’s board of directors, and Dr. Sarah Williams, CMA’s strategic advisor for Indigenous health, to discuss improving the health of Indigenous Peoples. This is the second event in a CMA series on...
May 27, 2023
‘We were anything but primitive’: How Indigenous-led archaeology is challenging colonial preconceptions
The field of archaeology changing. So are the ways some young Indigenous people see themselves CBC News: When she was about eight years old, Jennifer Tenasco moved from her home community of Kitigan Zibi, Que., to Ottawa. Changing schools meant she’d lost an important place to learn about her culture: her classroom on reserve. “It...
May 25, 2023
Sexual assault organizations struggling to help victims post-pandemic: study
APTN News: The preliminary findings of a new national survey is highlighting how frontline sexual assault organizations are struggling to provide timely services to victims and survivors post-pandemic. The report, which was conducted by national organization Ending Violence Association of Canada, surveyed more than 100 sexual violence organizations (SVOs) across Canada on how the pandemic impacted...
May 25, 2023
Melissa Mbarki: Don’t blame Indigenous people for Calgary cancelling July 1st fireworks
Indigenous people are Canadians and many, like me, want to celebrate Canada Day. Actions like this only further divide us Author of the article:Melissa Mbarki, National PostPublished May 25, 2023 • Last updated 4 days ago • 3 minute read246 Comments National Post: Citing “cultural sensitivities … in relation to Truth and Reconciliation,” the City of Calgary is cancelling its annual Canada Day fireworks display,...
May 19, 2023
‘It needs to be a day of reckoning:’ Parliamentary committee studying land back
‘I think this study will really explore the connection of Indigenous people to land in a way that people don’t naturally equate to property.’ A school bus rests on the road at 1492 Land Back Lane Blockade in Caledonia, Ont. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs is undertaking...
May 15, 2023
New MNA district map is a ‘hostile takeover’ of territory, argues Grande Cache Mountain Métis
Windspeaker.com: The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) is proposing to deal with internal and breakaway dissenters by delivering a blow to their autonomy through the creation of new districts on a rejigged Métis Nation map, alleges new court documents filed May 10 in Alberta Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton. On May 27, MNA members...
May 11, 2023
Opinion: To get Indigenous murder and suicide rates down, first face facts
Canadians need to agree on the hard fact of modern life that education is a prerequisite for economic success NationTalk: Financial Post – From 2017 through 2021, 1.45 non-Indigenous Canadians in 100,000 died from homicide. Among Indigenous Canadians the rate was six times that: 8.88 in 100,000. That average masks a stark regional difference, however....
May 8, 2023
City of St. Albert publishes report of racist comments residents made during naming discussions
‘This is not the St. Albert I know,’ Mayor Cathy Heron say WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Consultants who ran public engagement sessions on municipal naming in St. Albert, Alta., last year say the project drew an unprecedented level of discriminatory, racist and threatening comments from a small but vocal minority of residents....
May 4, 2023
Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial’s oilsands tailings leak in northern Alberta
Imperial first found discoloured water seeping from one of its tailings ponds in May CBC News: Federal environmental authorities have launched a formal investigation into a tailings leak at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine in northern Alberta. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced Thursday it is investigating a suspected contravention of the Fisheries Act,...
May 2, 2023
MPs call for national emergency declaration on violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit people
Motion was presented by NDP MP Leah Gazan of Winnipeg Centre CBC News: The House of Commons adopted a motion on unanimous consent Tuesday calling on the federal government to declare ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a national emergency. The motion was presented by Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan. It also...
April 29, 2023
No charges for Edmonton police constable who kicked Indigenous teen in the head
‘It was clearly a use of force that was intended or likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm,’ ASIRT says CBC News: Originally posted, April 27, updated April 29 – An Edmonton police constable who kicked an Indigenous teenager in the head — leaving him with life-altering injuries — won’t face criminal charges even though Alberta’s police...
April 29, 2023
‘We want justice’ says mother of teen injured by Edmonton Police
Pacey Dumas and his family spoke to the media about the announcement there would not be excessive force charges This article has a brief mention of suicide APTN: The family of Pacey Dumas, a young man who sustained serious injuries at the hands of an Edmonton police officer say their lives have been changed forever....
April 27, 2023
Canada oil sands leak heightens First Nations’ calls to clean up tailings
NationTalk: Reuters – In early February, Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in northern Alberta started fielding calls from community members after the provincial regulator revealed toxic wastewater had been leaking for months from a tailings pond at Imperial Oil’s (IMO.TO) Kearl oil sands mine. Many in the community hunt and fish downstream of...
April 25, 2023
Mikisew Cree First Nation declares state of local emergency following multiple suicides
‘We can feel the grief amongst the people, the hurt,’ says Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro CBC News: A First Nation in northern Alberta has declared a state of local emergency following a string of suicide and suicide attempts among community members. The Mikisew Cree First Nation says immediate medical intervention is needed in Fort Chipewyan, Alta.,...
April 22, 2023
Hundreds of lodge workers in Fort McMurray face termination after rejecting pay cut, union says
Civeo also demanded salary cuts years ago, says longtime housekeeping coordinator CBC News: Angela Fiddler doesn’t know how she’ll afford to feed her husband, who’s terminally ill with cancer, after being let go last week — five months after she voted to reject a pay cut. Fiddler is one of around 300 workers at Wapasu Creek Lodge,...
April 21, 2023
‘A wicked web of lies’: Alberta town under fire for rejecting wellness centre for Indigenous families
NationTalk: Global News – The town of Bashaw in central Alberta is facing a $4 million lawsuit launched by Bashaw Retreat Centre Inc. against the mayor and past and current councilors, alleging they obstructed efforts to rent the facility out as a wellness centre for Indigenous families. In a statement of claim filed in late February, Bashaw...
April 20, 2023
Imperial Oil CEO ‘deeply apologetic’ in Commons committee testimony on oilsands tailings leak
Brad Corson says Imperial is still pumping wastewater into ponds that spilled Imperial Oil president and CEO Brad Corson presented himself as humbled and “deeply apologetic” on Thursday in Ottawa during testimony at a parliamentary committee studying the leak of oilsands wastewater into the northern Alberta ecosystem. In his opening statement, Corson acknowledged his company...
April 20, 2023
Former Treaty 6 Grand Chief calls for Alberta council on reconciliation
Comments come after Alberta refused to meet with UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples CBC News: Wilton Littlechild, former Treaty 6 grand chief and former commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, called for an Alberta-specific council on reconciliation during a speech at the United Nations on Wednesday. Littlechild was speaking to...
April 20, 2023
Oilsands discharge into First Nations water supply latest example of exploitation
Indigenous lands are continuously exploited and delegated as sacrifice zones for the gains of the rich, powerful and white society. Toronto Star: Once again Indigenous communities are bearing the brunt of the corruption, contamination and pollution of their territories by industry. Yet another oilsands corporation has dumped 5.9 million litres of oilsands “overflow” water and mud into...
April 19, 2023
Suncor reports release of six million litres of water from settling pond on Fort Hills oil sands mine
The Globe and Mail: Almost six million litres of water with more than twice the legal limit of suspended solids was released from a pond at the Fort Hills oil sands project into the Athabasca River watershed over the weekend, the second large spill in the northern Alberta region this year. The water came from...
April 18, 2023
Advocates call on Canada to establish multi-year funding for Indigenous youth organizations
New report launched at side-event for United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues CBC News: Indigenous youth advocates are turning to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to put pressure on the federal government to better fund Indigenous-led youth groups. Representatives from five Indigenous youth groups travelled to New York City this week...
April 17, 2023
First Nations blast Alberta Energy Regulator at hearing; minister promises reform
Imperial first detected discoloured water near the oilsands site last May CBC News: Chiefs of First Nations affected by releases of wastewater from an oilsands mine excoriated Alberta’s regulator at a House of Commons committee hearing, calling it a system that serves the industry and not the public. “The [Alberta Energy Regulator] has zero credibility outside...
April 14, 2023
Family of Cindy Gladue says province has ‘misplaced’ her remains
Gladue’s partial, preserved remains were brought into the courtroom by the crown prosecutor Cindy Gladue was a mother of three when she died in June 2011. Photo: APTN file APTN: The family of Cindy Gladue says that Alberta Justice has lost her remains. A part of Gladue’s preserved remains were brought into the court room...
April 13, 2023
Instead of seeking reconciliation, politicians manufacture crises for partisan gain
The Globe and Mail: The ridiculous overreaction by Prairie premiers and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to remarks from Justice Minister David Lametti deepens fissures that politicians should be trying to heal. In the partisan crossfire, real issues involving the lives of real people get lost – in this case, the well-being of First Nations. At...
April 12, 2023
Trudeau says premiers’ claims about natural resources power grab have ‘no grounding in truth’
Premiers criticized justice minister for saying Ottawa will look at resource agreement CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba of misinterpreting remarks by a federal minister on whether Ottawa might review agreements that give those provinces control of natural resources. “Let me be very clear. The minister of...
April 12, 2023
Trudeau says premiers’ claims about natural resources power grab have ‘no grounding in truth’
Premiers criticized justice minister for saying Ottawa will look at resource agreement CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba of misinterpreting remarks by a federal minister on whether Ottawa might review agreements that give those provinces control of natural resources. “Let me be very clear. The minister of...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
April 11, 2023
Analysis of anti-Indigenous racism in hospitals reveals pattern of harm, no tracking mechanism
Canada’s National Observer: “Sakihitowin means love,” Pearl Gambler says, recalling the day she gave her daughter her name. It was the day Sakihitowin was born — and died. From Bigstone Cree Nation, Gambler entered Edmonton’s Misericordia Hospital on June 11, 2020, and experienced a series of events that she can only characterize as traumatic and...
April 8, 2023
Canada is sitting on a critical minerals motherlode. But is it ready for the new gold rush?
Proponents say Canada must do more to turn aspiration into action CBC News: Drive two hours north of Ottawa, put on a hard hat and bright orange vest, descend into a pit — and you find yourself on the frontline in the fight to be part of the new, green economy. A mining project might not...
April 7, 2023
Repudiating a racist doctrine
Words don’t just hurt. Some words kill. THE STAR’S VIEW The Toronto Star: Consider, for example, the authorization “to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue” a group of people, and “to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery.” Those words aren’t just hurtful; they’re downright deadly. Nonetheless, those are the words of Romanus Pontifex, the...
April 2, 2023
74% of youth in care in Alberta are Indigenous. Here’s what 2 of them had to say
‘I strive to this day just to live a normal life,’ said Jesse Koenig, 28 CBC News:A new underground magazine circulating in Edmonton is sharing stories from youth in care — in their own words. Zine & Heard, edited by youth advocate Penny Frazier, shares stories, art, tattoos and more from former youth in care. ...
March 28, 2023
This crisis is impacting younger children,’ Terri Pelton writes in new report
WARNING: This article contains details of self-harm. 14 of the 18 youths were Indigenous CBC News: Four months after child intervention workers withdrew services, 13-year-old Wren died from a drug overdose. The Alberta girl, who loved to hike, camp and swim, had a traumatic upbringing marked by family violence and addiction. She began harming herself...
March 27, 2023
Alberta has 8 Métis settlements. None of them have full-time doctors
Health board pushing for more doctors, nurses and other health-care providers CBC News: Every Wednesday, a registered nurse travels 39 kilometres from the northeastern Alberta city of Cold Lake to see patients on the Elizabeth Métis Settlement. Alberta Health Services rents an office inside the settlement’s community hall for appointments. A counter near the door...
March 24, 2023
Northern Alberta residents demand answers from Imperial Oil after toxic leak from oilsands project
Imperial Oil v-p faces tough questions from Fort Chipewyan residents over Kearl Lake tailings pond seepage CBC News: There were sharp words and fiery exchanges this week at a town hall meeting between Imperial Oil and residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alta. It was the first time the company met with residents of the community on the western...
March 24, 2023
An Rx against racist behaviour in Alberta emergency departments
After years of studying systemic racism in hospital emergency care, a team of researchers and First Nations organizations will create ways to ensure all patients are treated equitably and with dignity. Nation Talk: University of Alberta: For the last six years, First Nations organizations have supported a team of researchers including Bonnie Healy and Patrick...
March 22, 2023
Supreme Court hears important federalism case without its only Indigenous member
The Globe and Mail: The first Indigenous judge in the Supreme Court’s 148-year history has been left off a case with important consequences for Indigenous peoples, so the court could avoid the possibility of a tie vote. With one of its nine members caught up in a disciplinary process, Chief Justice Richard Wagner chose to hear a...
March 22, 2023
NWT Indigenous leaders call for investigation of oil sands’ impacts
Leaders of northern Indigenous peoples are calling for a “full, independent investigation” of the downstream impacts of oil sands pollution. CabinRadioThe call, issued at a water summit held in Inuvik last week, comes in the wake of controversy over months-long contamination emanating from Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility in northern Alberta. The Dene Nation, Inuvialuit Regional...
March 15, 2023
First Nations living near Imperial Oil leak refuse to drink water from nearby reservoir
The Globe and Mail: A continuing leak at the Kearl oil sands project has left members of the nearby Mikisew Cree First Nation unwilling to drink or bathe in water from local waterways, fearing contamination from seepage that has lasted close to a year. Ottawa agreed Wednesday to cover the cost of bottled water and...
March 10, 2023
Canada, home to a massive boreal forest, lobbied to limit U.S., EU anti-deforestation bills
Canada’s boreal forest covers 270 million hectares, spanning from Yukon through to N.L. CBC News: Canada is facing international criticism for undermining efforts to protect one of the world’s last primary forests — our own. Jennifer Skene, natural climate solutions policy manager for the Washington-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), accuses the Canadian government of...
March 9, 2023
Federal environment minister condemns delayed reporting of oilsands tailings leak
‘Our systems are failing Indigenous peoples, clearly,’ Steven Guilbeault says CBC News: Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta’s silence about an oilsands tailing leak is a troubling failure that suggests the province needs more regulatory oversight. The release of at least 5.3 million litres of toxic tailings from Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine should have been...
March 8, 2023
First Nation slams Premier Danielle Smith for ‘spin’ on huge oilsands project leak: ‘This is basic science’
A project in northern Alberta is under scrutiny after a First Nation raised alarm over a leak that it claims the province and Imperial Oil tried to hide. Toronto Star: EDMONTON—A First Nation in northern Alberta has slammed Premier Danielle Smith for downplaying a massive toxic spill from an oilsands tailings pond that the community is...
March 8, 2023
Alberta’s mandatory oath of allegiance is systemic discrimination
The government should amend the Legal Profession Act to remove it or to make it optional. First Peoples Law report: The Canadian Bar Association – In April 2022, the Law Society of Alberta acknowledged that systemic discrimination exists in the province’s justice system and legal profession. Two months later, a Sikh articling student launched a lawsuit, challenging...
March 5, 2023
‘Really worrisome’: Survey suggests some Alberta doctors have anti-Indigenous biases
Toronto Star: Two University of Calgary researchers weren’t surprised when their survey of Alberta doctors showed biases against Indigenous patients, but they were shocked by some of the comments. Pamela Roach and Shannon Ruzycki sent a survey in September 2020 to every licensed doctor in the province to determine their biases following high-profile deaths of...
March 4, 2023
Canadian history was overdue for a rewrite
The Globe and Mail: The Governor-General of Canada usually chooses her words with careful, unsmiling deliberation. But her anger at the way that Canadian history has, until recently, been taught in our schools was unmistakable. “It has been uneven and it is unfair,” Mary Simon said. “This country is so diverse, but for the longest...
March 2, 2023
Alberta First Nation angry at Imperial’s silence while tailings pond leaked for 9 months
Band members have been harvesting food from land adjacent to the spills, chief says CBC News: A northern Alberta Indigenous leader has accused Imperial Oil Ltd. of a nine-month coverup over a massive release of toxic oilsands tailings on land near where his band harvests food. Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation...
March 1, 2023
Child and Youth Advocate releases Summary Report: 10 Years of Investigations
NationTalk: Edmonton…Terri Pelton, Alberta’s Child and Youth Advocate, has released a summary report of investigation statistics and trends over a 10-year period, beginning with the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate’s (OCYA) independence from government. This summary report focuses on 634 serious injuries or deaths of young people between April 1, 2012 and March...
February 23, 2023
How missing Indigenous women could be saved with ‘Red Dress Alert’
Nation Talk: CTV News – One Winnipeg MP is calling for a system, similar to the existing Amber Alerts, to be established to notify the public about missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. “We currently have crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in this country. Something that our current prime...
February 22, 2023
Mother gives birth to still born child and given the wrong baby to bury
‘I’m sorry to tell you we gave you the wrong baby,’ hospital to Maskwascis mother. APTN: A mother from Maskwacis in Treaty 6 gave birth to a child who was still born and was given the wrong baby to bury a week later. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. It’s devastating. Especially to...
February 11, 2023
It’s everyone’s job to help end the MMIWG crisis, advocates say — and here’s how
‘It starts with everybody taking responsibility,’ says author of inquiry’s final report WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Lorelei Williams is exhausted. The Coast Salish woman has been on the frontlines of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls crisis in Vancouver since 2012, when she founded Butterflies in Spirit to raise awareness about...
February 8, 2023
Indigenous man furious after mother put in ‘storage room’ after being discharged from Calgary hospital
NationTalk: Global News – An Indigenous man is furious after his mother was put in a “storage room” after she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Bradford Mistakenchief’s mother was only given 18 months to live with the diagnosis. She was immediately put into palliative care at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre at Foothills Medical Centre in...
February 7, 2023
Governments Opposed to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Updated Feb. 7, 2023 to move BC to those who have enacted a statutory holiday Those provinces who will not recognize Sept 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a statutory holiday: Province/Territory IndigenousPopulation Party in Power Date Comment Alberta 258,640 Conservative – Alberta told CTV Edmonton it won’t legislate the holiday, but...
January 30, 2023
Mandatory Indigenous course at risk after group of lawyers aim to change Law Society rule
Vote to take place Monday and 11,100 Alberta lawyers eligible to register CBC News: The fate of a required Indigenous course for Alberta lawyers is at risk after a group petitioned the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) to remove a rule that allows the regulator to mandate legal education. Currently, all Alberta lawyers are required...
January 27, 2023
SCO Urges Prime Minister to Include First Nations Leaders in Health Meeting
NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and the Government of Canada to ensure that First Nations leaders are included in health discussions on February 7, 2023. “Health care systems are in crisis. They are not meeting the needs of First Nations people, and...
January 26, 2023
First Nations say Alberta’s oil sands mine security reform unlikely to fix problems
The Globe and Mail: Alberta is preparing to change how it ensures oil sands companies are able to pay for the mammoth job of cleaning up their operations, but critics fear a year of consultations hasn’t been enough to avoid repeating past mistakes. “There’s no signal to me from this government that they are going...
January 25, 2023
First Nations groups upset with exclusion from health-care funding talks
‘There is no reconciliation for First Nations when we continue to be excluded from these crucial discussions’ CBC News: First Nations groups are criticizing their exclusion from an upcoming meeting between federal, provincial and territorial governments aiming to reach a funding deal to improve the country’s ailing health-care system. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations...
January 25, 2023
Fewer than half of Indigenous students graduate on time from Edmonton public high schools
83 per cent of Alberta students finish high school in 3 years, provincial reports show CBC News: Indigenous students in Edmonton continue to have lower high school graduation rates than their non-Indigenous peers. Annual education results reports, which include statistics from Alberta Education for 2021-22, show that more than 80 per cent of Edmonton public school and...
January 9, 2023
Delay in counselling therapist regulation hindering access for Indigenous people in Alberta
Alberta’s UCP government reluctant to proclaim new professional college CBC News: Mental health professionals say the Alberta government’s delay in creating a new professional college for counselling therapists is creating financial and logistical barriers for Indigenous people seeking help. Indigenous people can’t receive coverage under the First Nations and Inuit Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) plan...
January 6, 2023
Sixties Scoop survivor reconnects with birth mom, discovers her culture, decades after separation
It took many years for the pair to develop a mother-daughter relationship WARNING: This story contains distressing details CBC News: Tauni Sheldon remembers the first time she saw her biological mom. Sheldon was 23 years old. It was 1993 and she was in the Winnipeg airport, having just flown in with her adoptive parents, Jim...
January 6, 2023
Alberta man who killed Métis hunters sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 13 years
Maurice Cardinal and Jacob Sansom were killed on March 27, 2020, in rural Alberta An Alberta man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison without parole eligibility for 13 years in the second-degree murder of Métis hunter Maurice Cardinal. Anthony Bilodeau was also sentenced to eight years for the manslaughter death of Jacob Sansom. The sentences will be...
January 4, 2023
Cree girl who died should never have been taken by Children’s Services, Alberta judge finds
Fatality inquiry examined the circumstances of 4-year-old Serenity’s death Warning: This story contains a graphic image. CBC News: The death of a four-year-old Cree girl in 2014 was the result of her being taken away from her mother by Children’s Services years earlier, an Alberta judge has found. The young girl, Serenity, was living with...
January 4, 2023
The Sacred Balance: Learning from Indigenous Peoples
We are no more removed from nature than any other creature, even in the midst of a large city. Our animal nature dictates our essential needs: clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy. NationTalk: Rabble.ca. David Suzikii The following is adapted from the prologue to the 25th anniversary edition of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our...
January 1, 2023
Denial rates of services and supports for First Nations children varied drastically by region during the pandemic
The Globe and Mail: Marsha McLeod In 2007, just before the House of Commons rose for its Christmas break, parliamentarians voted unanimously to adopt a principle meant to put the needs of First Nations children ahead of bureaucratic government conveniences. Jean Crowder, the then-MP who brought forward the motion to adopt Jordan’s Principle, warned her parliamentary colleagues...
December 29, 2022
Why Indigenous leaders are speaking out against ‘sovereignty’ efforts in Alberta and Saskatchewan
First Nations signed treaties with the federal government, not provincial ones, and fear separatist premiers will impinge on long-standing agreements. As Alberta and Saskatchewan pursue quasi-separatist agendas, no one has been blunter about the damage that may cause than First Nations leaders. But Indigenous people know well what happens when a government comes along and...
December 21, 2022
By ignoring the duty to consult First Nations, three Canadian premiers show their true colours
The Globe and Mail: TANYA TALAGA SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL Sacred law binds Anishinabeg to safeguard the land, water, four-legged creatures and each other. It is our duty to make sure the planet is protected for future generations. There are 634 First Nations throughout the country we now call Canada, including 133 here...
December 19, 2022
Onion Lake Cree Nation files lawsuit challenging Alberta’s sovereignty act
The Globe and Mail: A First Nation has filed a lawsuit against the Alberta government claiming Premier Danielle Smith’s Sovereignty Act violates the constitutionally recognized treaty rights of its members as it asks a court to strike it down. The Onion Lake Cree Nation, which is located on the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, filed a statement of claim on Monday,...
December 15, 2022
At this rate, Canada won’t meet Truth and Reconciliation calls until 2065, report suggests
Seven years after the TRC released its final report, Canada has much work to do, Yellowhead Institute says. The Toronto Star: Canada has completed only 13 of 94 calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seven years after its final report, a new update shows. “Survivors (of residential schools) are ageing, and many...
December 14, 2022
Smith apologizes for Indian Act comparison after remarks make some First Nations leaders bristle
Premier Smith said Wednesday she apologizes for earlier comments if they were ‘misconstrued’ CBC News: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attended a pre-arranged meeting with Treaty 6 chiefs on Wednesday amid pushback from Indigenous leaders, who continue to call for her flagship Sovereignty Act legislation to be withdrawn. That meeting evidently did not move the chiefs from their initial request....
December 8, 2022
First Nations demand withdrawal of proposed Alberta Sovereignty, Saskatchewan First acts
CBC News: Standing at a podium in Ottawa with several treaty chiefs behind her, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations called for the proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act and the Saskatchewan First Act to be withdrawn. Chiefs connected with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Treaty 6 and Treaty 7 say the acts infringe...
November 24, 2022
The Impact of Inaction – New Publication Reveals Not All of Canada is on Track to Meet Global Hepatitis C Elimination Goal
Timing of elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Canada’s provinces indicates 70% of provinces could reach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) HCV elimination target of 2030, however three of Canada’sprovinces — two of them the most populous in the country — are off track to achieve this hepatitis C elimination goal.1 Timely elimination would save 170...
November 18, 2022
Alberta First Nations leaders stand against premier’s sovereignty act
By Bob Weber The Canadian Press Posted November 18, 2022 8:36 am Updated November 18, 2022 8:54 pmclose First Peoples Law Report: Danielle Smith has said her first piece of legislation as Alberta’s new premier will be the sovereignty act. But Indigenous leaders from across the province say it’s unconstitutional and unethical, and they want it scrapped....
November 3, 2022
Cree woman suing Edmonton hospital for ‘failing to provide medical care’ in birth of her daughter
Said the hospital failed that racism and malpractice led to the death of her newborn baby APTN News: A member of Bigstone Cree First Nation in Alberta says she gave birth in an Edmonton hospital while a nurse watched and did nothing to help. In a statement of claim filed in the Court of King’s Bench in...
October 4, 2022
Put out wildfires before they begin with Indigenous fire stewardship
The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia on July 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton Canadian governments need to better engage with Indigenous fire stewardship to counter increased wildfire occurrence and severity Policy Options: by James Michael Collie, Hannah Verrips After the Keremeos Creek wildfire swept through the southern Interior of British Columbia in August,...
October 3, 2022
‘Backed into a corner’: Duncan’s First Nation sues Alberta for cumulative impacts of industry
Lawsuit follows in the footsteps of B.C. Supreme Court’s precedent-setting Blueberry River decision, which could have profound impacts for oil and gas industry A First Nation in northern Alberta is suing the Alberta government for infringement of Treaty Rights, leaning heavily on a B.C. Supreme Court decision last year, which found that province liable for...
September 30, 2022
‘Why aren’t we talking about it?’ The forgotten cause of missing Indigenous men and boys
Indigenous men are much more likely to be victims of homicide than Indigenous women, but families say they don’t get the same kind of attention. Toronto Star: ENOCH CREE NATION, Alta.—There is no word for goodbye in Cree. Instead people say êkosi mâka, or “That’s it for now.” The belief is that loved ones will always...
September 29, 2022
Canadian Federation of Library Associations Calls for the Release of all outstanding residential school records
First People’s Law: The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) has sent an open letter to federal Cabinet Ministers calling on their support for the full public release of outstanding residential school records currently being withheld by the Catholic Church and other orders of government. Following calls from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR),...
September 28, 2022
Ministers Honour Joyce Echaquan and Re-Affirm Commitment to Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada’s Health Systems
Indigenous Services Canada: Ottawa, Ontario (September 28, 2022) – The Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, and the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, issued the following statement today: “Health care is a human right, and should be free of racism and discrimination. But the systemic discrimination and racism that...
September 21, 2022
‘The bond is broken’: Data shows Indigenous kids overrepresented in foster care
Statistics Canada released data from the 2021 census showing Indigenous children accounted for 53.8 per cent of all children in foster care. Toronto Star: WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg mother says she was scarred for life when her first child was taken away at birth by social workers, who told her she was unfit to parent...
September 19, 2022
Experts warn ending birth alerts not the only solution to keep Indigenous children with their family
Globe and Mail: Canadian Press – The number of newborns taken into care dropped dramatically as birth alerts ended across Canada, but child welfare experts warn ceasing the practice cannot be the only step governments take to keep families together. “(Birth alerts) really risk being kind of a red herring in the real issue of...
September 6, 2022
First Nation suing Alberta government over cumulative environmental effects
Toronto Star: EDMONTON – A northern Alberta First Nation has filed what experts say is the province’s first lawsuit claiming cumulative effects from industry, agriculture and settlement are so pervasive, they violate the band’s treaty rights. Duncan’s First Nation, southwest of Peace River, alleges the province has permitted so much activity and sold off so...
September 6, 2022
The beast of addiction in Indigenous communities remains untamed
Globe & Mail: Tanya Talaga – Over the past week, a Thunder Bay hotel’s conference room has become home to a land-based healing and recovery program. There, 17 women from one northern First Nation about two hours down the highway – women who are addicted to opioids, alcohol, crystal methamphetamine (jib) and/or methadone, which is...
August 17, 2022
UNESCO team in Alberta to judge if Wood Buffalo Park should go on endangered list
CityNews Everywhere Ottawa: A United Nations body that monitors some of the world’s greatest natural glories is in Canada again to assess government responses to ongoing threats to the country’s largest national park, including plans to release treated oilsands tailiBob Weber, The Canadian Press a day ago EDMONTON — A United Nations body that monitors some...
June 27, 2022
Reproductive control of Indigenous women continues around the world, say survivors and researchers
Survivors of forced sterilization and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will meet with researchers to share stories, heal and advocate for change. University of Alberta: The full extent of reproductive control practices around the world is not known, but they have been historically — and continue to be — targeted at Indigenous, poor...
June 27, 2022
AFN Regional Chief Presses Urgent Action at Meeting with Federal, Provincial, Territorial Ministers of Housing
(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations: AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse participated in a meeting today with Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Housing and National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs), calling for more investments and support for First Nations housing and challenging Provincial and Territorial governments to work in partnership with First Nations. “I believe we...
June 20, 2022
How familiar are Canadians with the history of Indigenous residential schools?
Toronto Star: One year after more than 1,000 unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of former residential schools — putting a global spotlight on Canada’s horrific history of assimilation and abuse of Indigenous children — Canadians are barely any more familiar with the painful legacy of the institutions, new research shows. According to data...
June 5, 2022
Métis Nation of Alberta claims victory over Alberta government’s negotiating scrip settlement with illegitimate Métis groups
Toronto Star – The future of a lawsuit seeking to hold Canada accountable for the loss of Métis lands is in doubt after about a third of the plaintiffs asked to withdraw from the action when their legitimacy was questioned. The Métis Nation of Alberta says the move proves that it speaks for Alberta’s Métis...
May 17, 2022
Human remains found near Alberta residential school site likely children, First Nation says
CBC: A First Nation in Alberta says new archival work has helped explain numerous discoveries of human remains that it now believes are the unmarked graves of residential school students. Saddle Lake Cree Nation revealed on Tuesday that since 2004, there have been numerous discoveries of partial remains that were accidentally excavated while new graves were being dug...
May 5, 2022
All funding to support at-risk Indigenous families awarded to non-Indigenous agency
Toronto Star (Windspeaker): After 12 years of successfully supporting at-risk Indigenous families in the Grande Prairie area who have interactions with Alberta’s child welfare system, Mamewpitaw has not received the provincial dollars to keep operating. Worse than that, says Grande Prairie Friendship Centre (GPFC) president Leonard Auger, the money to support Indigenous families has gone to...
March 1, 2022
St. Bernard’s IRS (Grouard Mission)
Globe and Mail – The Kapawe’no First Nation in northern Alberta announced on Tuesday the discovery of 169 potential unmarked graves on the former grounds of the St. Bernard’s Indian Residential School (1894-1961), another in a growing number of school burial sites. Kapawe’no First Nation, located near High Prairie, about 350 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, worked...
March 1, 2022
Grouard IRS (St. Bernard’s IRS)
Grouard IRS (AKA – St. Bernard’s IRS – The Kapawe’no First Nation in northern Alberta announced the discovery of 169 potential unmarked graves on the former grounds of the St. Bernard’s IRS...
February 2, 2022
Alberta cuts off Métis Consultation Policy negotiations
Métis Nation of Alberta – MNA has appealed a recent Alberta court decision that concluded the Kenney Government’s decision to cut off negotiations with the MNA on the development of Métis Consultation Policy did not breach the honour of the Crown, including the constitutional duties and obligations Alberta owed the MNA after five years of...
February 2, 2022
Alberta cuts off Métis Consultation Policy negotiations
Métis Nation of Alberta – MNA has appealed a recent Alberta court decision that concluded the Kenney Government’s decision to cut off negotiations with the MNA on the development of Métis Consultation Policy did not breach the honour of the Crown, including the constitutional duties and obligations Alberta owed the MNA after five years of...
January 10, 2022
Alberta opposition to Bill C-92
Toronto Star – A First Nation in Alberta says it’s been nearly three months since it was supposed to take legal control of its own child welfare but the provincial government won’t recognize the arrangement made possible by federal legislation. “(Alberta) won’t recognize it at all. They won’t sign co-ordination agreements,” said Darin Keewatin, executive...
December 14, 2021
Call for a Miscarriage of Justice Commission
APTN – Women and people of colour “urgently” need a commission to review claims of wrongful conviction, say two retired judges. Harry LaForme, the first Indigenous lawyer on an appellate court in Canada, and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, the first Black judge in Quebec, were tasked with helping formulate a new Criminal Case Review Commission for Justice Canada....
December 14, 2021
Tailings Pond release in Athabaska River
Fort McMurray Today – First Nation, Métis leaders raise concerns about plans to release treated tailings into Athabasca River. The federal government is developing protocols for when treated tailings water can be released into the Athabasca River. A first draft is scheduled to be finished by 2024 and a final draft will be published in...
November 24, 2021
Coastal First Nations vs Government of Alberta and 2 Métis organizations
Coastal First Nations – In the wake of the news that two Métis groups received funding from the Alberta Government to legally challenge the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, Coastal First Nations (CFN) will continue to fight to protect our waters, lands and resources from potential oil spills. “We will do whatever it takes to protect...
November 24, 2021
Coastal First Nations vs Government of Alberta and 2 Métis organizations
Coastal First Nations – In the wake of the news that two Métis groups received funding from the Alberta Government to legally challenge the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, Coastal First Nations (CFN) will continue to fight to protect our waters, lands and resources from potential oil spills. “We will do whatever it takes to protect...
November 21, 2021
25th Anniversay of the RCAP Final Report
Prime Minister’s Office – “25th anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples”. The five-volume landmark document outlined 440 recommendations on Indigenous governance, nation rebuilding, lands and resources, treaties, economic development, and social policy, and called for the renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and all orders of...
November 18, 2021
Arrest of Indigenous journalists at Wet’suwet’en protests
Toronto Star – Two journalists reporting from the Wet’suwet’en territory were among 15 people arrested and detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia Friday night. Both remain in custody. Since last year, media has covered RCMP raids in the territory, Indigenous rights and police removal of defenders of the land who are...
October 21, 2021
Alberta Curriculum advisors ignore Métis input
CBC – Curriculum advisers hand-picked by the Alberta government are recommending changes to the kindergarten-to-Grade 4 curriculum for fine arts and social studies that would eliminate all references to residential schools and “equity.” The advisers also recommend that seven- and eight-year-olds learn about feudalism, Chinese dynasties and Homer’s Odyssey in social studies classes. Curriculum experts...
October 21, 2021
First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study
Assembly of First Nations – Built on collaborative research with 92 First Nations across the country – 7,000 participants over 10 years – the FNFNES highlights that traditional foods remain foundational to First Nations’ health and well-being, and that the quality of traditional food is superior to store bought food. However, due to environmental degradation,...
October 4, 2021
SCO Survey on MMIWG Calls for Justice
Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – “Only 53% of murder cases involving [Indigenous] women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%” (NWAC, 2011). Governments and Canadian institutions now need to fully implement the Calls for Justice....
October 1, 2021
Supreme Court validates Honour of the Crown
Métis Nation of Ontario, Métis Nation of Alberta – The Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in City of Toronto v Ontario (Attorney General). This case was about the fairness of a municipal election in one city, but the decision also raised the issue of how Canada’s Constitution is to be interpreted and the...
September 14, 2021
Native Women’s Association of Canada Political Party Report Card
Native Women’s Association of Canada – NWAC commissioned Nanos Research to compare the parties’ platforms with the 11 policy issues NWAC determined to be of primary importance. Those policy issues include: human rights self-determination reconciliation environment clean water housing child welfare justice and policing employment and economic development, and health care. The result is a...
September 14, 2021
Native Women’s Association of Canada Political Party Report Card
NDP Liberal Green Conservative Bloc Québecois A B B D D Rights of Indigenous Women & MMIWG2S 4 5 5 2 1 Self Determination & Decision-Making 5 5 5 4 5 Reconciliation & residential Schools 5 3 4 3 3 Environment & Climate Change 5 4 4 1 1 Clean Drinking Water & Public Services...
July 22, 2021
Appeal to International Criminal Court
Nunantsiaq News: Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and her fellow NDP MP Charlie Angus held a press conference on Parliament Hill Thursday to ask federal Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti to reach out to the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into a system they said “represents a crime against humanity.” “We need...
June 15, 2021
AFN/Canada Race Race Relations Foundation poll
Assembly of First Nations – Thirteen years after the Government of Canada offered a formal apology to the survivors of the residential school system and families, 68 percent of Canadians polled still say they were either unaware of the severity of abuses at residential schools or completely shocked by it. A poll conducted by the...
June 4, 2021
MMIWG Inquiry – OAS Complaint
The Native Women’s Association of Canada -NWAC is taking immediate steps to file a Human Rights complaint in Canada and to request International intervention and investigation by the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) in forcing the federal government to take the steps necessary to end the genocide against Indigenous women, girls and...
June 3, 2021
MMIWG Inquiry – Government Action Plan Complaints
NationTalk – Ontario Native Women’s Association, Québec Native Women, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Chair in Indigenous Governance, Feminist Alliance for International Action – A consortia of Indigenous women’s advocacy groups representing 49% of Indigenous women’s voices in Canada finds that the National Action Plan and Federal Pathway on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and...
May 25, 2021
Alberta Curriculum advisors ignore Métis input
CBC – Some Alberta Indigenous leaders and an elder say the provincial government has used them or misrepresented their positions to gain endorsements for a new elementary school curriculum they do not support…Last month, the Sovereign Nations of Treaty Eight wrote to Premier Jason Kenney telling him to revisit the draft curriculum. The letter, co-signed...
May 3, 2021
Alberta: Human Rights Strategy
The Alberta Human Rights Commission has released a “draft” Indigenous Human Rights Strategy to reduce systemic racism that Indigenous individuals and communities face in health, education, child welfare, housing, and justice (including policing and corrections) systems. Research, data, and information collected from consultations with key stakeholders indicate that systemic racism—in the health, education, child welfare,...
March 31, 2021
Alberta Curriculum advisors ignore Métis input
The Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA) – is calling on the Government of Alberta to redraft its proposed K-6 curriculum, citing monumental concerns about the Euro-American colonial undertones. The MNA and its education and training affiliate Rupertsland Institute had very little input into the design of the curriculum despite several attempts to be included in...
March 26, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
The AFN, based on direction from the Chiefs-in-Assembly, intervened in this case, as well as court cases in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, arguing the Government of Canada has a direct legal obligation to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights in any legislative efforts to address climate change....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Supreme Court finds that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 is constitutional....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Westaway Law Group – The majority judges noted that climate change “has had particularly serious effects on Indigenous peoples, threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.” [para 11] They also acknowledged that, “the effects of climate change are and will continue to be experienced...
February 12, 2021
Cindy Gladue murder trial: manslaughter conviction
Edmonton Journal – Bradley Barton convicted of manslaughter in his second trial for killing Cindy Gladue in an Edmonton hotel room in 2011. Unlike in his first trail, the repeated references to Cindy Gladue as a native girl, a native woman and a prostitute were not allowed since they promoted “discriminatory beliefs or biases about...
January 28, 2021
Racism against Indigenous womern
Native Women’s Association of Canada – At a two-day meeting at which the issue of anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s healthcare systems will be addressed by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as representatives of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, NWAC is not being permitted to give more broadly based opening remarks Wednesday, along...
January 28, 2021
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Assembly of First Nations – AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde reiterated recommendations and called for urgency in addressing systemic racism in Canada’s health care systems at a two-day virtual meeting with federal, provincial and territorial ministers and Metis and Inuit leaders that ended today. The meeting, convened by Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, Crown-Indigenous Relations...
January 22, 2021
Beaver Lake Partial Advance Cost Award
LAC-LA BICHE, AB: Beaver Lake First Nations – The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal overturning Beaver Lake Cree Nations’ partial advanced cost award. After ten years of litigation, including 5 years where Alberta and Canada unsuccessfully tried to strike its claim, the Beaver Lake...
January 22, 2021
Partial Advanced Cost Award
CISION – LAC-LA BICHE, AB – The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal the decision of the Alberta Court of Appeal overturning Beaver Lake Cree Nations’ partial advanced cost award. After ten years of litigation, including 5 years where Alberta and Canada unsuccessfully tried to strike its claim, the Beaver Lake Cree could...
December 15, 2020
TRC Commissioners comments about pace of Reconciliation
APTN – The three commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Senator Murray Sinclair, Chief Wilton Littlechild, and Dr. Marie Wilson, are issuing a public statement expressing their concern about the slow and uneven pace of implementation of the Calls to Action released by the TRC five years ago today… While they acknowledge important and...
December 4, 2020
Six provinces urged Ottawa to delay tabling UNDRIP legislation, but were rebuffed by Justice Minister
The Globe and Mail: Ministers from six provinces asked the federal government last month to delay legislation that would apply the principles of the foremost international commitment on the rights of Indigenous peoples to Canadian laws, but were rebuffed by Justice Minister David Lametti. Earlier this fall, the federal government sent a draft of the...
November 19, 2020
Problems with Indigenous COVID-19 data
Toronto Star – COVID-19 is negatively impacting both on-reserve and off-reserve Indigenous populations. “Hospitalizations and intensive-care rates are sky high for off-reserve populations and testing is low. Both on and off reserves, about 18% of tests come back positive. The issues identified by Janet Smylie, research chair in Indigenous health knowledge and information at Well...
November 12, 2020
Systemic Racism at federal, provincial, territory ministers human rights meeting
NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...
November 12, 2020
Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights
NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...
November 2, 2020
Canada’s Constitution embeds discrimination
Policy Options – Canada’s history of colonization has laid the foundation for the implementation of racist health policy and the delivery of culturally unsafe health care, resulting in health disparities that are disproportionately experienced by Indigenous Peoples. Since the establishment of the Indian Act in 1867, Canada’s Constitution has continued to support and maintain discriminatory...
October 21, 2020
Food Insecurity
The Narwhal – Human Rights Watch released “My fear is Losing Everything: Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food” in Canada. The report details how longer and more intense forest fire seasons, permafrost degradation, volatile weather patterns and increased levels of precipitation are all affecting wildlife habitat and, in turn, harvesting efforts. The report...
October 21, 2020
Climate crisis and First Nations Right to Food
The Narwhal – Human Rights Watch released “My fear is Losing Everything: Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food in Canada“. The report details how longer and more intense forest fire seasons, permafrost degradation, volatile weather patterns and increased levels of precipitation are all affecting wildlife habitat and, in turn, harvesting efforts. The report...
October 20, 2020
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Toronto Star – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reserved judgement on whether the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 (GGPPA) is constitutional following hearings on September 22 and 23 with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM), along with the Anishinabek Nation (AN), granted intervener status. The GGPPA sets minimum...
October 16, 2020
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Emergency meeting on racism in Canada’s healthcare system. AFN recommendations to all levels of government: Work directly with First Nations to ensure that Indigenous Peoples feel safe accessing health care services. Quebec needs to work with First Nations to fully implement the Viens Commission Report’s recommendations. Canada must conduct an immediate review of the Canada...
September 29, 2020
Beyond Hunger – The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity in Canada”
Community Food Centres (CFC) – Release of “Beyond Hunger – The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity in Canada”. Even before COVID-19, food insecurity affected nearly 4.5 million Canadians. In the first two months of the pandemic, that number grew by 39 per cent. Food insecurity now affects one in seven people, disproportionately impacting low-income and...
September 29, 2020
Beyond Hunger
“Community Food Centres (CFC) – Release of “Beyond Hunger.” Even before COVID-19, food insecurity affected nearly 4.5 million Canadians. In the first two months of the pandemic, that number grew by 39 per cent. Food insecurity now affects one in seven people, disproportionately impacting low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities. “Beyond...
September 20, 2020
Alberta’s 150th anniversary on entering Confederation
NationTalk – On the day celebrating Alberta’s entry into Confederation 115 years ago, Premier Jason Kenny acknowledged that “Alberta’s history of human habitation dates back more than 10,000 years when the first Indigenous people migrated to Alberta to find a land rich in bounty. Albertans have celebrated years of growth and economic prosperity despite the...
September 10, 2020
Arrest of Indigenous journalists at protests
Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including: Karl Dockstader at Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest at Muskrat Falls in...
September 9, 2020
Indigenous Journalists
Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including: Karl Dockstader at 1492 Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow arrested as well Award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest...
September 8, 2020
Unicef “Innocenti Report Card 16”
NationTalk – Release of Unicef “Innocenti Report Card 16: Worlds of Influence – Understanding What Shapes Child Well-being in Rich Countries” where Canada placed in the bottom 10 of 38 countries. In fact, all four countries with large Indigenous populations – who all initially opposed The United Nations Declaration the Rights of Indigenous People –...
September 3, 2020
Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers
TVO – An updated edition of “Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers” by Carmen Robertson, a Scots-Lakota professor who currently holds a Canada Research Chair in North American Indigenous Visual and Material Culture at Carleton University. Her research centres on contemporary Indigenous arts and on constructions of Indigeneity in popular culture. The...
August 31, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
MacDonald-Laurier Institute – “Systemic racism in policing in Canada and approaches to fixing it,” argues that the fault for this lies primarily with political leaders who set the framework conditions and constraints for the delivery of police services. This commentary is based on the author’s written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on...
July 23, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
The CBC “Deadly Force” database indicates that the RCMP are 3x more likely to use lethal force than other police forces in Canada. The CBC data found that 68 per cent of people killed in police encounters were suffering with some kind of mental illness, addiction or both. “When we get broader statistical information that...
July 20, 2020
Alberta Energy Regulator Regulatory Issues
NationTalk – This omnibus bill 22 includes amendments that would make the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) the sole judge of the public interest for all Albertans, allowing the elected government to cut itself out of the decision-making process. This means the AER will be the final decision maker about impacts to Treaty rights and the...
July 20, 2020
Omnibus Bill 22 and Honour of the Crown
Fort McKay First Nation – This omnibus Bill 22 includes amendments that would make the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) the sole judge of the public interest for all Albertans, allowing the elected government to cut itself out of the decision-making process. This means the AER will be the final decision maker about impacts to Treaty...
June 23, 2020
COVID & the Environment
NationTalk – All temporarily suspended reporting and monitoring requirements will come back into effect on July 15, 2020. The Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) decision to end its temporary suspensions follows steps taken by the Government of Alberta, including the repeal of Ministerial Order 219/2020 and Ministerial Order 17/2020....
June 23, 2020
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers using COVID to advance agenda
NationTalk – All temporarily suspended reporting and monitoring requirements will come back into effect on July 15, 2020. The Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) decision to end its temporary suspensions follows steps taken by the Government of Alberta, including the repeal of Ministerial Order 219/2020 and Ministerial Order 17/2020. All temporarily suspended reporting and monitoring requirements...
June 11, 2020
Bill 1 – Critical Infrastruture Defence Act
HuffPost – “Bill 1 – The The Critical Infrastructure Defence Act” bans protests at critical infrastructure such as “pipelines, oilsands sites, mining sites as well as utilities, streets, highways, railways, and telecom towers and equipment. Violators who protest, trespass, interfere with operations, or cause damage around that kind of infrastructure will face fines as high...
June 5, 2020
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers using COVID to advance agenda
Three First Nations in northeast Alberta – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation – have jointly filed an appeal related to recent Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) decisions to suspend key aspects of environmental monitoring in the oil sands. The First Nations were not consulted on decisions that clearly...
June 5, 2020
Suspension of Environmental Monitoring in Oil Sands
Three First Nations in northeast Alberta – Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Fort McKay First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation – have jointly filed an appeal related to recent Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) decisions to suspend key aspects of environmental monitoring in the oil sands. The First Nations were not consulted on decisions that clearly impact...
May 12, 2020
“Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities and Bad Covid Data”.
Yellowhead Institute – release of Policy Brief: “Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities and Bad Covid Data”. There is wide discrepancy on COVID-19 related health data from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and provincial health authorities: There is no agency or organization in Canada reliably recording and releasing Covid-19 data that indicates whether or not a person...
May 8, 2020
COVID & the Environment
Clean Tech Canada (Canadian Manufacturing) – The leader of a Fort McKay First Nation surrounded by oilsands development is frustrated by the Alberta Energy Regulator’s decision to suspend a wide array of environmental reporting requirements for oil sands companies over public-health concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic by the Imperial Oil, Suncor, Syncrude and Canadian...
April 23, 2020
Release of at-risk Indigenous inmates
The Indigenous Bar Association (IBA)– Calls Upon Federal, Provincial and Territorial Justice Ministers and Attorneys General to Immediately Release low-risk Indigenous Inmates over COVID-19.Specifically, we call for the immediate release of incarcerated Indigenous people and the following actions: Immediately and minimally, carry-out the release of Indigenous inmates that are low-risk, non-violent, nearly eligible for parole,...
April 20, 2020
Incarcerated prisoners
First Nations leadership across BC is united in calling for immediate action to protect incarcerated peoples amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission Institution is now the third largest outbreak in the Province of BC, with the first inmate tragically passing away on April 15, 2020. Senior health and corrections officials have...
April 6, 2020
Suspension of Environmental Monitoring in Oil Sands
Canadian Manufacturing – The Alberta Government has suspended all environmental reporting requirements for industry under emergency powers the province has enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The move effectively suspends environmental regulation in the province. Later, on May 6, 2020, the Alberta Energy Regulator suspended a wide array of environmental monitoring requirements for oil sands...
March 17, 2020
H1N1 and Systemic Racism
Globe and Mail – Despite accounting for just under 5 per cent of the Canadian population, Indigenous people were 25 per cent of those admitted to ICUs during the first wave of H1N1. First Nations children were 21 per cent of the paediatric patients admitted to ICUs during both waves. This led to sad and...
March 1, 2020
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers using COVID to advance agenda
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers requested that the federal government relax several regulatory and policy activities, including an indefinite suspension of all consultation with industry to develop new environmental policies. At the same time, industry has lobbied the provincial government to resume consultation with Indigenous communities to advance projects despite the closure of our...
January 7, 2020
8 Ways to champion Human Rights
Toronto Star – Toronto Star identified eight ways that Canada can champion human rights in the 2020s, including the following: First step is to adopt overdue legislation making the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Canada’s framework for rights and reconciliation. And to show we truly mean it: address mercury poisoning at...
December 17, 2019
Environment and Health
Canada’s National Observer – Repeated failure by government authorities to conduct a comprehensive baseline health study as recommended by the Alberta Cancer Board (supported by the province’s governing health authority, Alberta Health Services) in 2009. In Fort Chipewyan a community of roughly 1,200 people, the study found, you would expect to see 39 cases of...
December 11, 2019
Statement on National Urban Indigenous Housing Strategy
In Canada 79.7% of Indigenous Peoples live in urban centres yet an Indigenous Urban Housing strategy has yet to be developed. Aboriginal Housing Manager Association (AMHA) applauds the Federal government efforts in the National Housing Strategy to address the needs of Metis/First Nations/Inuit groups on a distinction basis, it has failed to recognize the majority...
September 17, 2019
National Paper on Youth Suicide
The Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates (CCCYA) published “A National Paper on Youth Suicide” that calls on governments at the national, provincial and territorial levels to take concrete action to prevent youth suicide in Canada. Failure to address the multi-faceted issues impacting indigenous communities has led to a suicide epidemic. The paper consolidates...
July 11, 2019
The Council of The Federation, bi-annual meetings of the Federal, Provincial and Territory Premiers
Refusal to allow leaders of the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, the Inuit Tapariit Kanatami and the Native Woman’s Association of Canada to participate in the main body of meetings with a primary focus on climate change within each jurisdiction. As has been noted by numerous media, Indigenous peoples are on the...
July 11, 2019
Abandoning Denesuline First Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation Land Claim negotiation
The Denesuline First Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation Canada were on the verge of initialing a land claim agreement. Then on June 12, 2019, without warning, the Minister put off signing and claimed more consultation was required with Indigenous peoples in NWT. At the negotiating table, Canada had previously agreed to initial the agreement...
July 9, 2019
Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada
Upstream – Failure to reduce the level of poverty among Indigenous children. Tracking Indigenous child poverty and non-Indigenous child poverty trends between Census 2006 and Census 2016, it’s clear that these differences have not markedly changed over that 10-year period. “Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada” co-authored by the Assembly of First Nations...
July 9, 2019
Barriers to Reconciliation
“Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2019, Final Report”, Environics Research Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth identified a number of barriers to reconciliation, notably: myths and stereotypes about what Indigenous Peoples receive from Canada a lack of political leadership to implement real change, and too little understanding among non-Indigenous people The national survey reveals how Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth...
June 3, 2019
MMIWG Inquiry – Final Report
“National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girl Final Report (MMIWG)” states: Indigenous women and girls are 2.7 times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women. ]Homicide rates for Indigenous women were nearly seven times higher than for non- Indigenous women. One quarter of all female homicide victims in Canada in 2015...
May 24, 2019
Cindy Gladue murder trial: Background
Background Context – Assembly of First Nations – AFN was an intervenor in Supreme Court R vs Barton 2019 SCC 33 in support of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and for more respectful treatment of Indigenous women in the justice system. Bradley Barton was charged with first-degree murder in the death...
March 21, 2019
Yellowhead Institue Critique of Bill C-92
“Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit children, youth and families” was graded as follows by the Yellowhead Institute of Ryerson University based on analysis by five Indigenous legal scholars. (See also First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Information Brief in C2A # 4) GRADES: National Standards: …………………… C Funding: ……………………………………..F...
January 31, 2019
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) – Supreme Court of Canada decision 2019 SCC 5 ruled in favour of the AER and Orphan Well Association’s (OWA’s) appeal of the Redwater decision. From the May 2016 Redwater decision until January 30, 2019, receivers and trustees involved in 28 insolvencies renounced their interest in more than 10 000 AER-licensed...
December 30, 2018
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Macleans -Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act: requires owners of contaminated land – including oil and gas sites – seeking remediation certificates to report “new information” as well as meet specific timelines and instructions to remediate land and prevent future adverse effects....
December 10, 2018
Forced Sterilizations
72 organizations endorse the joint statement from Amnesty International Canada, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, calling for government action to #DefendConsent and end #ForcedSterilization of Indigenous women in Canada Canadian Press – All the women interviewed felt that the health system had not served their needs,...
December 1, 2018
Failure to protect Woodland Cariboo
Government of Canada – “Progress Report on Steps Taken to Protect Critical Habitat for the Woodland Caribou” indicates little progress is being made toward conservation. Meanwhile, provinces continue to issue permits for energy and forestry developments that do not comply with Species At Risk Act (SARA) , placing caribou at even greater risk. (David Suzuki...
November 22, 2018
Call for national investigation into forced sterilizations
Senator Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the TRC, says Canada needs a national investigation to find out how common coerced sterilizations are among Indigenous women and how they’ve been allowed to continue for so long. http://nationtalk.ca/story/usw-joint-statement-calling-on-canada-to-end-sterilization-without-consent...
November 20, 2018
Muskotew Sakahikan Enowuk, the traditional Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation
Muskotew Sakahikan Enowuk, the traditional Government of the Lubicon Lake Nation, outlined a number of remaining concerns faced by the First Nation, despite a recently announced Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement between Lubicon Lake Band #453 (the “Band”), Alberta and Canada. The Nation is the traditional governance structure of the Lubicon Cree people which has functioned...
October 30, 2018
Indigenous leaders excluded from Regional Emergency Operations Centre dealing with Fort McMurray fires
Globe and Mail – Indigenous leaders weren’t included in the Regional Emergency Operations Centre where officials from municipalities, the province and Ottawa determined what to do to address the Fort McMurray wildfires. Metis communities weren’t eligible at all. Governments failed to consider the circumstances of Indigenous communities. Many houses damaged in the fire started off...
September 27, 2018
Moccassin Flats Evictions
Canadian Press – A report “Moccassin Flats Evictions“: Métis Home, Forced Relocation, and Resilience in Fort McMurray, Alberta” commissioned by the Fort McMurray Metis says the housing subsidiary of oilsands giant Syncrude collaborated with the municipality to evict mostly Metis families 40 years ago to make way for an apartment tower. The eviction disrupted people’s...
February 16, 2018
Native Women’s Association of Canada
Collectively, NWAC represents a multitude of Nations of Indigenous women who are First Nations, Métis, Inuit. These women represent non-status women and girls and rights holders with Treaty rights, inherent rights, Métis rights, human rights and gender-based rights. As a representative of Indigenous women, NWAC will provide the required gender-based perspective. In order to achieve...
November 3, 2017
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envronment must include Indigenous views
Assembly of First Nations – First Nations must be full participants in all meetings of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to ensure their voices are heard in environmental and climate change solutions. “Reconciliation has to include respect for our Elder’s traditional knowledge and our understanding of the lands and waters, the animals...
September 21, 2017
Canada Health Act flaws
Healthy Debates – “Indigenous health services often hampered by legislative confusion“. The federal and provincial governments negotiate health transfers based on the Canada Health Act, which specifies the conditions and criteria required of provincial health insurance programs. It doesn’t mention First Nations and Inuit peoples, Métis and non-status or off-reserve Indigenous peoples who are covered...
July 20, 2017
NWAC excluded from Council of the Federation discussions
Native Woman’s Association of Canada requested the Council of Federation to include NWAC in all Nation-to-Nation discussions, the work of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (National Inquiry) in the scope of improving the socio-economic status of Indigenous women, and the need for a community-based prevention model to drive the...
July 17, 2017
Indigenous leaders boycott Council of Federation meetings
National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Natan Obed and President Clément Chartier of the Métis Nation of Canada (MNC) held a press conference today in a show of unity over their concerns regarding the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples in intergovernmental forums, including the Council of the Federation meeting taking...
July 4, 2017
Redwater Energy avoids liability for orphaned wells
Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) – The May 19, 2016, decision by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta in the matter of Redwater Energy Corp. allows receivers and trustees to disclaim Alberta Energy Regulator licensed assets and avoid their abandonment and reclamation obligations. Disclaiming unprofitable sites allows a company to reap the benefits of producing...
July 14, 2016
Fire protection on reserves
NationTalk – There is no national fire protection code that mandates fire safety standards or enforcement on reserves. All other jurisdictions in Canada including provinces, territories, and other federal jurisdictions (such as military bases, airports, and seaports) have established building and fire codes. The Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada (AFAC), NIFSC’s parent organization, supports the...