Current Problems: Justice (25-42)

Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Canada"

Updates on this page: 144
 

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 11, 2024


Opposition parties call for the day school settlement agreement to be reopened

NDP MPs, Green Party deputy leader want day school survivors to be able to resubmit their claims CBC News: The federal NDP and the Green Party are urging Ottawa to reopen the multi-billion-dollar federal Indian day school settlement agreement. The opposition lawmakers issued the call in response to a CBC News report about day school survivors who...

March 5, 2024


Day school settlement has paid out $5.7B in claims. A Supreme Court petition says survivors were shortchanged

Multibillion-dollar deal was supposed to bring justice but brought more pain for some WARNING: This story contains details of experiences at Indian day schools. Click on the following link to read the original article and view all videos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/day-school-survivors-supreme-court-1.7132933?cmp=newsletter_Morning%20Headlines%20from%20CBC%20News_1613_1424097 CBC News: A Cree survivor of the federal Indian day school system is asking Canada’s top court to...

February 29, 2024


Proposed class-action lawsuit aims to compensate children of residential school survivors

Lawyer feels it’s time to seek redress for what Indigenous leaders refer to as the ongoing effects of inter-generational trauma. Matthew Brandon (centre) is flanked by his guardians, Chris Gardiner and Shannon Berard-Gardiner. Photo: Submitted  A new class-action lawsuit is being proposed to compensate children of residential school survivors for inter-generational trauma, APTN News has...

February 9, 2024


Police Reform Talks Stalled over Calls to Oust the RCMP

First Nations groups want a provincial force and expanded Indigenous policing. But BC says it’s not ready to commit. The Tyee: A working group established by the B.C. government to engage with First Nations on reforming the Police Act and bring it into line with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act has...

February 2, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation tragedy ‘could have been avoided’ says AFN national chief

APTN News: The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the lack of First Nations policing and other justice services compounded the tragedy on James Smith Cree Nation back in 2022. “This tragedy is a systemic failure of the police and the justice system,” Cindy Woodhouse of the Assembly of First Nations said...

February 1, 2024


James Smith Cree Nation chiefs, other leaders say funding needed to enact recommendations

Sask. chief coroner, inquest jury made 29 total recommendations CBC Indigenous: Chiefs from James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN) and other First Nations leaders say the federal government needs to provide more funding in order for the recommendations made at an inquest into the stabbing massacre at JSCN to be put into action. James Smith resident...

January 25, 2024


RCMP collecting race-based data is a ‘double-edged sword,’ says Indigenous leader

“If you are coming from a police lens or perhaps a white-based lens, that’s going to influence how the data is framed.’ —Dr. Kanika Samuels-Wortley, associate professor in criminology from Ontario Tech University From left to right: Dr. Mai Phan, acting director of the RCMP anti-racism unit, Fort McKay Métis Nation President Ron Quintal, and...

January 15, 2024


Public inquest into stabbing massacre on James Smith Cree Nation begins Monday

Purpose is to tell victims’ stories, prevent similar tragedies from happening WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: The coroner’s inquest into the mass stabbings that happened on James Smith Cree Nation in 2022 begins Monday.  Its purpose is to set the public record straight about what happened during the violent attacks and to prevent similar tragedies...

December 5, 2023


‘Spend as Much Lifting Our People Up as Pushing Them Down’

Adam Olsen is calling on BC to protect Indigenous people as thoroughly as it polices their opposition to resource development. The Tyee: BC Green Party MLA Adam Olsen is calling on B.C.’s minister of public safety to form a special policing unit dedicated to investigating the suspicious deaths and disappearances of First Nations people in...

November 13, 2023


Disturbing reality about our prisons

“Life, on the instalment plan.” Toronto Star: That’s the way some Indigenous inmates characterize their prison sentences. They believe they’ll be released, but they also expect to be back — again and again, for the rest of their lives. And all too often, their expectations are fulfilled. Something is therefore very wrong with our prison...

November 7, 2023


Feds say Indigenous staff have no right to sue over alleged racism, toxicity at oil and gas agency

Internal mechanisms ‘are the preferable procedure’: Indigenous Services Canada CBC Indigenous: The Canadian government says Indigenous staff have no right to sue over alleged racial discrimination, chronic toxicity and systemic bullying, harassment and intimidation at a federal on-reserve oil and gas agency in Alberta. Two Blackfoot women have launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against Indian...

November 2, 2023


‘A national travesty:’ Prison watchdog urges reform to tackle Indigenous over-incarceration

Correctional investigator calls for transfer of power back to Indigenous people as special probe concludes CBC Indigenous: Canada’s prison watchdog is denouncing the over-representation of Indigenous people in federal prisons as a travesty while urging significant reform, as he releases the second part of a two-year investigation. In the conclusion of his Ten Years Since Spirit Matters report, Correctional Investigator...

November 2, 2023


Correctional Investigator Releases Updated Findings on the State of Indigenous Corrections in Canada: National Indigenous Organizations Issue Statements of Support

NationTalk: OTTAWA, ON – On November 1, 2023, the 50th Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator was tabled in Parliament. The report includes the second of a two-part update of the Office’s original 2013 Special Report to Parliament titled, Spirit Matters: Aboriginal People and the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. A decade after the...

November 1, 2023


Office of the Correctional Investigator Annual Report 2022-2023: Recommendations

ANNEX A: Summary of Recommendations Click on the following link to read the full report: https://oci-bec.gc.ca/en/content/office-correctional-investigator-annual-report-2022-2023#s9...

October 31, 2023


‘Chronic underfunding’: 22 Quebec Indigenous police forces file rights complaint

APTN News: The Canadian Press – Twenty-two Indigenous police forces in Quebec have filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission accusing the Public Safety Department of chronic underfunding. Shawn Dulude, president of the Quebec Association of First Nation and Inuit Police Directors, says federal funding for Indigenous police has set forces up to...

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 25, 2023


How Harper’s former ‘tough on crime’ adviser flipped to completely opposing prisons

Some decriminalization measures have clearly backfired. But Benjamin Perrin offers plenty of examples of alternatives to the status quo that are worth exploring NationTalk: Vancouver Sun: In the now world-famous viral video, Pierre Poilievre needled a hapless journalist by asking for examples of his supposed “populist” approach, all the while casually munching on an apple. The...

October 19, 2023


Death of Tyrone Blind triggers concerns over mental health support in prisons

By Danielle Paradis | Chris Stewart APTN News: The family of Tyrone Blind, a man who died by suicide in a federal prison in Edmonton, says more needs to be done to provide mental health services in Canada’s penitentiaries. Blind, 31, a First Nations man from Saskatchewan, died in the Edmonton Institution on Feb. 1, 2018, according to the...

October 18, 2023


B.C. imprisons people we should listen to

Swaysən Will George outside the courthouse in Vancouver. Photo by Donna Clark Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: Swaysən Will George’s name in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ means, “When he speaks, they listen.” The B.C. Supreme Court did not seem to be listening well to Tsleil-Waututh member Will George when they sentenced him to 28 days in jail for upholding his sacred responsibility...

October 12, 2023


Ottawa woman, 97, charged with historical sexual assaults at residential, day schools

Someone went to police late last year about alleged crimes in 1960s and 70s WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC Indigenous: Ontario Provincial Police have laid three gross indecency charges against a 97-year-old Ottawa woman, alleging she was involved in sexual assaults in the 1960s and 1970s in northern Ontario residential and day schools....

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...

September 28, 2023


First Nations lawyer says new bail legislation unfairly targets Indigenous women

APTN News: First Nations lawyer Christa Big Canoe says Canada’s new bail reform legislation will result in more Indigenous women behind bars. “That there is potential harm, particularly to Indigenous women as it relates to prior charges of intimate partner violence,” Big Canoe of the Indigenous Bar Association told a Senate committee on Thursday. “Knowing...

September 19, 2023


Barbara Kentner has been failed again, says family after Brayden Bushby gets day parole in trailer-hitch death

First Nation victim’s family says they weren’t told man convicted in her Thunder Bay death was up for parole WARNING: This story contains disturbing details of violence against Indigenous women. CBC Indigenous: Melissa Kentner is angry. The man convicted of manslaughter in the death of her sister, Barbara Kentner, has been released from prison on day...

August 16, 2023


Feds blamed AFN for delays, slow progress on First Nations policing bill: documents

PM promised government would bring forward new First Nations policing law in 2020 Stephanie Taylor, Alessia Passafiume · The Canadian Press CBC News: Federal officials worried long-promised legislation declaring First Nations policing an essential service was being delayed by Assembly of First Nations hesitations about the bill, newly released internal documents show. Records obtained by The Canadian Press...

August 16, 2023


Ottawa won’t regulate how lawyers bill First Nations clients after concerns raised over ‘unfair’ fees

PATRICK WHITE The Globe and Mail: One of Western Canada’s largest law firms has petitioned Ottawa to legislate “unfair and unreasonable” legal fees that it says some rival firms are charging First Nations involved in historic claims against the government. In June, two lawyers from MLT Aikins, which has more than 300 lawyers across Western Canada,...

August 14, 2023


Métis senator calls for coerced sterilization to be a Criminal Code offence

The Globe and Mail: Senator Yvonne Boyer is on a mission to change the Criminal Code to establish an offence for forced and coerced sterilization procedures – an issue her office has received numerous calls and messages about and one that keeps her up at night. The Métis lawyer, who has also worked as a...

August 9, 2023


Settlement reached in class-action lawsuit against convicted ex-priest who abused First Nations youth

Ralph Rowe is believed to have abused up to 500 children in northern Ontario, Manitoba  WARNING: This article contains details of sexual abuse. CBC News: A multi-million dollar settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit against a former priest convicted of 75 sexual crimes, his employer, the Anglican Church’s Synod of the Diocese of...

July 28, 2023


Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Calls on New Federal Public Safety Minister to Prioritize First Nations Policing

NationTalk: Ottawa, ON – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) congratulates Dominic LeBlanc on his appointment as Minister of Public Safety and urges him to prioritize the safety and security of First Nations communities across the country. During the AFN Annual General Assembly in Halifax earlier this month, several resolutions were passed to enhance the...

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 13, 2023


Stefanson fires back at federal minister, calls his comments on landfill search inflammatory

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller called decision not to search landfill ‘heartless’ CBC News: Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says a federal minister was reckless and inflammatory when he criticized the province Wednesday over its decision not to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations women. Premier Heather Stefanson said last week Manitoba won’t support a search of the Prairie Green landfill...

July 12, 2023


Recognition of First Nations rights a ‘sticking’ point in new policing law plan: AFN

Police tape marks a scene on the James Smith Cree Nation. Photo: APTN file  APTN News: The Canada Press – A lawyer for the Assembly of First Nations says including the recognition of rights is a “sticking” point as the organization negotiates a new policing bill with Ottawa. Julie McGregor updated chiefs gathered in Halifax...

July 12, 2023


First Nations-In-Assembly Support Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario

NationTalk: (Halifax, Nova Scotia) – First Nations-In-Assembly have voiced their unwavering support for Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) and the push for First Nations Policing to be declared an essential service across Canada. Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario filed a Federal Court Motion earlier this year. On June 30, Justice Denis Gascon ordered Public...

July 11, 2023


Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief welcomes Federal Court decision on First Nation policing

NationTalk: HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA (July 11, 2023) — Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe is relieved with the recent Federal Court ruling on a motion filed by First Nation Police Chiefs of Ontario regarding their funding agreements. The Federal Court has ordered funds to flow to the First Nation police services that were without funding...

July 6, 2023


Funding victory a ‘game changer’ for First Nations policing: lawyer

Lawyer for three First Nations police services says 12-month court-ordered funding extension will force Ottawa to fix ‘mess’ of discriminatory Indigenous policing agreements NationTalk: SooToday.com: A lawyer who successfully fought to temporarily extend funding for three First Nations police services — after a lack of funding threatened to shut them down — says the win in...

July 5, 2023


Judge in ruling says Indigenous police chiefs have strong human rights case against Canada

“…basically erecting a concrete wall in terms of any willingness to negotiate the underlying terms and conditions, Canada acted inconsistently with its obligations in reconciliation and acted dishonourably in terms of its honour of the Crown obligations.” — lawyer Julian Falconer WindSpeaker: Three First Nations police services in Ontario have had their funding reinstated, albeit...

July 4, 2023


Assembly of First Nations Welcomes Federal Court Ruling in IPCO Motion on First Nations Policing Funding

NationTalk: (Ottawa, ON) – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is pleased with the ruling of the Federal Court on a motion filed by Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO). IPCO filed a motion requesting emergency relief and an order requiring Public Safety Canada (PSC) to suspend application of the discriminatory Terms and Conditions of...

July 4, 2023


Canada’s Delays in Implementing Calls for Justice Costing Lives – UBCIC Advocates for Federal MMIWG2S+ Legislation

NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C.) Today marks four years since the conclusion of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S+). Of the 231 Calls for Justice (CFJ), over half have not been started, and only two have been implemented (see CBC...

July 4, 2023


Loved ones still waiting for task force to investigate MMIWG cases

MMIWG inquiry called for national team to review ‘unresolved’ cases, but years later, it still hasn’t happened CBC News: Val Charlette wonders if her daughter’s death would have been deemed suspicious if an Indigenous-led task force had been called in to investigate. Angela Lavallee wonders if a task force would have determined someone was responsible...

June 29, 2023


Leaked report on searching landfill for women’s remains shares how 60,000 tonnes of material could be examined

Proposal includes using temperature-controlled unit to secure possible remains found at Prairie Green landfill WARNING: This story contains distressing details. A search through as much as roughly 60,000 tonnes of materials for the remains of two First Nations women at a landfill near Winnipeg could involve moving thousands of truckloads of garbage, hiring dozens of...

June 26, 2023


Indigenous Justice and a New Path for Canada’s Prisons

A report offers a blueprint for fixing Indigenous overrepresentation in jails. The Tyee: When I asked Boyd Peters, a Sts’ailes First Nation member and BC First Nations Justice Council director, about the effects of long-term incarceration on Indigenous people, his brow furrowed. He exhaled and looked down before responding. “Nobody should have to go through...

June 22, 2023


Federal justice minister orders new trial for First Nations men convicted of 1970s Winnipeg murder

APTN News: Federal Justice Minister David Lametti has ordered a new trial for two First Nations men from Manitoba who were convicted of the 1973 murder of Ting Fong Chan. Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse were convicted in 1974 and sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 10 years. “The Minister has determined...

June 19, 2023


’15 years too long’

Bernice and Wilfred Catcheway’s daughter Jennifer disappeared in 2008. They say the MMIWG inquiry’s calls for justice need to be taken seriously WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Bernice Catcheway walks up to a glass armoire in her living room and pulls out a tiny pair of white and pink baby shoes. The...

June 19, 2023


RCMP says there was ‘insufficient evidence’ to lay charges in SNC-Lavalin affair

Police service confirms it has closed the file CBC News: The RCMP says it found “insufficient evidence” to lay criminal charges related to the SNC-Lavalin affair and confirms it has since concluded its file. It’s the first time the national police force has officially confirmed that it’s no longer probing the political scandal that rocked...

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 19, 2023


Feasibility study says short timeline important for landfill search

The study says one of the most important factors is the time between when a victim’s remains end up in a landfill and when a search begins. A photo of a truck at work at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg. Photo: Jesse Andrushko/APTN News  APTN News: Searching a landfill in Manitoba for 30 days...

June 13, 2023


Judge reserves decision on motion to extend Indian day school claims deadline

Six Nations chief calls Justice Canada’s arguments against extension ‘a slap in the face’ CBC News: Indian day school survivors who haven’t claimed compensation under a national class-action settlement will have to wait a little longer to learn if they’ll ever get the chance. Federal Court Justice Sébastien Grammond reserved his decision Tuesday after a two-day...

June 12, 2023


Public safety minister proposes temporary funding for 3 First Nations police services operating on ‘fumes’

Lawyer for the police services in northern Ontario says filing injunction for emergency funding will proceed CBC News: Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has proposed temporary funding for three Indigenous police services that receive money under a special program administered by Ottawa, after their funding was cut off over two months ago as negotiations for a new agreement have stalled. Mendicino...

June 12, 2023


Assembly of First Nations Supports Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario Federal Court Motion

Jun 12, 2023 (Ottawa, ON) – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) fully supports the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO) in their fight for equitable funding for First Nations Police services in Ontario. IPCO has filed a  motion in  Federal Court requesting emergency relief and an order requiring Public Safety Canada (PSC) to suspend...

June 9, 2023


3 Indigenous police services in northern Ontario could cease operating due to lack of funding

The police services collectively serve around 30,000 people across northern Ontario  CBC News: Three Indigenous police services that serve 45 First Nations across northern Ontario say they are at risk of shutting down due to a lack of  funding.  The Treaty Three Police Service, UCCM Anishnaabe Police Service and Anishinabek Police Service have not received funding from...

June 8, 2023


‘Make a list’, NWAC CEO tells Miller as fed’s get failing grade on progress made on MMIWG plan

Windspeaker: Words spoken earlier this week by Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller have the CEO of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) riled. Miller delivered a statement June 5 marking the fourth anniversary since the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) delivered its final report. “He says it’s not...

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 6, 2023


Advocates decry ‘unacceptable’ inaction on MMIWG inquiry’s calls for justice following 4-year anniversary

CBC’s ‘Mother. Sister. Daughter.’ project found more than half of 231 calls not started — and only 2 are done CBC News: Advocates say they’re disappointed to see so little progress has been made four years after the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its 231 calls for justice. For Heidi...

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...

May 30, 2023


Prison isolation units detrimental to the mental health of young Indigenous offenders: report

Young Indigenous prisoners placed in isolation units in prison are more likely to have mental health issues. APTN News: Young Indigenous prisoners who are placed in isolation units in prison are more likely to have mental health issues and be more adversely affected than non-Indigenous populations says a federal panel’s report. According to the report,...

May 28, 2023


Isolation cells in women’s prisons used almost exclusively for Indigenous prisoners, panel finds

The Globe and Mail: Isolation cells in federal women’s prisons are being used almost exclusively for Indigenous prisoners, according to statistics collated by a government-appointed panel that show Indigenous peoples are seriously disadvantaged by a prisoner segregation regimen introduced in 2019. The government established Structured Intervention Units (SIUs) after courts in B.C. and Ontario ruled that a...

May 26, 2023


After spending 7 years detained in Turkey, Charman Smith is now home

Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen Charman Smith denies she had any knowledge of the illegal substance found in her possession.  A First Nations woman from Yukon charged with drug trafficking in Turkey has returned home after being detained there for seven years. Charman Smith, a Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen, was greeted by loved ones at the Whitehorse airport...

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 16, 2023


There’s been a lack of implementation on MMIWG calls for justice says FSIN vice chief

APTN News: As the fourth anniversary of the release of the final report from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls approaches, Aly Bear believes the crisis has only deepened. Bear, who is 3rd vice chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan (FSIN), recently had the opportunity to...

May 12, 2023


Chiefs, families push for search for remains at Winnipeg landfill that could take years, cost up to $184M

Police believe remains of 2 First Nations women are in Prairie Green landfill Landfill search for remains of First Nations women could cost $183M: study WARNING: This story contains distressing details. To view the video, click on the following link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/landfill-feasibility-study-results-manitoba-1.6840411?cmp=newsletter_Evening%20Headlines%20from%20CBC%20News_1617_1050297 CBC News: A search for the remains of two First Nations women at a...

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 28, 2023


Experts, family say many questions remain unanswered in James Smith Cree Nation tragedy

Professor questions why RCMP divulged so much about the offenders and victims, but not the RCMP’s own actions CBC News: RCMP gave a detailed summary of the James Smith Cree Nation mass stabbing this week, but some family members and observers say many questions remain unanswered. For nearly three hours Thursday at a presentation in Melfort, Sask., RCMP revealed...

April 25, 2023


This Ojibway man served his sentence, then says the Crown tried to put strict conditions on his release

Case of Shaldon Wabason, who fought and won peace bond attempt, raises concerns involving Indigenous people CBC News: A man from an Ojibway First Nation in northwestern Ontario says Crown lawyers wrongfully tried to impose unnecessarily strict conditions on his release from jail. Shaldon Wabason, who’s from Whitesand First Nation, and his lawyers say prosecutors in...

April 24, 2023


Women’s shelters across Canada are losing nearly $150 million in federal funding

Money was earmarked to help during pandemic but shelters say extra dollars have become ‘lifesaving’ CBC News: The more than 600 women’s shelters across Canada will soon lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding they say has kept them afloat during the pandemic and is still desperately needed. Since April 2020, Ottawa has provided $300...

April 21, 2023


Report calls on feds to strip $1B from Correctional Service of Canada budget

Prisoner’s Legal Services says money should be shifted towards community healing. APTN: A prisoner advocacy organization in British Columbia says the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) should have a third of its budget stripped away and that money should be diverted towards Indigenous governments and organizations. In its report, Decarceration through Self-Determination, Prisoner’s Legal Services argues...

April 19, 2023


Delegates from Canada highlight land rights, safety for Indigenous women and girls at UN forum

‘We deserve to be valued,’ says FSIN vice-chief Aly Bear CBC News: Indigenous delegates from Canada did not mince words addressing the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York this week. The theme of the 22nd session of the forum, which runs until April 28, is “Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and...

April 16, 2023


Justice miscarried

Book explores convictions where accused entered false guilty plea EXCERPTED FROM “WRONGFULLY CONVICTED: GUILTY PLEAS, IMAGINED CRIMES, AND WHAT CANADA MUST DO TO SAFEGUARD JUSTICE” BY KENT ROACH. PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER CANADA. COPYRIGHT © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Toronto Star: Beyond the infamous cases, Canada has a major problem with wrongful convictions, argues...

April 13, 2023


Missing, murdered Indigenous men and boys need to be part of the discussion

An Indigenous man is four times more likely to be a victim of homicide when compared to Indigenous women and seven times more likely than non-Indigenous males, reads a resolution at last week’s Assembly of First Nations special chiefs assembly. Windspeaker.com: Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller says he is “absolutely willing” to discuss with chiefs...

April 13, 2023


NAN, NAPS Support CHRT Complaint Against Canada on Underfunding of First Nations Policing

NationTalk: OTTAWA, ON: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum, Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) Chief of Police Roland Morrison, and NAPS Board Chair Mike Metatawabin have released the following statement supporting the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal complaint filed by the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario against the Government of Canada: “This...

April 5, 2023


Ottawa backs away from timeline for law to make First Nations policing essential service

The Globe and Mail: The federal government is backing away from setting a timeline to introduce legislation that would declare First Nations policing an essential service, but at least one regional chief hopes to see it this spring. Ghislain Picard, a member of the Assembly of First Nations executive, says it has been fighting for improvements to...

April 3, 2023


First Nations police launch human-rights complaint against Ottawa over funding

The Globe and Mail: Police chiefs presiding over First Nations police forces in Ontario have launched a human-rights complaint alleging that the federal government is placing reserves in crisis by failing to deliver adequate funding. The claim, which was obtained by The Globe and Mail, was filed last week at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal...

March 27, 2023


Saskatchewan Indigenous groups sound alarm on crime-wave crisis

The Globe and Mail: An Indigenous leader in Saskatchewan says the province’s First Nations are struggling to confront a crime wave as they await legislation and government funding to bolster policing. Edward (Dutch) Lerat, a vice-chief of Saskatchewan’s Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, said many First Nations are trying to determine how to start up...

March 26, 2023


My visit with Odelia Quewezance — jailed for a murder she says she didn’t commit — stirs up hope but opens old wounds

Quewezance, convicted with her sister in a killing her cousin confessed to, may be on the cusp of freedom. Why a visit to her home stirred old emotions. The Toronto Star: RHEIN, Sask.—Odelia Quewezance knew she had to stay strong, at least for a few more weeks. The slender 51- year-old Salteaux woman smiled often...

March 24, 2023


Who pays for First Nations policing, and who benefits? Saskatchewan’s struggles point to problems with funding models

After last year’s stabbings at James Smith Cree Nation, reserves are rethinking how to keep themselves safe – and how to navigate a maze of jurisdictions that Ottawa plans to redesign The Globe and Mail: The first 911 call, after the attacks began at James Smith Cree Nation, was made at 5:40 a.m. It was...

March 16, 2023


In Brief: Jim Shot Both Sides, et al. v. His Majesty the King

In Brief: Jim Shot Both Sides, et al. v. His Majesty the KingBy Kate Gunn and Tyler SwanWhat it’s AboutThe Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether First Nations can be barred from bringing claims based on breaches of the Crown’s treaty obligations under provincial limitation periods. What happenedThe Blood Tribe brought an action against Canada for...

March 8, 2023


Assembly of First Nations national chief highlights MMIWG at UN on International Women’s Day

Winnipeg case ‘speaks volumes’ of views on Indigenous women, says RoseAnne Archibald CBC News: On International Women’s Day on Wednesday at the United Nations in New York, the Assembly of First Nations national chief said her number one focus is missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, as well as gender-diverse people. RoseAnne Archibald spoke specifically about the case of...

February 24, 2023


New registry shows Indigenous Peoples largely shut out of wrongful conviction cases

Reporting by APTN News helped inspire new Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions APTN News: A team of Indigenous law students have built Canada’s first registry of wrongful convictions. Their database, which went live this week, confirms that mostly white, middle-class men have been exonerated so far. “It does not reflect the most vulnerable people in...

February 23, 2023


Researchers fill data gap on police-involved killings

‘When these numbers are not tracked, it’s a lot easier to dismiss the magnitude of the problem’ CBC News: Joanne MacIsaac recalls the day in 2013 when she found out police had shot and killed her brother Michael. “Something like that changes you,” MacIsaac said. Michael MacIsaac was shot dead by a Durham police officer...

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 21, 2023


Challenge of the Decision Rendered on December 15, 2022 in Favour of Mashteuiatsh

NationTalk: MASHTEUIATSH, QC  – The Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation and the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) deplore Quebec’s decision to challenge before the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) the judgment rendered by the Court of appeal of Quebec on December 15, 2022. The Attorney General of Quebec has filed an application for leave to appeal to take the case to the highest court in...

February 20, 2023


Canadian registry of wrongful convictions shines light on cases the headlines miss

The registry shows a significant number of cases were due to false guilty pleas and “imagined” crimes or “dirty thinking,” such as the victims of disgraced coroner Dr. Charles Smith. Also, the number of Indigenous people wrongfully convicted represent roughly one in five of the documented cases. The Toronto Star: A first-ever comprehensive Canadian registry...

February 19, 2023


Hereditary Chief refuses to leave job, but band members have voted to oust her

The Globe and Mail: The Chief of a tiny Fraser Valley First Nation is refusing to leave the job her father appointed her to 30 years ago, saying the band’s oral laws mean she is its legitimate leader. But a group of opponents within the Kwantlen First Nation are escalating their four-year fight to fire...

February 17, 2023


Indigenous leaders and MMIWG families want movement on Calls for Justice

Assembly of First Nations’ national MMIWG gathering wraps up in Vancouver CBC News: Assembly of First Nations Regional B.C. Chief Terry Teegee says families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) are frustrated with the lack of progress since the national inquiry ended nearly four years ago.  The AFN’s National MMIWG2S+ Gathering wrapped up two...

February 17, 2023


Ex-national chief who helped create Assembly of First Nations says organization now ‘in limbo’

Del Riley enshrined Indigenous rights in Constitution while rallying chiefs under a new banner CBC News: The Assembly of First Nations has lost its way and is now “in limbo,” having over its 40-year history slowly come under the influence of the Liberal Party of Canada, says the former national chief who created it. Del Riley...

February 13, 2023


‘These are real people’: NDP MP slams Correctional Service Canada over systemic racism

Canada’s National Observer: On Thursday, the NDP MP for Edmonton Griesbach spoke at a public accounts committee meeting after the release of an auditor general’s report on systemic barriers facing prisoners in federal jails. “(Correctional Service Canada) acknowledged in November 2020 that systemic racism is present in the correctional system; it’s long overdue that CSC remove the...

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 9, 2023


For 50 days she stood vigil at a Winnipeg landfill. The alleged serial killer charged in her mother’s death goes to court today

Daughter of one of four slain Indigenous women, alleged victims of Jeremy Skibicki, wants to ensure “the landfill isn’t their final resting place.” Toronto Star: WINNIPEG—The red dress trembles in the wind as it clings to a chain-link fence. The symbols of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are draped all along the perimeter...

February 8, 2023


They fought for decades to be recognized as Indigenous. Now they want to take the federal government to court

NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer: Daphne Young is Ojibwe. But she grew up in Nipigon, Ont., estranged from her culture and people at Red Rock First Nation. Her family was removed from band lists more than a century ago when her great-grandfather, Frank Hardy, joined the Canadian Armed Forces before the First World War.  Like most...

February 7, 2023


The Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in a case involving Treaty rights and limitations law

First Peoples Law Report Summary 40153 Jim Shot Both Sides, et al. v. His Majesty the King (Federal) (Civil) (By Leave) Keywords Aboriginal law – Treaty rights, Limitation of actions – Aboriginal law — Treaty rights — Treaty 7 — Breach of treaty as cause of action — Limitation of actions — Whether limitation periods...

February 4, 2023


Digging for answers

The families of an alleged serial killer’s victims want this landfill searched. But how, and by whom? The Globe asked forensics experts, who saw hope that the right techniques could unearth buried remains The Globe and Mail: For months after police determined Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were likely buried at the Prairie Green Landfill,...

February 1, 2023


Healing lodges, designed for Indigenous inmates, are failing the people they’re meant to rehabilitate, say prison reform advocates

NationTalk: National Observer – Have healing lodges lost their way as a medicine to Indigenous over-incarceration? It’s a question the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP), which represents urban and non-status Indigenous Peoples, is asking after the tragic death of Cassandra Fox, a 27-year-old inmate who died by suicide last Wednesday at the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge in Saskatchewan. “The Congress...

January 24, 2023


Métis survivors sue Saskatchewan, Canada over residential school

Class-action suit launched over the Île-à-la-Crosse school in northern Saskatchewan after Métis were left out of previous settlements. Toronto Star: For survivors of one of the oldest residential schools in Canada, it’s been a long time coming. Métis survivors who attended the Île-à-la-Crosse residential school in northern Saskatchewan have launched a class-action lawsuit against the...

January 17, 2023


Bail hearing scheduled for Saskatchewan sisters who say they were wrongfully convicted

The Globe and Mail: Two sisters who have spent nearly 30 years in prison for what they say are wrongful murder convictions hugged and smudged before walking into a courthouse for a bail hearing Tuesday. Odelia and Nerissa Quewezance were convicted in 1994 of second-degree murder in the death of 70-year-old farmer Anthony Joseph Dolff,...

January 9, 2023


RCMP has spent nearly $50M on policing pipeline, logging standoffs in B.C.

Cash for operations on 3 resource projects flowed through Community-Industry Response Group CBC News · Posted: Jan 06, 2023 1:59 PM ET | Last Updated: January 6 CBC News: An RCMP squad charged with policing resistance to resource extraction in British Columbia spent nearly $50 million enforcing injunctions obtained by the petroleum and forestry sectors in its first...

December 21, 2022


Indian Day School (IDS) Survivors Demand Fair Timeline to Seek Compensation

NationTalk: SIX NATIONS OF GRAND RIVER, ON, Dec. 21, 2022 – Legal action has been launched against the federal government over a class action Settlement Agreement (The Agreement) providing compensation for systemic abuse suffered by First Nations children attending government-run IDS. The Six Nations of the Grand River Elected Council (Six Nations) and class member Audrey Hill (Ms. Hill) assert...

December 21, 2022


Unanimous Decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal: Governments urged to end underfunding of Indigenous police services across Canada

NationTalk: MASHTEUIATSH, QC, VANCOUVER, BC and WENDAKE, QC, Dec. 21, 2022– The federal and provincial governments are being called upon to accept the findings of the Quebec Court of Appeal in the matter of the underfunding of the Pekuakamiulnuatsh Takuhikan police services and to end the chronic underfunding of Indigenous police services across the country. In response to the ruling...

December 8, 2022


AFN Stands With Family Of Morgan Beatrice Harris And All Mmiwg2s+ Demanding Dignity And Justice

Assembly of First Nations: (Ottawa, ON) – The Assembly of First Nations stands with the families of Morgan Beatrice Harris and Marcedes Myran, who were honoured with a blanketing ceremony by AFN Women’s Council Vice Chair Doris Anderson and Knowledge Keeper Dr. Gwen Point in a ceremony during the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly. Before the...

December 6, 2022


Race and Gender Discrimination Fuel Violence against Indigenous Women

NationTalk: Thunder Bay, ON – The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (White Ribbon Day) is a Canadian movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity. Indigenous women have the right to a future free from...

December 6, 2022


Tŝilhqot’in Question Amendments to Bill C21

NationTalk: Williams Lake, B.C.: The Tŝilhqot’in National Government is questioning the recent amendments to Bill C21, which will now include hunting rifles and semi-automatic shotguns. Hunting rifles are necessary tools for hunting and exercising the Indigenous right to hunt as affirmed by Section 35 of the Constitution. The TNG recognizes the need to address gun...

December 5, 2022


Native women’s association calls out Canada for doing little to stop genocide following killing of four women in Winnipeg

Canada’s National Observer: The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) is not mincing words following the killing of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg at the hands of one man.  “Let’s be clear, these crimes are part of the genocide that was declared in 2019 by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and...

December 5, 2022


AFN Stands With Kiashke Zaaging Anishinabek (Gull Bay First Nation) In Action Against Canada For Inequitable Funding And Support For First Nation Police Services

NationTalk: (Ottawa, ON) – Today, Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek (Gull Bay First Nation) Chief Wilfred King has launched a legal action in Federal Court against Public Safety Canada and other federal departments in response to the inequitable funding of First Nations Police Services. King, along with Legal Counsel Chantelle Bryson (Potestio Law) announced the legal action...

November 28, 2022


‘Stonewalled’: Trans Mountain hides dealings with private security and spy firms

Federally-owned pipeline company refuses to release contracts or reports  First Peoples Law Report: CBC News – A federally owned pipeline company is withholding records that would expose its dealings with private security and intelligence firms by citing blanket exemptions under access-to-information law. Calgary-based Trans Mountain responded to a request to see its contracts with these agencies,...

November 1, 2022


Federal prison watchdog sounds alarm over treatment of Indigenous inmates

Globe and Mail: Efforts to improve conditions for Indigenous inmates have stagnated over the past decade, the federal prisons watchdog says, perpetuating the disadvantages of a group that is vastly overrepresented in the prisoner population. Correctional Investigator Ivan Zinger found that facilities established specifically to meet the needs of Indigenous prisoners, called healing lodges, are...

October 21, 2022


Healing lodges help reduce Indigenous overincarceration. Why has Canada allowed them to wither?

Indigenous-run healing lodges are a successful model for rehabilitation, but they are underfunded and underused across the country Globe and Mail: Conrad Johnson entered prison a teenager, and figured he’d leave a dead man. In 1995, he committed one of Winnipeg’s most shocking gang crimes, shooting 13-year-old Joseph Spence in the back with a sawed-off...

October 20, 2022


Supreme Court will not hear from St. Anne’s residential school survivors

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not to heara case of residential school survivors who have fought a years-long battle against Ottawa to release thousands of records. The group of survivors from St. Anne’s residential school in northern Ontario had looked to the country’s highest court after spending the last...

October 19, 2022


‘Long overdue’: First Nations Police Chiefs respond to plan to expand Indigenous policing

Reaction is coming out swiftly to the federal government’s plan to make First Nations policing essential across the country. Saskatchewan has just one First Nation-administered police service: File Hills First Nations Police in Balcarres. The service has been in operation for about 20 years, serving five different First Nation communities in Treaty Four Tribal Territory....

October 12, 2022


Supreme Court to hear case on whether Indigenous governments are subject to Charter scrutiny

NationTalk: The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has been granted leave to intervene in a landmark case dealing with the scope of section 25 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and how this provision’s guarantee of rights for Indigenous people interacts with the Charter. Section 25 of the Charter provides that “[t]he guarantee in...

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


Make Indigenous policing essential

Toronto Star: In the early morning hours of Sept. 4, Saskatchewan RCMP received a call reporting a stabbing on the James Smith Cree Nation. Three minutes later, two officers were dispatched to the scene. In most communities, that response could be quick enough to save some lives. But since the officers had to travel 45...

August 15, 2022


Native Women’s Association of Canada calls for the return of Dawn Walker to Canada

“The fear and lack of choice that Dawn Walker says drove her decision to flee to the United States is reflected in the thousands of testimonies heard by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls who faced systemic discrimination on all fronts – we need to act on the Calls to...

June 27, 2022


MPs study resource extraction and violence against Indigenous women

CabinRadio: The Standing Committee on the Status of Women, made up of Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic MPs, announced the study in April in response to calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Karen Vecchio, a Conservative MP and shadow minister for women and gender equality, is chair...

June 23, 2022


Not Enough: All Words and No Action on MMIWG: Interim report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Relations

The following report will discuss the Government of Canada’s implementation of the Calls for Justice and the committee’s intention to seek an Order of Reference from the Senate to further study oversight mechanisms for the Government of Canada’s implementation of the Calls for Justice. We believe accountability is vital to ensure that families and survivors...

June 22, 2022


Anishinabek Nation and the FSIN call for action on the Indian Day School Class Action Settlement

ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE (June 22, 2022) – The Federal Indian Day School Class Action Settlement is set to close forever in July 2022. As this date quickly approaches, Survivors and their families are in distress, outwardly excluded from a process established to find them justice. First Nations and Indigenous representatives have called for amendments and...

June 3, 2022


MMIWG: NWAC Report Card on National Action Plan finds little progress

Native Women’s Association of Canada: A comprehensive analysis of the federal government’s National Action Plan to address violence against Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people finds little progress has been made over the past year to reduce the shocking number of murders and disappearances. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) assessed the National Action Plan...

June 3, 2022


First Nations Leadership Council troubled by lack of progress on implementing the MMIWG Calls to Justice

NationTalk: (Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)/Vancouver, B.C.) – On the third anniversary of the release of the National Inquiry’s Final Report and Calls for Justice, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) is deeply troubled by the lack of progress to implement the Calls for Justice. Despite the finding of genocide made by the...

June 3, 2022


Correction Service Canada fails to eliminate systemic barriers against Indigenous people

NationTalk: NISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is calling for major changes in how First Nation people are treated in the current colonial justice system. This following Tuesday’s release of a devastating report by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) that found Corrections Services Canada has once again failed...

March 26, 2022


Is denial of conditional sentences for Indigenous people systemic racism? The Supreme Court will decide

The Toronto Star (Windspeaker.com) – The Supreme Court of Canada will be weighing the arguments it heard March 23 to determine whether the inability to make conditional sentencing available in some cases amounts to systemic racism for Indigenous offenders, infringing on their Charter rights.  In 2012, the Criminal Code was amended through the Safe Streets...

December 17, 2021


Incarceration rates of Indigenous people

Correctional Investigator – The Correctional Investigator, Dr. Ivan Zinger, released new data that shows that the proportion of incarcerated Indigenous women has continued to increase unabated, and is nearing 50% of all federally-sentenced women. On January 21, 2020, the Office of the Correctional Investigator reported that the proportion of Indigenous men and women in federal...

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....

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....

June 30, 2021


Exclusion of Métis from Residential School Settlement Agreement

Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak / Women of the Métis Nation (LFMO) – the National Indigenous Women’s Organization representing Métis women across the Métis Nation Motherland, is calling on the Federal Government to commit to a distinctions-based process and supports for Métis Residential School survivors and their families to heal in this unprecedented time of grief and...

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...

February 18, 2021


Bill C-22 : An Act to amend the Criminal Code….”

Toronto Star – Bill C-22 “An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act” although a step in the right direction does not go far enough, critics say. The fact that the bill does not remove mandatory minimums for more crimes and does not repeal simple drug possession from the...

January 26, 2021


Women’s Shelters in Iuit Nunangat

Indigenous Services Canada – Commit to fund the construction and operations of shelters for Inuit women and children across Inuit Nunangat as well as in urban centres. Funding for the new shelters will be part of the $724.1 million for a comprehensive Violence Prevention Strategy as announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement. The government...

January 12, 2021


Custody Rating Scale lawsuit

Globe and Mail – A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court challenges the Custody Rating Scale, a 12-question risk assessment tool developed by Correctional Services Canada in the 1980s and in widespread use. The suite is file on behalf of tens of thousands of inmates over systemic bias in its security classifications which affect inmates’...

January 6, 2021


Federal Prisoners

The Tyee – Erin O’Toole, leader of the Conservative Party, disagrees with Canada’s vaccination effort that includes a plan to immunize high-risk prisoners in federal prisons — people who are old or sick. The initial wave of vaccinations will reach 600 inmates, about four per cent of the prison population. His comment: “Not one criminal...

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,...

September 27, 2020


Indigenous Police Forces

Toronto Star – Indigenous Police Forces only police force in Canada not classified as an essential service. The federal government has promised four times “to speed up the development of a legal framework to recognize First Nations policing as an essential service”: after the 2019 election, after the Coastal GasLInk protests in BC in the...

September 25, 2020


MMIWG Class Action Lawsuit

Southern Chiefs Organization – Strongly disagrees with the federal government’s arguments that Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people do not face a “special threat from a special source” and are not unique victims of criminal violence. SCO believes they fly in the face of the findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous...

September 21, 2020


Supreme Court on Indigenous laws

Clarification and validation of Indigenous rights and treaty as asserted by the Supreme Court of Canada in Delgamuukw, 1997. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) – AMC will be intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada…to argue that First Nation constitutional orders are distinct but equal to Euro-Canadian laws. The Court will address the most fundamental...

September 14, 2020


Women’s Shelters in Iuit Nunangat

Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada – Inuit communities are not eligible to access funding for shelters through the federal government’s Family Violence Prevention Program for Indigenous women, children and families. In its recent pre-budget submission to the Standing Committee on Finance (now paused due to the prorogation of Parliament), Pauktuutit reiterated its shelter ask as...

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...

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 2, 2020


Supreme Court: Trans Mountain Pipeline appeal

BIV – Business in Vancouver – The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal of the federal government’s approval of the $12.6 billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is already under construction. The Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish First Nations and Coldwater Indian Band had appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada to hear...

June 2, 2020


Women’s Shelters in Iuit Nunangat

Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada – Historically, the Minister of Indigenous Affairs has only had authority to provide funding for shelters on First Nations reserves, resulting in a glaring policy and program gap for vulnerable Inuit women and children. Inuit women face violence at a rate 14 times greater than other women in Canada. Of...

April 20, 2020


Indigenous prisoners in federal prisons

BC First Nations Justice Council – 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....

July 19, 2019


Exclusion of Métis from Residential School Settlement Agreement

Métis Nation of Saskatchewan – Île-à-la-Crosse boarding school was operated by the Province of Saskatchewan and the Catholic Church from 1906 to 1976. Former students of the school were not eligible for compensation under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, as the school was never federally operated or administered. Former Île-à-la-Crosse students filed a class...

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...

April 12, 2019


Bill S-215 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sentencing for Violent Offences Against Aboriginal Women)

Native Women’s Association of Canada – As a supporter of this bill, Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) hoped it would be an important step forward with respect to the urgent issues Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people face today such as heightened likelihood of disappearance, human trafficking, violent crimes, and forced and coerced...

April 10, 2019


Bill S-215 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sentencing for Violent Offences Against Aboriginal Women)

Defeat of “Bill S-215, An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sentencing for Violent Offences Against Aboriginal Women)” in the House of Commons during the second reading on April 10, 2019. The Bill would have required a court to take Indigenous female identity into account during the sentencing of offenders. Those “in favour” of Bill...

December 4, 2018


Bill S-215 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (Sentencing for Violent Offences Against Aboriginal Women)

Toronto Star – When there’s a large-scale industrial development, when there’s construction camps that are co-located, we have documented increases in the rates of sexual assault, the rates of sexualized violence, the rates of prostitution, the rates of sexually transmitted infections,” said Ginger Gibson, director of the Firelight Group, which does research in Indigenous and...

October 11, 2018


Duty to Consult vs Indigenous laws and treaties

The Conservation – Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada Supreme Court Decision ruling on the application of the Duty to Consult doctrine and if it can be applied to the federal legislation-making process. The case originates from Mikisew Cree First Nation’s challenge of the 2012 Omnibus bills introduced under the previous federal government that made...