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Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Northwest Territories"
Updates on this page: 156
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 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...
March 18, 2024
Inuit leaders, MPs urge action on TB elimination as federal budget nears
TB rate among Inuit 676 times higher than among non-Indigenous, Canadian-born people CBC Indigenous: With the federal budget approaching, Inuit leaders and New Democrat MPs are urging the Trudeau government to tackle tuberculosis in Indigenous communities. Inuit in particular face a “staggering and unacceptable reality” of tuberculosis rates more than 300 times higher than Canadian-born non-Indigenous people,...
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
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 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 2, 2024
The N.W.T. has 11 official languages, yet service in Indigenous languages continues to be a struggle
Territory’s official languages commissioner says legislation creates gaps for service availability CBC News: The N.W.T. languages commissioner says the territorial government hasn’t done enough to ensure people can access services in the territory’s official Indigenous languages. “They could do so much more,” said commissioner Brenda Gauthier. “It does not appear that the government is setting...
February 29, 2024
Spouse seeking answers after young N.W.T. mother, prescribed Advil, dies of double pneumonia
Rachel Simpson was sent home from Whatı̀ health centre despite worsening condition CBC News: The partner of a young mother from Whatı̀, N.W.T., who died this week wants to know why the community health centre didn’t take her seriously for days before she was medevaced to Alberta. Rachel Simpson was the glue that held their family...
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 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 1, 2024
Frank Gruben: Family, friends, N.W.T. premier call for more information
It’s been more than eight months since Frank Gruben went missing – but the investigation is still active, and hope remains. Frank Gruben’s mother Laura Kalinek (left) and siblings Kimberlyn and Steven Gruben (right) in Aklavik in June, 2023. Photo: Karli Zschogner/APTN. This is part 4 of our series about the disappearance of Frank Gruben....
January 31, 2024
Frank Gruben: The RCMP response and the need for missing-persons legislation
N.W.T. RCMP say they have ‘exhausted’ investigative leads – but new legislation may empower them to gather more evidence. Fort Smith RCMP Sgt. Cagri Yilmaz agreed to take APTN Investigates Karli Zschogner on a ride-along. Photo: Karli Zschogner/APTN. This is part three of a four-part series by APTN Investigates looking into the disappearance of Frank...
January 27, 2024
Next-generation leaders must stay in the Arctic
A new generation of Arctic leaders, from left Ashley Rae Carvill, Kristen Tanche and Megan Dicker Nochasak Toronto Star: “The Arctic affects us all,” explained Gov. Gen. Mary Simon in Finland last year, “and what happens here has far-reaching consequences for the world.” The Arctic is changing. Challenges — including climate change — require emerging...
January 26, 2024
Western Arctic community say lives impacted by delay in opening of ice road
Climate scientists show the Arctic is one of the fastest warming areas on Earth. APTN News: Community members in Aklavik are pointing to the effects on climate change for the delays in building an ice road that is critical to their daily lives in the winter. “It’s a tough thing to try and predict because...
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 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 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 14, 2023
‘Unbearable’ hurt as Fort McPherson, N.W.T., sees 5 deaths in 1 week
‘All of the deaths we’ve experienced have touched every person in Fort McPherson,’ says chief CBC Indigenous: Prayer circles were held across the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and northern B.C. over the weekend to mourn a series of recent deaths in the hamlet of Fort McPherson, N.W.T. Three young women, a young man and an...
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 13, 2023
Survivors renew calls for demolition of former residential schools in N.W.T.
Connie Benwell never met her uncle Marvin. That’s because he never returned home from residential school. “My grandparents died without ever knowing what happened to their baby Marvin,” Benwell said. “He was only seven years old when they were told he had died at school, they didn’t know what happened, just that he died.” She...
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
Co-operation needed to fill in gaps on residential school deaths, says N.W.T. coroner
Coroner’s office uncovered 6 deaths, but the data only goes back to 1967 CBC Indigenous: The N.W.T.’s chief coroner says it will take more work and some co-operation between different agencies to get a fuller picture of how many children died at residential schools in the territory. An interim report by the Senate standing committee on Indigenous peoples...
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 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 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
Indigenous Women Continue to Face Abuse
In this century, forced sterilization in Canada is no longer in effect, but there have been recent reports of sterilization in some places, according to the President of Women of the Métis Nation. NationTalk: The Hamilton Spectator – In this century, forced sterilization in Canada is no longer in effect, but there have been recent...
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 29, 2023
TG Supports Amendments to NWT Emergency Management Act
Tłı̨chǫ Government Supports Efforts to Amend NWT Emergency Management Act To Include Coordination with Indigenous Governments & Organizations NationTalk: Behchokǫ̀ – Tłıc̨hǫ Government supports the efforts of Monfwi MLA, Jane Weyallon Armstrong, to amend the NWT Emergency Management Act (EMA) to require the Emergency Management Organization (“EMO”) to coordinate its activities with impacted Indigenous Governments...
August 29, 2023
NWT evacuations leave some Indigenous people in ‘scary’ situations
Hannah Paulson·August 29, 2023 The line-up of people waiting for airlift evacuation at Yellowknife’s Sir John Franklin High School around 11am on Thursday, August 17. Photo: Sándor Vörös NationTalk: In the days leading up to Yellowknife’s evacuation, Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty says, the NWT government likely knew an evacuation order was imminent – or...
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 23, 2023
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Calls for Support for First Nations Communities Affected by Wildfires in B.C. and N.W.T.
NationTalk: Ottawa, ON – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Interim National Chief Joanna Bernard is urgently calling for increased support in response to wildfires in British Columbia (B.C.) and the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.), for the affected First Nations individuals and communities, including in the city of Yellowknife, nearby communities of Ndilo, Dettah, and the...
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...
July 20, 2023
Senate committee demands to know why all residential school records have yet to be turned over
“Every time an announcement of anomalies, reflections or recoveries are made, communities are being inundated by people emailing or phoning them to attack them and saying, ‘This didn’t happen’.” — Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray Senator Brian Francis Windspeaker.com: Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples chair Senator Brian Francis calls a report released July 19 a...
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 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 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...
June 27, 2023
Better dental care means dealing with historical issues, says Indigenous dentist
CBC News: Dr. Sheri McKinstry says Indigenous communities struggling to access dental care is common across the country. “It’s kind of not surprising that we’re having issues with dental providers coming into the clinics when we’re isolated,” she told The Trailbreaker. McKinstry is a dentist, member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba, and one of the...
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 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 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
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...
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 23, 2023
The Treaty Right to Health and the Legacy of the Indian Health Policy (1979)
Contemporary Legislative and Policy Considerations EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document provides a succinct overview of the health-related legal and policy frameworks that frame and limit the potential for self-determination and self-government of First Nations people. This review is informed by recent developments such as the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the associated Calls...
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 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 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
Dehcho First Nations’ support of UNDRIP legislation ‘up in the air’: grand chief
A month after it was introduced, six parties to the legislation have still not signed on First Peoples Law Report: CKLB Radio – Ultimately, says Dehcho First Nations Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, any such agreement between the DFN and the GNWT will need to be implemented in the spirit of “joint decision-making and shared stewardship.”...
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 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...
March 23, 2023
N.W.T. wants to contract an Indigenous-led treatment facility, but none are bidding for the work
The territory received proposals from two facilities, but neither met its criteria for Indigenous-led services CBC News: The N.W.T. government’s search for an addiction treatment facility with Indigenous-led programing isn’t going well. The territory’s Health and Social Services Department was taking proposals from facilities it could work with early in the year, but the contract...
March 13, 2023
Years of abuse in Cambridge Bay group home went ignored, lawsuit alleges
Eight people say they were sexually assaulted and beaten by a couple who ran the home in the ‘70s, ‘80s WARNING: This story discusses the physical and sexual abuse of children. CBC News: On a dusty plot of land in the western Arctic community of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, sits a slightly out-of-place modern looking building...
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 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...
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 16, 2023
MLA questions what’s stopping N.W.T. gov’t from hiring more Indigenous people
‘We need to know what those barriers are prior to developing something that we may or may not need’: Simpson CBC News: Before the N.W.T. implements a new plan, the territory should understand why its affirmative action policy isn’t working, says Hay River South MLA Rocky Simpson. Affirmative action is a government policy that prioritizes...
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...
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 25, 2023
Caribou summit asks a burning question: What’s the future of the Porcupine herd?
The Porcupine is ‘one of the biggest herds in the world.’ Will it stay that way? CBC News: The Porcupine caribou is one of the few barren-ground herds in the circumpolar world that remains strong and healthy — and the communities who rely on it want to make sure it stays that way. This was...
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 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 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 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 12, 2022
N.W.T. says federal Indigenous child and families act infringes on territorial authority
CBC News: N.W.T. government leaders are defending a decision by the territory’s attorney general to join a Supreme Court of Canada challenge of the federal law that gives Indigenous governments power to control their own child and family services. That law includes a provision that Indigenous law prevails in disputes with a province or territory. The Northwest...
December 5, 2022
Report finds Indigenous N.W.T. employees largely working entry level jobs
CBC News: Recently released data from the N.W.T government indicates that Indigenous employees in the public service are still largely confined to entry-level positions. On Nov. 15, the territory released Indigenous Employment Plans for each of its 11 departments and 13 agencies to the public. The plans are part of its ongoing push to boost the...
December 2, 2022
Government of Canada invests $3.8 million to support barren-ground caribou conservation in the Northwest Territories
Environment and Climate Change Canada: Caribou is an iconic species for Canadians and plays an important role in the culture and history of Indigenous peoples. The Government of Canada is determined to halt and reverse Canada’s biodiversity loss, and the decline of this species, by working in collaboration with the provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous...
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...
October 5, 2022
N.W.T. gov’t needs to reckon with issues contributing to suicides of young people, says health minister
Loss of young people in 2021, 2022 ‘shocking’, says Green CBC News: The N.W.T.’s health minister says the territory needs a “whole-of-government” response to address a spike in suicides this year. Earlier this week, chief coroner Garth Eggenberger released data on suicides from 2021 and the first nine months of 2022. In that period, 29 people died...
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,...
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
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...
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...
January 17, 2022
Yellowknife’s Indigenous Relations Advisor
Cabin Radio – Stacie Smith to become Yellowknofe’s new deputy Mayor. Smith, who was elected in 2018, is of Tłı̨chǫ, Nunatukavut, and English descent. She is currently the only Indigenous member of Yellowknife’s city council. During her tenure, she has served as chair of the city’s community advisory board on homelessness and spoken about the...
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....
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
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....
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 11, 2021
Giant Mine Remediation
CBC – The Yellowknives Dene First Nation says the federal government’s response to the Giant Mine petition “reflects some progress,” but when it comes to remediation contracts, the response “falls short.” They say the response fails to reflect over three months of discussions between the Yellowknives Dene and government representatives. It also points out that...
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 3, 2021
Giant Mine Remediation
CBC – The Giant Mine operated from 1948 to 2006, displacing the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YNDFN) from the western part of Yellowknife Bay, affecting their harvesting rights. The mine contaminated the water and led to long-term negative social impacts among the YKDFN. The YKDFN and the federal government agreed to set up a formal...
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...
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...
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...
October 15, 2020
Canada Health Act fails Inuit
Pauktuutit Women of Canada – President Kudloo calls for additional funding to improve health determinants for Inuit women and girls and a focus on youth to increase Inuit health providers. She will also will highlight how the Canada Health Act is failing Inuit women and girls when she participates in a national meeting to address...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 12, 2020
Yellowknife’s Indigenous Relations Advisor
CBC – Eliminating the Indigenous Relations Advisor in a city with 24% Indigenous population (2018 data). Indigenous Service Canada provided initial funding for 18 months that was not renewed. The city would not include in ongoing budget. Councillor Stacie Smith, who is Tlicho, the only Indigenous member on City Council, said that with few Indigenous...
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 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 26, 2019
Toward a Plan – Strengthening Canada’s Position in the Arctic
Failure to take a leadership role in positioning the Canadian arctic for success in a rapidly evolving arctic political landscape. “As the effects of climate change increase access to the Arctic, the global geopolitical context for the region is changing. With enormous untapped opportunities for shipping, research and resource development, many countries are looking to...
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 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...
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...
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...
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 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...