Current Problems: Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Ontario"
Updates on this page: 41
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,...
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...
February 15, 2024
What does the duty to consult First Nations, Inuit and Métis mean?
And why some advocates say Canada needs to move from consultation to consent CBC Indigenous: You’ve probably heard the phrase duty to consult, or failure to consult, when it comes to governments and their relationships with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. But what does it actually mean? Stemming from three Supreme Court of Canada decisions in 2004...
January 26, 2024
Chiefs of Ontario call for 1-year pause on staking mining claims in the province
A similar request from the Anishinabek Nation in 2022 wasn’t granted by the province CBC Indigenous: The Chiefs of Ontario are calling for a 365-day moratorium on mining claims staked across the province. They say many First Nations can’t keep up with the administrative burden of reviewing the mining claims staked in their territories. “Mining claim staking...
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...
October 24, 2023
Make a decision on the MNO’s historic communities, judge tells Métis National Council
“We have certainly the better side of the litigation and it’s unfortunate that that the MNC had to, without the need to, bring these grievances in the form of litigation…” — Rahool Agarwal, legal counsel for the Manitoba Métis Federation At right is the Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron, and at left is David...
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...
September 22, 2023
Caldwell First Nation calls for resignation of provincial Indigenous minister
The call stems from criticism over the Greenbelt issue, chief says CBC Indigenous: The chief of the Caldwell First Nation in southwestern Ontario is calling for the resignation of Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs Greg Rickford over what she says is a “disregard” for First Nations voices. “If we’re doing a cabinet shuffle, why are the First Nations...
September 20, 2023
MMF expresses support for First Nations rally opposing Bill C-53
NationTalk: Winnipeg, MB – in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis - Today, the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) – the National Government of the Red River Métis – expresses support for the First Nations protest on Parliament Hill against Canada recognizing unfounded and illegitimate Métis rights of Métis Nation of Ontario communities. Ontario First Nation...
September 1, 2023
Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare Supports the Findings of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario’s Report on Minister Steve Clark
NationTalk: Toronto, ON – Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare released the following statement regarding the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario’s Report regarding Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark: “Yesterday, Minister Steve Clark held a press conference and gave remarks following the release of the Integrity Commissioner’s Report pertaining to Minister Clark’s conduct during the...
August 21, 2023
Algonquin members organize in fight for identity, land and nationhood
‘We’re all starting to feel considerably more threats,’ says professor Veldon Coburn CBC News: It’s almost like a game of colonial whack-a-mole. Everywhere Algonquin Nation members look these days, it seems a new problem pops up. If it isn’t declining moose stocks, it’s a proposed radioactive dump on unceded land, and if it isn’t a controversial Ontario land claim or...
August 18, 2023
Anishinabek Nation responds to the Auditor General’s Special Report on Ontario’s Greenbelt Development Plan
NationTalk: ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE – The Anishinabek Nation is disappointed in the recent findings that the Ontario government’s plan to encroach on the portions of the protected Greenbelt were found to be favourable to specific developers and contractors. Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk released a special report on August 1, 2023, highlighting a number of concerns...
August 18, 2023
Ontario First Nations leaders call for housing minister, chief of staff to resign over Greenbelt controversy
Premier’s spokesperson says ministers regularly meet with Chiefs of Ontario leadership council at its request CBC News: A coalition of First Nations leaders is calling for the Ontario’s housing minister and his chief of staff to step down after the auditor general faulted the government for failing to consult with Indigenous communities before making the controversial decision to open up thousands...
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 15, 2023
First Nation Librarians strategize best service despite low funding
Of the 133 First Nations in Ontario, only 39 have public libraries. Pre-pandemic, there were 46 First Nation libraries. The First Nation salary supplement from the province is around $13,000 annually. NationTalk: Anishinabeknews.ca, NORTH BAY — The 2023 Maanjidiwaad Annual Meeting of First Nation Public Libraries in Ontario (formerly called Spring Gathering) was held at...
May 20, 2023
Court dispute between First Nations and Métis Nation of Ontario highlights longstanding issues
‘We need structures that allow us to have those disputes aired’ that aren’t the courts, says Daniel Voth CBC News: An ongoing court battle between the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and several First Nations is highlighting longstanding conflict over recognition of Métis communities and rights. After the MNO signed a self-government agreement with the federal government in February, several First...
May 18, 2023
Editing the oath: growing call for province to mention treaty rights in municipal oath of office
Any changes to the municipal oath of office need to be approved by the Ontario government Several city and town councils in northeastern Ontario want to edit the oath of office mayors and councillors say before they take their seats. They have passed motions in recent weeks calling on the provincial government to change the oath...
May 16, 2023
Chiefs of Ontario Launches Public Education and Awareness Campaign Surrounding Systemic Racism
NationTalk: Toronto, ON The Chiefs of Ontario’s Justice Sector is proud to launch the newly developed Public Education and Awareness Campaign surrounding systemic racism. The campaign is intended to raise awareness about lesser-known systemic issues, the policy decisions that lead to them, and solutions to dismantle and correct them. In pinpointing various precise policy choices that...
May 9, 2023
Canada accused of stonewalling in court challenge to Métis Nation of Ontario self-government deal
Federal government withholds documents, MNO wants to have case dismissed CBC News: The Canadian government is being accused of stonewalling in a court challenge by the First Nations of the Wabun Tribal Council against a recently signed Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) self-government agreement. Lawyers for Crown-Indigenous Relations are refusing to release internal documents tied to the deal,...
April 20, 2023
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief carries strong message to United Nations on behalf of E’Dbendaagzijig
NationTalk: NEW YORK, NY (April 20, 2023) — Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe joined an international delegation including representatives from the Bay Mills Indian Community, Center for International Environmental Law, EarthRights International, and Environmental Defence Canada this week at the 22nd United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) carrying a strong message to...
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...
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...
December 21, 2022
By ignoring the duty to consult First Nations, three Canadian premiers show their true colours
The Globe and Mail: TANYA TALAGA SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL Sacred law binds Anishinabeg to safeguard the land, water, four-legged creatures and each other. It is our duty to make sure the planet is protected for future generations. There are 634 First Nations throughout the country we now call Canada, including 133 here...
December 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...
August 11, 2022
Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare’s Statement on Speech from the Throne
Chiefs of Ontario: Toronto, ON – On August 9, 2022, the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, delivered the Speech from the Throne, titled “Together, Let’s Build Ontario,” outlining the re-elected Progressive Conservative government’s plans and opening the first session of the 43rd Parliament of Ontario. Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare issued the following...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
November 14, 2019
Opposition to Bill 132 “Better for people, Smarter for business Act, 2019”
First Nation leaders from across Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) have strongly opposed Bill 132 “Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2019”, as it seriously undermines the mining industry obligation to consult with First Nation communities. They have also rejected the disrespectful approach of this government of burying issues fundamental to First Nations in omnibus...
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...
November 15, 2018
Closing Child and Youth Advocate Office
Letter from the Provincial Advocate for Children. Mar. 13, 2019 Progressive Conservative government announced as part of its Fall Economic Outlook that they would be repealing the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth Act, 2007, and transferring investigation authority into child welfare services, residential care (including youth justice) and children’s secure treatment to the Ombudsman’s...
July 6, 2018
Cancellation of Indigenous curriculum content
Ontario’s Ministry of Education has cancelled a project to update provincial curriculum documents with Indigenous content. including those on TRC curriculum revisions and Indigenous languages in kindergarten. Ontario is the only province to renege on its commitment. See Education C2A # 62i. Doug Ford continues to undo the work of his predecessor, Kathleen Wynne, who...
June 29, 2018
Eliminating dedicated Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation
Eliminating a dedicated cabinet position for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation and subsuming all responsibilities under one Ministry responsible for energy, northern development ad mines, and Indigenous Affairs June 29, 2018 – The Ipperwash Inquiry into the police killing of protester Dudley George in an Indigenous occupation of a provincial park in 1995 concluded that divided...
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...
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...
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