Current Problems: Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation

Exploring Theme: "Political Issues"

Updates on this page: 30 (Filtered by Indigenous Group "Inuit")
 

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 25, 2024


Reconciliation at federal, provincial levels moving slowly: Lemay

APTN News: Hill Times columnist Rose LeMay says when it comes to reconciliation, nothing has really happened at either the federal or provincial levels. “My fear is that the governments, federal government included, provinces and territories haven’t really put this reconciliation as a priority,” Lemay said on the latest edition of Nation to Nation. “Funding...

December 21, 2023


Yellowhead Institute to no longer report on TRC calls to action

Justice Murray Sinclair takes his seat at the release of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on the history of Canada’s residential school system, in Ottawa on Dec. 15, 2015. File photo by The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld  CLIMATE JOURNALISM IS URGENT. HELP US RAISE $125,000 BY DECEMBER’S END. Goal: $125k...

November 21, 2023


Nunatsiavut government withdraws from Furey’s Indigenous roundtable

Qalipu chief hopes group will return but defends NunatKavut’s place in roundtable The president of the Nunatsiavut government has decided to decline an invitation to  Premier Andrew Furey’s Indigenous roundtable over his decision to include the NunatuKavut community council in discussions. Nunatsiavut announced its decision ahead of a meeting of the roundtable in Conne River on Tuesday. In a...

November 10, 2023


Congress of Aboriginal Peoples accuses Inuit leader of lateral violence against Labrador group

Defence comes as Nunatsiavut Government head calls group’s claims ‘an insult to the true Inuit’ CBC Indigenous: The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) is defending the NunatuKavut Community Council (NCC) against accusations the Labrador group is co-opting Inuit identity to obtain resources, lands and rights. In a statement released Friday, CAP National Chief Elmer St. Pierre accused...

November 9, 2023


Métis and Innu nations back Inuit leader in Labrador identity dispute

Innu say ‘partisan politics’ responsible for NunatuKavut recognition — something federal minister has denied CBC Indigenous: The Métis and Innu nations are showing solidarity with Natan Obed, after the national Inuit leader released an open letter this week denouncing what he calls “illegitimate claims to Inuit rights” being made by a self-identified Indigenous group in south and central...

November 1, 2023


Cabinet shuffle poses challenges for advancing Inuit priorities, ITK president says

‘We often as Inuit leaders have to be the ones that educate ministers,’ Natan Obed says CBC Indigenous: The Trudeau government’s summer cabinet shakeup has created challenges when trying to advance Inuit political priorities in Ottawa, says Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Natan Obed. It’s a concern made more pressing as the Liberals approach their ninth...

October 31, 2023


Quebec electoral commission passes on giving Nunavik its own federal riding

Electoral reform report cites low population as reason.  APTN News: Another federal electoral riding redistribution has come and gone – without a riding for Indigenous communities in northern Quebec. “People talking about reconciliation, this is part of reconciliation, wanting a representative from the region instead of having someone that’s south of us that doesn’t know my realities,” said Pita...

October 3, 2023


Trudeau Government Touted ‘Reconciliation,’ Then Lobbied To Arm States Repressing Indigenous Peoples

‘We have minister Anand platforming Canadian weapons manufacturers just a year after there was huge repression on major protests.’ The Maple: Former defence minister Anita Anand was instructed to offer her counterparts advice about “reconciliation” before encouraging Latin American governments that violently suppress Indigenous-led protests to buy more Canadian-made weapons last year. In particular, Anand’s...

July 27, 2023


National Indigenous agenda impacted by Trudeau’s sweeping Cabinet shuffle

“I think he’s got a very good way about him, extremely approachable and obviously very aware and informed. I found him very thoughtful.” — Margaret Froh, president of the Métis Nation of Ontario on the appointment of new Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree At left is Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare and at right is...

July 21, 2023


The connection to spirit and body and the need to search the Winnipeg landfill

The closer your access to land and nature in its rawer forms, the more direct the links of body to spirit can seem. The Toronto Star: The voices defending the blockade of a privately owned garbage landfill in Winnipeg are eloquent, passionate and Indigenous. The murdered bodies of two Indigenous women and possibly more are...

July 7, 2023


Joint Statement From ITK And MNC On The Meeting Of National Indigenous Leaders And Premiers

NationTalk: Ottawa – President Natan Obed of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) and President Cassidy Caron of the Métis National Council (MNC), together issue the following joint statement on the meeting of National Indigenous Leaders and Premiers happening in Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 10. “ITK generally welcomes any opportunity to share Inuit priorities with territorial and provincial...

June 28, 2023


As global powers watch, Canada’s North grows more vulnerable

NationTalk: Ottawa – Canada’s North is militarily exposed, economically underdeveloped and threatened by climate change — while world powers covet its rich resources and Arctic waterways, the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs said in a report released Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The committee’s report, Arctic Security Under Threat: Urgent needs in a...

June 28, 2023


Senators call on feds to bring Indigenous communities into Arctic security planning

Committee says Canada’s previous security actions in the region ‘harmed Indigenous communities’ CBC News: A Senate committee has delivered a forceful call for greater participation by Indigenous communities in shaping Canada’s Arctic defence and security. A new report released Wednesday by the standing committee on national security, defence and veterans affairs argues that the interpretation of “Arctic security” should be...

February 21, 2023


Jully Black’s national anthem is making headlines. What would it take to make the change official?

“Indigenous Peoples have been saying that line for decades,” said Eva Jewell, the research director at research centre Yellowhead Institute. Toronto Star: When Canadian singer-songwriter Jully Black performed the national anthem at the NBA’s All-Star Game on Sunday, she surprised — and impressed — fans with a lyric change. Instead of singing, “our home and native...

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 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...

November 15, 2022


Premier Heather Stefanson Unveils Path to Fight Violent Crime, Strengthen Health Care, Grow Economy and Help Manitobans in Speech from the Throne

Indigenous Watchdog Comment: The conclusion of the Speech from the Throne repeats all of the following priorities except “Advancing Reconciliation” which unfortunately does not inspire confidence that the Government of Manitoba is seriously committed to “significant efforts towards reconciliation” (as quoted from the Manitoba Speech from the Throne): Helping Make Our Communities Safer Helping Families...

October 5, 2022


Justice Department Shuts NWAC Out of FPT Meeting with Indigenous Leaders; Ignores Expertise on Critical Gender-based Issues

NationTalk: OTTAWA – The federal Justice department has closed the door on Canada’s largest national Indigenous women’s organization when it meets with provincial and territorial ministers next week, effectively opting not to address Indigenous gender-based issues in any meaningful way. Though Canada recognizes five National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs), including the Native Women’s Association of Canada...

August 12, 2022


Health and social services system, housing, education and other basic services in crisis in Nunavik

The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) is following with great concern the situation in Nunavik, which far from being new seems to have reached a critical point. While announcing the release, next fall, of its assessment of the commitments made by the various actors following its numerous...

October 26, 2021


Revisions to Ethics and Religious Culture course

The Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador – The Legault government is revising the Ethics and Religious Culture course, offered to secondary school students in the province, with the objective of giving its content a more “Quebec citizenship” focus. The project is part of the new nationalist ideology championed by Premier François Legault. The Premier’s initiative...

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...

August 14, 2019


Qikiqtani Truth Commission

Government of Canada – The Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations delivered an official apology on behalf of the Government of Canada to the Qikiqtani Inuit for the Government’s actions in the Qikiqtani region between 1950 and 1975. To move forward, Minister Bennett announced that Canada and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) have established a Memorandum of...

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...

May 8, 2019


Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting (Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC)

CBC – For the first time, the final declaration of the Ministers of the 8 countries that make up the ICC did not include the views of the Arctic Council’s permanent Indigenous organizations, Unlike the usual declarations, which are developed with their input, the compromise joint ministerial statement – which did not include any reference...

January 31, 2019


Qikiqtani Truth Commission

Qikiqtani Inuit Association – QIA releases “Action on the Qikiqtani Truth Commission” report which sets out a plan for a formal acknowledgement, apology and action on the recommendations outlined in the Qikiqtani Truth Commission. Specifically, QIA is seeking a three-fold commitment from Canada, to be negotiated and concluded as soon as possible. • A formal...

September 12, 2017


Failure to reach Inuit employment targets

A full set of Inuit employment plans with targets and timelines for expanded Inuit employment were supposed to have been completed for each federal and territorial department by 1996. The Nunavut Inuit Labor Force Analysis (NILFA) report issued on Aug. 27, 2018 offers details on relevant issues and background A recent report by Nunavut Tunngavit...

October 8, 2016


Qikiqtani Truth Commission

The intergenerational trauma associated with the slaughter of sled dogs and the forced movement of Inuit from seasonal camps to permanent settlements still lingers in communities across Nunavut’s Baffin region. But the Inuit who endured long periods of poverty and separation from family members say they are ready to forgive. Nearly three years ago, the...

April 1, 2014


Qikiqtani Truth Commission

April, 2014 – Failure to implement recommendations or provide progress reports on implementation of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission. The Commission was charged to begin a broader truth and reconciliation process to promote healing for those who suffered historic wrongs, and heal relations between Inuit and governments by providing an opportunity for acknowledgement and forgiveness. Qikiqtani...