What’s New in Indigenous Watchdog: Updates Jan. 1 – 31 2023

Calls to Action (C2A) Status: Jan. 31, 2023

Not Started	Stalled	In Progress	Complete
14	21	46	13
14.9%	22.3%	48.9%	13.8%

Status	Legacy Calls to Action (1-42) + 50-52, 62-65	Reconciliation Calls to Action (43-94)
Not Started	2, 9, 26, 34, 42, 51, 52, 64	45, 46, 47, 55, 56, 89
Stalled	6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 32	58, 62, 71, 77, 78, 87, 92, 93
Complete	13, 15, 41	49, 59, 67, 68, 70, 80, 83, 84, 85, 94

See also “Perspectives” post for a complete 6-page colour-coded document summarizing all 94 Calls to Action

Indigenous Watchdog Updates

They following presents a year-to-date statistical snapshot of stakeholder actions across ALL themes that are either advancing reconciliation (Legacy and Reconciliation C2As and Government Commitments) or creating roadblocks (Current Problems)

Section	2020	2021	Jan. 31	Feb. 28	Mar. 31	Apr. 30	YTD
Current Reality	26	47	4
Current Problems	189	213	58
Legacy C2As	96	159	26
Reconciliation C2As	55	88	3
Govt. Commitments	–	–	3
Total	366	507	94
Other Issues	–	–	13
Indigenous Success Stories	–	–	9

Notes:

• Current Reality includes ALL 94 Calls to Action
• Legacy C2As, Reconciliation C2As and Government Commitments represent positive steps that advance reconciliation
• Current Problems includes all “Calls to Action” plus “Other Issues” and “Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
• “Other Issues” presents information on Drinking Water Advisories, Food Insecurity, Urban Commitments to Reconciliation, Housing, Environment and Treaties and Land Claims

New Sections

Section	Call to Action Theme	Where located
First Nations Wellness Initiative	Health	C2A # 18 – Background Content
How Ground Penetrating Radar Works?	Missing Children	Home Page – Background Content
Women Transforming Cities (WTC)	Urban Commitments	Home Page – Background Content
Land Back Movement	Treaties & Land Claims	Home Page – Background Content

Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation

Jurisdiction	Date	Indigenous Group
BC	Jan. 4	FN, M, I	Increased funding for Human Rights Tribunal will make justice more accessible
BC	Jan. 20	FN	Announces Cumulative Impact Agreements with Treaty 8 First Nations
BC	Jan. 23	FN	BC First Nations strike landmark deals governing development of their ancestral lands

Current Problems with Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation

Jurisdiction	Date	Description
Federal	Jan. 12	Rights group releases scathing report on Canada’s violations of Indigenous rights
Nfld & Labrador	Jan. 16	Qualipu First Nation enrolment controversy reaches ‘pivotal point’ as court challenge begins
New Brunswick	Jan. 11	Higgs ‘New Partnership’ plan highlights gulf in understanding with First Nations
Saskatchewan	Jan. 19	Dealing with “Saskatchewan First Act” one of Treaty Commissioners top priorities for 2023
Manitoba	Jan. 27	Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) urges Prime Minister to include First Nation leaders in health meetings

Legacy Calls to Action

CHILD WEFARE

Home Page – Current Reality

Update to “Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT)”

Jan. 25: Update timelines around Final Settlement Agreement

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Jordan’s Principle”

Jan. 1: Denial rates of services and supports for First Nation’s children varied by region during the pandemic

Update to “Government and Institution Issues”: Alberta

Jan. 4: Cree girl who died should never have been taken by Children’s Services, Albert judge finds

Update to “Systemic Racism”: Manitoba

Jan. 6: Sixties Scoop survivor reconnects with birth mom, discovers her culture, decades after separation

Update to “Bill C-92”: Québec, Manitoba, Alberta, Northwest Territories

Sept. 20, 2022: Indigenous jurisdiction and Bill C-92 at the Supreme Court of Canada Jan. 2: 2023 will be a pivotal year for Indigenous child welfare on both sides of the border

Update to Child and Youth Advocate Reports”: Manitoba

Jan. 17: Manitoba still hasn’t acted on some recommendations to protect kids, advocate says

Update to “Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT)“

Jan. 25: Ottawa to begin ‘intense’ talks to rewrite First Nations child welfare compensation deal

Education

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Indigenous Identity”: BC

Jan. 3: Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed by UBC Jan. 18: UBC regrets its handling of Turpel-Lafond ancestry concerns

Update to “Indigenous History”

Jan. 13: Poilievre delivers speech to group criticized for residential school ‘denialism’

Update to ‘Systemic Racism”: Alberta

Jan. 25: Fewer than half of Indigenous students graduate on time from Edmonton Public High Schools

Update to “Systemic Racism”: Québec

Jan. 31: Québec Education Minister’s Priorities: Bernard Drainville must intervene to decolonize education laws that undermine First Nations autonomy

Call to Action # 6

Repeal Section 43 of the Criminal Code

Update to “Bill C-273 and Bill S-251”

Jan. 24: Hitting Children is still legal in Canada. These lawmakers want to change that

Call to Action # 12

All levels of government to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs

Update to “Provincial/Territory Commitments to ECE”: Ontario

Jan. 4: Niagara College joins forces with three groups to train teachers of Indigenous students

Update to “Provincial/Territory Commitments to ECE”: Federal

Jan. 31: Call for proposals to help support high quality Indigenous early learning and childcare

EDUCATION FOR RECONCILIATION

Call to Action # 65

Federal government through SSHRC to establish a National Research Program with multi-year funding

Update to “University Actions”

Jan. 25: University of Toronto research ‘collaboratory’ uses global lens to pursue community-based Indigenous research

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Home Page – Background Content

Update to “Indigenous Cultural Success”

Jan. 1: Traditional winter dances make their way back into Indigenous communities after COVID-19 restrictions lifted Jan. 4: Marking 1st ever National Ribbon Skirts Day in Northern Ontario Jan. 24: What would a $20 bill look like if it had an Indigenous woman front and centre Jan. 28: How Indigenous people are strengthening fur traditions in an anti-fur world Jan. 29: Dakota Nation Winterfest strengthens traditions, emboldens youth

Update to “Indigenous Languages in Canada”:

Jan. 17: Trailblazing Indigenous language program brings Ojibwa into schools Jan. 19: Ottawa’s Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to get an Indigenous name Jan. 20: Pewaseskwan at University of Saskatchewan supports Nehiyawak (Cree) language and culture revitalization in Saskatchewan First Nations Jan. 23: Alberta First Nation school finds textbook way to keep Indigenous language alive

HEALTH

Home Page – Current Reality

Update to Three National Dialogues after death of Joyce Echaquan

Jan. 25: No leader from any of the national Indigenous advocacy groups has been invited to participate in the National Health Funding meetings scheduled for Feb. 7 in Ottawa

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Health Care Reform: Alberta

Jan. 9: Delay in counselling therapist regulator hindering access for Indigenous people in Alberta

Update to “Health Care Reform”: Federal

Jan. 25: First Nations group upset with exclusion from healthcare funding talks (scheduled for Ottawa on Feb. 7)

Update to “Ongoing Health Crisis”: Inuit Nunangat

Jan. 30: RSV is still a threat, especially in Canada’s north. But new treatments and vaccines are on the way

Call to Action # 18

All levels of government to recognize and implement healthcare rights of Indigenous people

Update to “Government Recognition of Indigenous Rights to Health”: Nunavut

Jan. 10: The Department of Health is developing a “Territorial Client and Family Engagement Plan” on healthcare services

NEW SECTION: “First Nations Wellness Initiatives” (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: CAMH)

Jan. 18: First Nations community engagement leads to the development of evidence and community-informed wellness strategies

Call to Action # 19

All levels of Government to establish measurable goals to identify and close health gaps

Update to “Why Stalled?”

Jan. 25, 2023: 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

Call to Action # 21

Federal Government to provide ongoing funding for existing and new Aboriginal Healing Centres

Updates to “Investments in Indigenous Healing Centres”: Manitoba

Jan. 24: Manitoba government invests $893,000 for new Indigenous-led Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine Clinic

Call to Action # 22

All leaders within the healthcare system to recognize value of Indigenous healing practices and use them

Update to “Indigenous Healing Practices”: Yukon

Jan. 20: Statement on “Substance Use Health Emergency” from Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee

Call to Action # 23

All levels of government to increase hiring and retention of Indigenous healthcare workers

Update to “Retention and Growth of Health Care Workers”: Saskatchewan

Jan. 26: More health care workers on track to join Saskatchewan’s Health Care system

JUSTICE

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Systemic Racism in RCMP”

Jan. 4: ‘I didn’t know what racism was until I joined’. The RCMP has a systemic problem. But what is being done?

Update to “Systemic Racism in RCMP”

Jan. 9: RCMP has spent nearly $50M on policing pipeline, logging standoffs in BC

Update to “Systemic Racism in RCMP”

Jan. 25: RCMP misses deadline for employees to complete mandatory anti-racism training

Update to “Systemic Racism”: Alberta

Jan. 4: Alberta man who killed Métis hunters sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for 13 years Jan. 30: Mandatory Indigenous course at risk after group of lawyers aim to change Law Society rules

Update to “Systemic Racism”: Saskatchewan

Jan. 17: Bail hearing scheduled for Saskatchewan sisters who say they were wrongfully convicted

Update to “Court Challenges”: Federal, Saskatchewan

Jan. 24: Métis survivors sue Saskatchewan, Canada over residential school

Homer Page – Background Content

Update to “Thunder Bay Inquest”

Jan. 17: Thunder Bay police chief resigns ahead of discreditable conduct hearing

Call to Action # 27

Federation of Law Societies of Canada to ensure lawyers receive cultural competency & Indigenous tights training

Update to “Why In Progress?”

Jan. 30: Fifty lawyers have signed a petition for the repeal of the Law Society of Alberta’s rule 67.4 which mandates lawyers take a 5-hour course “The Path” on Indigenous relations

Call to Action # 29

Federal government and Parties to the Settlement Agreement to reach agreements with those excluded from the IRSSA

Update to “Settlement Agreements for those excluded from IRSSA”: “Indian Boarding Schools”

Jan. 3: Ottawa, plaintiffs agree to settle ‘Indian boarding homes” class action Jan. 9: ‘Indian Boarding Home’ survivors in the north eligible to receive thousands of dollars in compensation Jan. 17: Minister won’t say if Indian Boarding Home settlement will include apology to survivors Jan. 19: ‘Major concerns’ were flagged in Indian Boarding Home system for years, records show

Update to “Settlement Agreements for those excluded From IRSSA”: Indian Day Schools

Jan. 11: As extension period for Indian Day Schools settlement comes to an end, concerns remain Jan 21: Ottawa announces $2.8B to settle remaining part of BC Day scholar laws Jan. 23: Settlement agreement reached for Band class litigation

Update to “Settlement Agreements for those excluded From IRSSA”: Métis Nation

Jan. 24: Métis Nation survivors sue Saskatchewan, Canada over residential school

Call to Action # 30

All levels of government to commit to eliminate overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody

Update to “Govt. Actions to Reduce Overrepresentation of Indigenous People”: BC

Jan. 4: B.C.’s top court broadens sentencing law aimed at reducing Indigenous incarceration rates

Update to “Govt. Actions to Reduce Overrepresentation of Indigenous People”: Federal

Jan. 13: Ottawa laying groundwork for Indigenous Justice Systems, says Lametti

Call to Action # 31

All level of government to provide stable funding to implement alternatives to imprisonment

Update to “Government Commitments to Restorative Justice Programs”: BC

Jan. 4: B.C.’s top court broadens sentencing law aimed at reducing Indigenous incarceration rates

Update to “Update to “Government Commitments to Restorative Justice Programs”: Ontario

Jan. 11: Legal Aid Ontario and Aboriginal Legal Services sign new service agreements

Update to ‘Indigenous-led Restorative Justice Initiatives: QC

Jan. 19: Court ordered community hours go towards healing in Indigenous-led justice effort in Montreal

Call to Action # 33

All levels of government to develop culturally relevant FASD prevention programs

Update to ‘Government Commitments to FASD Programs”: Manitoba

Jan. 4: “Walking Together” – For nearly two decades, this Manitoba organization has been helping people with FASD build a life they’re proud of

Call to Action # 41

Appoint public inquiry into MMIWG

Update to “Government Commitments to Preventing Violence Against Indigenous Women”: Federal

Jan. 10: Ottawa announces progress on two MMIWG Inquiry Calls to Justice

Update to “Government Commitments to Preventing Violence Against Indigenous Women”: Federal

Jan. 10: Government of Canada appoints a Ministerial Special Representative and an Indigenous led organization to address Calls to Justice

Call to Action # 42

All levels of government to commit to recognize and implement Aboriginal Justice Systems

Update to “Actions and Commitments”: Federal

Jan. 13: Ottawa laying groundwork for Indigenous Justice Systems, says Lametti

Reconciliation Calls to Action

CHURCH APOLOGIES

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Indigenous Responses to Pope’s Apology“

Jan. 5: Reflection: Pope’s apology was historic, but did it matter?

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Call to Action # 66

Federal government to provide multi-year funding for community-based youth programs

Update to “Actions and Commitments”: Northwest Territories

Jan. 26: Youth-led House of Hope in Tuktoyaktuk in NWT spearheading friendship and connection

MUSEUMS AND ARCHIVES

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Outdated Prime Minister Biographies”

Jan. 14: What should Queen’s Park do with its statue of John A. MacDonald

Update to “Repatriating Indigenous artefacts”

Jan. 26: Thousands of artefacts to be returned to First Nations after years boxed away in an Ottawa building

MISSING CHILDREN

Home Page – Current Reality

Update to “Unmarked Residential School Graves” Table

Jan. 13: Added Qu’Appelle IRS at Star Blanket Cree Nation Jan. 17: Added St. Mary’s IRS at Wauzhushk Onigum Nation Jan. 25: Updated St. Joseph’s IRS at Williams Lake First Nations

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Discoveries of Unmarked Graves”: Saskatchewan

Jan. 13: Radar search finds more than 2,000 anomalies at Saskatchewan residential school site Jan. 13: Ground search of Saskatchewan First Nation gets 2,000 ‘hits’, more work required to determine which are graves

Update to ‘Discoveries at Unmarked Graves: Ontario

Jan. 17: ‘A tragic first for Ontario’: 171 plausible burials found at Kenora residential school site

Update to “Discoveries of Unmarked Graves”: Alberta

Jan. 24: Tainted milk led to deaths of Alberta residential school children, group says

Update to “Discoveries of Unmarked Graves”: BC

Jan. 25: 66 more potential burial sites discovered at former BC residential school

Update to “Challenges for Special Interlocutor”

Jan. 18: Residential school records needed to answer ‘hard questions’: Special Interlocutor

Home Page – Background Content

NEW SECTION: How Ground Penetrating Radar Works?

Jan. 19: How ground-penetrating radar is used to find unmarked graves at residential schools

Call to Action # 76

All levels of government to commit to Indigenous residential school cemeteries principles and protocols

Update to “Special Interlocutor”

Jan. 12: “Moving from Our Heads to Our Hearts to Our Hands: Summary Report of the National Gathering on Unmarked Burials: Supporting the Search and Recovery of Missing Children” released by the Independent Special Interlocutor

BUSINESS AND RECONCILIATION

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Government Programs”: New Brunswick

Jan. 13: Madawaska First Nation wins Casino Revenue Sharing Case

Update to”Individual Business Issues”: Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador

Jan. 25: Indigenous group sues Canada utility for $1.6B over dam

Home Page – Background Content

Update to “Indigenous-led Initiatives”:

Jan. 18: Chief Crystal Smith: First Nations want an energy future, not eco-colonialism

Update to “Indigenous-led Initiatives”

Jan. 26: Tahltan Nation and Nisga’a Nation announce new partnership that will maximize economic benefits at the Seabridge KSM Project

Update on “Perspectives on Duty to Consult”

Jan. 24: Poilievre announces consultations with First Nations on resource revenues

Call to Action # 92

Corporate Canada to adopt UNDRIP as a reconciliation framework, apply to policy and operations

Update to “Perspectives on Duty to Consult“: BC

Jan. 18: First Nation can veto proposed BC coal mine as part of a unique deal with developer

Other Issues

DRINKING WATER ADVISORIES

Home Page – Current Reality

Update Infographic and Long-Term DWA Table

Jan. 5: 137 Long-Term DWAs lifted. Currently 33 Long-term DWAs in 29 First Nation communities for an 81% completion rate

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Long Term DWAs”

Jan. 1: Make this the year of safe and clean water on every First Nation reserve

Update to ““Long Term DWAs”

Jan. 9: Currently 33 Long-term DWAs in 29 First Nation communities: Saskatchewan (5), Manitoba (3) and Ontario (21)

Update to “Drinking Water Emergencies”: Ontario

Jan. 23: Feds commitment to Oneida water supply met with hope and uncertainty

URBAN COMMITMENTS TO RECONCILIATION

Home Page: Background Content

Update to “Individual Municipal Commitments”: Ontario

Jan. 4: Midland and Penetanguishene commit to strengthening relationships with First Nations and Métis communities

NEW SECTION: Women Transforming Cities (WTC)

Jan. 13: WTC releases “The TRC Calls to Action in BC Municipalities“

FOOD INSECURITY

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Food Insecurity Strategies”: Nunavut

Jan. 12: Kivalliq Wildlife Board secures $800,000 to study food insecurity, climate change

HOUSING

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Federal Budgets”

Jan. 9: Indigenous group seeks control of $300M housing fund

Update to “Fire Prevention on Reserves”

Jan. 23: ‘No partners willing’ to support fire codes on First Nations, Ottawa says

Update to “Fire Prevention on Reserves”: Ontario

Jan. 31: 10-year old girl killed in fire in remote Cree northern Ontario community with no fire services

Home Page – Background Content

Update to “Fire protection on Reserves”: Yukon

Jan. 6: Work progresses on strengthening fire services in Keno, Ross River, Old Crow and other Yukon communities

ENVIRONMENT

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to :”Environmental Impacts”

Jan. 4: “The Sacred Balance: Learning From Indigenous Peoples“: article by David Suzuki

Update to :”Environmental Impacts”: Federal, BC

Jan. 16: Federal fisheries officers investigate Coastal GasLInk pipeline project

Update to Environmental Impacts”: Yukon

Jan 17: Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation express disappointment in the Yukon’s governments policy for the stewardship of wetlands

Update to Environmental Impacts”: BC

Jan. 20: BC announces cumulative impact agreements with Treaty 8 First Nations Jan. 20: ‘Crush you like a bug’: BC Hydro’s Site C lawsuit targets farmers, First Nations

Update to Environmental Impacts”: Alberta

Jan. 26: First Nations say Alberta’s oilsands mine security reform unlikely to fix problems

Update to “Climate Change”: Federal

Jan. 17: Open Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau on perpetuating climate injustice against First Nations

Update to “Climate Change”:

Jan. 25: Caribou summit asks a burning questions: What’s the future of the Porcupine Caribou herd?

Home Page – Background Content

Update to “Climate Change”: Yukon

Jan. 10: A policy for the stewardship of Yukon’s Wetlands released

Update to “Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE)

Jan. 24: First Nations declares protected area in northern BC’s Taku River watershed

Update to “International Environmental issues”

Jan. 24: The legal implications of the 2022 Canada-Denmark/Greenland Agreement on Hans Island (Tartupaluk) fir the Inuit peoples of Greenland and Nunavut

Update to “Government Commitments to the Environment”: Ontario

Jan. 26: Government of Canada to protect nature in Ontario Jan. 31: Ontario announces new First Nations Partnership to operate Mississagi Provincial Park

Update to “Government Commitments to the Environment”: BC

Jan. 25: ‘Rarest of the rare’: B.C.s newest conservancy protects globally imperilled rain forest

TREATIES AND LAND CLAIMS

Home Page – Current Problems

Update to “Aboriginal Rights and Title”: Manitoba

Jan. 7: Here are 3 places to watch the Land Back movement unfold in 2023

Update to “Aboriginal Rights and Title”: BC

Jan. 9: Indigenous Land Defenders criminalized, surveiled and harassed as pipeline continues on Wet’suwet’en territory. Amnesty International Jan. 11: RCMP, Coastal GasLink deny conspiring to intimidate, harass Wet’suwet’en members Jan. 23: BC, First Nations strike landmark deals covering development on their ancestral lands

Update to “Aboriginal Rights and Title”: Saskatchewan

Jan. 26: Saskatchewan does have a constitution ; it’s called Treaty

Update to “Supreme Court”: Robinson-Huron Superior Treaty

Jan. 18: Canada, Ontario and Robinson Huron Treaty Leadership Alliance announce two-week mediation Jan. 31: Dollar value of resources to be debated as final stage of treaty annuities trial begins

Update to “Court Challenges”: Newfoundland and Labrador

Jan. 16: Qalipu First Nation enrolment controversy reaches ‘pivotal’ point’ as court challenge begins Jan. 26: Indigenous identity at core of Qalipu membership challenge trial in St. John’s

Home Page – Background Content

Update to “Historical Treaties in Canada”

Dec. 15: Interactive treaty education facility Agowiidiwinan Centre opens at the Forks in Winnipeg

NEW SECTION: Land Back Movement

Jan. 10: Whose Land are You On? What to know about the Indigenous Land Back Movement: Lindsey Schneider

Update to “Comprehensive Claims and Modern Treaties”

Jan. 31: 2 provincial parks in B.C. being considered as part of treaty settlement with First Nations

INDIGENOUS SUCCESS STORIES

Theme	Date	Indigenous Group	Comment
Business	Jan. 2	First Nation	From pollution to power: Canada’s first Indigenous-owned bioenergy facility opens
	Jan. 9	First Nation	Indsights: A window into the Indigenous economy is producing case studies to be used in the classroom
Sports	Jan. 6	First Nation	Indigenous hockey sticks gifted to 2023 world junior players
Drinking Water	Jan. 6	First Nation	Partners extend collaboration to provide essential skills, water treatment training to Indigenous learners
Government Commitments	Jan. 10	First Nation	PE: Statement by Premier Dennis King on the passing of Keptin John Joe Sark
	Jan. 23	First Nation	BC First Nations strike landmark deals governing development of their ancestral land
	Jan. 31	Métis	AB: New Métis book puts spotlight on reconciliation
Museums and Archives	Jan. 26	First Nation	Ottawa’s Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway to get an Indigenous name
Treaties and Land Claims	Jan. 27	First Nation	B.C. transfers land back to Lake Babeen, benefits the region