Current Problems: Government Commitments to Truth and Reconciliation
Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Canada"
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November 8, 2024
Sculptor of Ottawa monument says anger over treatment of Indigenous veterans drove its creation
The National Aboriginal Veterans War Monument in Ottawa. Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN. APTN News: For the past 23 years the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument has stood resolutely in an Ottawa park just blocks from Parliament Hill. It’s where veterans and others gather for National Aboriginal Veterans Day each Nov. 8., in recognition of Indigenous contributions to military service,...
November 4, 2024
UN committee calls on Canada to eliminate Indian Act’s 2nd generation cut-off
‘It’s good to have this UN light shown on Canada,’ says Heiltsuk Elected Chief Marilyn Slett CBC Indigenous: Despite amendments to the Indian Act, gender-based discrimination against First Nations women and girls continues in Canada, according to the conclusions of a United Nations committee. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued the findings...
November 4, 2024
Indigenous Friendship Centres Call for Long-Term Funding
NationTalk: Ottawa, ON — The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) is urging the federal government to commit to long-term, sustainable funding for over 100 Friendship Centres (FCs) and Provincial/Territorial Associations (PTAs) across Canada. “As of March 31, 2025, Friendship Centres fall off a funding cliff and there is currently no indication from the federal...
October 31, 2024
Joint Press Release: CEDAW Committee Urges Canada to Take Immediate Action and End Discrimination Against Indigenous Women
NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – October 31, 2024) Members of the Indian Act Sex Discrimination Working Group (the Working Group)[1] including the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Ontario Native Women’s Association, the Feminist Alliance for International Action, Quebec Native Women and leading plaintiffs in the court and UN petitions that...
October 15, 2024
PAGC Calls for Urgent Action During Ottawa Visit
NationTalk: Ottawa, ON – From Oct. 7 to 11, Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) leadership, along with Chiefs from its member nations, travelled to Ottawa to demand immediate federal action on critical issues affecting First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. The delegation met with key federal officials, including Conservative MP Jamie Schmale, deputy chair of the...
September 30, 2024
Over 30 years of Indigenous resistance with Mohawk land defender Ellen Gabriel
‘Colonial-rooted poverty will not be solved by more colonial solutions’ Ellen Gabriel speaks during a march on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Montreal, Saturday, September 30, 2023. Graham Hughes / The Canadian Press The Narwhal: Thirty-four years ago, Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel was thrust into the spotlight when she was chosen as the spokesperson for...
September 27, 2024
Reconciliation will take substance, not symbolism: Senator Francis
NationTalk: When so little has changed in the lives of Indigenous peoples, it is hard to believe that Canada is truly on a path to reconciliation. The legacy of colonialism is not something we can leave behind, but an ongoing reality. It is alive in the structural and systemic inequalities that continue to oppress communities....
September 12, 2024
Caravan from Grassy Narrows First Nation makes stops to educate about mercury poisoning ahead of Toronto rally
People going to rally next week call for compensation, respect for Indigenous Protected Area of land Warning: This story contains references to suicide. CBC Indigenous: Annie Sneaky says the loss of her two sisters to suicide is what drives her to defend the lands and waters of Grassy Narrows First Nation. “My twin sister and...
August 30, 2024
First Nations in Ontario continue to call for more clarity surrounding the identification of six new so-called “historic Métis communities” in the region
NationTalk: First Nation Leadership in the Ontario region have released the following statement on the deadline of the final report of the Métis National Council’s (MNC) internal review: (August 30, 2024) First Nation Leadership Ontario share the same concerns that legitimate Métis organizations have had about the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) for years. The mere existence...
August 28, 2024
BC’s Secretive Plan to Tighten Protest Response
Amidst Fairy Creek and CGL conflicts, the province quietly re-evaluated how it manages civil disobedience. A Tyee exclusive. The Tyee: On the heels of the last significant police action on Wet’suwet’en territory, B.C. quietly embarked on a process to “streamline” its response to what it saw as a rising wave of protests across the province....
August 28, 2024
First Nations leaders demand end to federal, provincial taxation of their people
Leaders in Saskatchewan note the numbered treaties promised tax-free status to First Nations APTN News: First Nations leaders in Saskatchewan are calling on the federal and provincial governments to cease all taxation of First Nations people. They note the numbered treaties exempted First Nations people from taxes. Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said...
August 26, 2024
BC Illegally Collected Personal Info Tied to the Wet’suwet’en Conflict
A Tyee exclusive: Coastal GasLink intel was shared with the Indigenous Relations Ministry during high-stakes talks. The Tyee: B.C. says it violated its own privacy laws when it gathered personal information from Coastal GasLink about “various individuals” involved in a high-profile conflict over the controversial pipeline project. . The province did not say how Coastal GasLink...
August 21, 2024
Opinion: Supreme Court gives government a spanking for failing to uphold Indigenous treaty rights
A recent court decision will fundamentally reshape Crown-First Nations relations for decades to come Ken Coates and Karen Restoule, Special to National Post NationTalk: National Post – The Supreme Court of Canada, ruling on the treaty rights case involving the Robinson-Huron and Robinson-Superior treaties, has given one of the sharpest rebukes of the Government of Canada (and, in...
August 19, 2024
Manitoba Chiefs ask Trudeau, GG to rescind senate appointment of broadcaster Charles Adler
Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal also criticizes appointment CBC Indigenous: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs wants Canada’s governor general and prime minister to rescind the senate appointment of Charles Adler over what the assembly calls “grossly offensive” comments about Indigenous communities made by the broadcaster 25 years ago. On Saturday, the prime minister’s office announced...
August 14, 2024
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation calls for end to Métis harvesting on their territory
NCN Chief says there’s no evidence of a historic Métis community in Nelson House. APTN News: A First Nation in northern Manitoba is calling Métis harvesting rights into question. In a letter dated Aug. 2 and obtained by the Winnipeg Free Press, the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) asked the province to terminate a 2012 agreement...
August 9, 2024
Dakota Tipi First Nation sues The Forks, governments, for financial compensation and ownership of land
Dakota Tipi First Nation didn’t agree to surrender rights of the land at any time, lawsuit alleges First Peoples Law Report: CBC News – Dakota Tipi First Nation is suing The Forks and three levels of government in the hopes of reinstating ownership of the land and financial compensation tied to the use and management...
August 8, 2024
As Canada Modernizes Research Funding, Is It Neglecting Indigenous Priorities?
Nisga’a professor Amy Parent says the government should scrap its current report and start over. Katie Hyslop YesterdayThe Tyee Katie Hyslop is a reporter with The Tyee The Tyee: Before the federal government announced “a new capstone research funding organization” as part of its 2024 budget, Amy Parent, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in...
July 31, 2024
Wet’suwet’en chief named Canada’s first prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International
Chief Dsta’hyl of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, who is under house arrest, appears via video conference at an Amnesty International press conference in Ottawa, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Photo by: The Canadian Press/Justin Tang Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – Amnesty International called for the release of a First Nations chief who is...
July 15, 2024
National Indigenous leaders to meet premiers amid deteriorating relationship
Focus of meeting is health care, but Indigenous leaders plan to raise issue of respect CBC News: Indigenous leaders will attend a meeting with Canada’s premiers on Monday, with health care on the agenda — but also a deteriorating relationship. This is the first time Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed will meet provincial and territorial...
July 12, 2024
If you think Indigenous people don’t pay tax, think again
Jamie Golombek looks at a recent case that dealt with the exemption and how it is applied NationTalk: The Financial Post: There’s a common misconception that Indigenous people in Canada simply don’t pay tax, but that’s generally not true since in order to be exempt from tax, the income earned must be situated on a reserve....
July 12, 2024
‘It was noticed,’ says Yukon AFN delegate who turned his back on Pierre Poilievre’s speech
Conservative leader is a ‘bully to our two-spirit family across the country,’ says Duane Aucoin CBC Indigenous: Duane Gastant’ Aucoin believes his message for Pierre Poilievre came across “loud and clear” on Thursday, when Aucoin stood with his back turned while the Conservative leader addressed the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Montreal. “Him and his party are very vocal on attacking...
July 11, 2024
Some First Nations leaders turn their backs on Pierre Poilievre
APTN News: As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began to speak to the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in Montreal Thursday one delegate stood and turned his back to him. The delegate stood alone for a few minutes before another joined him. Then six more. In total, seven veterans and one leader in the two-spirit community all looked...
July 11, 2024
Pierre Poilievre likens First Nations values to core Conservative beliefs in speech at AFN meeting
The Globe and Mail: Ottawa and Montreal – Pierre Poilievre told chiefs at his first in-person address to the Assembly of First Nations that their values are similar to core Conservative beliefs and focused on economic reconciliation in an attempt to move past his party’s historically fraught relationship with Indigenous leaders. Mr. Poilievre told the group’s...
July 10, 2024
‘Get off your phone and listen’: chiefs call out minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations
APTN News: The minister of Crown Indigenous Relations got an earful from First Nations leaders Wednesday. With so many pressing issues facing their more than 630 communities, several chiefs lined up at the microphone to address Gary Anandasangaree following his keynote address Wednesday at the Assembly of First Nations general assembly in Montreal. The moderator...
July 4, 2024
Joint Statement from Chiefs in southern Ontario on the Métis Nation of Ontario’s continued attempts to divide First Nations
NationTalk: The elected Leadership of Beausoleil First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, Chippewas of Rama First Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, Eelŭnaapéewi Lahkéewiit (Delaware Nation), Hiawatha First Nation, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Moose Deer Point First Nation, Munsee-Delaware Nation, Oneida Nation of...
June 21, 2024
Justin Trudeau’s government is losing its momentum on Indigenous reconciliation, leaders say — and they’re worried a Conservative government could be worse
Nine years after Justin Trudeau came to power campaigning on a new relationship with Indigenous people, Indigenous leaders say his government’s once considerable rate of progress is slowing — and they are worried about that momentum reversing if the Conservatives topple the Liberals in the next election. The Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Nine years after Justin...
June 19, 2024
Their land, their choice: When economic reconciliation and climate justice conflict
By Matteo Cimellaro | Analysis, Urban Indigenous Communities in Ottawa Illustration by Ata Ojani/Canada’s National Observer Canada’s National Observer: It all started with a pipeline. Twelve years ago, 16 B.C. First Nations came together to purchase an equity stake in the Pacific Trail Pipeline. The pipe was set to weave through ecologically sensitive rivers, lakes and valleys that the...
June 14, 2024
Nunatsiavut government demands Liberal MP’s demotion over NunatuKavut comments
Nunatsiavut ‘deeply concerned,’ wants Yvonne Jones removed from parliamentary secretary posts CBC Indigenous: The Nunatsiavut government of northern Labrador wants a Liberal MP demoted over “inaccurate comments” she made praising a court ruling concerning NunatuKavut Community Council. Yvonne Jones, who represents Labrador in the House of Commons, was among those celebrating when a Federal Court...
June 14, 2024
Concerns about assertion of Métis rights on the BC coast discussed at fisheries forum
Concerns were raised during the Nuu-chah-nulth Council of Ha’wiih Forum on Fisheries about the presence of Métis organizations amid efforts to protect the West Coast. Council of Ha’wiih Chair Wickaninnish, Cliff Atleo, speaks at the meeting in Port Alberni June 5. (Eric Plummer photo) First Peoples Law Report: Ha-Shilth-Sa – Port Alberni, BC – Concerns...
June 13, 2024
Both Innu Nation, NunatuKavut Community Council claim victory after Federal Court decision
APTN News: The Canadian Press – A Federal Court judge has dismissed a bid by Labrador’s Innu Nation to throw out an agreement involving the NunatuKavut Community Council, but both groups claim the ruling is a win. The case involved the NunatuKavut Community Council, formerly the Labrador Métis Nation and the Labrador Métis Association, represents...
June 12, 2024
Court dismisses Innu Nation challenge against recognition of disputed Labrador group
Contested MOU doesn’t recognize NunatuKavut Community Council as having Indigenous rights, judge rules CBC Indigenous The Federal Court has dismissed the Innu Nation’s court challenge against federal recognition of a Labrador group making disputed assertions of Inuit identity. Judge Cecily Y. Strickland on Wednesday rejected the Innu Nation’s application for judicial review of a contested memorandum of understanding...
June 11, 2024
Canada: International Delegation to Attend Trial of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders
NationTalk: A delegation of Amnesty International representatives from France, Germany, the United States and Canada will attend the trials of criminalized land defenders from the Wet’suwet’en Nation in Smithers, British Columbia the week of 17 June. The delegates will be there to watch the criminal court proceedings and be in solidarity with the criminalized defenders,...
June 6, 2024
First Nation in N.W.T. facing retaliation complaint at human rights tribunal
APTN News: Salt River First Nation in the Northwest Territories is facing allegations that it retaliated against two of its members after they filed a human rights complaint against the band. According to records at the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Christopher Coyne and Penny Way originally filed the complaint against Salt River, or SRFN, because...
June 5, 2024
‘Cry out for justice’: Mercury poisoning provokes lawsuit
After the press conference, the Grassy Narrows delegation marched to Queen’s Park to deliver their statement of claim to Premier Doug Ford. However, they were denied entry to the building by the police. Photo by Abdul Matin Sarfraz/National Observer WE STILL NEED $3,300 TO MAKE OUR BUDGET. WILL YOU CHIP IN? Goal: $100k $96,637 Donate...
June 4, 2024
‘We have been met with a hard heart’: Frustrated at lack of progress, Grassy Narrows sues governments for failing to clean up mercury pollution
The lawsuit accuses Canada and Ontario of violating their treaty obligations by failing to ensure the community could safely fish. By Morgan Sevareid-BocknekInvestigative Reporter CBC News: Grassy Narrows First Nation is suing the federal and provincial governments, alleging Canadian and Ontarian officials have consistently put the profits of industry ahead of an Indigenous community poisoned by dumped...
June 1, 2024
Inuit seek ‘fisheries reconciliation’ after federal court strikes down ministerial decision
APTN News: The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA) says it plans to push for “fisheries reconciliation” after a federal court judge ordered a judicial review of a decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to transfer fishing licences off the coast of Nunavut to a non-Inuit company. DFO’s decision came after a Jan. 26,...
May 28, 2024
Robinson Huron Treaty chiefs denounce Métis Nation of Ontario
A group representing the collective interests of 21 First Nations in Robinson Huron Treaty territory has passed a declaration denouncing the Métis Nation of Ontario — over claims to Indigenous identity and historical Métis communities in the province James Hopkin First Peoples Law Report: Sootoday.com – An Anishinaabe group representing the collective interests of 21...
May 23, 2024
‘One of the biggest mistakes of his political career’: New book details what happened when Pierre Poilievre crossed Stephen Harper
Harper feared a revolt in his caucus when he decided to go ahead with compensation for residential school survivors, new book reveals. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Stephen Harper feared a revolt in his Conservative caucus when, as prime minister, he decided to go ahead with compensation for residential school survivors, a newly published book reveals....
May 23, 2024
Rights and Remedies at the Supreme Court: Case Comment on Shot Both Sides v. Canada
FIRST PEOPLES LAW REPORT, MAY 23, 2024 The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Shot Both Sides marks the end of a decades-long effort on the part of the Blood Tribe to address Canada’s failure to fulfil its outstanding obligation to provide lands as promised under Treaty 7. The decision raises troubling questions about when and under...
May 21, 2024
Métis Nation of Ontario accuses Manitoba leaders of hypocrisy, politicking on identity issue
President Margaret Froh says rhetoric at identity fraud summit ‘incredibly offensive’ and ‘beyond gaslighting’ CBC Indigenous: Ontario Métis leaders deny identity theft allegations made at the Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit in Winnipeg last week, accusing opponents of politicizing Métis identity, flip-flopping on past positions and circulating falsehoods. During the two-day meeting, delegates from co-host organizations Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) and...
May 17, 2024
If Canada wants to respect and recognize treaty rights, it must kill Bill C-53
The Globe and Mail: SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL – TANYA TALAGA Ask any First Nations person how they feel about Bill C-53 (An Act Respecting the Recognition of Certain Métis Governments in Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan), and odds are, they’ll tell you the bill needs to die. If it passes third reading, the federal bill...
May 16, 2024
Otipemisiwak Métis Government accuses Manitoba Métis Federation of divisive politics
APTN News: The president of the Otipemisiwak Métis Government – formerly known as the Métis Nation of Alberta – says the Manitoba Métis Federation [MMF] needs to stop playing divisive politics. “The Otipemisiwak Métis Government is disappointed in the repeated attempts by the Manitoba Métis Federation to divide the Métis nation,” Andrea Sandmaier said. “We’re...
May 9, 2024
Northern affairs minister says Métis Nation of Ontario has work to do in proving legitimacy
APTN News: Canada’s minister of Northern affairs says the Métis Nation of Ontario has some challenges ahead in proving its legitimacy to other Indigenous organizations. “The Ontario Métis have more work to do,” said Dan Vandal. “They need to sit down with First Nations and other Métis affiliates from across Canada and have these important...
May 3, 2024
ITK considers rejecting role on reconciliation oversight body
The Inuit organization calls the council ‘a melting pot of Indigenous voices’ CBC News: Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed says he’s considering pulling his organization out of its role with the new National Council for Reconciliation, calling the oversight body a “melting pot of Indigenous voices” he doesn’t want it to be a part of. The council...
May 2, 2024
AMC Calls Bill C-29 Redundant to Reconciliation
NationTalk: Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory – May 1:The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) says the exclusion of First Nations representation from the development of Bill C-29 is a continuation of the federal government’s suppression of legitimate First Nations involvement in legislation that is intended to hold the government accountable for the implementation of the Truth...
May 2, 2024
Nitsénhaienhs travelled to Ottawa for Bill S-268 meetings
NationTalk: (Kahnawake – 1 Onerahtohkó:wa/May 2024) – The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to inform the community that Nitsénhaienhs Kahsennenhawe Sky-Deer and Cody Diabo traveled to Ottawa today along with Chief Political Advisor Winona Polson-Lahache and Director of Legal Services Marylee Armstrong, to meet with Federal Senators Scott Tannas, Michelle Audette, and Paul Prosper. The...
April 29, 2024
First annual poverty report card, reveals the harsh realities faced by Nunavut’s most vulnerable populations
APTN News: A report released by Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association, (NIWA), in cooperation with Campaign 2000, an organization out of Toronto whose mission is to end family poverty, identifies the harsh realities of child poverty within Nunavut. With over 35.8 per cent of Inuit children living in low-income families—more than double Canada’s national rate of...
April 25, 2024
With future of Bill C-53 in doubt, Métis Nation of Ontario exploring all options
APTN News: The president of the Métis Nation of Ontario says the organization will continue to pursue self-government legislation regardless of what happens with Bill C-53. “In fact, there is a commitment to reintroducing a bill identical to Bill C-53 if it ultimately doesn’t pass,” Margaret Froh said. “We have the same option to pursue...
April 25, 2024
Is Métis governance dream dead?
Group’s withdrawal of support puts process in jeopardy The Toronto Star: The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan’s announcement last week that they were withdrawing their support for Bill C-53 — legislation aimed at recognizing Métis self-governance by creating a path for treaties with some Métis governments — has created uncertainty about the bill’s future. The bill has been...
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 19, 2024
O’Chiese First Nation disappointed federal budget didn’t come with cash for roads
‘This should be about economic reconciliation’ says councillor Bernadine Coleman Bernadine Coleman from O’Chiese First Nation and Alberta Minister Devin Dreeshan/ Photo: Supplied APTN News: Bernadine Coleman travelled from her home in O’Chiese First Nation to Ottawa last week, a trip that is about 3,500 km if you were to drive, to ask the federal...
April 19, 2024
The Five Canada-wide Cultural Heritage Organizations Are Disappointed by Federal Budget 2024
NationTalk: In a federal budget appropriately focused on creating new housing, advancing Indigenous self-determination, combatting hate, and creating a clean economy, there is an unfortunate lack of recognition of the role cultural heritage places and existing buildings play in creating housing, wellbeing, and supporting a green economy. The five Canada-wide cultural heritage organizations – Canadian...
April 18, 2024
‘We get pennies’: NDP Idlout denounces federal budget for lack of commitment to Indigenous Peoples
APTN News: Indigenous leaders responded to Tuesday’s federal budget with frustration and disappointment. According to NDP MP Lori Idlout it doesn’t come close to erasing the inequities for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people. “We know that for too many decades there’s not been enough investments to improve the lives of Indigenous peoples,” Idlout, the...
April 18, 2024
Feds mull options as Métis self-government bill threatens to collapse
Métis Nation-Saskatchewan withdraws support for Bill C-53 CBC Indigenous: The federal government is mulling a path forward after the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan dropped support for its own proposed self-government legislation, another blow to the controversial Bill C-53. If passed, the bill would recognize Métis political associations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario as Indigenous governments, but it faces...
April 17, 2024
Economic reconciliation means no green strings attached
Grand Chief Abram Benedict addressing reporters at the Chiefs of Ontario First Nations Community Wellness Conference, March 19, 2024. Photo courtesy of Declan Keogh / Chiefs of Ontario Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The Indigenous loan guarantee program will have no green strings attached, opening opportunities for controversial development like oil, gas and nuclear projects....
April 17, 2024
Omission of reconciliation ‘glaring’ and ‘alarming’ in budget speech, First Nations leaders say
Assembly of First Nations to renew calls for a first ministers meeting this year CBC Indigenous: First Nations leaders are panning this year’s federal budget and demanding a renewed commitment from the Liberal government, after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland failed to mention reconciliation in Tuesday’s budget speech. “It’s alarming,” said National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, head...
April 17, 2024
Métis in Saskatchewan withdraw support for Bill C-53
APTN News: The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Provincial Métis Council say they’re withdrawing their support for Bill C-53 – federal legislation that if passed, will provide recognition of certain Métis governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. The bill, if passed, also provides a framework for the implementation of treaties entered into by those Métis governments...
April 17, 2024
First Nations chiefs alarmed, disappointed by Canada’s 2024 budget
“We were told yesterday that there would be good news and there will be bad news. Good news for Canada and bad news for First Nations.” —Grand Chief Abram Benedict of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Assembly of First National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak speaks to reporters in Ottawa April 17. From left to right...
April 16, 2024
Indigenous infrastructure gap estimated at more than $425B
National organizations estimate immense needs in advance of 2024 federal budget CBC Indigenous: As the Trudeau government prepares to release this year’s federal budget, Indigenous organizations estimate it would take more than $425 billion to close the infrastructure gap in their communities by the government’s 2030 goal. While the bulk of that staggering sum comes...
April 16, 2024
Small businesses will get a carbon levy rebate, federal budget announces — but nothing yet for Indigenous groups who were promised the same
The federal government will create a new carbon price rebate for small businesses, using $2.5 billion in revenues that have built up in recent years to funnel money through a new tax credit for roughly 600,000 companies, Tuesday’s budget announced. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — The federal government will create a new carbon price rebate for...
April 16, 2024
Federal budget’s $918M for Indigenous housing and infrastructure falls far short of what advocates say is needed
Tuesday’s federal budget committed more than $9 billion in new funding for Indigenous initiatives, focusing on education and youth, on-reserve supports and economic opportunities. Toronto Star: OTTAWA — Tuesday’s federal budget committed more than $9 billion in new funding for Indigenous initiatives, focusing on education and youth, on-reserve supports and economic opportunities. Of the funding...
April 16, 2024
Idlout warns federal budget will cut funding for Indigenous supports
Nunavut NDP MP says it’s ‘frustrating’ and warns it will hurt effort to provide better housing Nunavut MP Lori Idlout, seen earlier this month at a government announcement in Iqaluit, is calling on the federal government to reverse planned spending cuts to Indigenous services in 2024’s federal budget. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier) NationTalk: Nunatsiaq...
April 15, 2024
Wolastoqey Nation brings the issue of criminalization of Indigenous Peoples to the United Nations
APTN News: Hundreds of delegates from around the world converged on United Nations headquarters in New York for the opening of meetings to discuss Indigenous issues. That includes representatives of the Wolastoqey Nation in New Brunswick who said the criminalization of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and around the world must be addressed. “One of the...
April 15, 2024
Blood Tribe ‘Big Claim’ time-barred, but Supreme Court provides declaration in Crown’s ‘dishonourable’ conduct
Supreme Court of Canada Judge Michelle O’Bonsawin WindSpeaker.com: The Supreme Court of Canada has helped to restore the honour of the Crown by issuing a declaration in the Blood Tribe’s ‘Big Claim’ on April 12. The claim asserts that Canada shorted the Blood Tribe, located in southern Alberta, 162.5 square miles of reserve land promised...
April 9, 2024
They need new homes, roads and schools. But Indigenous communities across Canada ‘can’t catch up’ thanks to staggering $349B infrastructure gap
Ottawa has pledged to close the infrastructure gap by 2030. An official said decades of underfunding means Canada has bills “yet to be paid.” Toronto Star: In Cat Lake First Nation, there’s only ever enough money to build three new houses a year. For the community of 680 people northwest of Sioux Lookout, Ont., the...
April 9, 2024
$349B needed now to close infrastructure gap by 2030, Assembly of First Nations says in report
On-reserve infrastructure gap to top $500B by 2040 if federal government doesn’t act: national chief CBC Indigenous: The cost of closing the on-reserve infrastructure gap will top half a trillion dollars by 2040 unless the federal government acts now, the Assembly of First Nations says, joining a chorus of voices warning Ottawa is at risk...
April 1, 2024
Federal court rules Ottawa must change Metis Nation of Alberta self-government agreement
The Métis Nation of Alberta president says she will ‘continue on the path of self government that we have been advancing for over 200 years’ A Federal Court ruling says Ottawa must make changes to a self-government agreement it signed with the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA). APTN News: The ruling, released March 28, says...
April 1, 2024
Métis Nation of Alberta Statement on the Federal Court Decisions on Canada-Métis Nation of Alberta Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement
NationTalk: Today, the Federal Court released two decisions on legal challenges made by the Métis Settlements General Council and a group called the “Fort McKay Métis Nation Association” against the Canada-Métis Nation of Alberta Self-Government Recognition and Implementation Agreement that was signed between the Métis Nation of Alberta (“MNA”) and the Government of Canada (“Canada”)...
March 28, 2024
Native Women’s Association forced to lay off half its staff amid funding shortfall
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – The Native Women’s Association of Canada says it was forced to lay off roughly half its workforce due to a major shortfall in federal funding. The advocacy organization said it received grants totalling $48 million last year as part of Canada’s national apprenticeship program and other initiatives....
March 21, 2024
Innu Nation disputes Canada’s recognition of NunatuKavut in Federal Court
Innu elder vows to fight as Labrador Indigenous identity court hearing concludes CBC Indigenous: Outside a downtown Ottawa courtroom on Wednesday, Elder Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue speaks slowly but passionately in the language of her Innu ancestors. Inside, lawyers for the Innu Nation of Labrador were making their case against federal recognition of a group they say is...
March 14, 2024
Indigenous Services, Crown-Indigenous Relations table plans to cut spending
‘This is not reconciliation,’ says Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick CBC Indigenous: A Manitoba First Nations leader is demanding answers from the federal Indigenous affairs ministers after their departments tabled plans this month to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, while forecasting a multi-billion-dollar decrease over three years. Cathy Merrick, grand chief of...
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 4, 2024
Why did Indigenous-led conservation funding set off furious backlash from First Nations?
Canada gave $1.33 million to the Métis Nation of Ontario to protect land. But not everyone agrees the group should be the one protecting it. Ontario First Nations, including Temagami First Nation, are voicing opposition to conservation funding granted to the Métis Nation of Ontario who, they argue, do not have a founded claim to...
March 1, 2024
Brian Mulroney held the line on settler colonialism: activist
‘They basically threw our rights out the window’ says activist and artist Ellen Gabriel remembering Brian Mulroney’s complex legacy APTN News: Brian Mulroney is being remembered by some in the Indigenous community as a polarizing figure during his time in office, with his decisions and actions continuing to shape the country to this day. Mulroney...
February 29, 2024
Why Did Trans Mountain Dig Through an Indigenous Burial Site?
The company’s plan was to ‘micro-tunnel’ in Secwépemc territory — but that fell through. An explainer. The Tyee: Trans Mountain says it is in the process of wrapping up work to install its pipeline through a sacred Secwépemc site, bringing its expansion project one step closer to completion. The new collaborative work from Debra Sparrow...
February 28, 2024
Algonquins of Ontario organization removes nearly 2,000 members after ancestry disputes
AOO ‘reorganization is possible’ but not confirmed, Pikwakanagan chief says CBC Indigenous: The Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) has removed nearly 2,000 people from its certified electorate after an internal tribunal ruled against their asserted Algonquin ancestry last year. This follows years of controversy and internal protests, which flared in 2021 after CBC News reported a suspicious letter — on...
February 27, 2024
History of Canada’s largest national park reveals exclusion of First Nations people and injustice
“Wood Buffalo National Park was the heart of the Dene homelands, and when it was removed, Dene people suffered.” —from the book Remembering Our Relations: Dënesųłıné Oral Histories of Wood Buffalo National Park Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation with the cover of the book Remembering Our Relations: Dënesųłıné Oral Histories of...
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...
February 14, 2024
First Nations, Jim Balsillie slam government over lack of consultation on AI bill
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press, OTTAWA – The Assembly of First Nations is warning it could take the Liberal government to court over its proposed privacy and artificial intelligence bill. And former tech executive Jim Balsillie told MPs studying the bill that he considers the legislation “anti-democratic.” The government has already been criticized...
February 8, 2024
One substantial amendment accompanies Bill C-53 to Parliament for third reading
Ron Quintal, president of the Fort McKay Métis Nation, and Nishawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. Windspeaker.com: Ron Quintal, president of the Fort McKay Métis Nation, is pleased with what could arguably be called the only substantial amendment from INAN, the all-party Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee, on Bill C-53. Today,...
February 2, 2024
Métis National Council president airs frustrations after Liberal ministers meeting
‘We can’t be relying on the same promises from back in 2017 around reconciliation,’ says Cassidy Caron CBC Indigenous: The president of the Métis National Council says the council is “frustrated” with the lack of progress on some priorities, following a meeting with Liberal cabinet ministers earlier this week. Despite emerging generally happy from a summit between Métis leaders and...
January 31, 2024
Funding for environmental project stokes more friction between Métis Nation Ontario and Ontario chiefs
“This is simply just the latest example of the MNO further attempting to claim a land base that historically has never existed in Ontario.” — Chiefs of Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare Chiefs of Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare and Métis Nation of Ontario President Margaret Froh. Clarification made Feb. 2 on the small area...
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...
January 21, 2024
Anishinabek Nation leadership confirms position on the Métis Nation of Ontario
ANISHINABEK NATION HEAD OFFICE (January 19, 2024) – The Anishinabek Nation wishes to make it unequivocally clear that the recent meeting involving former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief John Beaucage, his former Chief of Staff Bob Goulais, and a former Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) leader did not involve the Anishinabek Nation nor represents the current...
January 18, 2024
Chrétien-era effort to soften UN’s Indigenous language a ‘stain’ on Canada: Hajdu
‘Indigenous, First Nations people deserve so much more than that,’ says Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu. Photo: APTN. APTN News: The Canadian Press – The current federal Liberal government tried to distance itself Tuesday from the Jean Chrétien-led one that reportedly conspired with Australia to weaken United Nations language on Indigenous Peoples in the early...
January 15, 2024
Feds approve $2B loan guarantee to help TMX over finish line
Photo by Jesse Winter / Canada’s National Observer Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The federal government has issued yet another taxpayer-backed loan guarantee — this time for up to $2 billion — to help get the massively over-budget Trans Mountain pipeline expansion over the finish line. TMX is about 97 per cent complete, but the...
January 4, 2024
Bill recognizing Métis self-government remains in limbo. Here’s what you need to know
Métis Nation of Ontario President Margaret Froh takes part in a press conference following a Métis National Council meeting in Ottawa on Thursday, June 1, 2023. File photo by The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES MANY HANDS, AND ALL OF US ARE BETTER EQUIPPED WHEN WE’RE INFORMED. Goal: $125k $98,930 Donate...
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 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...
December 14, 2023
Federal liabilities ‘likely’ owed to Indigenous people grow to $76B under Trudeau
‘It is a bit concerning that they have increased so much,’ parliamentary budget officer says Brett Forester · CBC News · Posted: Dec 14, 2023 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 8 hours ago CBC News: The Canadian government likely owes Indigenous people almost $76 billion for currently filed land claims and lawsuits, recent official reporting says — a sum that’s...
December 13, 2023
Chiefs say pan-Indigenous approach leaves Ottawa taking too much away from First Nations
“I don’t think we should be buying into this Indigenous label that they’re trying to homogenize all of our rights into a common group. I think in the long run, we will be short changed.” —Chief R. Donald Maracle Chief R. Donald Maracle of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte at the Assembly of...
December 13, 2023
The feds cut Trans Mountain a $1.8M tax break in the ’50s for a pipeline. A First Nation got just $2,400. It’s still fighting for redress
First Peoples Law Report: Global News – The Chief of a First Nation in British Columbia is angry and frustrated at pipeline giant Trans Mountain and the federal government, saying both have failed to fairly compensate his community for all the crude oil that’s been pumped beneath their land since the 1950s. And he’s not letting go. Click on...
December 10, 2023
Ottawa eyes change to border rules for Indigenous communities. ‘It is an injustice that continues to divide our people’
Indigenous people are hopeful that changes will respect their rights to move freely on traditional lands that cross international borders. Toronto Star: The territory where Tim Argetsinger’s ancestors once moved freely and hunted in the Arctic spanned 2.5 million square kilometres of land — about a quarter of the size of Canada. Today, that same...
December 9, 2023
U.S. Indigenous group in Canada competes for territorial claims against Canadian Indigenous nations
NATHAN VANDERKLIPPEINTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT NELSON, B.C. FOR SUBSCRIBERS The Globe and Mail: PUBLISHED YESTERDAY UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO A U.S. Indigenous group has established a formal presence in British Columbia and is pushing for government recognition and funding, two years after a Canadian Supreme Court ruling declared it “an Aboriginal people of Canada.” The office of the Sinixt...
December 8, 2023
Behind First Nations’ demands for climate tax exemptions
Cindy Woodhouse, the Assembly of First Nations’ national chief-elect, at her swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. Photo by Matteo Cimellaro / Canada’s National Observer THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE TAKES MANY HANDS, AND ALL OF US ARE BETTER EQUIPPED WHEN WE’RE INFORMED. Goal: $125k $98,930 Donate Canada’s National Observer: Diesel can run as high as $4...
November 30, 2023
Minister blames ‘misconceptions’ for concerns over Métis self-government bill
Assembly of First Nations latest to express concerns about Bill C-53 CBC Indigenous: The backlash against the Trudeau government’s proposed Métis self-government legislation is “largely based on misconceptions,” the minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations said Thursday, as he appeared unmoved by a recent call for its withdrawal. “This is an opportunity to set right a long-standing wrong, when...
November 30, 2023
Women and Indigenous Peoples left ‘out in the cold’ by Ottawa, say critics
NDP MP Lori Idlout rises during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick Canada’s National Observer: NDP members are voting against Ottawa’s fall economic statement to protest gaps in funding for Indigenous Services in the midst of an infrastructure crisis. On Thursday, Lori...
November 23, 2023
Métis National Council president tells MPs self-government bill must pass
Cassidy Caron speaks against ‘misinformation’ concerning Bill C-53 CBC Indigenous: The Canadian government must fulfil its long-standing promise of self-government for the Métis Nation by passing Bill C-53, the president of the Métis National Council told members of Parliament Thursday. “Simply put, it’s time,” Cassidy Caron said in prepared remarks before the House of Commons Indigenous affairs committee...
November 23, 2023
Assembly of First Nations Responds to Federal Government’s Fall Economic Statement
First Peoples Law Report: Assembly of First Nations – (Ottawa, Unceded Algonquin Territory, Ontario) – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) responded today to the Federal Government’s release of its Fall Economic Statement, which included new spending for First Nations priorities in infrastructure, safe drinking water, and social development. The AFN concluded that the commitments...
November 16, 2023
MKO Calls on Canada’s Justice Minister to Investigate the Indian Residential Schools System as a Crime Against Humanity
NationTalk: Thompson, Manitoba – The Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc. has reiterated MKO’s earlier call for Canada to commence an investigation of the Indian Residential School system as a crime against humanity under the laws of Canada. MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee presented MKO’s renewed call for action during a meeting...
November 15, 2023
‘We’ve been accused of being Métis deniers’: Trudeau government’s proposed law pits First Nations against Ontario Métis
A new bill recognizing Métis rights in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec is being met with outrage from First Nations and Métis groups. By Joy SpearChief Morris Ottawa Bureau The Toronto Star: A new bill recognizing Métis rights in Ontario, Alberta and Quebec is being met with outrage from First Nations and Métis groups, who say the proposed...
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
2 years after promised review of discrimination complaints, CIRNAC, ISC won’t say if it’s done
lso on the show, a First Nations veteran talks about his time in the military during the Oka Crisis. APTN News: In 2020, Letitia Wells left her job at Indian Oil and Gas, an agency of Indigenous Services Canada because of the discriminatory behavior of her co-workers and managers. A year later, she turned to...
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 8, 2023
Manitoba Métis leaders warn MPs against legislation recognizing Métis Nation of Ontario
‘This is about the attempted theft of the identity of a nation,’ Will Goodon tells committee CBC Indigenous: Proposed legislation recognizing Métis self-government in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta would set a troubling precedent, if passed, by giving cabinet the power to approve future, still-unwritten treaties with Métis associations in those provinces, Manitoba Métis leaders warned...
November 8, 2023
Report claims to disprove evidence of Métis community in the Sault
‘But what’s the definition of a Métis?’: New study commissioned by Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin claims Métis Nation of Ontario fabricated narrative of historic Métis community in Sault Ste. Marie; MNO takes issue with ‘deeply offensive’ report First Peoples Law Report: SOOTODAY.COM – As the Métis Nation of Ontario winds down a conference in Sault Ste....
November 7, 2023
Bill to recognize certain Métis governments, ‘not controversial’ says MN-S president
APTN News: Proposed federal legislation that has drawn the ire of First Nations in Ontario, the Manitoba Métis Federation and others is not that controversial says Métis Nation-Saskatchewan President Glen McCallum. Bill C-53, an act “respecting the recognition of certain Métis governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan and provides a framework for the implementation of...
November 6, 2023
Indigenous Services won’t say if feds are on track to meet 2030 infrastructure pledge
Minister’s office stands by target but her department, citing $349B estimate, seems less sure CBC Indigenous: Canada’s Indigenous Services minister is standing by the Trudeau government’s pledge to close the infrastructure gap in Indigenous communities by 2030, even as her own department — citing a nearly $350-billion cost estimate — seems a little less sure....
November 6, 2023
Inuit leader warns of Labrador group’s ‘illegitimate claims’ to Inuit identity
In open letter, Natan Obed urges action against ‘perverse form of colonial racism’ CBC Indigenous: The head of the national organization for Inuit in Canada is warning the public about what he calls “illegitimate claims to Inuit rights” being advanced by a self-identified Indigenous group in south and central Labrador. Ahead of International Inuit Day...
November 2, 2023
Protecting Human Rights Defenders Globally: Does Canada Mean Business?
NationTalk: Slaw – Businesses are deeply implicated in abuses of human rights defenders worldwide. In 2021 more than “a quarter of lethal attacks were linked to resource exploitation,” according to Global Witness. Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately attacked. Over 40 percent of fatal attacks targeted Indigenous people who make up only 5 percent of the world’s population....
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
Indigenous staff press ahead with discrimination lawsuit against on-reserve oil and gas agency
Lead plaintiff calls allegations ‘disturbing’ CBC Indigenous: Indigenous civil servants are seeking Federal Court certification for a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging systemic racism and chronic toxicity at the Canadian government’s on-reserve oil and gas agency. The plaintiffs filed a batch of affidavits last month, detailing allegations of pervasive bullying, discrimination, harassment and intimidation at Indian Oil...
October 30, 2023
Proposed legislation to amend the Indian Act continues discrimination it’s designed to end, say MPs
“The Liberals’ interpretation of Nicholas v. Canada is about status. Bill C-38 must not just be about status. It must be about addressing discrimination and violations of basic human rights.” — Nunavut MP Lori Idlout Nunavut MP Lori Idlout (NDP) and Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin (Liberal). Windspeaker.com: Bill C-38, containing the latest amendments to the Indian...
October 27, 2023
Métis presidents urge standing committee to pass Bill C-53 without amendments
“Failing to pass C-53 will hurt all Métis people and the advancement of all Indigenous people in Canada.” —Métis Nation of Alberta President Andrea Sandmaier Métis Nation of Alberta President Andrea Sandmaier, Métis Nation of Ontario President Margaret Froh and Métis Nation-Saskatchewan Vice President Michelle LeClair. Windspeaker.com: It’s not at this stage in the process...
October 23, 2023
Canada using ‘outdated’ treaty to do end run around Indigenous rights in U.S.: court documents
This 2016 photo shows an aboveground section of Enbridge’s Line 5 at the pump station in Mackinaw City, Mich. Photo by: The Canadian Press/AP/John Flesher Listen to article Canada’s National Observer: The Canadian Press – WASHINGTON — The federal government and Enbridge Inc. are trying to exploit a “dormant” and outdated treaty with the United States...
October 20, 2023
Innu Nation pulling out of N.L. premier’s Indigenous roundtable
Innu leaders say premier is not fairly addressing the concerns surrounding NCC NationTalk: CBC News: The Innu Nation says it has notified Premier Andrew Furey that all Innu leaders in Labrador have withdrawn from his Indigenous roundtable. In a press release issued Friday afternoon, the Innu Nation expressed dissatisfaction with the way the provincial government is handling concerns over...
October 19, 2023
Allegations of Indigenous identity fraud could affect lawsuit by Native Council of Nova Scotia
Members of the NCNS are suing the provincial government for $40 million over moose hunting rights. A recent report alleging that the Native Council of Nova Scotia has members in its ranks who are not Mi’kmaw could have an effect on a class action lawsuit filed by members of the organization. The council, also known as the...
October 14, 2023
Australians vote ‘No’ to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament
The Globe and Mail: Australians overwhelmingly rejected an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in a referendum Saturday, after a months-long, often bitter campaign that some fear has left the country’s First Nations people worse off than they were before. The measure needed a national majority and majorities in at least four of six states in order...
October 13, 2023
CSIS warning Inuit leaders about covert foreign investment in Arctic, documents show
Inuit leader calling on spy agency to share more information with region’s leaders CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has warned Inuit leaders that foreign adversaries could gain a foothold in Canada by offering to fill infrastructure gaps in the North. But Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) — the nonprofit organization that represents more...
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 11, 2023
Former Indigenous Relations minister was warned against signing 2019 MOU with Labrador group
Departments warned of risks given doubts about NunatuKavut council’s Indigenous rights, documents show The Canadian government was warned internally to hold off on signing an Indigenous reconciliation agreement with a self-proclaimed Inuit group in Labrador, but did so anyway despite concerns about the unproven nature of the group’s rights, documents obtained by CBC Indigenous reveal. In the fall...
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...
October 2, 2023
We do not want pity, we want parity
Toronto Star: The most important table for talking about reconciliation is the kitchen table. This is the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — our annual day as Canadians and Indigenous Peoples to acknowledge what we all inherited and the actions needed to assure the relationship gets stronger. In the spring of 2021, the...
September 29, 2023
Immigration minister says he wants to make it easier for Indigenous people to cross borders
Ottawa considering amendments to immigration law, ministerial directive CBC News: Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he wants to make it easier for Indigenous people to cross the international borders that have divided their homelands and families for generations. In an interview with CBC News, Miller said Canada should recognize Indigenous people have an inherent right to move...
September 29, 2023
Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism: Part Four: First Peoples Law report
This week I’m sharing my thoughts on how Aboriginal rights have become a tool of colonialism and why. I’ve posted an essay each day leading up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This is the final installment of the four-part essay which can be found on our website here.I hope you enjoy reading it.Best,Bruce Aboriginal Rights as a...
September 27, 2023
Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism: Part Two: First Peoples Law Report
Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism: Part TwoBy Bruce McIvorYou can read Part One of Aboriginal Rights as a Tool of Colonialism here. The Constitution Act, 1982 held the promise of a new day for the recognition of Indigenous rights. Section 35 recognized and affirmed the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal people. But when the...
September 22, 2023
Indigenous Services should be spared from spending cuts, say New Democrat MPs
Minister says no cuts proposed to programs or services CBC Indigenous: Indigenous Services Canada should be spared from proposed federal spending cuts aimed at saving a government-wide $15.4 billion over the next five years, say two New Democrat MPs. “Not only should Indigenous Services not be cut, but we need to see further investments,” said...
September 20, 2023
‘Kill the bill on the hill’: First Nations in Ontario voice their opposition to Métis self government bill
APTN News: Algonquin Elder Claudette Commanda wasted no time letting the small gathering know what she thought about Bill C-53. “Kill the bill on the hill,” said Commanda, an Elder from Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg north of Ottawa. First Nations in Ontario are united in their opposition to a new piece of federal legislation that formally...
September 20, 2023
The Canadian Parliament must Reject Bill C-53 of the Trudeau Government
NationTalk: WENDAKE, QC – The AFNQL denounces the self-proclaimed “Métis” groups and the federal government’s intention to recognize to grant them rights. Only the First Nations are holders of Aboriginal rights and titles. The AFNQL strongly supports the resolution adopted during the AFN Annual General Assembly that was held last week in Halifax, under the...
September 11, 2023
RCMP Spent Record Amount to Protect CGL Pipeline Last Year
Tyee exclusive: The force spent $11 million to patrol a remote road in Wet’suwet’en territory. Amanda Follett Hosgood is The Tyee’s northern B.C. reporter. She lives in Wet’suwet’en territory. Find her on Twitter @amandajfollett. The Tyee: The RCMP’s costs for patrolling a remote resource road on Wet’suwet’en territory to protect a pipeline project rose almost 60...
September 8, 2023
Marc Miller touts progress on reconciliation, has harsh words for Poilievre
Miller reflects on leaving Indigenous portfolios after 5 years Warning: This story contains language that some readers might find offensive CBC News: Marc Miller — who held two Indigenous affairs cabinet portfolios before he was shuffled over the summer — says he believes the Liberal government has made substantial and “irreversible” progress on reconciliation, despite what he described...
August 28, 2023
AMC Concerned Over Proposed Cuts to Indigenous Services Funding, Urges Adequate Investment Based on AMC’s Alternative Budget
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) expresses deep concern and frustration in response to the recent announcement by Indigenous Services Minister, Patty Hajdu, regarding spending cuts within her department. “The assertion that the proposed cuts will exclusively target bureaucratic inefficiencies and not affect service delivery is a gross mischaracterization...
August 25, 2023
Proposed Indigenous Services spending cuts spark concern
‘The status quo … is discrimination in a lot of cases,’ says Cindy Blackstock CBC News: Advocates are concerned after the Indigenous Services minister confirmed her department is eyeing spending cuts, telling reporters in Charlottetown she plans to target bureaucratic bloat, not direct service delivery. Minister Patty Hajdu was initially vague when asked at a cabinet retreat in P.E.I. earlier...
August 22, 2023
Hajdu pledges to maintain Indigenous Services programs despite requested cuts
Minister says she will recommend no cuts that impact the quality of life for First Nations people Patty Hajdu is the minister of Indigenous Services and Liberal MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North (TBnewswatch file) NationTalk: TBnewswatch.com – CHARLOTTETOWN — Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu plans to ensure programs directly impacting First Nations people are unaffected by spending...
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
Algonquins get green light to sue over recognition of Ontario Métis groups
Province in ‘open water’ on competing First Nations-Métis claims, appeal court holds CBC News: The Algonquin Nation is free to sue the Ontario government over the 2017 recognition of Métis communities on unceded Algonquin territory, the province’s top court has ruled. In a unanimous decision rendered Thursday, the Ontario Court of Appeal rejected a bid...
July 28, 2023
National Indigenous agenda impacted by Trudeau’s sweeping Cabinet shuffle
(Screenshot of newly appointed Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree. Courtesy of CPAC) National Talk: MBC News – Reaction to a wholesale Cabinet shuffle yesterday by Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which included the removal of two ministers integral to the national Indigenous agenda, demonstrates a divide of perspectives between First Nations and Métis in Ontario....
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 24, 2023
Haudenosaunee mark 100th anniversary of Deskaheh’s attempt to speak to League of Nations
Deskaheh has become a symbol for Indigenous rights at the United Nations A hundred years ago, Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) chief Deskaheh travelled to Geneva, Switzerland, to defend the rights of Indigenous Peoples. He was prevented from speaking to the League of Nations — the predecessor of the United Nations — and now a century later, his successors...
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...
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 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...
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 20, 2023
Deputy minister left government weeks after Indigenous group privately called for his resignation, documents show
The Globe and Mail: A deputy minister’s recent departure from the federal public service occurred just weeks after a national Indigenous organization privately called for his resignation over an e-mail dismissing their description of colonialism as “a gross misreading of history.” Timothy Sargent’s nearly three-decade career in the federal public service – which included representing...
June 19, 2023
Ontario First Nations chiefs protest federal Métis self-government bill
Métis Nation of Ontario responds by accusing chiefs of ‘Métis denialism’ CBC News: Ontario First Nations leaders held a protest Monday on Parliament Hill against proposed federal legislation to implement a self-government agreement between Canada and the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), which is expected to be tabled this week. The Chiefs of Ontario (COO) ramped up a...
June 15, 2023
Métis Nation British Columbia Committed to Positive and Respectful Relations with First Nations
NationTalk: June 14, 2023 (Surrey, British Columbia) Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) is committed to positive and respectful relations with First Nations and acknowledges, upholds, and respects the rights and title of First Nations in British Columbia. MNBC recognizes that Métis rights in British Columbia are different from the rights of First Nations. We acknowledge,...
June 15, 2023
Senate committee urges Cannabis Act overhaul to address exclusion of First Nations
Committee chair says situation ‘yet another example of how Indigenous Peoples are being let down by Canada’ CBC News: The federal health minister should amend the 2018 Cannabis Act to recognize First Nations’ right to govern the possession, sale and distribution of cannabis on their lands, a Senate committee says. In a report tabled Wednesday...
June 12, 2023
First Nations, federalism and lessons from the fight against COVID-19
To be ready for future challenges, we need to build a path forward that brings First Nations into the heart of Canadian federalism NationTalk: Policy Options – The fight against COVID-19 in First Nations communities had many successes. Vaccination rates were high – nearly 93 per cent of individuals aged 12+ years received a second dose and...
June 10, 2023
Long lineups for treaty annuities at The Forks spark discussion about ‘insulting’ $5 payment
Working group calls for modernization of payments through land-based model CBC news: Dozens of First Nations people braced long lineups and a humidex of 30 on Thursday afternoon to get their treaty annuity payments at The Forks in Winnipeg, leading to conversation on whether the $5 payments are outdated. The federal government doles out the $5...
June 6, 2023
Opinion: To finally kill colonialism, give property rights to First Nations individuals
It’s not enough to give First Nations communities full title to their land. They also need to be able to parcel it out to people NationTalk: Financial Post – Canada needs to end colonialism and grant the country’s 630 First Nations title to their reserve lands fully and unconditionally. Doing so should no longer be controversial and...
June 1, 2023
Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson requests that the Canada Revenue Agency improve the information it provides to Indigenous Peoples
NationTalk: From: Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson – OTTAWA – The Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Mr. François Boileau, has sent a service improvement request to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), asking it to update its information for Indigenous Peoples on Canada.ca. Right before the CRA began the 2023 tax-filing season, the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (OTO) reviewed the CRA’s web pages...
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 13, 2023
Trudeau schooled on the North’s pressing infrastructure needs during first trip to remote community
Visit marks first time a prime minister has landed in Newfoundland and Labrador’s northernmost community CBC News: Inuit leaders had frank conversations with the prime minister and federal cabinet ministers on Friday about the urgent need to address a lack of housing and other basic infrastructure across Inuit homelands. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Nain,...
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,...
May 9, 2023
Federal Court of Appeal Allows Judicial Review of Bait-and-Switch Approval of Emergency Towing Vessel Contract on BC’s Coast
NationTalk: BELLA BELLA, BRITISH COLUMBIA – Heiltsuk Horizon is welcoming a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that allows a judicial review of a complaint the company filed against the federal procurement process to acquire two emergency towing vessels meant to protect BC’s coast against marine oil spills and other maritime accidents, as part of Canada’s Oceans...
May 8, 2023
To achieve reconciliation, Canada needs to recognize the Métis as a self-governing nation
The Globe and Mail: OPINION: MARGARET FROH AND AUDREY POITRAS Margaret Froh is the president of the Métis Nation of Ontario. Audrey Poitras is the president of the Métis Nation of Alberta. The Métis story is one of resistance and resilience. In recent years, we have been writing a new chapter to our story with Canada based...
May 4, 2023
Opposition from First Nations mounts over Métis Nation of Ontario self-government deal
Denying the existence of Métis communities in Ontario is ‘deeply offensive,’ says MNO First Nations opposition to a Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) self-government agreement is mounting as chiefs throughout the province urge the Canadian government to freeze implementation of the deal until their concerns are addressed. The leaders are speaking out after the Wabun Tribal Council...
April 24, 2023
CRA must tackle trust issues, discrimination against Indigenous clients, report says
CBC News: The Canada Revenue Agency must do more to build trust and prevent discrimination when interacting with Indigenous clients, according to a report that became publicly available last week. The report, prepared by Earnscliffe Strategy Group, sought to gather data on Indigenous Peoples’ experience when engaging with CRA tax services and accessing benefits and credits. Its...
April 21, 2023
Northern Ontario chief says his community continues to ‘fear’ flooding because of neighbouring First Nation
Fort Albany chief not commenting, federal government only says it’s still committed to relocation CBC News: The chief of Kashechewan says his Cree community on Ontario’s James Bay Coast remains at risk of flooding every spring because of the neighbouring First Nation. Kashechewan has been talking to the federal government about moving off the flood...
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 19, 2023
First Nations high-speed internet access lagging behind Canadian average
Less than 43 per cent of households on reserve had access to high-speed internet in 2021 CBC News: High-speed internet access on First Nations continues to lag well behind the Canadian average, according to a recent report, prompting calls for more government subsidization of internet access. “Ideally, it would be something similar to our highways...
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...
March 31, 2023
NACCA Response to 2023 Federal Budget – Disappointment
NationTalk: OTTAWA, ON – The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) expresses disappointment in the Liberal Government 2023 Federal Budget, as it fails in addressing and supporting the growing needs of Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs across Canada. This budget will stifle the significant, positive advancements that have been made toward economic reconciliation in recent years and it is...
March 28, 2023
Budget 2023 continues ‘repetitive injustice’ of underfunding First Nations, says national chief
RoseAnne Archibald welcomes money for MMIWG supports despite frustrations CBC News: The Assembly of First Nations national chief is calling the prime minister a “performative reconciliationist” and wants an economic new deal for First Nations following the delivery of a 2023 federal budget that she says continues a long-standing pattern of underfunding First Nations. RoseAnne...
March 27, 2023
Ottawa’s slow rollout of internet to First Nations creating economic rift, Auditor-General says
The Globe and Mail: The federal government’s slow rollout of high-speed internet to rural areas is putting First Nations at an economic disadvantage while billions of dollars earmarked to fix the issue remains untouched, says Canada’s auditor general. The lack of internet access continues to exclude First Nation reserves from accessing education, work and medical...
March 27, 2023
Amnesty International report pans Canada’s record on Indigenous rights
Canada is ‘significantly failing’ on multiple fronts, says official with NGO in Canada CBC News: Global non-governmental organization Amnesty International is denouncing Canada’s record on Indigenous rights as it releases its latest annual analysis on the state of human rights worldwide. In the report released on Monday, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization expresses concern that Indigenous people in Canada...
March 27, 2023
Indigenous groups hope for infrastructure dollars and economic development in budget
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami looking for 35-year, $75B commitment for community infrastructure CBC News – The Canadian Press – Prominent Indigenous organizations are making major requests of the federal government in its upcoming budget, seeking billions in investments for infrastructure and economic development. But with affordability issues at the top of the agenda and Finance Minister...
March 23, 2023
11 northern Manitoba First Nations declare state of emergency to urge government intervention
State of emergency to be placed indefinitely: Keewatin Tribal Council grand chief CBC News: The Keewatin Tribal Council declared a regional state of emergency on Thursday afternoon to draw attention to the “dire” situations on the northern Manitoba communities and to urge immediate government action. The tribal council is made up of 11 communities, including Shamattawa First...
March 8, 2023
Governor General shares abusive comments she received through social media
Mary Simon’s office shut down comments on her official social media accounts last month after a wave of abuse WARNING: This story cites racist, sexist and abusive comments directed at the Governor General. CBC News: Nearly a month after turning off comments on her official social media accounts, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon is sharing some of...
March 7, 2023
Métis Nation B.C. in court after feds say it doesn’t qualify as ‘Indigenous governing body’
Canada sparked dispute by rejecting MNBC bid to opt into Indigenous child-welfare law CBC News: The Canadian government is blocking a bid by the Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) to opt into federal Indigenous child-welfare law on the grounds MNBC doesn’t qualify as an “Indigenous governing body,” Federal Court files show. The decision sparked an ongoing...
February 26, 2023
Long overdue for federal government to recognize Ontario Métis
NationTalk: The Métis story in Ontario is one of resistance and resilience. In recent years, we have been writing a new chapter to our story with Canada based on reconciliation. This spring, we hope to solidify the progress we have made as a people with the passage of federal recognition legislation by Parliament. In order...
February 24, 2023
Métis Nation of Alberta mounts court challenge to Manitoba Métis self-government deal
Judicial review against Manitoba Métis Federation and Canada was launched fall 2021 CBC News: The Alberta branch of the Métis Nation has signed an updated self-government deal with Canada, even as it is in court challenging a similar agreement between the Manitoba Métis and Canada. In a Federal Court judicial review filed in 2021, the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA)...
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 12, 2023
Rights group releases scathing report on Canada’s violations of Indigenous rights
NationTalk: CTV News, NEW YORK — A prominent human-rights group says Canada is failing to address long-standing abuses, delivering a rebuke of what it calls the federal government’s inadequate climate policy and violations of the rights of Indigenous people and immigration detainees. Human Rights Watch says more than two dozen First Nations remain under long-term drinking...
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...
November 15, 2022
Indigenous Services Canada did not provide First Nations communities with support to manage emergencies
Auditor-General of Canada: Ottawa —A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan tabled today in the House of Commons found that Indigenous Services Canada did not provide First Nations communities with the support they need to prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies such as floods and wildfires, which are increasing in both frequency and intensity. Over the...
November 9, 2022
BCAFN Honours Important Contributions by Indigenous Veterans
(Lheidli T’enneh Territory – Prince George, BC) – The BC Assembly of First Nations (BCAFN) is grateful and honours the many First Nations in British Columbia who made significant and important contributions to Canada’s military service. Over the years, First Nations displayed incredible strength, determination, generosity, resilience and courage, and are a source of immense...
October 31, 2022
Canada’s attempts to change the Indian Act without adequate consultation must stop!
NationTalk: On October 21, 2022, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs (Assembly) was made aware that the Government of Canada is intending to make changes to the Indian Act. This information was brought to their attention by a third-party, not by the Department of Indigenous Services Canada (ISC). The Assembly is frustrated and angered,...
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 17, 2022
Canada’s takeover of First Nations finances left a legacy of substandard homes and contaminated water
NationTalk: Canada’s National Observer: Gull Bay First Nation is finally starting to recover. For decades, the Ojibway community north of Thunder Bay, Ont., has suffered through a series of disasters nearly unparalleled among non-Indigenous communities. In 2004, an assessment found about half of the First Nation’s 100 homes were dilapidated and unlivable, mostly due to...
August 9, 2022
A damning Parliamentary Budget Office report reveals a gaping disconnect between money spent and successful outcomes
Canada’s paternalistic mindset toward supporting Indigenous communities just doesn’t work. A damning Parliamentary Budget Office report revealed a gaping disconnect between the government’s aspirations and the amount of money spent on the one hand, and the actual consequences on the other. Globe & Mail: Ken Coates – McDonald-Laurier Institute Despite a decade of dramatic increases...
July 13, 2022
Federal government is failing First Nation fishers, Senate Committee on Fishing and Oceans finds: REBUTTAL
NationTalk: HALIFAX, NS – The Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFCA) is voicing its grave dissatisfaction and frustration over a study released by the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans earlier this week on Indigenous rights-based fisheries, specifically those affirmed in the 1999 Marshall decisions. The report dismisses over twenty-two years of work by the...
July 12, 2022
Federal government is failing First Nation fishers, Senate Committee on Fishing and Oceans finds
NationTalk: Halifax – More than 23 years after a Supreme Court of Canada ruling affirmed the treaty fishing rights of certain First Nations, the federal government has failed to fully implement Indigenous rights-based fisheries, according to a new report by the Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. Peace on the Water: Advancing the Full Implementation...
December 11, 2021
24th anniversary of Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – UBCIC marks the 24th anniversary of the Supreme Court of Canada’s ground-breaking Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa decision, which confirmed the continuing existence of the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Title and Rights, contrary to provincial claims that their Title, if it had existed, had been extinguished. On December 11, 1997 the six members of...
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
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLink protests
Toronto Star – Fifteen people, including Indigenous elders, media and legal observers, had been arrested by the afternoon, according to Jennifer Wickham, a spokesperson for the hereditary chiefs and their supporters. Wickham stressed they had been acting peacefully. Wickham said armed RCMP officers in tactical gear with canine units and heavy machinery moved into the...
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 19, 2021
Systemic Discrimination in Nunavut
Toronto Star – Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, MP for Nunavut criticized the federal government for its ongoing failure to address the worst living conditions in the country in the Inuit homeland: • Highest suicide rates in the world • Housing cots beyond the reach of Inuit • Mouldy and overcrowded public housing • Lack of clean water...
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...
October 15, 2020
Wet’suwet’en protests against Coastal GasLink
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – Coastal GasLink called in the RCMP to remove a group of Wet’suwet’en women and community members who are holding ceremony at a proposed drill site for Coastal Gaslink’s pipeline. UBCIC stands in solidarity with the Indigenous land defenders who are protecting the Wedzin Kwa, the river that sustains and...
February 6, 2020
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLInk protests
Union of BC Indian Chiefs – RCMP began aggressively raiding Wet’suwet’en traditional and unceded territories under the watch of the Provincial and Federal Governments. Chief Don Tom, Vice-President of the UBCIC concluded “Using armed force to take Indigenous peoples off their unceded and traditional territories against their will is not reconciliation, it is colonialism in...
February 3, 2020
Cutting emergency funding to evacuated First Nation
CTV News – People from a Manitoba First Nation destroyed by flooding nearly nine years ago met in Winnipeg on Monday after a federal court upheld a decision by the federal government last week to end benefits for evacuees still waiting to go home Chief Adrian Sinclair has expressed concern some people, who have been...
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...
January 6, 2020
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLInk protests
Hereditary Chiefs of all five Wet’suwet’en clans have rejected BC Supreme Court Justice Marguerite Church’s decision granting an interlocutory injunction, which criminalizes Anuk ‘nu’at’en (Wet’suwet’en law), and have issued and enforced an eviction of CGL’s workers from the territory. “Canada and the B.C. government have both pledged to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights...
November 7, 2019
Cutting emergency funding to evacuated First Nation
Government of Canada – announcement by the Government of Canada to cut off funding for emergency aid to residents of Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba on Dec. 31. 2019 with the expectation that new housing stock – needed due to the massive 2011 flood – will be finished by then to accommodate all...
November 6, 2019
Cutting emergency funding to evacuated First Nation
Nov. 6, 2019 – While some have returned to newly constructed houses, 991 people are still waiting for a place to live, 400 of them children. (CTV)...
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...
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...
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...
March 19, 2019
Funding for National Council for Reconciliation
Deferring the budget decision to fund the National Council for Reconciliation until AFTER the next election. The Interim Board of Directors appointed in Dec. 2017 submitted their interim report to Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs on June 12, 2018. The 2020 fiscal year beginning April 1, 2020 will be almost five...
February 28, 2019
Firing of Jody Wilson-Raybould over SNC-Lavalin
Firing Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould for refusing to grant SNC-Lavalin a “Deferred Prosecution Agreement”. As she stated in her testimony to the Justice Committee: “I was taught to always hold true to your core values, principles and to act with integrity…I am a truth teller in accordance with the laws...
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...
January 10, 2019
Wet’suwet’en Coastal GasLink protests
What happens when you engage Hereditary Chiefs in the Process vs excluding them? Union of BC Indian Chiefs – “There are not a lot of similarities between the Broughton and the Unist’ot’en engagement with the Province (as stated by Premier John Horgan). In June, government-to-government work between our three Nations and the Province was confirmed...
December 4, 2018
Rejection of the Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework
AFN Special Chiefs Assembly, Resolution # 25 / 2018 “Rejection of the Recognition and Implementation of Indigenous Rights Framework and Associated Processes. The Framework and associated processes undermine the true Nation-to-Nation relationship between First Nations and Canada: Reasons for rejection: Openly reject Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) as a guiding principle of the relationship...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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