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Exploring Stakeholder: "Government of Manitoba"
Updates on this page: 491
November 13, 2024
All charges stayed on 2nd day of trial against Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting girl
Update comes day after testimony from girl who made allegations against Arul Savari WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. CBC News: A Manitoba priest accused of sexually assaulting a now-nine-year-old girl in Little Grand Rapids First Nation last year has had all charges against...
November 12, 2024
Court hears from 9-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by Manitoba priest last year
‘Father Arul. He did something gross to me,’ girl says in video statement played in court WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it. CBC News: A now nine-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a priest last year in Little Grand Rapids First...
November 12, 2024
Manitoba study shows Indigenous seniors struggling to find safe, affordable housing
Space for family, involvement in culture tops lists of most-wants Joanne Mason (left) and Lucille Bruce studied the housing options of Indigenous seniors in Winnipeg for two years. Photo: Haley Lamy APTN News: A growing number of Indigenous seniors are homeless before finding an affordable place to live in Winnipeg, according to a study released...
November 7, 2024
Landfill search slated to start Dec. 2: families
Roughly 140 people applied for jobs to sift through debris for human remains Supporters hoist a banner in favour of searching a Winnipeg-area landfill in front of the Winnipeg courthouse. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The search of a Manitoba landfill for the remains of two First Nations women slain by a serial killer is...
November 7, 2024
Systemic Racism in Canadian Healthcare: The Tragedy of Brian Sinclair and Joyce Echaquan | NDN POV
NationTalk: Credit: TVO Today This episode of NDN POV delves into the systemic racism faced by Indigenous peoples in the Canadian healthcare system, as well as the longstanding inequities caused by colonization. Indigenous peoples in Canada suffer disproportionately from poor health outcomes, including higher rates of chronic disease, mental health challenges, and lower life expectancy compared...
November 5, 2024
AMC Demands Reform to NIHB Program and Accountability for Mental Health Services
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to reform the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program and to take full responsibility and accountability for the mental health providers and services offered to First Nations. “The current system places the safety and trust of First...
November 1, 2024
Exoneree supports miscarriage of justice law for ‘other innocent people across Canada’
New wrongful conviction process would rely on commission instead of minister Clarence Woodhouse (right) speaks with Sen. Kim Pate in Ottawa on Oct. 24 as Brian Anderson looks on. Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN News APTN News: Clarence Woodhouse was barely an adult when homicide detectives accused him of killing a man in 1973. The false confession...
November 1, 2024
Indigenous advocates hope a new national registry can help prevent more women from being forcibly sterilized
Senator Yvonne Boyer, a member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, said coerced sterilization is not only a historic problem in Canada but a current concern. Boyer arrives for a news conference on July 14, 2022 in Ottawa.ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS The Globe and Mail: Ottawa – A non-profit group is compiling a new registry...
November 1, 2024
Canada needs urgent action on health and climate change: Lancet report
NationTalk: In the latest report on Canada for the Lancet’s Countdown on health and climate change, authors call for urgent investment, increased infrastructure and additional personnel to meet current and future climate adaptation needs. Since 2015, the federal government has spent $6.6 billion on 70 climate change adaptation Opens in a new window actions. The...
November 1, 2024
Canada needs urgent action on health and climate change: Lancet report
NationTalk: In the latest report on Canada for the Lancet’s Countdown on health and climate change, authors call for urgent investment, increased infrastructure and additional personnel to meet current and future climate adaptation needs. Since 2015, the federal government has spent $6.6 billion on 70 climate change adaptation Opens in a new window actions. The report...
November 1, 2024
New registry seeks to determine the national scope of forced sterilization of Indigenous people
Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice hopes to of chronicle the history of First Nation, Inuit and Metis women and girls being forcefully sterilized and getting a better idea of how many people it affected. Toronto Star: newly-formed group is launching a national registry of Indigenous Peoples who were forced or coerced into sterilization, and is...
October 31, 2024
Survivors call on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism
NDP member of Parliament Leah Gazan, second from right, is joined by Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray, right, and Indian Residential School survivors during a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2024. They are calling on the Government of Canada to recognize residential school denialism as inciting hate in the Criminal...
October 31, 2024
Indigenous youth skeptical of government’s commitment to reconciliation, says survey
85 per cent of Indigenous youth said reconciliation was important to them CBC Indigenous: More than 1,100 Indigenous youth shared their thoughts on reconciliation, community and their own futures in a report released Wednesday by Indigenous Youth Roots (IYR). The national non-profit surveyed Indigenous youth ages 18 to 29 across the country for the Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2024: Building Connected Futures report. Megan Lewis,...
October 30, 2024
Special interlocutor says she received abuse, threats during work on residential schools
Canada’s special interlocutor for unmarked graves at former residential schools, Kimberly Murray says hate directed her way is what Indigenous communities and survivors of residential schools face when attempting to publicy discuss the devastating legacy of the system. JUSTIN TANG/THE CANADIAN PRESS The Globe and Mail: Ottawa and Thunder Bay – Canada’s special interlocutor tasked...
October 30, 2024
Manitoba Advocate Releases 2023-24 Annual Report, Notes Concerning Trends
NationTalk: TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND NATIONAL HOMELAND OF THE RED RIVER MÉTIS, Winnipeg, Man. Today, Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth Sherry Gott released an annual report summarizing the office’s work during the 2023-24 fiscal year including trends in advocacy, research, quality assurance, public education, youth engagement, serious injury reviews and investigations, and child death...
October 29, 2024
Canada must provide reparations to families of children missing at residential schools, says Kimberly Murray
Special interlocutor’s office holds final national gathering in Gatineau, Que. CBC Indigenous: Many Indigenous children who died and were buried at Indian residential schools are not missing but are “victims of enforced disappearance,” says Kimberly Murray. Murray, who is Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools, released her...
October 29, 2024
‘I was taken aback’: Day school survivor says Winnipeg signs should come down
Photos of signs are under review by Winnipeg police hate unit. APTN News: Photos of handmade signs in the yard of a suburban Winnipeg home are now in the hands of the Winnipeg police’s hate crimes unit. The signs dismiss the harms caused by residential schools, reconciliation, denounces the “gay agenda,” and the orange shirt...
October 25, 2024
AMC Reflects on First Year of Manitoba’s New NDP Government
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba—A week ago, we marked one year since Wab Kinew became the first Anishinaabe Premier of Manitoba. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) reflects on the dynamic relationship that has developed between the AMC and the provincial government over the past year. This relationship has been characterized by both significant accomplishments...
October 22, 2024
CMHA analysis reveals 2023 bilateral investments in mental health care are half of what the federal government claims
by ahnationtalk on October 22, 2024 NationTalk: Toronto, ON (October 21, 2024) — Last year the federal government committed $25 billion in new health funding for provinces and territories through bilaterally negotiated agreements. The government says that, on average, 30 percent of bilateral dollars are going to mental health, addictions, and substance use health care. New research from the Canadian...
October 20, 2024
CMA apology a first step toward healing medical harms against Indigenous people, advocates say
Canadian Medical Association apologized last month for its role in the health-care system’s historic harms Unreserved – 52:20 Healing 150 years of healthcare harm Click on the following link to, listen to Unreserved: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/medical-harms-indigenous-people-cma-apology-1.7355104 CBC Indigenous: Advocates are optimistic about a historic apology for harms experienced by Indigenous people in health care — but they say...
October 16, 2024
Canada must act now to be prepared for the next health emergency, new pandemic report warns
A future pandemic could be swifter and more severe than COVID-19, experts say in independent report CBC News: The Canadian Press – Canada needs to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and take action before the next health emergency strikes, an expert panel of doctors and researchers say in a new independent report. “Most scientists feel that...
October 12, 2024
Despite challenges, fishing on Lake Winnipeg ‘just a way of life’ for many in this northern First Nation
Commercial fishing ‘the greatest thing in the world’ in spite of challenging season, says Poplar River fisher CBC Indigenous: It’s before sunrise on a warm September morning as a commercial fishing boat, music playing out of its speakers, pulls up to the docks outside the Negginan Fishing Station in Poplar River First Nation. On board are three fishers,...
October 11, 2024
‘We have to call it out’: Glenn Joyal on wrongful convictions, racism and the justice system
APTN News: Just one day after exonerating a First Nations man for a wrongful murder conviction in 1974, the chief justice of Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench said explanations and apologies are necssessary for judicial reconciliation. “We can’t gain the trust,” said Glenn Joyal of the Indigenous community believing in the justice system, “if we...
October 11, 2024
Minister says not enough beds for compulsory care for addictions across the country
Several provinces are discussing introducing or expanding compulsory treatment Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks listens to questions at a news conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang APTN News: The Canadian Press – Provinces and territories need to do more to expand and improve their treatment...
October 10, 2024
Opaskwayak Cree Nation files suit over 2019 toxic fluid leak
NationTalk: The Free Press – A Manitoba First Nation has launched a $10-million lawsuit against the paper mill in The Pas after a massive amount of toxic fluid leaked into the river where its residents fish, in 2019. Opaskwayak Cree Nation has filed a claim against Canadian Kraft Paper and the federal and provincial governments...
October 9, 2024
An investigation into anti-Indigenous racism in healthcare: Why the CMA’s apology is only the beginning
By Martha Troian – Opinion #6 of 6 articles from the Special Report: Surviving Hate “Juliette was a dying little woman. She was only 88 pounds,” Joyce Tapaquon says of her daughter, a cervical cancer patient who was escorted out by the police during a stay at Pasqua Hospital. Juliette died in 2014. Photo courtesy of...
October 9, 2024
Indigenous guardians hold the key to reducing wildfires and their costs
AMY CARDINAL CHRISTIANSON: CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL NationTalk: The Globe and Mail – As fall wildfires burn, Canada is on track to record the second-largest wildfire season in 20 years. From the heartbreak of the Jasper, Alta., fire to the waves of smoke stretching from Kelowna, B.C., to Montreal, this year confirms that...
October 8, 2024
Silence surrounds Indigenous deaths
Toronto Star: When is this going to stop? Two weeks ago the Calgary Police Service revealed that three of its members are under investigation by an outside agency for their treatment of an Indigenous man — Jon Wells — who died in a well-appointed hotel lobby. This was the ninth such death across Canada in...
October 4, 2024
The health of Indigenous people’s isn’t an Indigenous problem, it’s Canada’s responsibility
IMAGE BY: ELLA THOMAS NationTalk: The Queen’s University Journal – The declining life spans of the Indigenous community is a cry for Canadian healthcare systems to change their ways. However, their solution is a bit too simplistic for an issue that runs generations deep. The British Columbia First Nations Health Authority recently reported a six-year drop in life...
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 23, 2024
Family of Tammy Bateman says it took police 2 days to notify them of her death
Sister says Tammy ‘always in good spirits’ but struggled in life. School photos of Tammy Bateman. Photos courtesy Lori Bateman APTN News: A Winnipeg woman says the loss of her little sister was made even more traumatic by the way the family found out about her passing. Now Lori Bateman is looking for an apology...
September 20, 2024
Advocates say pausing Manitoba housing benefit increases risk of homelessness
APTN News: In early August, the Manitoba government paused the youth and homelessness streams of the Canada-Manitoba Housing Benefit (CMHB), which provides a rent top-up for low-income and at-risk populations. The streams serve mostly Indigenous clientele including youth aging out of foster care and people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. And the unexpected change...
September 19, 2024
SCO seeking Charter Rights for Lake Winnipeg in suit against province, Manitoba Hydro
APTN News: The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is taking the province and Manitoba Hydro to court over their long-term treatment of Lake Winnipeg, traditionally known as Weeniibiikiisagaygun. On Thursday, the SCO, along with four water protectors, filed a Statement of Claim seeking Charter Rights for Lake Winnipeg. They’re demanding the lake – which serves many...
September 10, 2024
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs boycotts Winnipeg Free Press for ‘insensitive images’ of late grand chief
Newspaper apologizes for use of image after premier says it violated Indigenous cultural norm CBC Indigenous: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says it is boycotting the Winnipeg Free Press over what it calls the publication of “insensitive images” of the assembly’s late grand chief that were taken shortly before her death last week — images the...
September 9, 2024
‘The fight’s not over,’ Pimicikamak chief says after urging non-Indigenous moose hunters to return licences
First Nation advertises message to hunters after court denies early injunction hearing CBC Indigenous: A northern Manitoba First Nation is urging licensed moose hunters to stay off of its traditional territory this fall after failing to have the court intervene before the first leg of the season. Pimicikamak Cree Nation took out advertisements in the...
September 6, 2024
Manitoba corrections officer acquitted in 2021 death of Headingley inmate William Ahmo | CBC News Loaded
Robert Jeffrey Morden pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence last year in death of Headingley inmate WARNING: This story contains disturbing details. CBC Indigenous: A Manitoba corrections officer charged in the 2021 death of an inmate at the Headingley Correctional Centre has been acquitted of all charges. Robert Jeffrey Morden pleaded not guilty to criminal...
September 5, 2024
Police ‘handled the situation badly,’ witness says after driver hits Portage and Main protester
Winnipeg police say they kept out of sight as a form of de-escalation and at demonstration organizers’ request CBC News: A witness who saw a driver hit a person with his car as he attempted to drive through the Portage and Main intersection during a protest on Wednesday is criticizing the way police handled the situation....
September 5, 2024
From Risk to Resilience: Indigenous Alternatives to Climate Risk Assessment in Canada
NationTalk: Canada’s current provincial and national risk assessment frameworks focus predominantly on the built environment and infrastructure, neglecting the more extensive social-ecological system. This narrow focus fails to capture the full extent of climate risks or contexts, particularly those affecting Indigenous communities, and excludes the social and political structures that compound risk within Indigenous communities....
September 5, 2024
AMC Stands with First Nations Children as Historic $530 Million Settlement Case Begins
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) stands united with First Nations families and children as the final court proceedings commence on September 5, 2024, in the Children’s Special Allowance (CSA) class action lawsuit. This significant legal battle addresses the wrongful diversion of funds meant to support First Nations children...
September 4, 2024
Manitoba First Nation under 6-year boil water advisory taking feds to court over funding for treatment plant
Motion for summary judgment in Shamattawa First Nation’s class action to be heard in Federal Court next month CBC Indigenous: The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation that has been under a boil water advisory since 2018 says he’s frustrated by a lack of action from the federal government on funding upgrades to its...
August 30, 2024
Winnipeg serial murders hit their communities hard: Manitoba chiefs
5 First Nations filed community impact statements (L to R) Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and a candle for Buffalo Woman. Photo: APTN Warning: This story contains distressing details APTN News: The serial murders of four First Nations women in Winnipeg has left a specific kind of grief behind, say chiefs of five reserves...
August 28, 2024
“‘Shattered” doesn’t explain how I feel’: Sentencing for serial killer hears from families of murdered women
Sentencing hearing in Winnipeg court hears about horrific impact of Jeremy Skibicki’s crimes WARNING: This story contains details about violence against Indigenous women. CBC News: For some, it’s the sight of a garbage truck on the street that can suddenly bring them back to the worst day of their lives; for others, something as ordinary...
August 26, 2024
She was always a loving person’: Parents of Ashlee Shingoose share their grief
APTN News: heresa Shingoose moves around her kitchen keeping busy. She’s making small talk, explaining she will soon head over to the school field to go make bannock with the other Elders of St Theresa Point Anisininew Nation. It’s midweek through their annual celebration, the Bannock Festival. She’s also pouring coffee for herself, her husband...
August 26, 2024
Manitoba Métis leader wins battle over fishing ticket as charge is stayed
APTN News: The Canadian Press – The Crown has stayed proceedings against Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand, who was given a ticket alleging he was fishing without a licence. Chartrand was given the ticket on a lake near the northern community of Cranberry Portage on June 30 and was accused of angling outside of...
August 26, 2024
Regardless of numbers, Indigenous residential schools were a decades-long tragedy
Reconciliation, the quest to repair the relationship with Indigenous peoples, isn’t a “woke” fantasy. By Paul Racher NationTalk: The Hamilton Spectator – Recent articles in some corners of the Canadian media landscape have made much of the fact that the number of suspected graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School has been revised downward. Indeed,...
August 21, 2024
As sentencing looms for serial killer, statistics show Indigenous women remain unsafe in Winnipeg
Analysis of media reports show 65 per cent of female homicides victims from 2018 to 2022 were Indigenous. The Manitoba Law Courts building in downtown Winnipeg. Photo: APTN News APTN News: When the man who killed four First Nations women in Winnipeg is sentenced next week he’ll get an earful from their relatives and friends....
August 20, 2024
O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation declares state of emergency after stabbings
APTN News: O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation in northern Manitoba has declared a state of emergency following a series of stabbings over the weekend. On Tuesday, during a break in a meeting about First Nations child welfare in Winnipeg, Chief Shirley Ducharme met with media to talk about the lockdown over the weekend. “Right away it just...
August 14, 2024
Thousands to evacuate Bunibonibee Cree Nation as wildfire approaches community
Canadian Red Cross assisting evacuation of 2 other First Nations in northern Manitoba due to wildfire smoke CBC News: A full-scale evacuation is underway at Bunibonibee Cree Nation as a raging wildfire, burning out of control, encroaches on the community in northeastern Manitoba and forces thousands to leave. The Canadian Red Cross said crews were...
August 14, 2024
Hundreds of evacuees return home, weeks after being forced out due to wildfire smoke
Wildfire south of Gods Lake that forced thousands to flee 5 First Nations still out of control CBC Indigenous: Vulnerable residents who were evacuated from three First Nations communities in northern Manitoba are returning home, weeks after heavy smoke billowing from an out-of-control wildfire forced them out. The Canadian Red Cross said it is assisting...
August 14, 2024
Is Canada’s critical-minerals strategy a green shift or greenwashing?
Indigenous and remote communities will bear the long-lasting ecological, social and cultural impacts of mining. This cannot be ignored. NationTalk: Policy Options – Canada has followed the lead of many countries recently by adopting policies and measures to promote rapid development of its value chain for domestic critical minerals essential in clean energy technology. Climate change, geopolitical and economic turmoil are...
August 12, 2024
Tina Fontaine inspires action, hope 10 years after her death at age 15
Thelma Favel and friend organize feast, walk to honour all missing and murdered Indigenous people CBC Indigenous: The curtains in Thelma Favel’s living room are closed, as they have been since her grand-niece Tina Fontaine died in Winnipeg in August 2014. They conceal the gravel road where Favel used to see Tina hop and skip...
August 12, 2024
‘They forget the train is our lifeline’: Pukatawagan family walked 100 km home to protest train cancellations
John Colomb and his family trekked along rail track for over 2 days after train home was cancelled CBC Indigenous: A family from a First Nation community in northern Manitoba walked roughly 100 kilometres in 35 C heat for two and a half days after their train home was cancelled last week, in part to...
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 6, 2024
Reflecting on the Status of Indigenous Child Welfare in Canada on the 10th Anniversary of Tina Fontaine’s Death
by Alexandra Champagne More posts by Alexandra » NationTalk: SLAW – On August 17, 2014, fifteen-year-old Tina Fontaine was found dead in Winnipeg’s Red River. It had been over two weeks since Tina was reported missing. Among the more disturbing details of Tina’s death was the fact that in the twenty-four hours prior to her disappearance,...
August 1, 2024
Tour touting Hudson Bay ‘Stonehenge’ site disregards cultural, ecological importance, critics say
Churchill-based Lazy Bear Expeditions says its walking tours ‘highlight nature and culture’ CBC Indigenous: A northern Manitoba tour advertising a trip to an ancient Inuit hunting camp is raising concerns that tourists’ presence there could damage an “irreplaceable” cultural and historical site, and the critical animal habitats around it. The company behind the tour describes...
August 1, 2024
Water is Sacred conference discusses growing concerns with the water crisis in Canada
The event is being held on Kátł’odeeche First Nation until Saturday CBC Indigenous: The Water is Sacred conference is being held until Saturday on the Kátł’odeeche First Nation at the Chief Lamalice Complex, bringing together a diverse group of Indigenous leaders, environmental advocates, environmental experts and concerned citizens to address the growing water crisis in Canada. The...
July 25, 2024
Senate report calls for Canada to compel Catholic entities to release residential school records
Report’s 11 recommendations also urges numerous government agencies to comply CBC News: Indigenous peoples continue to struggle to access complete and timely records about Indian Residential Schools, according to a new report by the Senate standing committee on Indigenous Peoples. The report, Missing Records, Missing Children, was released Thursday and includes 11 recommendations to improve access...
July 25, 2024
Senate report calls for Canada to compel Catholic entities to release residential school records
Report’s 11 recommendations also urges numerous government agencies to comply CBC News: Indigenous peoples continue to struggle to access complete and timely records about Indian Residential Schools, according to a new report by the Senate standing committee on Indigenous Peoples. The report, Missing Records, Missing Children, was released Thursday and includes 11 recommendations to improve access to...
July 22, 2024
Winnipeg serial killer knew what he was doing was wrong, judge says
Nearly 200-page written decision sheds more light on why Jeremy Skibicki convicted earlier this month WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki knew what he was doing was wrong, a judge said in a lengthy decision outlining why he convicted the Winnipeg man in the murders of four vulnerable Indigenous...
July 22, 2024
Manitoba First Nation says members without health care due to nursing shortage
Chief Angela Levasseur says her northern Manitoba community is without basic healthcare due to a nursing shortage. Photo: NCN CBC News: Members of a northern First Nation looking to get prescriptions refilled, blood work done or access to other basic health-care services are often being turned away because of a nursing shortage in the community....
July 21, 2024
Flooding caused by failed muskrat management project in 1940s destroyed Manitoba First Nation’s lands: lawsuit
Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation accuses provincial government of turning much of its lands to ‘unusable muskeg’ CBC Indigenous: A First Nation along the western shores of Lake Winnipeg is suing the provincial government after it alleges flooding caused by a dam over 80 years ago “effectively confiscated” a chunk of its land. Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation accuses...
July 19, 2024
Manitoba Métis president ticketed for fishing without a licence, province says
By The Canadian Press David Chartrand (centre) is president of the Manitoba Métis Federation. Photo: APTN File APTN News: The Canadian Press – A recent interaction between a conservation officer and David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, appears set to become the latest skirmish in the battle over Indigenous hunting and fishing rights in...
July 19, 2024
AMC Demands Accountability for Rights Violations at Winnipeg Apartment
by pmnationtalk on July 19, 2024 JULY 18, 2024 NationTalk: Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) demands increased oversight and accountability in response to recent rights violations at a Winnipeg apartment block. This past weekend, dozens of residents at 285 College Ave. were forced to unlawfully vacate their building and their personal items...
July 16, 2024
A white supremacist confirms what Indigenous inquiries have been trying to tell us for years
In finding Jeremy Skibicki guilty, Chief Justice Glenn Joyal dismissed the evidence put forward by the defence as ‘fabricated’ and said the Crown had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Skibicki understood the planned and deliberate killings were legally and morally wrong. Toronto Star: Last week in Winnipeg they were dancing in the streets when...
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 11, 2024
Degrowth offers a path to a truly just global energy transition
Rio Tinto – Kennecott open pit copper mine. Salt Lake County, Utah. How do we balance the needs of an energy transition with the harsh realities of mining critical minerals like copper? Photo by arbyreed/Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) Canada’s National Observer: As the world inevitably transitions away from fossil fuel extraction, there’s a growing international consensus that mining...
July 11, 2024
Judgment in unusual trial of admitted Winnipeg serial killer coming Thursday
Lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki argued he should be found not criminally responsible for killing 4 women in 2022 WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: The fate of a Winnipeg man who has confessed to killing four women but denies criminal responsibility will be decided Thursday after an unusual trial for the admitted serial killer. ...
July 10, 2024
Chiefs support independent inquiry into murders of four First Nations women in Winnipeg
Winnipeg police told families they wouldn’t search landfill for victims’ remains Melissa Robinson, cousin of Morgan Harris, speaks to a resolution before the Assembly of First Nations in Montreal Wednesday. Photo: APTN News APTN News: First Nations leaders from across Canada have passed a resolution seeking an independent inquiry into the investigations of the murders...
July 9, 2024
Judge in murder trial weighs motivations of admitted Winnipeg serial killer
Jeremy Skibicki confessed to killing (left to right) Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Buffalo Woman in the spring of 2022. Photo illustration: APTN News This story contains information from a murder trial. Please read with care. APTN News: The Canadian Press – judge is expected to decide this week whether a man who...
July 5, 2024
AMC Calls for Culturally Safe MRI Services at PRHC in Portage la Prairie
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling for culturally safe and accessible MRI services at the new Portage Regional Health Centre (PRHC). Recent advocacy efforts by over 30 doctors from Portage Clinic and First Nations Citizens sharing their lived experiences highlight the urgent need...
July 4, 2024
Growing Residential School Denialism Is an Attack on Truth
How to identify it, and how to push back against dangerous false claims. The Tyee: The Conversation – In 2021, three short years ago, #CancelCanadaDay was trending on social media following announcements about thousands of unmarked graves at the former sites of Indian Residential Schools across Canada. Today, research is expanding on the history of child institutionalization...
July 3, 2024
‘It’s shocking’: Pimicikamak Cree Nation says 187 anomalies discovered at former school
St. Joseph’s Residential School operated between 1915 and 1969 Warning: This story discusses residential schools. APTN News: A First Nation in northern Manitoba is dealing with the discovery of 187 underground anomalies that may be the remains of children who died while attending residential school. David Monias, chief of Cross Lake Band/Pimicikamak Cree Nation, made...
July 3, 2024
Indian residential school survivors and families deserve an easy-to-use database of names and records
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL: Tanya Talaga The Globe and Mail: A parting commitment to reconciliation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – regardless if he remains as Leader and/or the Liberals win the next election – would be to commit to real Indigenous data sovereignty. Two terms ago, Mr. Trudeau vowed to fulfill all...
July 2, 2024
3rd Pinaymootang First Nation man’s conviction overturned in 1973 Winnipeg murder in light of new evidence
Evidence suggests ‘miscarriage of justice’ in Clarence Woodhouse’s conviction, federal justice minister says CBC News: A new trial has been ordered for a third First Nations man convicted for the murder of a Winnipeg man 50 years ago. Clarence Woodhouse, now in his early 70s, was one of three men and members of Pinaymootang First...
July 1, 2024
5th Anniversary of National Inquiry: UBCIC Calls for Government Collaboration to Implement Calls for Justice
NationTalk: (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil Waututh)/ Vancouver, B.C. – June 30, 2024) Today marks the 5th anniversary of the conclusion of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (the National Inquiry). The Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) is deeply concerned that independent progress reports by the CBC...
June 21, 2024
A new law aims to crack down on environmental racism in Canada
Legislation will track how communities are affected and ‘hold government’s feet to the fire,’ professor says CBC News: For years, researchers, activists, community leaders have shown how Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups have been disproportionately affected by polluting industries. Now, a new law will require the federal government to better track this injustice, and...
June 14, 2024
Grand Council Treaty #3 Declares a Nation-Wide Mental Health and Addictions State of Emergency
NationTalk: Grand Council Treaty #3, under the leadership of the Ogichidaa, Gaakinawataagizod, and Chiefs-in-Assembly, have officially declared a nation-wide Mental Health and Addictions State of Emergency across the Treaty #3 territory. The declaration escalates the nation-wide mental health and substance use crisis, determined by resolution CA-23-23 passed at the 2023 Fall Assembly. This crucial declaration...
June 14, 2024
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Criticizes the Lack of First Nations Representation and Calls for Dissolution of MVSD Board
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) says the absence of First Nations representation on an oversight panel appointed by Education Minister Nello Altomare further underscores the need for the complete dissolution of the Board of Trustees for the Mountain View School Division (MVSD). The three-person oversight panel, announced this...
June 13, 2024
Interlake Reserves Tribal Council calls on Manitoba to halt outlet channels project
Feds acknowledge project’s foreseeable harm on Indigenous communities. APTN News: Treaty 2 leaders gathered in Winnipeg today to bring attention to the harm projected to be caused by the Lake Manitoba/Lake St. Martin Outlet Channels Project. The $540 million project was originally proposed to prevent flooding by creating two, 24-kilometer-long flood diversion channels. Last week,...
June 13, 2024
Why are Indigenous people over-incarcerated in Canada?
On TVO Today’s “NDN POV,” Indigenous experts discuss the causes of the problem — and what can be done to make change Written by Chris Beaver Indigenous people represent just 5 per cent of Canada’s population, yet 32 per cent of those incarcerated in federal prisons are Indigenous. (Jasmine El Kurd) NationTalk: TVO – Indigenous people...
June 12, 2024
Staggering’ rate of First Nations newborns involved in Manitoba child welfare system: study
‘Child welfare will and is changing as we speak,’ says Manitoba families minister CBC Indigenous: A new study says child welfare has had “an increasingly widespread presence” in the lives of First Nations newborns in Manitoba over the last couple decades, and its lead author says urgent change is needed. Published Wednesday, the study looking into the rate...
June 11, 2024
AMC Raises Concerns Over Appointment of Former WPS Detective to Head Manitoba’s Police Complaints Agency
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg – The Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) says the recent appointment of a former Winnipeg detective to head Manitoba’s police complaints agency is deeply concerning. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe announced the appointment of former Winnipeg police detective Harmen Wouda to lead the Law Enforcement Review Agency...
June 3, 2024
After five years, ‘calls for justice’ on MMIWG2S+ issues still not complete
Indigenous communities remember and demand action APTN News: It was a quiet morning as Parliament Hill prepared for a day of remembrance for the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (2SMMIWG). Sunshade tents popped up on the Hill early, solemn community partners hung red dresses along the barricade fences, drummers and signers...
June 3, 2024
NWAC’s annual scorecard to assess federal response to the genocide against Indigenous women finds lack of urgency and transparency
NationTalk: GATINEAU, Que. – A statement from Carol McBride, President of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), on the release of NWAC’s annual scorecard of the federal government’s efforts to address the tragedy of the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, and gender-diverse people. “Do Canadians truly understand that Indigenous women in...
June 2, 2024
How Jeremy Skibicki’s ‘unusual’ defence compares to other serial killer cases
Skibicki’s lawyers plan to argue he was suffering from a mental disorder when he killed 4 women in 2022 WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Admitted Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s plan to argue he’s not criminally responsible in the deaths of four women due to a mental disorder strikes several experts as...
May 28, 2024
Two more First Nations sue three levels of government for treating Red, Assiniboine rivers ‘as part of the sewage system’
Posted: 5:27 PM CDT Monday, May. 27, 2024 Last Modified: 1:25 PM CDT Tuesday, May. 28, 2024 First Peoples Law Report: The Free Press – Two Manitoba First Nations have added their names to a list of Indigenous communities suing the City of Winnipeg, the province and the federal government, claiming $1 billion in damages for sewage...
May 26, 2024
Police’s unsuccessful efforts to identify Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe detailed in Winnipeg serial killer trial
Lack of answers in search for Buffalo Woman’s identity ‘very disturbing,’ advocate says CBC Indigenous: The Canadian Press – In mid-March 2022, a young Indigenous woman stood outside Winnipeg’s Salvation Army and spoke with a man who invited her back to his home. Wearing a reversible Baby Phat branded jacket and a cloth face mask, she would...
May 22, 2024
Fourth First Nation in Manitoba declares state of emergency
Chemawawin Cree Nation has declared a state of emergency because of violence. Photo: Jared Delorme/APTN. APTN News: The Chemawawin Cree Nation (CCN) is the fourth First Nation community to declare a state of emergency since the start of this year, as CCN leaders said they are dealing with an ongoing crisis of violence that includes...
May 22, 2024
Food Banks Canada’s annual Poverty Report Cards show most of the country on edge of failure as struggles with poverty continue to climb
NationTalk: TORONTO- Canada has reached a critical turning point as poverty and food insecurity worsen in every corner of the country, but despite the scale of the crisis, most governments are not responding with the urgency that is needed, according to Food Banks Canada’s newly-released 2024 Poverty Report Cards. Food Banks Canada’s 2024 Poverty Report Cards...
May 14, 2024
Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit opens with denunciations, statements of solidarity
Métis Nation of Ontario, excluded from summit, says everyone loses by fighting amongst themselves CBC News: First Nations, Inuit and Red River Métis leadership united Tuesday morning in Winnipeg to cement their alliance against what they call Indigenous identity fraud, which they say threatens their very existence as distinct peoples. The two-day summit co-hosted by Chiefs of Ontario...
May 14, 2024
‘Where did you suffer?’ Conference kicks off in Winnipeg on Pretendians
APTN New: A video highlighting infamous “pretendians” plays just as delegates enter the Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit in Winnipeg hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation, or MMF and the Chiefs of Ontario. “Because these people are after our rights, they’re after our resources and they’re after an opportunity to take from us what we have...
May 14, 2024
Judge orders psychiatric assessment of admitted serial killer
Crown’s forensic psychiatrist to interview Jeremy Skibicki. Warning: This story contains disturbing details. Please read with care. A Winnipeg judge has ordered a self-confessed serial killer to undergo a psychiatric assessment at the request of the Crown prosecutor. Manitoba Chief Justice Glenn Joyal overruled the objection of Jeremy Skibicki’s defence lawyer Leonard Tailleur Tuesday to...
May 10, 2024
Women’s remains believed to have spent 2 weeks in same Winnipeg dumpster before going to landfill, trial hears
Surveillance video revealed Jeremy Skibicki disposing of bodies in numerous garbage bins Caitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News · Posted: May 10, 2024 1:40 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: When police learned a woman’s remains were discovered in a Winnipeg garbage bin nearly two years ago, they had no...
May 9, 2024
Police find DNA of another 12 women at self-confessed killer’s apartment in Winnipeg
DNA belonging to Ashlee Shingoose was found in Jeremy Skibicki’s apartment. She has been missing since 2022. Photo: Winnipeg police. Warning: This story contains disturbing details. Please read with care. APTN News: The Winnipeg Police Service confirmed the DNA of four Indigenous women inside the home of their self-confessed killer, a court heard Thursday, along...
May 8, 2024
Mother of Tim McLean talks about his murder and use of not criminally responsible defence in court
Carol de Delley says she tried to change it after son’s killer found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Tim McLean was murdered on a Greyhound bus in 2008. He stabbed, beheaded and cannibalized. Photo: APTN file. APTN News: When her son was decapitated, Carol de Delley thought it was the worst thing that...
May 8, 2024
Court, family hears how Indigenous women were murdered in Winnipeg
Defence claims Jeremy Skibicki has borderline personality disorder and PTSD Warning: This article contains content that may be disturbing to readers. Discretion is advised. APTN News: Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki calmly took detectives through the last minutes of his victims’ lives on a video played in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday. The seven-hour conversation-turned-confession shows a...
May 6, 2024
Trial of Winnipeg man who admits to killing 4 women to be heard by judge alone
Jeremy Skibicki asks to be found not criminally responsible in the deaths CBC News: The jury trial of a man accused of killing four women in Winnipeg will now instead be heard by a judge alone, a change that comes after Jeremy Skibicki’s lawyers said he admits to killing the women but will ask to be found...
May 2, 2024
The true cost of critical minerals
By Emilie Cameron, Rosemary Collard & Jessica Dempsey | Opinion | Canada’s National Observer: OPINION – Canada is positioning itself as a global destination for critical mineral extraction. Are we willing to destroy caribou herds and trample on Indigenous rights to do it? Barnabas Davoti/Pexels Listen to article The 2024 federal budget bolsters Canada’s ambitions to be a global supplier of critical minerals....
May 1, 2024
Manitoba First Nations seek billions in damages over Winnipeg sewage spill
Massive February spill into Red River caused signifcant harms for downstream communities: lawsuit CBC News: Eight Manitoba First Nations have filed a lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg, as well as the provincial and federal governments, seeking billions of dollars in compensation for a massive sewage spill earlier this year. A pipe in south Winnipeg burst...
April 30, 2024
How Workplace Diversity Fails Indigenous Employees
What began with optimism and enthusiasm has curdled into exploitation BY MICHELLE CYCAILLUSTRATION BY MARIAH MEAWASIGE / MAKOOSE NationTalk: the Walrus – IN FEBRUARY 2022, a twenty-one-year-old Ojibwe and Métis woman named Christine Paquette was job-hunting online. She clicked on a posting for an entry-level position in customer service at CIBC. The call for applications, which was...
April 29, 2024
2 years after historic flood, Peguis First Nation evacuees still waiting to return home
‘The longer it gets, the more I’m starting to think it’s not temporary,’ says woman who evacuated to Winnipeg CBC Indigenous: Karen Courchene says she didn’t think she would be living in Winnipeg for this long. The woman from Peguis First Nation came to the city in the aftermath of the 2022 flood along the Fisher River,...
April 26, 2024
Manitoba promises review after school trustee’s comments on Indigenous people
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – Winnipeg: A school trustee’s comments on Indigenous people and residential schools have led to condemnation from many quarters and a review by the Manitoba government. Paul Coffey, a trustee in the Mountain View School Division in western Manitoba, told a school board meeting Monday that residential schools...
April 24, 2024
Peguis First Nation launches $1B flood damages lawsuit against feds, province and 2 municipalities
First Nation, forcibly displaced in 1907, claims government failed to provide safe place to live CBC News: Peguis First Nation has filed a $1-billion flood-damages lawsuit against the federal government, the provincial government and two municipalities located upstream of the Ojibway and Cree community in Manitoba’s northern Interlake. In a statement of claim filed before...
April 22, 2024
‘He took the truth with him’: Man acquitted in Tina Fontaine’s death found dead in Ontario
Tina’s great aunt says this means many questions will remain unanswered Tina Fontaine was 15 when she was murdered in Winnipeg. The case remains unsolved. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The man acquitted of murdering 15-year-old Tina Fontaine has been found dead in Kenora, Ont., a summer resort community about two hours east of Winnipeg....
April 22, 2024
Hollow Water members set to deliver petition in last ditch attempt to stop mine
An In-depth exploration into the timeline and approval of the silica sand mine. APTN News: People who are opposing a silica mine in Hollow Water First Nation say they have a petition with 6,000 names on it who want the project stopped. A land protector group in opposition to the mine said they still haven’t...
April 19, 2024
Race a factor in negligent care that led to Indigenous woman’s death at Winnipeg hospital, lawsuit alleges
Nurse put wrist restraints on 68-year-old hours before she died in April 2022, according to lawsuit CBC Indigenous: The daughter of a 68-year-old Indigenous woman who died at Winnipeg’s Grace Hospital in 2022 alleges her mother’s race played a role in negligent medical care that caused her death. Kelly Medwick, the daughter of Jean Kemash,...
April 19, 2024
UN puts spotlight on attacks against Indigenous land defenders, journalists
Indigenous peoples around the world are harassed and killed at alarming rates. Will the world act? Tear gas is deployed by police during a Maasai rights demonstration outside the Tanzanian High Commission in Nairobi in 2022. Ben Curtis / AP Photo APTN News: When around 70,000 Indigenous Maasai were expelled from their lands in northern Tanzania in 2022,...
April 12, 2024
Flood prevention project could harm First Nation communities in Manitoba says report
Report findings on Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Outlet Channels Project released to public. A new report released by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada this week suggests a proposed flood prevention project could harm surrounding First Nation communities. APTN News: The draft environmental assessment report suggests the Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Outlet Channels...
April 12, 2024
Cree lawyer says cows and plows settlements don’t reflect spirit of treaty clause
‘It didn’t just mean cows, plows, agriculture. It meant livelihood,’ says Deanne Kasokeo CBC Indigenous: A Saskatchewan-based lawyer says “cows and plows” settlements do not reflect the spirit and intent of treaties from an Indigenous perspective. Under treaties 4,5,6 and 10, the Crown promised agricultural benefits — livestock and farming equipment — to the First Nations that signed. That promise...
April 9, 2024
‘We’re not hearing anything’: Norway House Cree Nation frustrated after RCMP taser non-verbal 16 year old boy
‘Nobody really knows what’s going on except for what the police are releasing,’ says Joseph Brightnose. APTN News: Members of Norway House Cree Nation gathered at the local RCMP detachment and demanded answers as to why a non-verbal 16-year-old boy who uses a walker was tased. “He is a voiceless being. He can’t stand for himself, so...
April 8, 2024
‘It’s not working’
With a nursing shortage and no hospital, Island Lake First Nations communities face health-care struggle CBC Indigenous: Maggie Harper stood on a hill overlooking Island Lake as a helicopter carrying her mother took off from the landing pad alongside the nursing station in Wasagamack First Nation. She watched on that October day as the chopper...
April 4, 2024
First Nations men wrongfully convicted in 1973 Winnipeg murder sue over ‘cruel and unusual treatment’
Crown, police colluded against Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse, suit against 3 levels of government alleges CBC Indigenous: Two First Nations men who were recently acquitted for the 1973 murder of a Winnipeg man are now taking all three levels of government to court, saying police officers and a Crown prosecutor colluded against them to...
March 29, 2024
A year after declaring state of emergency, 11 Manitoba First Nations start self-governance plans
‘We are being shunned by the government,’ Keewatin Tribal Council grand chief says CBC Indigenous: The Keewatin Tribal Council has begun plans to move toward self-governance — one year after declaring a regional state of emergency over what the tribal council’s grand chief called “system-wide failures” in public safety, health and infrastructure. The council, which...
March 28, 2024
Canada, Manitoba point fingers at each other in response to off-reserve child welfare lawsuit
The Canadian flag flies at the Manitoba legislature in WInnipeg. Photo: Jared Delorme/APTN. APTN News: A class-action lawsuit filed by two First Nations women in Manitoba on behalf of off-reserve survivors of the child welfare system is heading to court with each of the defendants blaming the other. Both Canada and Manitoba are asking for...
March 25, 2024
Manitoba to pay $530-million in settlement over children’s allowance
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – The Manitoba government has agreed to pay $530 million to settle class-action lawsuits over child welfare benefit payments. The proposed settlement, which still requires court approval, follows a 2022 court ruling that found the province was wrong to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal...
March 24, 2024
Nursing shortage, overcrowded homes in Pimicikamak Cree Nation make tuberculosis cases difficult to monitor
Chief, Winnipeg doctor say more awareness, national strategy needed to fight spread of disease CBC Indigenous: The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation says overcrowding and poor access to health-care services in his community can make tuberculosis cases harder to monitor and contain. Pimicikamak Cree Nation, also known as Cross Lake, currently has three...
March 21, 2024
Mental health one affect of colonization says Mohawk psychologist
APTN News: Hundreds of delegates assembled at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg this week for the Southern Chiefs’ Organization’s First Nations Health Gathering. One of the issues discussed was Indigenous Peoples and mental health. Ed Connors, a psychologist from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory outside Montreal, highlighted the impacts of colonialism on the mental health of...
March 20, 2024
Men switched at birth to get formal apology from Manitoba government
Edward Ambrose and Richard Beauvais, born in Arborg, Man., in 1955, meet for the 1st time CBC News: Edward Ambrose struggles to describe what it was like to meet “someone who is me” for the first time. Ambrose and Richard Beauvais, who were switched at birth at a hospital in Manitoba in 1955, first met...
March 18, 2024
Inuit leaders, MPs urge action on TB elimination as federal budget nears
TB rate among Inuit 676 times higher than among non-Indigenous, Canadian-born people CBC Indigenous: With the federal budget approaching, Inuit leaders and New Democrat MPs are urging the Trudeau government to tackle tuberculosis in Indigenous communities. Inuit in particular face a “staggering and unacceptable reality” of tuberculosis rates more than 300 times higher than Canadian-born non-Indigenous people,...
March 15, 2024
Feds failing at health care reconciliation and nursing is at the heart of the issue: union
Four nurses are working around the clock to serve 8,000 people in Cross Lake Cree Nation Map shows the 21 health centres staffed by Indigenous Services Canada nurses on First Nations in Manitoba. Photo: Submitted APTN News: The union representing nurses who provide health care on First Nations agrees the system is in a code...
March 15, 2024
Carbon pricing cut short-sighted, lacking consultation
NationTalk: Winnipeg, MB, in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis - Yesterday, the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis, unanimously passed a resolution at a Cabinet Meeting, highlighting the critical importance and necessity of the Federal Carbon Pricing Plan and strongly urging the Prime Minister to resist the politicization of...
March 13, 2024
State of emergency over substance abuse in Shamattawa leads to vehicle searches, patrols of snowmobile trails
Other communities also search vehicles for drugs, alcohol CBC Indigenous: A northern Manitoba First Nation is cracking down further on drugs and alcohol after declaring a state of emergency over bootlegging in the community. Leaders in Shamattawa First Nation have made a band council resolution to give local and hired security officers the power to...
March 13, 2024
B.C. judge warns of ‘tsunami’ of Indigenous identity fraud cases
Baptist pastor charged with possessing child pornography claimed Métis status based on great-great-grandparent WARNING: This story contains details of child sexual exploitation and pornography. CBC News: After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future. The Prince Rupert, B.C., man...
March 12, 2024
Nursing shortage creating ‘health crisis’ in First Nations in Manitoba
“Critical nursing services at the 21 nursing facilities run by ISC in remote Indigenous communities in Manitoba have been impacted”: Ottawa Cross Lake (PImicikamak Cree Nation) in northern Manitoba is in the midst of a health crisis due to a shortage of nurses. Photo: APTN file APTN News: A Cree Nation in northern Manitoba is...
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 11, 2024
Brokenhead bringing in First Nations police to replace RCMP
Current members of the Manitoba First Nation Police Service. Last week the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation announced they are transitioning police services from the RCMP to MFNPS. Photo MFNPS© Provided by Winnipeg Sun First Peoples Law Report: Winnipeg SUN – A southern Manitoba First Nation is transitioning away from being policed by RCMP and bringing in a...
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 8, 2024
Protesters say they’re fed up with NDP government inaction after promise to search landfill for slain women
Daughter of Morgan Harris ‘sick of words with no action;’ AMC grand chief done ‘begging’ CBC Indigenous: Protesters demanding a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of three First Nations women directed their anger at a new target Friday — Premier Wab Kinew, who has yet to deliver on his campaign promise. Chants of “Bring...
March 6, 2024
My reconciliation journey – one bench at a time
NationTalk: Winnipeg Free Press – The Canadian Museum of Human Rights recently hosted a gathering of Winnipeg Indigenous Accord stakeholders, which was excellent groundwork for World Justice Day on Feb. 20. By definition, an accord is an agreement. Winnipeg’s Indigenous Accord is a living document guiding a shared commitment to the Journey of Reconciliation rooted...
March 6, 2024
Frustrations raised concerning province’s plan for bail system
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs express their frustration with the provinces new five-point community safety plan, meant to bolster Manitoba’s bail system and crack down on repeat offenders. Mitchell Ringos reports. First People’s Law Report: City News – An ex-gang member who now teaches youth to stay out of jail is speaking out against the...
March 5, 2024
Father who lost son to fentanyl poisoning hopes anti-drug campaign goes national
‘No thanks I’m good’ campaign is hoping to save lives in Manitoba. APTN News: Joseph Fourre says his son was known for saying “No thanks I’m good” when he was offered drugs. “Harlan was an extraordinary young man who was looking forward to paying off his car and his future,” Fourre says on the latest...
March 5, 2024
Leaders from 11 Western Canadian cities issue formal request to Statistics Canada: halt release of annual Crime Severity Index rankings until formal consultations are held with smaller communities and Indigenous leadership
NationTalk: Saskatoon, SK – Elected officials from eleven municipalities, all in Western Canada, issued a public call-to-action today for Statistics Canada: an immediate stop in the publication of the Crime Severity Index (CSI) rankings for communities until consultations are held with smaller communities and Indigenous leadership. The call-to-action stems from a full-day conference initiated by...
February 29, 2024
Senate committee hears from information commissioner on residential schools records access
Guidance on information disclosure ‘comes from the top,’ says Caroline Maynard CBC Indigenous: A Senate committee examining barriers to the release of records of deaths at residential schools heard Tuesday that federal departments and agencies should make information disclosure processes more accessible and informal. “We heard that the privacy and information regimes cannot work if the government itself does not believe...
February 29, 2024
The protection of wetlands is tied to Indigenous and human rights
Despite their ecological, social, cultural and economic importance, over the past two centuries wetlands have been systematically destroyed for industrial, commercial and residential development. First Peoples Law Report: Rabble.ca, David Suzuki – In his 1972 non-fiction book No Name in the Street, James Baldwin asked, “Does the law exist for the purpose of furthering the ambitions...
February 26, 2024
Indigenous youth want more Indigenous-led models, support to access health care in Winnipeg, report says
Discussion with 26 Indigenous youth highlights ‘deep mistrust’ of health-care system CBC Indigenous: Some Indigenous youth in Winnipeg say discrimination in the province’s primary health-care system is pervasive — and they want more Indigenous staff and fewer barriers to accessing care in order to help fix that problem, a new report says. The project OurCare...
February 22, 2024
He felt abandoned in Manitoba’s emergency shelters. Here’s what he says needs to change in child welfare
‘We’re putting these children in a place where I wouldn’t feel safe going,’ longtime foster mom says CBC News: One of the only signs anyone was paying attention to Joshua Nepinak during his teenage years was the black book a group of strangers filled with notes about him as they watched him come and go...
February 22, 2024
Treaty One Nations shocked they weren’t notified when raw sewage spilled into Red River
“Our land and our water has spirit, just like a living being that we need to protect… They can’t speak for themselves and we have to be the ones that do that.” — Treaty One Nations Chairperson Gordon BlueSky Treaty One Nations Chairperson Gordon BlueSky Updated Feb. 22 with statements from Minister Tracy Schmidt and...
February 15, 2024
Federal housing advocate says Indigenous people grossly overrepresented in Canada’s homeless population
APTN News: Canada’s housing advocate says a staggering number of Indigenous people are part of the country’s growing homeless population. “Manitoba reported that in Winnipeg in 2018 two-thirds of people experiencing homelessness were Indigenous and that number climbs to 94 per cent in Thompson,” Marie-Josée Houle told Nation to Nation. “In Saskatoon an estimated 90...
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 15, 2024
Joint APTN and CBC News investigation examines the impact of rising food prices in Canada
NationTalk:TREATY 1 TERRITORY, WINNIPEG, Man. — In a joint investigation, APTN Investigates and CBC’s The Fifth Estate are speaking with industry leaders and Canadian families, farmers and food producers to understand the reasons behind soaring food prices. In March 2022, APTN and CBC/Radio-Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the creation of more Indigenous content. The agreement emphasizes the need for the...
February 15, 2024
Manitoba First Nations concerned over major issues in province’s forestry plan
Duck Mountain Provincial Park Updated Feb. 15, 2024 6:08 p.m. EST Published Feb. 14, 2024 3:53 p.m. EST First Peoples Law Report: CTV News – Three Manitoba First Nations are calling on the provincial government to reject a forest management plan for the Duck Mountain and Kettle Hills area. On Wednesday, Minegoziibe Anishinabe, Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation...
February 14, 2024
Manitoba child advocate calls for more supports after family killed
The Globe and Mail: The Canadian Press – Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth is calling on the provincial government to better support young people facing intimate partner violence after a man was charged with killing five family members, including his three young children. Sherry Gott offered her condolences to relatives, friends and the southern Manitoba...
February 12, 2024
First Nations man charged with five counts of first-degree murder
Ryan Howard Manoakeesick is accused of killing his young family and a relative in rural Manitoba on Sunday Warning: This story contains distressing details APTN News: A 29-year-old man accused of killing his wife, their three young children and a female relative in a crime spree on Sunday is charged with five counts of first-degree...
February 7, 2024
4 First Nations in Manitoba declare state of emergency because of winter road issues
APTN News: Four First Nations in remote northern Manitoba are declaring a state of emergency because of the quick deterioration of their winter road network. Also known as ice roads, they’re the only way in or out of the communities by land and are necessary for delivering essential goods – but the unseasonably warm weather...
February 7, 2024
Feds’ labour data shows wage gap for Indigenous workers
Canada’s National Observer: Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched labour data tool Equi’Vision on Friday. Photo from file by Carl Meyer. Listen to article A new tool created by Ottawa to reveal potential barriers in the workplace shows a significant gap in wages for Indigenous workers. On Friday, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan launched a tool called Equi’Vision that...
February 2, 2024
First Nations communities push for all-season road in northern Manitoba
Construction crews working on the all season in Manitoba. Photo courtesy: Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. APTN News: The Canadian Press – First Nations leaders are renewing their push for an all-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg that would connect several remote communities to goods, services and health care in the south. They’re...
January 29, 2024
A new, reset relationship starts with meaningful consultation
The election of Premier Wab Kinew is an incredible achievement for our province. It’s also a significant opportunity for a reset in how the provincial government manages its relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Manitoba. For years, former Manitoba governments adopted an approach of informing Indigenous communities of decisions after they were made, instead of including...
January 26, 2024
Marlborough Hotel video sparks calls for better accommodations
Click on the following link view the video: https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/indigenous-leaders-demand-better-accommodations-for-those-travelling-to-winnipeg-for-medical-care-1.6744482 First Peoples Law Report: CTV News Winnipeg – Leaders are demanding better accommodations for those travelling from remote First Nations to Winnipeg for medical care. Cockroaches, bed bugs and mice are just some of the conditions patients face in hotels designated for their stays in the...
January 25, 2024
Time to end ‘inhumane’ delays in search for women’s remains, Manitoba chiefs say as new report completed
‘I speak with urgency and expect action from the governments’: AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick WARNING: This story contains distressing details. Click on the following links to read the original article on CBC including all related videos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/amc-landfill-search-prairie-green-1.7094507?cmp=newsletter_Evening%20Headlines%20from%20CBC%20News_1617_1371030 CBC News: First Nations leaders say the year-long wait for a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for...
January 24, 2024
Winnipeg hotel that zip-tied First Nations woman ‘Out of Order’
APTN News: A hotel in downtown Winnipeg that was the focus of a protest on Sunday is now closed to the public. Signs posted on the front doors of the Marlborough Hotel say “Due to maintenance – Hotel is out of order.” It’s not clear if the hotel has been cleared of paying guests –...
January 22, 2024
Video of First Nations woman restrained by hotel staff sparks outrage
Christmas Day video shows woman with her hands tied behind her back. The Marlborough Hotel in Winnipeg was flooded with angry protesters on Sunday after a video surfaced of a First Nations woman whose hands were tied behind her back. APTN News: The incident occurred on Christmas Day at the hotel which is located downtown....
January 11, 2024
AMC asks Winnipeg mayor to stop development in area of former cemetery
Property developer offers to set aside controversial area in south Winnipeg suburb of St. Norbert. The front gate of l’Asile Ritchot in the 1930s. Photo courtesy: Société historique de St-Boniface (SHSB) Tellier fonds. Warning: This story contains distressing subject matter. APTN News: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling for a halt on the potential development...
January 11, 2024
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Calls for Comprehensive Healthcare Approach Following Addition of 36 Acute Beds
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) acknowledges the recent announcement by the Manitoba government to add 36 new acute care beds at St. Boniface Hospital as part of their broader healthcare system improvement plan. While the move to enhance healthcare capacity is welcomed, the AMC emphasizes the need for...
January 8, 2024
Survey: Over Half of Indigenous Canadians Polled have Experienced Workplace Discrimination
62.4% HAVE EXPERIENCED BIAS WHEN APPLYING FOR JOBS NationTalk: TORONTO – ComIT.org, a registered charity that believes the democratization of education and opportunity is Canada’s best path forward, recently uncovered several startling statistics in a survey to 500 Canadians who identify as Indigenous Canadians. ComIT.org created the survey to take a pulse check of current...
January 1, 2024
Consulting Indigenous communities on critical minerals is key to net zero ambitions
PUBLISHED DECEMBER 31, 2023 UPDATED JANUARY 1, 2024 The Globe and Mail: Two years ago, First Nations leaders made clear what Canada must take to heart if it wants to be a global player in critical minerals and the energy transition: The only road to net zero runs through Indigenous lands. That is, any efforts to develop...
December 6, 2023
Manitoba Hydro dams caused decades of harm to Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, lawsuit alleges
Damages inflicted by 2 Laurie River hydro dams ‘happen every day,’ lawyer alleges First Peoples Law Report: CBC News: A northern Manitoba First Nation is suing the province and Manitoba Hydro over two dams it says have been damaging their lands and violating their treaty rights for more than 50 years. Mathias Colomb Cree Nation...
December 5, 2023
AFN national chief candidates would back inquiry into Sixties Scoop
National inquiry into removal of Indigenous children could become a key task for next AFN leader CBC Indigenous: Some First Nations chiefs say the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations should push for a national inquiry into the “Sixties Scoop” and the continued removal of Indigenous children from their families. About 22,000 Indigenous children were...
December 5, 2023
Alarming Increase in Youth Suicide Rates Underscores Urgent Need for Change in the Status Quo in Manitoba
NationTalk: Treaty One, Manitoba – Recent data from the annual statistics released by the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) has exposed unprecedented levels of youth suicide in Manitoba. In response, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) urgently calls for immediate and comprehensive measures to protect our young people, with a particular focus on...
December 1, 2023
AMC Council of Elders Emphasizes the Sacredness of Life Amidst Alarming Rise in Homicide Rates
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) expresses deep concern about the drastic increase in homicide rates in Manitoba. In times of crisis, our cultural ceremonies, teachings, and the guidance of our Knowledge Keepers and Elders become crucial resources. Through these cultural ceremonies and the wisdom imparted by our Elders, representing...
November 30, 2023
Are Canada’s museums honouring their promises to Indigenize and decolonize?
Aylan Couchie explains why she drafted a statement of concern, co-signed by Indigenous artists worldwide CBC Indigenous: Following reports of Anishinaabe curator Wanda Nanibush’s departure from the Art Gallery of Ontario, more than 50 artists have signed an open letter expressing concern that Canadian cultural institutions are failing to deliver on their promises to Indigenize and decolonize...
November 30, 2023
APTN National News podcast pushes past the stigmas to amplify the voices of people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg
APTN National News podcast pushes past the stigmas to amplify the voices of people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg NationTalk: TREATY 1 TERRITORY, WINNIPEG, Man. — APTN’s award-winning news team, APTN National News, is launching a five-part podcast series titled Our Relatives which unpacks the multifaceted reasons for the homelessness crisis in Winnipeg and shares the stories of the people...
November 29, 2023
Balancing Indigenous perspectives and international policies at COP28
There are a wide range of perspectives from Canada headed to the UN climate conversation People walk near a logo for the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) APTN News: A major annual international climate meeting kicks off tomorrow in Dubai, in the United Arab...
November 29, 2023
Sacred fire lit for mothers killed in Sunday’s shooting in Winnipeg
A sacred fire was lit and tobacco was offered for two mothers killed in a Winnipeg shooting on Nov. 26 that left two others dead. APTN News: Crystal, 34, and Stephanie Beardy, 33, died along with Melelek Lesikel, 29, and Dylan Lavallee, 41. The sisters are from Lake St. Martin First Nation, 270 km north...
November 28, 2023
Family of sisters killed in Langside Street shooting has seen ‘a lot of death,’ chief says
Beardy family forced to leave their Lake St. Martin home during 2011 flood CBC Indigenous: The mother of the two sisters killed in a mass shooting in Winnipeg has now lost four daughters, and the family has also struggled after they were displaced by flooding, the chief of their home First Nation says. Stephanie and...
November 16, 2023
First Nations adults with disabilities living on reserve lack equal access to services, report finds
On-reserve services ‘underfunded, under-resourced and understaffed,’ report says CBC Indigenous: Jennifer Bercier says “an invisible line with a huge barrier” separates Manitoba First Nations like hers from the rest of the province, after her daughter lost all of her disability support and services upon turning 18. The mother from Opaskwayak Cree Nation says the disability...
November 15, 2023
Proof Point: Closing Canada’s infrastructure gap could boost Indigenous output by up to 17%
NationTalk: RBC Proof Point Stubborn employment gap between Indigenous & non-Indigenous population persists Unemployment rate, %, prime age population; off-reserve Source: Statistics Canada, RBC Economics Canada’s Indigenous populations grapple with a huge infrastructure gap It is well-known that Canada is one of the most educated countries in the world, with the second highest share of...
November 8, 2023
What do we know about Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe? Details still scarce as her alleged killer is in court
‘It’s tragic that her family … hasn’t found their loved one,’ MMIWG advocate says CBC Indigenous: Just steps away from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, red dresses blow in the wind. They serve as a symbol of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada, including the four police allege were killed by...
October 27, 2023
Southern Chiefs Pass Resolutions Supporting the Wellness of SCO Citizens at Latest Summit
NationTalk:ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) hosted a Chiefs-in-Summit earlier this week. Highlights included the passing of key resolutions that will positively impact the overall wellness of the citizens of SCO Nations, along with a special honouring ceremony for Premier Wab Kinew. “At the start of this Summit, I expressed...
October 26, 2023
Senate Committee shocked by difficulties faced gathering residential school records from Catholic Church
“Who specifically asks for a 21-year NDA? Who within their organization needs to die within that 21 years that is being protected?” — Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson Windspeaker.com: Saskatchewan Treaty Commissioner Mary Musqua-Culbertson didn’t mince words when she spoke to members of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples Oct....
October 24, 2023
Make a decision on the MNO’s historic communities, judge tells Métis National Council
“We have certainly the better side of the litigation and it’s unfortunate that that the MNC had to, without the need to, bring these grievances in the form of litigation…” — Rahool Agarwal, legal counsel for the Manitoba Métis Federation At right is the Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron, and at left is David...
October 23, 2023
‘I’m very emotional’: Family of Clarence Woodhouse reacts to bail release
A judge in Winnipeg released Clarence Woodhouse, 72, on bail Monday pending a ministerial review of his 1974 murder conviction. “I’m very emotional and really happy,” said Woodhouse’s sister Linda Anderson after the hearing. “It’s good to see my brother come back home.” Woodhouse, from Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba, was serving a prison sentence...
October 18, 2023
Climate change solutions need to keep Indigenous knowledge at centre of approach
“It all comes down to resources…Resources are very important to be able to do what we need to do to work together.” —interim National Chief Joanna Bernard AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard Windspeaker.com:The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has released its National Climate Strategy and is calling on all levels of government to “make...
October 17, 2023
First Nations leaders ask for Brandon campground to be expropriated
First People’s Law Report: Prince Albert Daily Herald– First Nations leaders are asking the federal and provincial governments for financial support to see a private campground expropriated which they suspect contains unmarked graves. But the owner of the campground says he believes the remains of children can be respected and memorialized without shutting his business...
October 12, 2023
A need for action on reconciliation
NationTalk: Winnipeg Free Press – Each year, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation prompts us to take stock of the progress we are making, as a country, on the journey towards reconciliation. Often this progress — or the lack of it — is measured by counting how many of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s...
October 6, 2023
People accused of killing Indigenous women less likely to be charged with first-degree murder: study
Several factors from funding to distrust of colonial systems may contribute to the sentencing decisions APTN News: A report from Statistics Canada shows that there’s a disparity in the way homicide cases involving Indigenous women and girls are handled in the Canadian legal system. Data between 2009 and 2021 indicated that first-degree murder charges, the...
October 5, 2023
Canada and the Culture Wars: Majority say legacy of colonialism still a problem, two-in-five disagree
Deep divisions over continued challenges from residential schools, special status for Indigenous Peoples Angus Reid Institute Poll Survey Results October 5, 2023 – Canada was officially proclaimed a dominion by the British in 1867, but this land’s history extends thousands of years prior. For most in this country, the legacy of first contact between Indigenous Peoples and early...
October 2, 2023
Weaponized by PCs, sidelined by NDP: Indigenous concerns largely absent from Manitoba election
Indigenous voters will have to wait for the next election to see substantive dialogue CBC News: With Indigenous population growth outpacing the rest of the province, there may come a year where the needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples will be front and centre in a Manitoba election campaign. This was not that...
October 2, 2023
Bill C-53 Rewards Indigenous Identity Theft – Statement by Minister Will Goodon
NationTalk: Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis – In recent years, the Canadian public has become increasingly aware of the problem of Indigenous identity theft. At the individual level, this occurs when individuals falsely claim Indigenous identity to advance their careers and benefits. Indigenous identity theft can also occur at...
September 30, 2023
Manitoba founded by Métis but oppressive history soon made Indigenous premiership impossible
Last time Manitoba had an Indigenous premier was 136 years ago Manitoba has existed as a province for 153 years and, in that time, has had 19 premiers lead it through rewarding and turbulent times, marking milestones and influencing history. Despite its lengthy resumé, the province comes up short in two significant measures. It has never elected a premier who is...
September 30, 2023
Indigenous voters say reconciliation in Manitoba takes more than landfill search promises
Process involves return of languages, resources and ‘bringing us to the table,’ says former youth chief CBC Indigenous: Indigenous voters in Manitoba say discussions about the proposed search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations homicide victims have dominated this year’s provincial election season for good reason, but achieving reconciliation goes...
September 30, 2023
Orange Shirt Day: Canada faces rise in residential school denialism
Hate speech and confrontations are growing over the truth about missing children, graves and genocide People attend the second annual Orange Shirt Day Survivors Walk and Pow Wow on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sept. 30, 2022. With Orange Shirt Day approaching Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, a surge in residential...
September 30, 2023
This should be a day when Canada rededicates itself to seeking justice
Toronto Star: “Hubert O’Connor: Child Molester.” That’s how the Victoria Times Colonist headlined the obituary for Catholic bishop Hubert O’Connor. He worked at the St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, B.C., where he began a career as a serial rapist of young Indigenous girls. In 1996, he became the highest ranking Catholic official...
September 30, 2023
Is corporate sector listening to Indigenous business leaders?
Toronto Star: Businesses aren’t exempt from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to address the ongoing, centuries-long oppression of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. The 94 calls to action cover everything from the constant removal of Indigenous children to non-Indigenous households, medical racism and the multi-generational damage done to survivors of the Canadian government’s genocidal residential...
September 29, 2023
Ottawa poised to make decision on search of Manitoba landfill for human remains: minister
Families looking for federal commitment to funding a search of the Prairie Green Landfill in Manitoba CBC News: Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Gary Anandasangaree says the federal government is on the verge of presenting a plan in response to calls for a search of a Manitoba landfill for the remains of two First Nations women believed to have been murdered by...
September 27, 2023
New blockade goes up at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill as protesters demand search for women’s remains
Poll, CBC Manitoba focus group suggest voters are split on issue of landfill search ahead of Oct. 3 election Rachel Ferstl, Sarah Petz WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: A new barricade has gone up at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill, as calls continue for a search for the remains of two First Nations women...
September 27, 2023
AMC Increasingly Concerned by Human Rights Violations in Premier Stefanson’s Election Campaign
Nationtalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is growing increasingly concerned about the human rights violations prevalent in Premier Heather Stefanson’s newest campaign slogan. The slogan, “Stand firm” references the position of her party to not search two Winnipeg landfills for the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and Mashkode...
September 26, 2023
Federal minister criticizes Manitoba Tory ad that cites rejection of landfill search
Former Crown-Indigenous services minister Marc Miller told Canadian Press that the decision not to search the landfill is ‘heartless.’ Photo: APTN. APTN News: The Canadian Press – Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives came under fire Monday for taking out a newspaper ad that highlights, in part, the province’s decision to not search a landfill for the remains...
September 25, 2023
PCs make opposition to landfill search a central facet of campaign as Manitoba election day nears
Heather Stefanson pledges to ‘stand firm’ against search for missing and presumed murdered Indigenous women CBC Indigenous: As the Oct. 3 election day in Manitoba draws closer, the Progressive Conservatives are now actively campaigning on their opposition to searching a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women police presume are victims of an alleged serial...
September 24, 2023
Heather Stefanson Launches Ads Declaring She Will Never Search Landfill For Remains of Murdered Women
Manitoba PC leader Heather Stefanson is running partisan ads politicizing search for Indigenous women believed murdered by a serial killer The Tyee: Press Progress – Heather Stefanson, the leader of Manitoba’s PCs, has launched a new ad campaign promoting her opposition to searching a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women believed to have...
September 21, 2023
Centre for Truth and Reconciliation still waiting for residential school records to be submitted, hears Senate
“It sounds to me like this might take quite considerable time, some number of years for this (documents advisory) committee to do its work,” —Senator David M. Arnot. Chair of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples Mi’kmaw Senator Brian Francis. Windspeaker.com: It took referencing a dozen different sources to identify children who died at St....
September 18, 2023
Rallies calling for landfill search to be held across Canada on Monday
Families, supporters hope to put pressure on provincial, federal governments to search for women CBC Indigenous: The families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran hope their calls to search a landfill for the remains of their loved ones will be heard across the country. People in at least 17 cities, including Ottawa, will rally on Monday as...
September 12, 2023
Racism partly to blame for unequal health care provided to Indigenous women: PHAC study
Indigenous communities are still deeply affected by the 2020 death of Atikamekw woman Joyce Echaquan in a Quebec hospital, where she filmed staff insulting her as she lay dying, Lee Clark said. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson NationTalk: Racism and the lack of primary care providers mean off-reserve First Nations, Metis and Inuit women and girls...
September 9, 2023
Headingley inmate said ‘I can’t breathe’ more than 20 times while restrained by guards, video shows
Court shown video of February 2021 altercation between officers and William Ahmo, who later died in hospital WARNING: This story contains disturbing video and details. CBC News: originally posted Sept. 8 – William Ahmo uttered the words “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times while officers swarmed and restrained him in a Manitoba jail, video...
September 8, 2023
No Moral Struggle Here: Search the Landfill for Lives Lost
The refusal to search for murdered Indigenous women is causing avoidable trauma. The Tyee: The Conversation – In May 2022, Winnipeg resident Jeremy Skibicki was arrested and charged with the murder of 24-year-old Rebecca Contois. By the end of that year, Skibicki would be charged with the murder of three other women: Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified...
September 7, 2023
Pimicikamak Cree Nation worries it won’t have enough staff to run new health centre
First Nation’s leaders say nursing station running with less than half of staff it needs Manitoba First Nation struggles to find staff for new health centre: Duration 1:38 Pimicikamak Cree Nation is pleading for more government support for health care. The community in Cross Lake says it’s struggling with few local health services and a severe...
September 6, 2023
More than 500 Indigenous classes won’t have a teacher this week: here’s what we should do
Amid national teacher shortages, Indigenous communities are struggling enormously to recruit and retain teachers. The Toronto Star: Students start school this week in Eabametoong First Nation, a community 360 km northeast of Thunder Bay, where seven teaching positions remain unfilled; this includes two all-important kindergarten teachers for students who are starting school for the very...
September 5, 2023
‘I can’t breathe’: Court sees video of guards overpowering inmate William Ahmo
Paramedic says there was no sense of ‘urgency’ when he arrived to help. A screen shot from a video played in a Winnipeg courtroom of William Ahmo confronting the jail’s riot police. APTN News: His mother’s sobs could be heard in a Winnipeg courtroom Tuesday as she watched video of a group of correctional officers...
August 31, 2023
Allegations of sex crimes leads to eviction of employees, termination of water treatment plant construction contract
Community member says Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit of Manitoba RCMP asked to assist. One of the worker housing buildings in Sandy Bay First Nation. Photo: submitted APTN News: Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation in Manitoba says it is terminating its relationship with the company building its new water treatment plant amid allegations construction workers sexually...
August 29, 2023
First Nations police investigating allegations young girl was sexually exploited
The band council ordered treatment plant workers out of the community about 180 km northwest of Winnipeg last week. Logo of the Manitoba First Nations Police Service. Photo: APTN The Manitoba First Nations Police Service confirms it is investigating allegations that some workers on a water treatment plant construction project in Sandy Bay Ojibway Nation were sexually exploiting an...
August 29, 2023
Manitoba’s refusal to search landfill for remains is racist, church leader says
‘I can’t imagine that if there were white people in the landfill … we wouldn’t be searching for them’: bishop CBC News: The leaders of four major church denominations are standing together to urge Manitoba’s political leaders to search Prairie Green landfill for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, with one calling the province’s stance racist....
August 28, 2023
Barriers like racism, distrust may be main cause of health-care disparities for Indigenous women, study says
National study quantifying health-care inequities is 1st of its kind, lead author says Brishti Basu · CBC News · Posted: Aug 28, 2023 4:27 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 29 CBC News: Just before Tina Campbell had a minor medical procedure recently, she remembered the discrimination she says she felt while trying to access health care nearly two decades...
August 28, 2023
Rural Manitoba politician suspended in fallout from offensive remarks
By Kathleen Martens Andy Kuczynski suggested First Nations people would take up beds proposed nursing home Doug Murray and his wife stand by the RM of Springfield sign in rural Manitoba. Photo courtesy Tony Zerucha A rural Manitoba politician is no longer sharing his opinion on “truth and reconciliation.” Coun. Andy Kuczynski has been suspended without...
August 27, 2023
Indigenous females face more hurdles in health care access, study finds
The Globe and Mail: New research confirms what many Indigenous women have known all along: First Nations, Inuit and Métis females face many disparities in accessing health care. A study, led by the Public Health Agency of Canada and published in the CMAJ on Monday, found that First Nations, Inuit and Métis females have less access...
August 21, 2023
Manitoba First Nation considers further excavations after church dig for unmarked graves
No evidence of human remains found under church, but site has other anomalies: chief WARNING: This story includes distressing details. CBC News: A Manitoba First Nation is weighing next steps in its search of a former residential school site after no human remains were found during the excavation of a Catholic church basement. Minegoziibe Anishinabe,...
August 18, 2023
Chief says excavation of Manitoba church basement found no evidence of human remains
No remains found in excavation of church basement The Canada Press: MINEGOZIIBE ANISHINABE – No evidence of human remains has been found during the excavation of a Catholic church basement on the site of a former Manitoba residential school. Chief Derek Nepinak of Minegoziibe Anishinabe shared the results of the four-week excavation in a social...
August 18, 2023
Resisting landfill search sees Manitoba chiefs call for premier’s resignation
The AMC passed a resolution this week demanding Stefanson step down for not following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling for the resignation of Premier Heather Stefanson for her continued refusal to support a search of two Winnipeg-area landfills for missing Indigenous women....
August 17, 2023
‘They are being disappeared’: Tax union backs Winnipeg landfill search
The remains of three women are believed to be in two Winnipeg-area landfills: Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris and an as-yet-unidentified victim known as Buffalo Woman. APTN News: “This is absolutely appalling, in my opinion, that the government is disrespecting the Indigenous people – especially Indigenous women,” said union president Marc Briere during the noon-hour rally....
August 15, 2023
AMC Receives Unwavering Support from the Canadian Human Rights Museum
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) wishes to announce the unequivocal support received from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in response to the urgent calls to recover the remains of Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman) at two Winnipeg landfills. The CMHR’s letter of...
August 14, 2023
AMC Confronts Unacceptable Statement by Springfield Councillor
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is calling on Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien to take immediate action following racial and stereotypical remarks made by Springfield councillor, Andy Kuczynski, during a council meeting on August 8, 2023.T he unbecoming comments surfaced during a conversation about the construction of a facility...
August 10, 2023
Manitoba can’t walk away ‘scot-free’ from landfill victims: former Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister
CBC News: There is no scenario in which a province gets to walk away “scot-free” when two women are believed to be lying dead in a dump, says former Crown-Indigenous relations minister Marc Miller. In recent weeks, rallies have been held to demand a search of the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, for the remains...
August 10, 2023
Memorial held on anniversary of Tina Fontaine murder in Winnipeg
Veteran MMIWG2S Activist encouraged by work of younger generation. APTN News: Nine years after his sister Tina Fontaine was murdered, Elroy Fontaine planned a gathering at Oodena Circle in Winnipeg Thursday night to draw attention to the ongoing crisis, and to keep his sister’s memory alive.“I remember CFS bringing me down to their office and them sitting...
August 10, 2023
‘Pretendian’ conference delves into how to deal with false claims of Indigenous identity
APTN News: More than 30 people attended a conference in Tsuut’ina, just outside of Calgary, to talk about the issues of people falsely claiming Indigenous identity. They have come to colloquially be called “Pretendians. ”Participants came from as far as Halifax to hear about how to deal with increasing false claims of Indigenous identity.“ You...
August 3, 2023
Hundreds rally, march in downtown Winnipeg to demand search of landfill for women’s remains
‘Impossible to move forward’ on a search without Manitoba’s co-operation, feds say CBC News: Chants to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations women rang out across downtown Winnipeg on Thursday, as hundreds of people flooded the city’s most famous intersection for a round dance. CBC News counted about 200 people gathered...
August 3, 2023
While Indigenous people call for justice, Winnipeg’s police take aim at graffiti
TANYA TALAGA, SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL The Globe and Mail: When I first read the Winnipeg Police Service’s July 31 press release, I thought it was a joke. I thought maybe the Walking Eagle, the satirical Indigenous news site, was hard at work again. Sadly, you can’t make this type of disdain up. According to...
August 1, 2023
Manitoba’s political parties not doing enough to verify Indigenous identity: Métis lawyer
Jean Teillet says vetting processes not detailed, or no verification exists for 3 main political parties CBC News: Manitoba’s political parties are not doing enough to make sure candidates’ claims to Indigeneity are legitimate, says Jean Teillet, a lawyer and great-grandniece of Métis leader Louis Riel. CBC News asked all three of Manitoba’s provincial parties with a seat...
August 1, 2023
Provinces Failure to Protect Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites of former Indian Residential Schools leaves Children’s Remains At Risk and Affected Families without hope
NationTalk: Provinces Failure to Protect Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites of former Indian Residential Schools leaves Children’s Remains At Risk and Affected Families without hope ‘Our relatives that are buried there are being treated as hostages,’ Chief Hubert Watt Treaty One Territory, Winnipeg, MB –The graves of former residential school children located on private property...
July 26, 2023
Chiefs in Manitoba encourages new minister to continue push for landfill search
Gary Anandasangaree says he’ll be reaching out to families in Winnipeg. APTN News: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is encouraging the new minister of Crown-Indigenous relations to continue the work of Marc Miller in pushing for the search of the Prairie Green Landfill outside Winnipeg. “We hope that Minister Gary Anandasangaree can help us and...
July 26, 2023
The AMC Calls on Manitoba to Commit to Providing Comprehensive and Culturally Responsible Competency Training for Newly Recruited Family Physicians
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) urges the province of Manitoba to work in partnership with First Nations leadership to provide comprehensive competency training for family physician recruits. This training is essential to address the existing gaps in healthcare service delivery, particularly for First Nations citizens living in urban,...
July 25, 2023
Shoal Lake 40 sues Canada, Winnipeg for years without drinking water, road access
‘We shouldn’t have had to risk our survival just so Winnipeg could divert water,’ says chief. An old barge that would ferry people and goods from Shoal Lake 40 to the mainland. Photo: APTN file APTN News: A First Nation, whose lake supplies drinking water to the city of Winnipeg, is suing for a century...
July 24, 2023
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Demands Urgent Action to Search Prairie Green Landfill
NationTalk: Ottawa, Ontario – The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) condemns the continued refusal to search the Prairie Green Landfill, as it disregards the value of First Nations women’s lives. Furthermore, the AFN denounces the removal of the blockade set up by demonstrators at the Brady Road landfill, as it obstructs the path to justice....
July 21, 2023
The connection to spirit and body and the need to search the Winnipeg landfill
The closer your access to land and nature in its rawer forms, the more direct the links of body to spirit can seem. The Toronto Star: The voices defending the blockade of a privately owned garbage landfill in Winnipeg are eloquent, passionate and Indigenous. The murdered bodies of two Indigenous women and possibly more are...
July 20, 2023
Toronto Star: Opinion – A ‘heartless’ decision
A protest blockade was taken down on a road leading to a landfill just outside Winnipeg Tuesday, but that should not end the saga of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. The remains of the women are believed to be in another Winnipeg-area landfill and a decision to leave them there was quite rightly branded as...
July 20, 2023
Senate committee demands to know why all residential school records have yet to be turned over
“Every time an announcement of anomalies, reflections or recoveries are made, communities are being inundated by people emailing or phoning them to attack them and saying, ‘This didn’t happen’.” — Special Interlocutor Kimberly Murray Senator Brian Francis Windspeaker.com: Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples chair Senator Brian Francis calls a report released July 19 a...
July 20, 2023
Unifor statement of support for families seeking justice for missing and murdered women in Winnipeg
NationTalk: Unifor supports the calls by families of missing women Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran for police and municipal professionals to thoroughly search the Brady Road landfill for their remains. Police believe the bodies of the two women were deposited there by their killer last year. Unifor also supports extending the search at the landfill...
July 19, 2023
Two men wrongfully convicted 50 years ago speak out about justice system
‘The justice system needs to change,’ says Allan Woodhouse APTN News: After 50 years of being sentenced for a murder they didn’t commit Brian Anderson and Allan Woodhouse are free. Now they are speaking out about being wrongfully convicted. “The justice system needs to change,” Woodhouse told reporters at a press conference outside the Canadian Museum...
July 19, 2023
Camp Marcedes set up at Winnipeg’s human rights museum to honour victims of accused serial killer
Protestors set up Camp Marcades outside of the Canadian Human Rights Museum APTN News: Protesters demanding a search for their loved ones’ remains at a Winnipeg area landfill have found a welcoming new home at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights where the new location has been named “Camp Marcedes”. “We wanted to set up...
July 19, 2023
Innocence Canada calls for review of decades-old Manitoba murder convictions following acquittals
Lawyers say all murder cases involving Indigenous offenders in last 50 years should be reviewed CBC News: Lawyers with Innocence Canada are calling for a review of several decades’ worth of murder cases involving Indigenous offenders after two First Nations men were acquitted of a murder that happened half a century ago. On Tuesday, Justice...
July 19, 2023
Senate committee to question groups that have not released residential school records
Governments and churches ‘standing between Indigenous Peoples and the truth,’ committee member says CBC News: A Senate committee is pledging to hold a hearing this fall to demand answers from organizations that have not released records tied to Canada’s residential school system. In a news release Wednesday, P.E.I. Sen. Brian Francis called it “disheartening” that so many governments and...
July 19, 2023
CLC: Governments Must Search for Indigenous Women’s Remains
NationTalk: WINNIPEG—Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske, with the support of Manitoba Federation of Labour President Kevin Rebeck issued the following statement today: “Canada’s unions call on governments at all levels to commence a search for the remains of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and an unidentified woman who has been named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman)...
July 18, 2023
Two Indigenous men acquitted of murder after 50 years
It’s the first double acquittal for Innocence Canada, a national organization that work to overturn wrongful convictions. APTN News: Two Indigenous men were acquitted of 50-year-old murder convictions Tuesday with the help of Innocence Canada and Manitoba’s top judge. Chief Justice Glenn Joyal told a packed courtroom in Winnipeg that Brian Anderson and Allan (A.J.) Woodhouse were...
July 18, 2023
Brady landfill blockade dismantled in Winnipeg
Organizers say a new camp is to be set up at the Canadian Museum For Human Rights By Tamara Pimentel APTN News: Elder Geraldine Shingoose smudges a red dress mural painted on the road to the Brady landfill in Winnipeg where a blockade stood moments before. “It breaks my heart today. They just come in and...
July 17, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grateful for Support from Leadership at the Assembly of First Nations and CUPE Local 500
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba: July 16 – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) strongly denounces the jurisdictional debates amongst all levels of government to refuse the search for the remains of murdered First Nations women in the Prairie Green landfill in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The AMC is grateful for the support of the Assembly of...
July 14, 2023
Defiant protesters burn injunction after Manitoba judge orders landfill blockade to come down
Police liaison asked protesters if they would leave after injunction came into effect CBC News: Protesters at Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill remained defiant Friday night, ignoring a judge’s order to stop blocking the main road into the facility and burning a copy of the injunction he issued earlier in the day. The main entrance to...
July 14, 2023
NWAC demands immediate resumption of search for women’s remains
NWAC Provincial Co-Chair: “If they are not willing to commit returning our relatives home, we will.” NationTalk: The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) demands that the federal, provincial, and municipal governments take the steps required to begin an immediate search of landfills near Winnipeg for the remains of Indigenous women who are the victims...
July 14, 2023
Wildfires are disproportionately harming Indigenous communities
CTV News: Canadian wildfires are disproportionately affecting Indigenous people at a greater rate than non-Indigenous Canadians, a recent report finds. The audit published in June by Indigenous Services Canada and authored by a Metis fire researcher, found that in the past 13 years, Indigenous communities had more than 1,300 wildfire-related emergencies leading to more than...
July 13, 2023
Stefanson fires back at federal minister, calls his comments on landfill search inflammatory
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller called decision not to search landfill ‘heartless’ CBC News: Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson says a federal minister was reckless and inflammatory when he criticized the province Wednesday over its decision not to search a landfill for the remains of two First Nations women. Premier Heather Stefanson said last week Manitoba won’t support a search of the Prairie Green landfill...
July 12, 2023
Manitoba’s decision not to search landfill ‘heartless’: Crown-Indigenous relations minister
Provincial government’s move makes landfill search ‘logistically impossible’ this summer, says Marc Miller CBC News: Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller criticized Manitoba Wednesday over what he called the provincial government’s “heartless” decision not to search a landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of two First Nations women believed to be the victims of a serial killer. Premier Heather Stefanson said...
July 12, 2023
First Nations Chiefs Demand Accountability and Support in Search for MMIWG2S Victims at Meeting with Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – Today, Grand Chief Cathy Merrick and members of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) met with Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations Marc Miller to discuss crucial matters affecting First Nations in Manitoba. During the meeting, Chief Kyra Wilson, Long Plain First Nation, sought clarification from Minister Miller regarding the Government...
July 10, 2023
Influx of supporters join landfill blockade after ‘act of hate’ at MMIWG mural
‘I can’t see the blockade going down’: supporter CBC News: Protesters blocking the Brady Road landfill south of Winnipeg say their resolve is even stronger after a man shovelled a truckload of soil and debris onto an MMIWG mural near the blockade Sunday. The blockade went up last week after the province refused to fund a search...
July 10, 2023
Supporters hold their ground at Winnipeg landfill blockade as noon deadline to leave passes
City of Winnipeg may apply for injunction if talks with demonstrators don’t yield resolution, CAO says CBC News: Dozens of people outside Winnipeg’s Brady Road landfill have built barricades and are signalling their unwillingness to leave, despite a noon deadline from the city to vacate the area and the possibility of legal action. Cambria Harris,...
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...
July 5, 2023
Manitoba grand chief shocked after province says it won’t help pay to search landfill for remains
AMC’s Cathy Merrick says province’s concerns about searchers’ safety are addressed in feasibility report CBC News: The leader of the group pushing to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women says she doesn’t buy the Manitoba government’s explanation that it won’t provide funding for the initiative because of safety concerns for those...
July 5, 2023
Statement from Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Eileen Clarke on the Final report of the Landfill Search feasibility Study Committee
On behalf of our government and all Manitobans, our deepest condolences continue to go out to the families and loved ones mourning the tragic loss of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois, and Buffalo Woman. Today, we met with a number of family members and Indigenous leadership. In that meeting, we stressed the Manitoba government...
July 5, 2023
SCO Launches Harm Reduction Education and Awareness Campaign
ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is announcing the launch of a comprehensive public campaign focused on preventing and increasing awareness of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections (STBBIs), and harm reduction. “Harm reduction has become a major focus for SCO when it comes to...
June 29, 2023
Leaked report on searching landfill for women’s remains shares how 60,000 tonnes of material could be examined
Proposal includes using temperature-controlled unit to secure possible remains found at Prairie Green landfill WARNING: This story contains distressing details. A search through as much as roughly 60,000 tonnes of materials for the remains of two First Nations women at a landfill near Winnipeg could involve moving thousands of truckloads of garbage, hiring dozens of...
June 26, 2023
Majority of Manitobans want National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to be stat holiday, poll suggests
Governing PCs have said there is no consensus to declare new holiday in province CBC News: Three-quarters of Manitobans are in favour of making Sept. 30 — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — a statutory holiday in Manitoba, a new Probe Research poll commissioned by the Winnipeg Free Press suggests. Orange Shirt Day, as...
June 26, 2023
Considerations for collecting data on race and Indigenous identity during health card renewal across Canadian jurisdictions
Andrew D. Pinto, Azza Eissa, Tara Kiran, Angela Mashford-Pringle, Allison Needham and Irfan DhallaCMAJ June 26, 2023 195 (25) E880-E882; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.221587 KEY POINTS Canada’s health care systems do not routinely collect self-reported race and Indigenous identity data and often lack a standardized and consistent approach to data collection that would permit comparisons between organizations or jurisdictions. Collecting racial and Indigenous identity data is necessary for...
June 22, 2023
Manitoba child advocate releases report on fatal police shooting of Eishia Hudson
By The Canadian Presshttps://player.vimeo.com/video/838841432?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479 APTN News: The Canadian Press – A review by Manitoba’s children and youth advocate has determined a First Nations teen fatally shot by police had been unable to get consistent help from various government systems. In her latest report, called “Memengwaa Wiidoodaagewin” or “Butterfly Project,” Sherry Gott looked at the circumstances of...
June 22, 2023
Memengwaa Wiidoodaagewin (Butterfly Project): Manitoba Advocate Releases A Special Report To Honour Eishia Hudson
NationTalk: TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND HOMELAND OF THE RED RIVER MÉTIS, Winnipeg, Man., June 22, 2023 –– The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) released Memengwaa Wiidoodaagewin (Butterfly Project), a special report in honour of Eishia Hudson, who died as a result of a gunshot wound inflicted by a member of the Winnipeg Police...
June, 2023
MEMENGWAA WIIDOODAAGEWIN (Butterfly Project): Honouring Eishia Hudson (June 2023)
Advocate makes four findings and issues four recommendations to address provincial public service gaps and systemic barriers that affect children, youth, and young adults in Manitoba.TREATY 1 TERRITORY AND HOMELAND OF THE RED RIVER MÉTIS, Winnipeg, Man., June 22, 2023 ––The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) released Memengwaa Wiidoodaagewin(Butterfly Project), a special report...
June 20, 2023
Residential School Denialism Is on the Rise. What to Know
And how to confront it. Because without the truth, there can be no reconciliation. The Tyee: May 27, 2023 marked the two-year anniversary of the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc’s announcement about the location of 215 potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in the Interior of British Columbia. In recognition of the anniversary,...
June 19, 2023
Is A Genocide Taking Place in Canada? Short Answer: Yes.
NationTalk: (OTTAWA, ON) – A genocide is being perpetuated against Indigenous peoples in Canada. That was the unambiguous declaration of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. But, despite a death toll that climbs year after year, many Canadians have difficulty understanding how the Inquiry reached its finding, or accepting that...
June 19, 2023
Feasibility study says short timeline important for landfill search
The study says one of the most important factors is the time between when a victim’s remains end up in a landfill and when a search begins. A photo of a truck at work at the Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg. Photo: Jesse Andrushko/APTN News APTN News: Searching a landfill in Manitoba for 30 days...
June 16, 2023
Peguis First Nation, surrounding Manitoba communities fear lack of funding could shut down ambulance service
Provincial funding agreement for Fisher Ambulance Service expired in 2019 CBC News: Peguis First Nation and surrounding communities in Manitoba’s Interlake have declared a state of emergency over lack of funding for their ambulance service, which they say is in danger of shutting down unless the province steps in with support. The Fisher Ambulance Service...
June 14, 2023
During the worst wildfire season this century, Indigenous communities need to consider their participation in resource extraction: says researcher
37 per cent of the total burned forest area in Western Canada and the United States between 1986 and 2021 can be traced back to 88 major fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers. ‘These fires are a culmination of ongoing resource extraction projects’ says climate researcher APTN News: In light of increasing extreme weather and...
June 10, 2023
‘We’re just brushed away’
The family of a missing Indigenous woman says when police left them in the dark, community stepped in to search WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: It started with a photo posted to Facebook in early March of this year about a missing 37-year old mother who had last been seen in downtown...
June 8, 2023
Manitoba Premier remains mum on funding to search landfill for remains of two women
The Globe and Mail: The decision to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women and who will fund it remains up in the air a month after a feasibility study was completed. The study, conducted by an Indigenous-led committee, estimated it could take up to three years and cost $184...
June 7, 2023
Every Canadian has a role in ending the MMIWG crisis, advocate says
Empathy ‘must stay in Canadians’ hearts past the evening’s news broadcast’: Hilda Anderson-Pyrz This column is an opinion written by Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle, as part of CBC’s “Mother. Sister. Daughter,” a project that tracked progress on the 231 calls to justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered...
June 7, 2023
Brother relieved sister missing from Winnipeg found alive
A happy ending is not the usual way missing persons stories end. Red dresses have come to symbolize missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Photo: Jesse Andrushko/APTN News APTN News: When Harley Dawes’ sister went missing in Winnipeg last September he was worried. The 22-year-old woman from a First Nation in northern Manitoba was...
June 5, 2023
Search for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls hampered by police apathy: Researchers
‘The problem of Indigenous women being overpoliced and underprotected is all across Canada’ Participants walk in the Women’s Memorial March in Vancouver to remember missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua via Getty Images) Content warning: the following contains disturbing subject matter. NationTalk: University of Toronto – In Canada, research shows...
June 5, 2023
Indigenous coalition urges Canada’s healthcare system to ‘Rise Above Racism’
NationTalk: themessage. Who: A coalition of Indigenous health organizations (First Nations Health Managers Association, First Peoples Wellness Circle and Thunderbird Partnership Foundation); with NationTalk for strategy, creative and media (supported by Cleansheet Communications). What: “Rise Above Racism,” a new government-funded awareness campaign highlighting the issue of anti-Indigenous racism within the Canadian healthcare system. This is the second...
June 1, 2023
They say Canada’s health system is broken. But can First Nations leaders create a new one in the shadow of colonialism?
“We’ve been very clear with Canada that any federal health legislation that moves forward must recognize the Treaty and Inherent Right to health,” says Vice Chief David Pratt Toronto Star: First Nations leaders are wrestling with what the future of Indigenous health care should look like as they piece together legislation meant to deal with...
May 30, 2023
Fireside Chats on Indigenous Health – Improving the health of Indigenous Peoples
Credit: Canadian Medical Association NationTalk: Canadian Medical Association President Dr. Alika Lafontaine joins Dr. Paula Cashin, Canada’s first Indigenous radiologist and a member of CMA’s board of directors, and Dr. Sarah Williams, CMA’s strategic advisor for Indigenous health, to discuss improving the health of Indigenous Peoples. This is the second event in a CMA series on...
May 27, 2023
‘We were anything but primitive’: How Indigenous-led archaeology is challenging colonial preconceptions
The field of archaeology changing. So are the ways some young Indigenous people see themselves CBC News: When she was about eight years old, Jennifer Tenasco moved from her home community of Kitigan Zibi, Que., to Ottawa. Changing schools meant she’d lost an important place to learn about her culture: her classroom on reserve. “It...
May 27, 2023
Manitoba government must have known about Jim McCrae’s residential school denialism: Murray Sinclair
McCrae resigned from judicial selection committee after articles tabled in legislature Ozten Shebahkeget · CBC News · Posted: May 27, 2023 8:36 AM EDT | Last Updated: May 27 Former senator Murray Sinclair believes the Manitoba government knew about Jim McCrae’s controversial views on residential schools. McCrae, a former Manitoba politician appointed to a judicial selection committee by the province earlier this...
May 26, 2023
O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation sues Manitoba Hydro for ‘years of harm’
APTN News: O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (OPCN), along with two associations located on South Indian Lake has filed a law against Manitoba Hydro for what it calls a “half century of harm” because of projects that were undertaken against their wishes. “How can we teach our children our traditional practices when our lands and waters are...
May 25, 2023
Sexual assault organizations struggling to help victims post-pandemic: study
APTN News: The preliminary findings of a new national survey is highlighting how frontline sexual assault organizations are struggling to provide timely services to victims and survivors post-pandemic. The report, which was conducted by national organization Ending Violence Association of Canada, surveyed more than 100 sexual violence organizations (SVOs) across Canada on how the pandemic impacted...
May 23, 2023
The Treaty Right to Health and the Legacy of the Indian Health Policy (1979)
Contemporary Legislative and Policy Considerations EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This document provides a succinct overview of the health-related legal and policy frameworks that frame and limit the potential for self-determination and self-government of First Nations people. This review is informed by recent developments such as the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the associated Calls...
May 20, 2023
Northern Manitoba First Nation sounds alarm over isolation after youth suicides
Manitoba airline pledges to increase frequency of flights to and from community CBC News: The chief of a northern Manitoba First Nation is sounding the alarm and calling on government to take immediate action to address the remote community’s isolation from the larger world, which he says is playing a role in its youth either...
May 19, 2023
‘It needs to be a day of reckoning:’ Parliamentary committee studying land back
‘I think this study will really explore the connection of Indigenous people to land in a way that people don’t naturally equate to property.’ A school bus rests on the road at 1492 Land Back Lane Blockade in Caledonia, Ont. Photo: APTN file APTN News: The standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs is undertaking...
May 19, 2023
Winnipeg is the epicentre for missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada
By Brittany GuyotMay 19, 2023 Indigenous women account for 65% of homicides in Winnipeg between 2018-22. A gentle breeze pushes through the prairie landscape. Red ribbons can be seen strewn across a chain-link fence at a local landfill. A red dress is also tightly attached. The symbols for missing and murdered Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people...
May 17, 2023
New hope for flood-prone Peguis First Nation means evacuees could come home
Nearly a third of the ‘refugees’ from last spring’s flood still haven’t returned to the community. The Nation hopes a new collaboration will help it better prepare for future natural disasters The Narwhal: A year after a historic flood ravaged Peguis First Nation, there’s hope on the horizon. The spring thaw passed without incident this...
May 16, 2023
Manitoba to conduct review of Indigenous-themed art after sculpture in premier’s office deemed inappropriate
Art experts say sculpture is cultural appropriation and depicts stereotypes of Indigenous peoples Joanne Levasseur, Caroline Barghout · CBC News · Posted: May 16, 2023 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago CBC News: The province is conducting a review to ensure all Indigenous-themed artwork displayed in ministers’ offices is created by Indigenous artists. This comes after CBC...
May 12, 2023
Chiefs, families push for search for remains at Winnipeg landfill that could take years, cost up to $184M
Police believe remains of 2 First Nations women are in Prairie Green landfill Landfill search for remains of First Nations women could cost $183M: study WARNING: This story contains distressing details. To view the video, click on the following link: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/landfill-feasibility-study-results-manitoba-1.6840411?cmp=newsletter_Evening%20Headlines%20from%20CBC%20News_1617_1050297 CBC News: A search for the remains of two First Nations women at a...
May 11, 2023
Opinion: To get Indigenous murder and suicide rates down, first face facts
Canadians need to agree on the hard fact of modern life that education is a prerequisite for economic success NationTalk: Financial Post – From 2017 through 2021, 1.45 non-Indigenous Canadians in 100,000 died from homicide. Among Indigenous Canadians the rate was six times that: 8.88 in 100,000. That average masks a stark regional difference, however....
May 8, 2023
Incarcerated Indigenous women devastated after prison stops them from selling beadwork
Inmates earned money through Women Helping Women Beadwork to help support families on the outside CBC News: A woman who relies on selling beadwork she makes in her cell at a Manitoba women’s prison to support her family is devastated that she’s no longer allowed to do so. Lori Sinclair, who has been on remand at...
May 2, 2023
MPs call for national emergency declaration on violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit people
Motion was presented by NDP MP Leah Gazan of Winnipeg Centre CBC News: The House of Commons adopted a motion on unanimous consent Tuesday calling on the federal government to declare ongoing violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people a national emergency. The motion was presented by Winnipeg Centre NDP MP Leah Gazan. It also...
April 21, 2023
After outcry over baby’s apprehension, Manitoba Indigenous family gets newborn back
‘Wrongful, illegal apprehension,’ sister says after meeting in which Child and Family Services apologized CBC News: An Indigenous family is planning to pursue legal action after they say a newborn baby was apprehended by Child and Family Services without warning. A taxi was on its way to take the mother and baby home on Monday, when a child-welfare...
April 18, 2023
Advocates call on Canada to establish multi-year funding for Indigenous youth organizations
New report launched at side-event for United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues CBC News: Indigenous youth advocates are turning to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to put pressure on the federal government to better fund Indigenous-led youth groups. Representatives from five Indigenous youth groups travelled to New York City this week...
April 13, 2023
Instead of seeking reconciliation, politicians manufacture crises for partisan gain
The Globe and Mail: The ridiculous overreaction by Prairie premiers and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to remarks from Justice Minister David Lametti deepens fissures that politicians should be trying to heal. In the partisan crossfire, real issues involving the lives of real people get lost – in this case, the well-being of First Nations. At...
April 12, 2023
Trudeau says premiers’ claims about natural resources power grab have ‘no grounding in truth’
Premiers criticized justice minister for saying Ottawa will look at resource agreement CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba of misinterpreting remarks by a federal minister on whether Ottawa might review agreements that give those provinces control of natural resources. “Let me be very clear. The minister of...
April 12, 2023
Trudeau says premiers’ claims about natural resources power grab have ‘no grounding in truth’
Premiers criticized justice minister for saying Ottawa will look at resource agreement CBC News: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing the premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba of misinterpreting remarks by a federal minister on whether Ottawa might review agreements that give those provinces control of natural resources. “Let me be very clear. The minister of...
April 12, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Releases a Statement on the Provinces Refusal to Honour Orange Shirt Day.
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is frustrated following the Manitoba government’s continued refusal to make Orange Shirt Day a statutory holiday. In addition to the lack of progress on Reconciliation efforts in this province, it is disappointing that the government of Manitoba will not make September 30th a...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
April 11, 2023
Western premiers blast Lametti for suggesting Ottawa might ‘look at’ provinces’ power over natural resources
Lametti told an AFN meeting he would examine calls to rescind Natural Resources Transfer Act CBC News: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and three western premiers are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disassociate his government from comments made by his justice minister — who promised last week to “look at” a decades-old law that...
April 11, 2023
Analysis of anti-Indigenous racism in hospitals reveals pattern of harm, no tracking mechanism
Canada’s National Observer: “Sakihitowin means love,” Pearl Gambler says, recalling the day she gave her daughter her name. It was the day Sakihitowin was born — and died. From Bigstone Cree Nation, Gambler entered Edmonton’s Misericordia Hospital on June 11, 2020, and experienced a series of events that she can only characterize as traumatic and...
April 11, 2023
Manitoba government says it doesn’t have consensus to make Orange Shirt Day a statutory holiday in 2023
Decision should come from ‘Indigenous communities themselves and not from us as government’: Stefanson CBC News: The Manitoba government says it’s still not prepared to make the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a provincial statutory holiday this fall. Premier Heather Stefanson says the province has been unable to find consensus for the second straight year among...
April 8, 2023
Canada is sitting on a critical minerals motherlode. But is it ready for the new gold rush?
Proponents say Canada must do more to turn aspiration into action CBC News: Drive two hours north of Ottawa, put on a hard hat and bright orange vest, descend into a pit — and you find yourself on the frontline in the fight to be part of the new, green economy. A mining project might not...
April 7, 2023
Hundreds chant ‘we are not trash,’ close Portage and Main in honour of woman found dead in Winnipeg landfill
Supporters come together to call for change after death of Linda Beardy, 33, of Lake St. Martin First Nation WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Hundreds formed a ring around drummers and singers in the middle of Portage Avenue and Main Street in Winnipeg Friday evening to honour Linda Beardy after the mother...
April 7, 2023
Repudiating a racist doctrine
Words don’t just hurt. Some words kill. THE STAR’S VIEW The Toronto Star: Consider, for example, the authorization “to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue” a group of people, and “to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery.” Those words aren’t just hurtful; they’re downright deadly. Nonetheless, those are the words of Romanus Pontifex, the...
April 5, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Brings Forward Justice Issues for Meeting with Minister of Public Safety Office
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Grand Chief Cathy Merrick and other First Nations leaders from Manitoba met with Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino in Ottawa yesterday to discuss how our governments can work together on common goals of public safety and share solutions from a First Nations perspective....
April 4, 2023
Body of Lake St. Martin First Nation mother, 33, found at Winnipeg landfill
Workers discovered body of Linda Mary Beardy hours after police believe remains were left at Brady landfill WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: The body of a 33-year-old mother from a First Nation in Manitoba has been found in a Winnipeg landfill, and police say they consider the circumstances surrounding her death suspicious. Staff at...
March 30, 2023
Ex-priest, 93, acquitted of indecent assault at Manitoba residential school
Arthur Masse was charged last year in alleged incident at Fort Alexander dating back more than 50 years WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: A retired priest accused of assaulting a First Nations girl at a Manitoba residential school more than 50 years ago has been acquitted. Victoria McIntosh alleged she was assaulted by Arthur Masse,...
March 29, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) Expresses Concern Over First Nations Over-Incarceration Rates
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, MB – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issues the following statement on the over-incarceration of First Nations Citizens in Manitoba. On March 17, 2023, the Winnipeg Free Press published an article about Ethan Wildcat, a First Nation man who was handed a harsher sentence then a non-First Nations man facing...
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 13, 2023
Shamattawa First Nation declares state of emergency
2nd Manitoba First Nation to declare a state of emergency in the past week CBC News: A First Nation in northern Manitoba, recently hit by a major fire that left several families without homes, has declared a state of emergency. Shamattawa First Nation Chief Jordna Hill has called a news conference for 1:30 p.m. Monday in Winnipeg....
March 10, 2023
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Responds to Provincial Budget Announcement
NationTalk: TREATY ONE TERRITORY, MB – On March 7, 2023, Manitoba’s Finance Minister Cliff Cullen announced the $21.8 billion “Historic Help For Manitobans: Safer Streets. Healing Health Care. Stronger Communities. Opportunities Ahead,” 2023 provincial budget, which identifies projected increases in federal transfers of $1,049 and expenditures of $1,976 million. Grand Chief Cathy Merrick for the...
March 10, 2023
‘It’s hard to comprehend:’ AMC says more resources needed after girls freeze to death in St. Theresa Point
APTN: The chief of St. Theresa Point First Nation is making a plea for privacy after two 14-year-old girls froze to death in the northern Manitoba community on March 1. Leaders of the close-knit First Nation, 465 km northeast of Winni peg, said the whole community has been hit hard by the girls’ deaths. It...
March 7, 2023
‘Our people are dying’: Manitoba First Nation declares state of emergency
3 people have died in O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation in the past 2 weeks CBC News: A remote northern Manitoba First Nation has declared a state of emergency following the deaths of three people in the community over the past two weeks. “We’ve seen the hurt and pain suffered by our First Nation and we can’t wait any longer....
March 5, 2023
Family, community mourn 2 teens found dead in northern Manitoba
Girls found outside and St. Theresa Point Chief believes drugs a factor in their deaths CBC News · Posted: Mar 05, 2023 9:17 AM EST | Last Updated: March 5 The family of one of the 14-year-old girls found dead outside after a frigid night on a northern Manitoba First Nation says she was struggling to cope with...
March 4, 2023
Canadian history was overdue for a rewrite
The Globe and Mail: The Governor-General of Canada usually chooses her words with careful, unsmiling deliberation. But her anger at the way that Canadian history has, until recently, been taught in our schools was unmistakable. “It has been uneven and it is unfair,” Mary Simon said. “This country is so diverse, but for the longest...
February 23, 2023
How missing Indigenous women could be saved with ‘Red Dress Alert’
Nation Talk: CTV News – One Winnipeg MP is calling for a system, similar to the existing Amber Alerts, to be established to notify the public about missing Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people. “We currently have crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people in this country. Something that our current prime...
February 22, 2023
Provinces lag behind Ottawa in offering crucial supports to those who’ve been switched at birth
The Globe and Mail: A man who was the first known switched-at-birth case in Manitoba says if it weren’t for the independent review and mental-health support ordered by the federal government, his life would’ve fallen apart. Luke Monias of Garden Hill First Nation said he would likely be unemployed and struggling with addiction. “I wouldn’t be...
February 13, 2023
Frustrations mount in Cross Lake, Man., where ambulance service has been in limbo for 2 years
Private ambulance service is still seeking its licence after 2021 incident CBC News: A private ambulance service in Cross Lake, Man., hasn’t been operating for two years now, with frustrations mounting from operators and community members who want to see things back up and running. “You know, it’s a matter of life and death for some...
February 13, 2023
Mother files lawsuit alleging racist treatment led to beating death of Anishinaabe son at Headingley jail
Court filing alleges a dozen Manitoba corrections officers beat William Ahmo, shot objects at him WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: A Winnipeg mother is suing the province of Manitoba and corrections officers, claiming racist treatment and excessive force after she says the Anishinaabe father was shot at with objects and beaten by...
February 11, 2023
It’s everyone’s job to help end the MMIWG crisis, advocates say — and here’s how
‘It starts with everybody taking responsibility,’ says author of inquiry’s final report WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Lorelei Williams is exhausted. The Coast Salish woman has been on the frontlines of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls crisis in Vancouver since 2012, when she founded Butterflies in Spirit to raise awareness about...
February 9, 2023
For 50 days she stood vigil at a Winnipeg landfill. The alleged serial killer charged in her mother’s death goes to court today
Daughter of one of four slain Indigenous women, alleged victims of Jeremy Skibicki, wants to ensure “the landfill isn’t their final resting place.” Toronto Star: WINNIPEG—The red dress trembles in the wind as it clings to a chain-link fence. The symbols of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls are draped all along the perimeter...
February 8, 2023
Mother found dead after sharing video about struggles with Manitoba’s child welfare system, domestic violence
Anishinaabe woman pleaded with people to ‘listen to me’ WARNING: This story contains distressing details. CBC News: Family and friends of a woman who died by suicide are looking for answers after the woman posted a live video on social media saying she was a victim of domestic violence and sharing the frustration and trauma...
February 7, 2023
Governments Opposed to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
Updated Feb. 7, 2023 to move BC to those who have enacted a statutory holiday Those provinces who will not recognize Sept 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as a statutory holiday: Province/Territory IndigenousPopulation Party in Power Date Comment Alberta 258,640 Conservative – Alberta told CTV Edmonton it won’t legislate the holiday, but...
February 6, 2023
‘I don’t have a home to go to’: Peguis First Nation evacuees left in limbo 9 months after flooding
More than 900 evacuees still not able to return home, chief says CBC News: More than 900 evacuees from Peguis First Nation still can’t return to their community nearly nine months after floodwaters ravaged the reserve. Nearly 300 homes are uninhabitable and many have been given no timeline for when they may be able to go...
February 6, 2023
First Nations Leaders Resolve to Protect Land in Manitoba: AMC, MKO, SCO and ILTC Demand Immediate Stop to Agricultural Crown Lands Lease and Permit Auction
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimaknak (MKO), the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) and the Anishininew Okimawin (ILTC) are providing Manitoba with notice that they intend to initiate legal proceedings to protect the traditional and ancestral lands of First Nations in Manitoba. The Province of Manitoba intends to...
February 4, 2023
Digging for answers
The families of an alleged serial killer’s victims want this landfill searched. But how, and by whom? The Globe asked forensics experts, who saw hope that the right techniques could unearth buried remains The Globe and Mail: For months after police determined Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were likely buried at the Prairie Green Landfill,...
February 2, 2023
Manitoba medical group apologizes to Indigenous people for racism
NationTalk: CHVN – 95.1FM – The organization that regulates medical care in Manitoba has apologized for racism directed toward Indigenous people when accessing health care. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba says it recognizes its failure to effectively regulate the medical profession to prevent racist and substandard medical care to Indigenous peoples. Grand...
January 27, 2023
SCO Urges Prime Minister to Include First Nations Leaders in Health Meeting
NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is calling on Prime Minister Trudeau and the Government of Canada to ensure that First Nations leaders are included in health discussions on February 7, 2023. “Health care systems are in crisis. They are not meeting the needs of First Nations people, and...
January 25, 2023
First Nations groups upset with exclusion from health-care funding talks
‘There is no reconciliation for First Nations when we continue to be excluded from these crucial discussions’ CBC News: First Nations groups are criticizing their exclusion from an upcoming meeting between federal, provincial and territorial governments aiming to reach a funding deal to improve the country’s ailing health-care system. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations...
January 17, 2023
Manitoba still hasn’t acted on some recommendations to protect kids, advocate says
Toronto Star: WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s advocate for children and youth says the province has still not fulfilled some key recommendations aimed at protecting young people. Sherry Gott says the government has made progress in the number of recommendations partially or fully implemented, but among the outstanding ones are ideas from the Phoenix Sinclair inquiry report...
January 7, 2023
Here are 3 places to watch the Land Back movement unfold in 2023
Calls for a return of Indigenous sovereignty over traditional territories have gained momentum in recent years CBC News: It was a hot, muggy July day when Nick Tilsen and about 200 other Lakotas blocked the way to a sacred mountain. The mountain is part of the He Sapa and is the centre of the Land...
January 6, 2023
Sixties Scoop survivor reconnects with birth mom, discovers her culture, decades after separation
It took many years for the pair to develop a mother-daughter relationship WARNING: This story contains distressing details CBC News: Tauni Sheldon remembers the first time she saw her biological mom. Sheldon was 23 years old. It was 1993 and she was in the Winnipeg airport, having just flown in with her adoptive parents, Jim...
January 4, 2023
The Sacred Balance: Learning from Indigenous Peoples
We are no more removed from nature than any other creature, even in the midst of a large city. Our animal nature dictates our essential needs: clean air, clean water, clean soil, clean energy. NationTalk: Rabble.ca. David Suzikii The following is adapted from the prologue to the 25th anniversary edition of The Sacred Balance: Rediscovering Our...
January 1, 2023
Denial rates of services and supports for First Nations children varied drastically by region during the pandemic
The Globe and Mail: Marsha McLeod In 2007, just before the House of Commons rose for its Christmas break, parliamentarians voted unanimously to adopt a principle meant to put the needs of First Nations children ahead of bureaucratic government conveniences. Jean Crowder, the then-MP who brought forward the motion to adopt Jordan’s Principle, warned her parliamentary colleagues...
December 26, 2022
Almost a fifth of Winnipeg’s homicides this year involved Indigenous women. These are their stories
‘Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are absolutely targeted.… It’s devastating,’ says advocate CBC News: Almost a fifth of the people who died by homicide in Winnipeg this year were Indigenous women, a CBC analysis has found. Of the total of 51 homicides recorded in the city as of Dec. 24, at least 10 involved women who were...
December 20, 2022
Province releases “Health Status of Manitobans Report”…the gap in health between Indigenous communities and other people is widening”
The life expectancy for First Nations people is 11 years lower than average and this gap is growing As of March 31, 2021 there were 9,8501 children in welfare service: 91 per cent of these children are Indigenous Premature Mortality Rate (PMR) for all First Nations in Manitoba is three times higher than for other Manitobans....
December 15, 2022
At this rate, Canada won’t meet Truth and Reconciliation calls until 2065, report suggests
Seven years after the TRC released its final report, Canada has much work to do, Yellowhead Institute says. The Toronto Star: Canada has completed only 13 of 94 calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, seven years after its final report, a new update shows. “Survivors (of residential schools) are ageing, and many...
December 13, 2022
Indigenous groups call for federal government to fund searches of Winnipeg-area landfills for remains
Letter signatories say inaction from police, police board have left them to advocate for search alone CBC News: Manitoba First Nations leaders and Indigenous groups have sent a letter calling on the federal government to fund their search of two Winnipeg-area landfills for the remains of homicide victims and call in the United Nations for support....
December 9, 2022
The AMC Calls on Province to Reconsider Decision to Close E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital in Eriksdale, MB
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) supports the Interlake Reserves Tribal Council in calling on Health Minister Audrey Gordon and Shared Health Manitoba to recall the decision to close E.M. Crowe Memorial Hospital in Eriksdale, MB, after it has been ‘temporarily closed’ for the past few months. The Assembly...
December 8, 2022
AFN Stands With Family Of Morgan Beatrice Harris And All Mmiwg2s+ Demanding Dignity And Justice
Assembly of First Nations: (Ottawa, ON) – The Assembly of First Nations stands with the families of Morgan Beatrice Harris and Marcedes Myran, who were honoured with a blanketing ceremony by AFN Women’s Council Vice Chair Doris Anderson and Knowledge Keeper Dr. Gwen Point in a ceremony during the AFN Special Chiefs Assembly. Before the...
December 6, 2022
Daughters of murdered Winnipeg woman call on police to recover remains from landfill
The Globe and Mail: Daughters of a Winnipeg woman believed to be the victim of an alleged serial killer are calling on police to recover her remains from a local landfill that officials say is not feasible to search. Morgan Harris, 39, was named by Winnipeg police last week as one of four Indigenous women...
December 2, 2022
Alleged Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki’s case will go straight to trial, without preliminary hearing
NationTalk: CBC: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Office is saddened by the announcement that accused serial killer Jeremy Skibicki is being charged for the murder of two more First Nations women and one yet unidentified woman. In May 2022, the body of...
November 24, 2022
The Impact of Inaction – New Publication Reveals Not All of Canada is on Track to Meet Global Hepatitis C Elimination Goal
Timing of elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Canada’s provinces indicates 70% of provinces could reach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) HCV elimination target of 2030, however three of Canada’sprovinces — two of them the most populous in the country — are off track to achieve this hepatitis C elimination goal.1 Timely elimination would save 170...
November 22, 2022
SCO Launches new survey seeking Citizen Input on Reforming Justice System
NationTalk: ANISHINAABE AND DAKOTA TERRITORY, MB — Today, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) is launching a new online survey with the goal of seeking input that will assist SCO in advocating for the creation of an effective, equitable, and safe justice system from a First Nations perspective. “One of my principal mandates is to reduce...
November 15, 2022
Premier Heather Stefanson Unveils Path to Fight Violent Crime, Strengthen Health Care, Grow Economy and Help Manitobans in Speech from the Throne
Indigenous Watchdog Comment: The conclusion of the Speech from the Throne repeats all of the following priorities except “Advancing Reconciliation” which unfortunately does not inspire confidence that the Government of Manitoba is seriously committed to “significant efforts towards reconciliation” (as quoted from the Manitoba Speech from the Throne): Helping Make Our Communities Safer Helping Families...
November 13, 2022
Statement from Premier Heather Stefanson and Indigenous Reconciliation and Northern Relations Minister Alan Lagimodiere on the Anniversary of the Death of Helen Betty Osborne
Today marks the anniversary of the tragic death of Helen Betty Osborne. Osborne was a 19-year-old student from Norway House Cree Nation who had dreams of becoming a teacher. A survivor of Guy Hill Residential School, Osborne chose to further her education through attending high school in The Pas. On the morning of Nov. 13,...
November 7, 2022
AMC Calls on Manitoba to Allocate More Money to Healthcare After CIHI States Manitoba Has the Third Lowest Healthcare Spending Per Person in the Country
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issued the following statement in response to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) projections that Manitoba will have the third lowest healthcare spending per person in the Country. Manitoba Health has chronically underfunded First Nations in Manitoba, especially those living in northern...
November 2, 2022
‘Pandemic of suffering:’ Manitoba chiefs press governments to fund regional hospital
Toronto Star: Chiefs of four remote First Nations in northeastern Manitoba are calling for the provincial and federal governments to build a health facility that can treat ongoing mental health and addiction crises for their growing populations. The chiefs from the Island Lake region estimate 15,000 to 18,000 people live in the area, but none...
November 2, 2022
Northern health leader says language test is a barrier to Indigenous nurses
First People’s Law: CTV News – An English proficiency test for prospective registered nurses in Manitoba, even those who receive all their education in English, is a racial barrier that disproportionately affects Indigenous people, a health official in northern Manitoba said Wednesday. “They trained in English, they saw patients in English … and then suddenly...
October 23, 2022
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Raises Concerns Over the Early Morning Eviction of Every Child Matters Encampment
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is concerned over the unnecessary use of force to remove Elders and supporters from the Sacred Fire – Bring the Children Home encampment housed on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building. Demonstrators established the east-side encampment in support of healing after the...
October 14, 2022
AMC calls out Manitoba over Meagre Indigenous Economic Development Fund for the Interlake Outlet Channel Project
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issued the following statement in response to an inadequate Indigenous Economic Development Fund announced by the Province for 39 communities affected by flooding in and around Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. The AMC stands with the First Nations leaders from the Interlake...
October 14, 2022
RCMP investigate after search of western Manitoba residential school site discovers possible unmarked graves
Minegoziibe Anishinabe, also known as Pine Creek First Nation, learned of ground anomalies this summer CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2022 11:50 AM CT | Last Updated: October 14 WARNING: This story contains distressing details. RCMP are investigating the site of a former residential school in western Manitoba after ground-penetrating radar searches this summer revealed anomalies...
October 12, 2022
Call for Restructuring Medical Transportation System After Delayed Medical Response for First Nation Infant
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and the Assembly of First Nations Manitoba (AFN) issued the following statement after an infant was not given prompt transportation from Pimicikamak Cree Nation to Winnipeg for emergency care. The ill infant waited 24 hours after triage at the nursing station because Medevac...
October 11, 2022
Manitoba Government to Advance Priorities at Upcoming Annual Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Justice and Public Safety
Increased Prevalence of Violent Crime, Keeping Illegal Guns Off Streets will be Focus: Goertzen Concerns about increasing violent crime, particularly those committed with knives and illegal guns, will be a priority for the Manitoba government at a meeting between federal, provincial and territorial justice ministers held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia from Oct. 12 to 14,...
October 6, 2022
AMC sues Manitoba, Canada for $1B over damage caused by child welfare system
The lawsuit seeks to compensate children who were taken off reserve. APTN: The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) is suing the federal and Manitoba governments over what they say are far-reaching and damaging effects of the child welfare system. “Manitoba and Canada received consistent advice and warnings, including from their own experts, that they were...
October 4, 2022
Put out wildfires before they begin with Indigenous fire stewardship
The Keremeos Creek wildfire southwest of Penticton, British Columbia on July 31, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Don Denton Canadian governments need to better engage with Indigenous fire stewardship to counter increased wildfire occurrence and severity Policy Options: by James Michael Collie, Hannah Verrips After the Keremeos Creek wildfire swept through the southern Interior of British Columbia in August,...
September 30, 2022
‘Why aren’t we talking about it?’ The forgotten cause of missing Indigenous men and boys
Indigenous men are much more likely to be victims of homicide than Indigenous women, but families say they don’t get the same kind of attention. Toronto Star: ENOCH CREE NATION, Alta.—There is no word for goodbye in Cree. Instead people say êkosi mâka, or “That’s it for now.” The belief is that loved ones will always...
September 29, 2022
Province says not today to Orange Shirt Day stat bill
The Free Press: The Manitoba government has voted against a private member’s bill declaring Sept. 30 a provincial statutory holiday, saying it needs more time and consultation to get it right. “There certainly is disagreement among everyone we’re consulting with about what the details should be,” Labour Minister Reg Helwer told reporters after question period...
September 29, 2022
Canadian Federation of Library Associations Calls for the Release of all outstanding residential school records
First People’s Law: The Canadian Federation of Library Associations (CFLA) has sent an open letter to federal Cabinet Ministers calling on their support for the full public release of outstanding residential school records currently being withheld by the Catholic Church and other orders of government. Following calls from the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR),...
September 28, 2022
Ministers Honour Joyce Echaquan and Re-Affirm Commitment to Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism in Canada’s Health Systems
Indigenous Services Canada: Ottawa, Ontario (September 28, 2022) – The Minister of Indigenous Services, Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, Marc Miller, and the Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, issued the following statement today: “Health care is a human right, and should be free of racism and discrimination. But the systemic discrimination and racism that...
September 26, 2022
‘We are truly sorry’: Leaders, health officials acknowledge Indigenous-specific racism in northern Manitoba’s health-care system
CTV News: Indigenous leaders and northern health officials in Manitoba say Indigenous people continue to face racism in the health-care system, and have signed a declaration committing to eliminate it. On Monday morning leaders from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM), and the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA), met in Thompson to sign...
September 26, 2022
‘We are truly sorry’: Leaders, health officials acknowledge Indigenous-specific racism in northern Manitoba’s health-care system
CTV News: Indigenous leaders and northern health officials in Manitoba say Indigenous people continue to face racism in the health-care system, and have signed a declaration committing to eliminate it. On Monday morning leaders from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM), and the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA), met in Thompson to sign...
September 26, 2022
‘We are truly sorry’: Leaders, health officials acknowledge Indigenous-specific racism in northern Manitoba’s health-care system
CTV News: Indigenous leaders and northern health officials in Manitoba say Indigenous people continue to face racism in the health-care system, and have signed a declaration committing to eliminate it. On Monday morning leaders from Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin (KIM), and the Northern Regional Health Authority (NRHA), met in Thompson to sign...
September 21, 2022
‘The bond is broken’: Data shows Indigenous kids overrepresented in foster care
Statistics Canada released data from the 2021 census showing Indigenous children accounted for 53.8 per cent of all children in foster care. Toronto Star: WINNIPEG – A Winnipeg mother says she was scarred for life when her first child was taken away at birth by social workers, who told her she was unfit to parent...
September 19, 2022
Experts warn ending birth alerts not the only solution to keep Indigenous children with their family
Globe and Mail: Canadian Press – The number of newborns taken into care dropped dramatically as birth alerts ended across Canada, but child welfare experts warn ceasing the practice cannot be the only step governments take to keep families together. “(Birth alerts) really risk being kind of a red herring in the real issue of...
September 15, 2022
Manitoba Government Acknowledges Sept. 30 as Day for Truth and Reconciliation
NationTalk: For a second year, the Manitoba government will recognize Sept. 30 as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister Reg Helwer said today. “Like last year, Manitoba’s public servants will observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30, and non-essential government services and offices...
September 6, 2022
The beast of addiction in Indigenous communities remains untamed
Globe & Mail: Tanya Talaga – Over the past week, a Thunder Bay hotel’s conference room has become home to a land-based healing and recovery program. There, 17 women from one northern First Nation about two hours down the highway – women who are addicted to opioids, alcohol, crystal methamphetamine (jib) and/or methadone, which is...
August 5, 2022
AMC Demands Full Restitution of CSA Funds Unlawfully Taken From First Nations Children in Care
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – Today, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) calls on Manitoba to make full restitution to First Nations children in care for the Children’s Special Allowances Funds unlawfully and discriminatorily taken from them. The AMC makes this call in response to the Province of Manitoba’s unilateral announcement of its creation...
August 4, 2022
Manitoba decides not to appeal court ruling on child benefit payments
CTV News Winnipeg (Canadian Press): The Manitoba government said Thursday it will not appeal a court ruling that found the province was wrong to claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal benefit payments to kids in child welfare. The government also appeared open to calls for it to return the money, which Indigenous...
August 4, 2022
AMC asks government to honour promises made on 151st anniversary of Treaty 1 and Treaty 2
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) reflects on the 151st anniversary of Treaty 1 and 2. NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – Manitoba, which translates to the land where the Creator sits in Anishinaabe, is where First Nations and the British Crown signed Treaty 1 and 2 at the Lower Fort Garry on August 3rd...
July 5, 2022
How Commonwealth universities profited from Indigenous dispossession through land grants
The Conversation – Animated by social movements such as #RhodesMustFall and #BlackLivesMatter, universities today have entered a period of critical self-reflection on their histories. The renaming of campus buildings, removal of statues and re-branding of whole universities are all evidence of this trend towards uncovering higher education’s colonial legacies. Yet this emphasis on campus iconography, or even on the campus...
June 27, 2022
AFN Regional Chief Presses Urgent Action at Meeting with Federal, Provincial, Territorial Ministers of Housing
(Ottawa, ON) – Assembly of First Nations: AFN Manitoba Regional Chief Cindy Woodhouse participated in a meeting today with Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Housing and National Indigenous Organizations (NIOs), calling for more investments and support for First Nations housing and challenging Provincial and Territorial governments to work in partnership with First Nations. “I believe we...
June 20, 2022
How familiar are Canadians with the history of Indigenous residential schools?
Toronto Star: One year after more than 1,000 unmarked graves were discovered on the grounds of former residential schools — putting a global spotlight on Canada’s horrific history of assimilation and abuse of Indigenous children — Canadians are barely any more familiar with the painful legacy of the institutions, new research shows. According to data...
May 27, 2022
Manitoba First Nations leaders declare State of Emergency in Health Services in the north
NationTalk: (Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) – Late afternoon May 24, 2022, the Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council (KIOC) of elected leaders unanimously declared a state of emergency on health services. The elected leaders are Chiefs and Councilors who collectively represent 23 First Nations in Manitoba’s north. The motion calling for the declaration came about during a two-day...
May 26, 2022
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs challenge Bill C-92 jurisdiction and provincial amendments to Child and Family Services Act
NationTalk: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) calls on the provincial government to work with First Nations before any amendment to the Child and Family Services Act (CFS Act) related to First Nations’ jurisdiction. “The AMC has been clear and direct; government officials must support First Nations led jurisdiction over...
May 19, 2022
Court rules that Manitoba Government discriminates against First Nations children in the Child Welfare System
NationTalk: The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench ruled that the government of the province of Manitoba discriminates against First Nations children in the provincial Child and Family Services (CFS) system, and that its attempt to absolve itself of liability for holding back the federal Children Special Allowance (CSA) of over $334 million from children and...
April 22, 2022
Manitoba government fails to implement Path to Reconciliation Act: Auditor-Genneral
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs: Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) issues this statement in response to the Auditor General’s Report regarding Manitoba’s failure to take meaningful action to implement the Path to Reconciliation Act passed in 2016. Following the release of the 94 Calls to Action in 2015 by the...
March 17, 2022
Class Action Lawsuit for government use of Birth Alerts to apprehend Indigenous babies
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – Earlier this week, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Winnipeg against the province of Manitoba regarding the controversial and discriminatory practice of Birth Alerts. The basis for the claim is that Birth Alerts are unconstitutional and are a Human Rights violation. “The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has been a...
March 4, 2022
MMF Lawsuit against Manitoba Government breaking Manitoba Hydro contract
Manitoba Métis Federation: The Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear the Manitoba Métis Federation’s (MMF) appeal of the Manitoba Court of Appeal’s (MBCA) decision in Manitoba Metis Federation Inc. v Brian Pallister et al. Important issues raised by the MMF remain to be decided by the courts, and the Crown’s duty to consult...
February 1, 2022
Failure of Treaty Land Entitlements
Southern Chief’s Organization – SCO is calling on the provincial government to put an immediate end to the practice of auctioning off Crown lands without first consulting with First Nations. In January, the province stated it would hold online auctions this week to sell off agricultural Crown land leases and permits. SCO firmly believes that...
January 16, 2022
Flood compensation after 134 years
CBC – More than a decade after they began, negotiations on flood claim settlements between several First Nations in southeastern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario and the federal and provincial governments appear to be drawing to a close. But some are wondering what those settlements will mean for the First Nations affected — and why it’s...
December 23, 2021
Federal Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench approve an agreement to settle class-action litigation
APTN – Yesterday, the Federal Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba issued a joint decision approving an agreement to settle class-action litigation related to safe drinking water in First Nations communities. An appeals period of approximately 60 days will follow the courts’ approval of the settlement agreement. The class-action lawsuits could see...
December 14, 2021
Call for a Miscarriage of Justice Commission
APTN – Women and people of colour “urgently” need a commission to review claims of wrongful conviction, say two retired judges. Harry LaForme, the first Indigenous lawyer on an appellate court in Canada, and Juanita Westmoreland-Traoré, the first Black judge in Quebec, were tasked with helping formulate a new Criminal Case Review Commission for Justice Canada....
November 21, 2021
25th Anniversay of the RCAP Final Report
Prime Minister’s Office – “25th anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples”. The five-volume landmark document outlined 440 recommendations on Indigenous governance, nation rebuilding, lands and resources, treaties, economic development, and social policy, and called for the renewal of the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and all orders of...
November 18, 2021
Arrest of Indigenous journalists at Wet’suwet’en protests
Toronto Star – Two journalists reporting from the Wet’suwet’en territory were among 15 people arrested and detained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in British Columbia Friday night. Both remain in custody. Since last year, media has covered RCMP raids in the territory, Indigenous rights and police removal of defenders of the land who are...
November 4, 2021
“Finding the Way Back”
Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth – “Finding the Way Back: An aggregate investigation of 45 boys who died by suicide or homicide in Manitoba” between 2009 and 2018 is a special report structured to reflect the wisdom of the medicine wheel, with four chapters representing the four directions and stages of life: childhood, adolescence,...
October 29, 2021
Manitoba Métis Section 35 rights
Manitoba Métis Federation – The MMF will be taking the Government of Manitoba to court as a result of Manitoba’s continued attempts to disregard the Manitoba Métis, also known as the Red River Métis, section 35 rights. The MMF also commits to supporting any Métis moose harvesting parties that are wrongfully charged by Manitoba conservation...
October 28, 2021
The Overlap Between the Child Welfare and Youth Criminal Justice Systems:
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – AMC remains concerned regarding the continued lack of supports in place to ensure that youth in care successfully transition after aging out of the Child Welfare system in Manitoba. First Nations children and youth make up approximately 80% of the number of children in care in this province. With the...
October 21, 2021
First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study
Assembly of First Nations – Built on collaborative research with 92 First Nations across the country – 7,000 participants over 10 years – the FNFNES highlights that traditional foods remain foundational to First Nations’ health and well-being, and that the quality of traditional food is superior to store bought food. However, due to environmental degradation,...
October 4, 2021
SCO Survey on MMIWG Calls for Justice
Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – “Only 53% of murder cases involving [Indigenous] women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%” (NWAC, 2011). Governments and Canadian institutions now need to fully implement the Calls for Justice....
October 4, 2021
Manitoba First Nations Survey Priorities to MMIWG Final Report
Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – “only 53% of murder cases involving [Indigenous] women and girls have led to charges of homicide. This is dramatically different from the national clearance rate for homicides in Canada, which was last reported as 84%” (NWAC, 2011). Governments and Canadian institutions now need to fully implement the Calls for Justice. We...
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...
September 8, 2021
First Nations Challenge Bill 2
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs filed its written submissions in its challenge of the provincial Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act. The submissions of the AMC argue that through the BITSA, Manitoba: infringes the core jurisdiction of the superior courts and breaches section 96 of the Constitution Act, 1867 by having the province of...
August 9, 2021
Survey on racism experiences
Aug. 9, 2021: Southern Chiefs Organization – Released a new report on First Nation experiences of racism when dealing with police services across Manitoba: “SCO’s First Nation Experiences of Racism in Policing Survey” “A majority of our citizens face racism, and even violence and intimidation, when interacting with police officers that are meant to serve...
July 22, 2021
Appeal to International Criminal Court
Nunantsiaq News: Nunavut MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq and her fellow NDP MP Charlie Angus held a press conference on Parliament Hill Thursday to ask federal Justice Minister and Attorney General David Lametti to reach out to the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into a system they said “represents a crime against humanity.” “We need...
July 14, 2021
Tataskweyak Cree Nation
“Global News – Manitoba’s Tataskweyak Cree Nation declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, after nine young people were lost to suicide in the last 14 months alone. They asked federal and provincial authorities for urgent help and “immediate” supports for mental wellness and long-term solutions for its community. The community, which is connected by...
July 12, 2021
Human Rights complaints
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) – fully supports the human rights complaints filed this week on behalf of First Nation citizens living in what is now Manitoba. Three human rights complaints were filed against the federal government this week alleging systemic discrimination as well as a failure to provide proper services where they were needed for...
July 10, 2021
Premier Pallister whitewashes Manitoba history
A First Nations leader is among those accusing Manitoba’s premier of offering a distorted reframing of the province’s history, omitting the displacement of Indigenous people and violence against them in what feels like “a punch in the gut.” “It’s very disheartening, very disrespectful to Indigenous people,” said Leroy Constant, the interim grand chief of the...
June 15, 2021
AFN/Canada Race Race Relations Foundation poll
Assembly of First Nations – Thirteen years after the Government of Canada offered a formal apology to the survivors of the residential school system and families, 68 percent of Canadians polled still say they were either unaware of the severity of abuses at residential schools or completely shocked by it. A poll conducted by the...
June 4, 2021
MMIWG Inquiry – OAS Complaint
The Native Women’s Association of Canada -NWAC is taking immediate steps to file a Human Rights complaint in Canada and to request International intervention and investigation by the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) in forcing the federal government to take the steps necessary to end the genocide against Indigenous women, girls and...
June 3, 2021
MMIWG Inquiry – Government Action Plan Complaints
NationTalk – Ontario Native Women’s Association, Québec Native Women, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Chair in Indigenous Governance, Feminist Alliance for International Action – A consortia of Indigenous women’s advocacy groups representing 49% of Indigenous women’s voices in Canada finds that the National Action Plan and Federal Pathway on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and...
May 19, 2021
Systemic Racism
Southern Chiefs Organization – 45% of ICU patients in Manitoba are First Nation people despite representing only 10 per cent of the total population. Manitoba is now the worst COVID-19 hotspot in North America. “I am deeply concerned about the health and well-being of the people I represent if these trends continued,” stated Grand Chief...
May 18, 2021
Shamattawa First Nation
CTV News – The Chief of Shamattawa First Nation in northern Manitoba has declared a state of emergency following a recent suicide in the community and a subsequent suicide attempt by a child. Redhead said the crisis started when his sister, a mother of four, died by suicide on May 9. He added a seven-year-old...
May 14, 2021
Summit of Treaty 5 First Nations Declaration on Natural Resources on Treaty Territory
NationTalk – O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, Treaty 5: The Summit of Treaty Five Sovereign Nations comprising of 40 First Nations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario will stand with the Treaty 5 First Nations and individual Treaty 5 holders who will be adversely impacted by the issuance of a permanent licence for Churchill River Diversion, Lake Winnipeg...
May 7, 2021
MMF Lawsuit against Manitoba Government breaking Manitoba Hydro contract
Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) – The Manitoba of Appeal ruled against the MMF legal challenge to the Pallister Government’s March 21, 2018 decision to stop Manitoba Hydro from honouring a July 2017 Agreement made between Manitoba Hydro and the MMF, which was negotiated bilaterally under a framework put in place through the Kwaysh-kin-na-mihk la paazh...
April 30, 2021
Report on Child Abuse and Neglect
“Mashkiwenmi-daa Noojimowin: Let’s Have Strong Minds for the Healing” is the first report of the First Nations Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018 (FNOIS-2018). Objectives and Scope The primary objective of the OIS- 2018 is to provide reliable estimates of the scope and characteristics of child abuse and neglect investigated by child...
April 23, 2021
Declaration on Natural Resources on Treaty 5 Territory
Fisher River Cree Nation, Treaty 5 Territory – Manitoba First Nations protest Bill 57 “Protection of Critical Infrastructure Act” — also called the anti-protest bill. Fisher River Cree Nation, Treaty 5 Territory – The Treaty 5 Nations in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario will resist all permits, licenses or other land dispositions issued by the governments...
April 19, 2021
Bill 56 “The Smoking Act”
CBC – The Canadian Cancer Society – which actively campaigns to discourage smoking — has written to the province to withdraw its support of Bill 56 until First Nations are properly consulted. “While we are committed to reducing rates of lung cancer, we cannot do so in the absence of a consultative process that honours...
April 14, 2021
Bill 56 “The Smoking Act”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – The Manitoba government scheduled a 30-minute meeting at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon “the weekend before Bill 56 is going to Standing Committee prior to third and final reading…we did not want Manitoba to use that meeting as ‘checking a box’ to say that they had consulted First Nations”....
April 9, 2021
Cuts to Child Welfare Budgets
Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) – criticized the 2021 provincial budget cuts for foster care and child protection, with the budget dropping below $500 million for the first time in four years. The province claims that efficiencies are the reason for the decreasing budget, but for too long, children in care, 90% of whom are Indigenous, have...
March 26, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
The AFN, based on direction from the Chiefs-in-Assembly, intervened in this case, as well as court cases in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta, arguing the Government of Canada has a direct legal obligation to recognize Aboriginal and Treaty rights in any legislative efforts to address climate change....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Supreme Court finds that the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 is constitutional....
March 25, 2021
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Westaway Law Group – The majority judges noted that climate change “has had particularly serious effects on Indigenous peoples, threatening the ability of Indigenous communities in Canada to sustain themselves and maintain their traditional ways of life.” [para 11] They also acknowledged that, “the effects of climate change are and will continue to be experienced...
March 11, 2021
Still Waiting: Investigating Child Maltreatment after the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry”
Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth – released a new special report, “Still Waiting: Investigating Child Maltreatment after the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry” that examines the lives of 19 children who died after being severely maltreated while under the age of five. Roughly seven years after the final report from the Phoenix Sinclair Inquiry “Still Waiting”...
March 5, 2021
Bill 56 “The Smoking Act”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – The AMC stands in condemnation of the Province’s unjustified intrusion on the jurisdiction of First Nations through the tabling of Bill 56. Bill 56 removes section 9.4 of The Smoking and Vapour Products Control Amendment Act (the “Smoking Act”), which “exempts lands reserved for Indians and federal lands” from the...
March 5, 2021
“The Petty Trespasses Act”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – AMC states that “Bill 63 The Petty Trespasses Amendment and Occupiers Liability Amendment Act (Petty Trespasses Act)” introduced for first reading in the Manitoba legislature “attempts to legislate its way into First Nations’ areas of autonomy and jurisdiction. “The AMC cannot allow provincial laws to violate Treaty rights. First Nations...
March 2, 2021
Infant Mortality and Youth Suicide
The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) and the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba – submitted a report that discusses “the international and national human rights framework as it relates to structural inequalities and Indigenous children’s right to continuous improvement of health with a particular focus on infant mortality and youth suicide...
March 2, 2021
Infant mortality and youth suicide
The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (MACY) and the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba – submitted a report that discusses “the international and national human rights framework as it relates to structural inequalities and Indigenous children’s right to continuous improvement of health with a particular focus on infant mortality and youth suicide...
February 26, 2021
Aboriginal Justice Inquiry
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) – On Aboriginal Justice Awareness Day, AMC Grand Chief Arlen Dumas called out both the federal and provincial governments on their failure to fully implement the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry (AJI). The 1987 trial and outcome of the kidnapping and murder of Helen Betty Osborne led to widespread calls for a...
February 3, 2021
Racism in Winnipeg Fire Dept.
Southern Chiefs Organization – SCO is asking Mayor Brian Bowman along with Fire and Paramedic Services Chief, John Lane, and all relevant officials to take immediate disciplinary action as it relates to an incident of systemic racism. City of Winnipeg firefighters ignored repeated requests for help from a paramedic who was trying to administer care...
January 28, 2021
Racism against Indigenous womern
Native Women’s Association of Canada – At a two-day meeting at which the issue of anti-Indigenous racism in Canada’s healthcare systems will be addressed by federal, provincial, and territorial governments as well as representatives of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit, NWAC is not being permitted to give more broadly based opening remarks Wednesday, along...
January 28, 2021
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Assembly of First Nations – AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde reiterated recommendations and called for urgency in addressing systemic racism in Canada’s health care systems at a two-day virtual meeting with federal, provincial and territorial ministers and Metis and Inuit leaders that ended today. The meeting, convened by Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, Crown-Indigenous Relations...
January 15, 2021
Excluding Métis from COVID-19 Task Force
Winnipeg Free Press – Government has left the Métis out of its COVID-19 vaccine task force and plans no vaccination clinics targeted to them. That’s despite Premier Brian Pallister having said he’s committed to including Métis people in the vaccine rollout, guided by reconciliation. Emails obtained by the Free Press show provincial officials have asked...
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...
December 15, 2020
First Nations challenge “Bill 2”
They filed a constitutional legal challenge against Manitoba’s “Bill 2″. “Bill 2” is Manitoba’s attempt to legalize the theft of CSA money from Indigenous children, the most vulnerable group in Manitoba. It is also Manitoba’s attempt to escape legal accountability for the theft. This is wrong,” said Harold Cochrane, legal counsel, Cochrane Saxberg LLP....
December 9, 2020
“Our Children, Our Future: Knowledge Keeper Recommendations”
“Our Children, Our Future: The Health and Well-being of First Nations Children in Manitoba” released by Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) looks at the health and well-being of registered First Nations children living on-reserve and off-reserve in Manitoba. The purpose of this report is to provide a sound baseline measure of how First Nations...
December 4, 2020
Six provinces urged Ottawa to delay tabling UNDRIP legislation, but were rebuffed by Justice Minister
The Globe and Mail: Ministers from six provinces asked the federal government last month to delay legislation that would apply the principles of the foremost international commitment on the rights of Indigenous peoples to Canadian laws, but were rebuffed by Justice Minister David Lametti. Earlier this fall, the federal government sent a draft of the...
December 3, 2020
Letter requesting UNDRIP delay
National Post – On Nov. 27, Indigenous relations ministers from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick sent a joint letter to David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett that protested the six-week time window they say they were given for input on the draft bill...
November 19, 2020
“Are They Listening?”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) – In 2018, without involvement or engagement of First Nations in Manitoba or the AMC, the Province of Manitoba unilaterally passed “The Advocate for Children and Youth Act” that expanded the scope and authority of MACY. As part of their expanded mandate, the MACY is now able to publicly report...
November 19, 2020
Problems with Indigenous COVID-19 data
Toronto Star – COVID-19 is negatively impacting both on-reserve and off-reserve Indigenous populations. “Hospitalizations and intensive-care rates are sky high for off-reserve populations and testing is low. Both on and off reserves, about 18% of tests come back positive. The issues identified by Janet Smylie, research chair in Indigenous health knowledge and information at Well...
November 13, 2020
“Are They Listening?”
Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth – Issued “Are They Listening?” her first public compliance report summarizing the provincial government’s responses to the Advocate’s recommendations issued in 2018 and 2019. “While there is movement, it is disappointing to note that over a period of two years, only two recommendations for service improvements have been implemented...
November 12, 2020
Systemic Racism at federal, provincial, territory ministers human rights meeting
NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...
November 12, 2020
Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights
NationTalk – 24 civil society groups attending the third ever meeting of Federal, Provincial, Territory Ministers responsible for human rights “condemned the obstructive attitude of some governments” in advancing international human rights obligations. Groups had pressed governments to commit to nation-wide law reform that will legally require governments to adopt a collaborative, accountable, consistent, transparent,...
November 9, 2020
First Nations challenge “Bill 2”
The Southern Chiefs Organization and the Manitoba Métis Federation along with a group of 19 Indigenous child and family Agencies and Authorities announced their intent to file a challenge to BIll 2 “the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act” that was passed on November 6, 2020....
November 6, 2020
First Nations Challenge Bill 2
Bill 2, the “Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act“, is passed....
November 2, 2020
First Nations hardest hit by COVID-19, appeal for increased funding
Southern Chiefs Organization – is making an urgent appeal to all levels of government to free up increased funding and resources to contain COVID-19 in First Nations where the test positivity rate among First Nations is 11% vs the provincial average of 8.6%. Manitoba has the worst case count per capita in Canada including daily outbreaks...
November 2, 2020
Work Camps and COVID-19
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc. – is issuing this statement along with the four Cree Nations that are in a partnership with Manitoba Hydro in the construction and operation of the Keeyask Generating Station in Northern Manitoba. The four First Nations are: Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation, and York Factory...
November 2, 2020
Canada’s Constitution embeds discrimination
Policy Options – Canada’s history of colonization has laid the foundation for the implementation of racist health policy and the delivery of culturally unsafe health care, resulting in health disparities that are disproportionately experienced by Indigenous Peoples. Since the establishment of the Indian Act in 1867, Canada’s Constitution has continued to support and maintain discriminatory...
October 21, 2020
Food Insecurity
The Narwhal – Human Rights Watch released “My fear is Losing Everything: Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food” in Canada. The report details how longer and more intense forest fire seasons, permafrost degradation, volatile weather patterns and increased levels of precipitation are all affecting wildlife habitat and, in turn, harvesting efforts. The report...
October 21, 2020
Climate crisis and First Nations Right to Food
The Narwhal – Human Rights Watch released “My fear is Losing Everything: Climate Crisis and First Nations’ Right to Food in Canada“. The report details how longer and more intense forest fire seasons, permafrost degradation, volatile weather patterns and increased levels of precipitation are all affecting wildlife habitat and, in turn, harvesting efforts. The report...
October 20, 2020
Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
Toronto Star – The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) reserved judgement on whether the federal government’s Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act 2018 (GGPPA) is constitutional following hearings on September 22 and 23 with the United Chiefs and Councils of Mnidoo Mnising (UCCMM), along with the Anishinabek Nation (AN), granted intervener status. The GGPPA sets minimum...
October 16, 2020
Emergency Meeting on Indigenous Health
Emergency meeting on racism in Canada’s healthcare system. AFN recommendations to all levels of government: Work directly with First Nations to ensure that Indigenous Peoples feel safe accessing health care services. Quebec needs to work with First Nations to fully implement the Viens Commission Report’s recommendations. Canada must conduct an immediate review of the Canada...
October 7, 2020
First Nations Challenge Bill 2
Oct. 7, 2020 – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Official Opposition Manitoba NDP and the Manitoba Liberal Party, denounce and reject Bill 2 and stand in opposition against the Provincial government’s approach to denying First Nations families and children access to justice. Section 84 of the Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act will retroactively...
September 29, 2020
Beyond Hunger – The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity in Canada”
Community Food Centres (CFC) – Release of “Beyond Hunger – The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity in Canada”. Even before COVID-19, food insecurity affected nearly 4.5 million Canadians. In the first two months of the pandemic, that number grew by 39 per cent. Food insecurity now affects one in seven people, disproportionately impacting low-income and...
September 29, 2020
Beyond Hunger
“Community Food Centres (CFC) – Release of “Beyond Hunger.” Even before COVID-19, food insecurity affected nearly 4.5 million Canadians. In the first two months of the pandemic, that number grew by 39 per cent. Food insecurity now affects one in seven people, disproportionately impacting low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities. “Beyond...
September 16, 2020
Manitoba Judicial Review
Manitoba Government – is seeking a judicial review of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission decision to award damages to a First Nations family. “All Manitobans deserve to know what services they can access when they need them, and we believe this ruling confuses rather than clarifies which level of government is responsible for providing health...
September 13, 2020
Access to COVID-19 Data
Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) – MMF filed a complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission against the Government of Manitoba, the Honourable Cameron Friesen – Minister of Health, Seniors and Active Living – and Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer. The complaint states that the Manitoba Métis Community has been subject to...
September 10, 2020
Arrest of Indigenous journalists at protests
Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including: Karl Dockstader at Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest at Muskrat Falls in...
September 9, 2020
Indigenous Journalists
Toronto Star – Increasing arrests of Indigenous journalists including: Karl Dockstader at 1492 Land Back Lane Haudenosaunee occupation regarding a housing development near Caledonia Courtney Skye, Yellowhead Institute researcher and Ryerson Fellow arrested as well Award-winning journalist Justin Brake was arrested and charged with criminal and civil contempt and criminal mischief while covering a protest...
September 8, 2020
Unicef “Innocenti Report Card 16”
NationTalk – Release of Unicef “Innocenti Report Card 16: Worlds of Influence – Understanding What Shapes Child Well-being in Rich Countries” where Canada placed in the bottom 10 of 38 countries. In fact, all four countries with large Indigenous populations – who all initially opposed The United Nations Declaration the Rights of Indigenous People –...
September 3, 2020
Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers
TVO – An updated edition of “Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers” by Carmen Robertson, a Scots-Lakota professor who currently holds a Canada Research Chair in North American Indigenous Visual and Material Culture at Carleton University. Her research centres on contemporary Indigenous arts and on constructions of Indigeneity in popular culture. The...
August 31, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
MacDonald-Laurier Institute – “Systemic racism in policing in Canada and approaches to fixing it,” argues that the fault for this lies primarily with political leaders who set the framework conditions and constraints for the delivery of police services. This commentary is based on the author’s written submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on...
August 19, 2020
Manitoba Judicial Review
CBC – A Manitoba Human Rights Commission decision found a First Nations family was discriminated against “on the basis of their ancestry as Anishinaabe people and the disability of Dewey a teen who wasn’t able to access consistent health care on reserve because of jurisdictional disputes and systemic discrimination…The province maintaining the federal government is...
July 23, 2020
McDonald-Laurier Report on Systemic Racism in Policing
The CBC “Deadly Force” database indicates that the RCMP are 3x more likely to use lethal force than other police forces in Canada. The CBC data found that 68 per cent of people killed in police encounters were suffering with some kind of mental illness, addiction or both. “When we get broader statistical information that...
June 15, 2020
Birth Alerts
CTV News – The Province of Manitoba has announced it will end the controversial practice of birth alerts on June 30, 2020 and will instead refer vulnerable mothers and their children to social services and programs. Under the new system, Stefanson said Manitoba Child and Family Services (CFS) agencies will now be able to refer...
May 24, 2020
Keeyask Hydro Project Duty to Consult Failure
Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) Inc.- is issuing this statement along with the four Cree Nations that have entered into a partnership with Manitoba Hydro in the construction and operation of the Keeyask Generating Station in Northern Manitoba. The four First Nations are: Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Fox Lake Cree Nation, War Lake First Nation, and York...
May 21, 2020
Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask project
CBC – Members of the four First Nation community partners of Manitoba Hydro’s Keeyask project (Tataskweyak, Fox Lake, War Lake and York Factory) have launched protests to protect their communities from COVID-19. Hydro is switching out the current 600 on-site employees with an outside group of 1000 some of whom are from outside Manitoba. The...
May 20, 2020
Work Camps and COVID-19
CBC – We were not included in the discussion of the plan for the shift change,” said Robert Wavey, a band member and spokesperson for Fox Lake Cree Nation. “It was given to [First Nations] after Hydro came up with their plan.” “Our First Nations leaders do not want to see a repeat of what...
May 20, 2020
Keeyask Hydro Project Duty to Consult Failure
Amnesty International – Despite legal obligations, Manitoba Hydro has not worked collaboratively to obtain consent to this most recent decision to expand operations (Keeyask Hydro project) and is ignoring requests by the four partner First Nations (Fox Lake, War, York Factory) to limit work at the dam site because of public health concerns. “Every effort...
May 13, 2020
Premier Pallister ignores Métis and First Nations contribution to Manitoba History
Premier Pallister missed a golden opportunity to advance reconciliation by deliberately choosing to ignore the contribution of the Métis and First Nations peoples to the founding of Manitoba and its entry into the newly formed confederation of Canada. “Manitoba” derived from the Cree, Ojibwe or Assiniboine languages means “straits of Manitou, the Great Spirit”. (Canadian...
May 12, 2020
“Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities and Bad Covid Data”.
Yellowhead Institute – release of Policy Brief: “Colonialism of the Curve: Indigenous Communities and Bad Covid Data”. There is wide discrepancy on COVID-19 related health data from Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and provincial health authorities: There is no agency or organization in Canada reliably recording and releasing Covid-19 data that indicates whether or not a person...
May 7, 2020
Stop Giving Me a Number and Start Giving Me a Person
Manitoba Child and Youth Advocate: In Manitoba, suicide is the leading manner of death for young people ages 10-17. On national Youth Mental Health Day the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth released “Stop Giving Me a Number and Start Giving Me a Person: How 22 Girls Illuminate the Cracks in the Manitoba Youth Mental...
April 23, 2020
Release of at-risk Indigenous inmates
The Indigenous Bar Association (IBA)– Calls Upon Federal, Provincial and Territorial Justice Ministers and Attorneys General to Immediately Release low-risk Indigenous Inmates over COVID-19.Specifically, we call for the immediate release of incarcerated Indigenous people and the following actions: Immediately and minimally, carry-out the release of Indigenous inmates that are low-risk, non-violent, nearly eligible for parole,...
April 20, 2020
Incarcerated prisoners
First Nations leadership across BC is united in calling for immediate action to protect incarcerated peoples amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission Institution is now the third largest outbreak in the Province of BC, with the first inmate tragically passing away on April 15, 2020. Senior health and corrections officials have...
April 14, 2020
First Nations challenge “Bill 2”
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs – are seriously concerned about Manitoba fast tracking Bill 2, The Budget Implementation and Tax Statutes Amendment Act. If passed, the Bill will have serious implications on First Nations children in care. On March 19, 2020 the Manitoba government introduced Bill 2. The Bill is currently seeking to legalize Manitoba’s actions...
March 28, 2020
Birth Alerts
Manitoba Families Minister Heather Stephanson announced that there will be a delay in ending the controversial Birth Alert practice due to COVID-19. On Jan. 31, 2020, the government had announced that child welfare and public health systems in Manitoba will no longer issue birth alerts for high-risk expectant mothers as of April 1, 2020. In...
March 17, 2020
H1N1 and Systemic Racism
Globe and Mail – Despite accounting for just under 5 per cent of the Canadian population, Indigenous people were 25 per cent of those admitted to ICUs during the first wave of H1N1. First Nations children were 21 per cent of the paediatric patients admitted to ICUs during both waves. This led to sad and...
March 13, 2020
Safe and Sound: A Special Report on the Unexpected Sleep-Related Deaths of 145 Manitoba Infants
Release of Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth (2020): Safe and Sound: A Special Report on the Unexpected Sleep-Related Deaths of 145 Manitoba Infants” According to population projections, Indigenous infants account for between 20-30% of live births in Manitoba during the study period (Jan. 2009 – Dec. 2018), but represent 57% of sleep-related infant deaths....
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...
December 11, 2019
Statement on National Urban Indigenous Housing Strategy
In Canada 79.7% of Indigenous Peoples live in urban centres yet an Indigenous Urban Housing strategy has yet to be developed. Aboriginal Housing Manager Association (AMHA) applauds the Federal government efforts in the National Housing Strategy to address the needs of Metis/First Nations/Inuit groups on a distinction basis, it has failed to recognize the majority...
December 2, 2019
Tataskweyak Cree Nation proposes class-action lawsuit
National Post: A chief of a Manitoba First Nation is proposing a class-action lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of her community and other reserves that have experienced long-term boil water advisories. Tataskweyak Cree Nation Chief Doreen Spence said in a statement of claim filed last month that people are unable to practise their...
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)...
September 17, 2019
Health Care Data: 2015-17 vs 2002
University of Manitoba Today – Joint study by the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) and the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, “The Health Status of and Access to Healthcare by Registered First Nation Peoples in Manitoba” compares health...
September 17, 2019
National Paper on Youth Suicide
The Canadian Council of Child and Youth Advocates (CCCYA) published “A National Paper on Youth Suicide” that calls on governments at the national, provincial and territorial levels to take concrete action to prevent youth suicide in Canada. Failure to address the multi-faceted issues impacting indigenous communities has led to a suicide epidemic. The paper consolidates...
August 7, 2019
Shoal Lake
Maclean’s – Shoal Lake 40 grabbed national attention when its members used a brassy campaign tactic, protesting outside Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for Human Rights in 2014 to point out a glaring contradiction: the water flowing through the museum’s taps came from an isolated community without clean water and a road. Hundreds marched on the city’s...
July 11, 2019
The Council of The Federation, bi-annual meetings of the Federal, Provincial and Territory Premiers
Refusal to allow leaders of the Assembly of First Nations, the Métis National Council, the Inuit Tapariit Kanatami and the Native Woman’s Association of Canada to participate in the main body of meetings with a primary focus on climate change within each jurisdiction. As has been noted by numerous media, Indigenous peoples are on the...
July 9, 2019
Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada
Upstream – Failure to reduce the level of poverty among Indigenous children. Tracking Indigenous child poverty and non-Indigenous child poverty trends between Census 2006 and Census 2016, it’s clear that these differences have not markedly changed over that 10-year period. “Towards Justice: Tackling Indigenous Child Poverty in Canada” co-authored by the Assembly of First Nations...
July 9, 2019
Barriers to Reconciliation
“Youth Reconciliation Barometer 2019, Final Report”, Environics Research Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth identified a number of barriers to reconciliation, notably: myths and stereotypes about what Indigenous Peoples receive from Canada a lack of political leadership to implement real change, and too little understanding among non-Indigenous people The national survey reveals how Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth...
June 3, 2019
MMIWG Inquiry – Final Report
“National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girl Final Report (MMIWG)” states: Indigenous women and girls are 2.7 times more likely to experience violence than non-Indigenous women. ]Homicide rates for Indigenous women were nearly seven times higher than for non- Indigenous women. One quarter of all female homicide victims in Canada in 2015...
June 2, 2019
Shoal Lake: Finally gets a road after Winnipeg aqueduct cuts them off
CBC – It took the federal and provinvial governments 100 years to re-connect Shoal Lake # 40 First Nation to the mainland after construction of an aqueduct in 1919 resulted in flooding that cut them off from the mainland and eventually from their own source of drinking water. Winnipeg gets its drinking water from Shoal...
April 17, 2019
Government of Manitoba cancels self-government negotiations
The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) – MMF received a letter from the Pallister government cancelling the province’s support for self-government negotiations between Manitoba, Canada, and the MMF. This cancellation is one of several such notices sent from the province in the last year to the Manitoba Métis Government, the MMF. Since 1987, the Federal Government...
March 21, 2019
Yellowhead Institue Critique of Bill C-92
“Bill C-92, An Act respecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit children, youth and families” was graded as follows by the Yellowhead Institute of Ryerson University based on analysis by five Indigenous legal scholars. (See also First Nations Child and Family Caring Society Information Brief in C2A # 4) GRADES: National Standards: …………………… C Funding: ……………………………………..F...
February 22, 2019
Indigenous concerns around Block Funding for Children and Family Services
The Indigenous Leadership Council – President Dave Chartrand of the Manitoba Metis Federation, Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) and Grand Chief Garrison Settee of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO) – met yesterday with Minister of Families, Heather Stefanson, to discuss the province’s decision to move to block funding for children and...
February 22, 2019
Child Welfare Funding Objections
The government of Manitoba met with the Indigenous Leadership Council (Manitoba Métis Federation, Southern Chiefs’ Organization and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak) for first time in over two years despite a previous commitment to meet every quarter. The heads of the Indigenous Leadership Council met again with Minister of Families Heather Stefanson on Apr. 3, 2019 over...
February 22, 2019
First Meeting with Indigenous Leadership Council in two years
The government of Manitoba met with the Indigenous Leadership Council (Manitoba Metis Federation, Southern Chiefs’ Organization and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak) for first time in over two years despite a previous commitment to meet every quarter. The heads of the Indigenous Leadership Council met again with Minister of Families Heather Stefanson on Apr. 3, 2019 over...
February 14, 2019
Government ignores AMC “Bringing our Children Home Act”
First Nation leaders in Manitoba say the provincial government’s announced child welfare reform this week ignores efforts by Indigenous communities that are trying to regain jurisdiction over their own children. “The province of Manitoba continues to ignore the longstanding position and resolutions of the AMC Chiefs-in-Assembly – including the “Bringing our Children Home Act” –...
December 10, 2018
Forced Sterilizations
72 organizations endorse the joint statement from Amnesty International Canada, the Native Women’s Association of Canada, and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, calling for government action to #DefendConsent and end #ForcedSterilization of Indigenous women in Canada Canadian Press – All the women interviewed felt that the health system had not served their needs,...
December 1, 2018
Failure to protect Woodland Cariboo
Government of Canada – “Progress Report on Steps Taken to Protect Critical Habitat for the Woodland Caribou” indicates little progress is being made toward conservation. Meanwhile, provinces continue to issue permits for energy and forestry developments that do not comply with Species At Risk Act (SARA) , placing caribou at even greater risk. (David Suzuki...
November 22, 2018
Call for national investigation into forced sterilizations
Senator Murray Sinclair, former Chair of the TRC, says Canada needs a national investigation to find out how common coerced sterilizations are among Indigenous women and how they’ve been allowed to continue for so long. http://nationtalk.ca/story/usw-joint-statement-calling-on-canada-to-end-sterilization-without-consent...
August 28, 2018
Brandon Indian Residential School
The unmarked graves of 51 children who died at the Brandon Indian Residential School are physically located on a Recreational Vehicle (RV) campsite that now owns the former school property. Grand Chief Arlen Dumas of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) wants the city of Brandon to protect the unmarked graves that are now part...
March 31, 2018
Access to Health Services: Virgo Report
Release of the Virgo Final Report: “Improving Access and Coordination of Mental Health and Addiction Services: A Provincial Strategy for all Manitobans” specifically emphasizes the discovery made during the system review that for almost every service encountered, the largest percentage of people being served were of Indigenous background. The report acknowledges the “history of colonization...
March 5, 2018
Manitoba Government vs Manitiba Métis Federation
Refusing to invite the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) to comprehensive discussions to develop a provincial mineral development protocol to advance mineral development opportunities and projects on Indigenous territories. “This Provincial Government continues to disrespect the Métis Nation’s claims, rights and interests,” added President Chartr and. “Here is a clear example that the mining impacts on...
February 26, 2018
Failure to attend Métis Nation Health Forum
Manitoba Métis Federation – MMF is frustrated and disappointed by the lack of representation from the Province of Manitoba at a national Métis Nation Health Forum and the message that sends to the Métis Nation. A first ever Metis Nation Health Forum was held in Ottawa on February 26, 2018. The Forum brought together over...
February 16, 2018
Native Women’s Association of Canada
Collectively, NWAC represents a multitude of Nations of Indigenous women who are First Nations, Métis, Inuit. These women represent non-status women and girls and rights holders with Treaty rights, inherent rights, Métis rights, human rights and gender-based rights. As a representative of Indigenous women, NWAC will provide the required gender-based perspective. In order to achieve...
November 3, 2017
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Envronment must include Indigenous views
Assembly of First Nations – First Nations must be full participants in all meetings of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to ensure their voices are heard in environmental and climate change solutions. “Reconciliation has to include respect for our Elder’s traditional knowledge and our understanding of the lands and waters, the animals...
September 21, 2017
Canada Health Act flaws
Healthy Debates – “Indigenous health services often hampered by legislative confusion“. The federal and provincial governments negotiate health transfers based on the Canada Health Act, which specifies the conditions and criteria required of provincial health insurance programs. It doesn’t mention First Nations and Inuit peoples, Métis and non-status or off-reserve Indigenous peoples who are covered...
September 17, 2017
Ignored to death: Brian Sinclair’s death caused by racism, inquest inadequate, group says
Brian Sinclair, 45, was found dead in Health Sciences Centre ER 34 hours after arriving without being treated CBC: A group of doctors and academics from across Canada say an Indigenous man who died while waiting for care in a Winnipeg emergency room in 2008 was killed by racism, and say the subsequent inquest into his...
September 15, 2017
Death of Brian Sinclair
CBC – Brian Sinclair was killed by racism on Sept. 21, 2008. He was ignored for 34 hours, despite his need for urgent medical care, because medical professionals made negative assumptions about him based solely on his appearance. Anti-Indigenous bias is an endemic problem in Canadian health care: The hospital authority denied that stereotyping had...
July 20, 2017
NWAC excluded from Council of the Federation discussions
Native Woman’s Association of Canada requested the Council of Federation to include NWAC in all Nation-to-Nation discussions, the work of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (National Inquiry) in the scope of improving the socio-economic status of Indigenous women, and the need for a community-based prevention model to drive the...
July 17, 2017
Indigenous leaders boycott Council of Federation meetings
National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Natan Obed and President Clément Chartier of the Métis Nation of Canada (MNC) held a press conference today in a show of unity over their concerns regarding the full and effective participation of Indigenous peoples in intergovernmental forums, including the Council of the Federation meeting taking...
July 14, 2016
Fire protection on reserves
NationTalk – There is no national fire protection code that mandates fire safety standards or enforcement on reserves. All other jurisdictions in Canada including provinces, territories, and other federal jurisdictions (such as military bases, airports, and seaports) have established building and fire codes. The Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada (AFAC), NIFSC’s parent organization, supports the...